Meow!!!!

Well, I thought it high time to give Bing his own blog as he's become somewhat famous! So, Crystal, get that fan club going. I am naming you President!

So, how did Bing come to be part of our family? Well, let me back up a bit to explain. We had two cats, Pumpkin and Apple (you've seen mention of her on miss G's blog). Pumpkin was a sweet, sweet orange and white Maine Coon(we think anyway) that we got as a stray. He unfortunately died of cancer at the very young age of 7 in Feb 2004. We were heartbroken. I decided that I wanted another cat. Since Apple had been used to him and we heard bringing in another female might cause problems, I decided I wanted a black and white tuxedo male kitten with long hair(Maine Coon like Apple and Pumpkin if possible, but that wasn't a must). We searched around, but didn't find one that fit the bill. During this search, I found Kera at a cat rescue and instantly fell in love with her nose nuzzling and interesting "trill". She was no black and white male, but she came home with us that day in March 2004. We think she is at least part Maine Coon. Well, for me, that was that. My kitty family was complete.

I'd like to say that it was one big happy family, but Apple was none too pleased. She hissed, spit, spat and was generally pretty peeved at this new addition. She and Kera were constantly bickering. But, I figured in time Apple would at least tolerate her presence.

Well, apparently during this time Ferdy had decided he wanted to fulfill my wish for that black and white tuxedo Maine Coon. He later says he also hoped the addition of a male would stop the girls from fighting. He apparently searched high and low for a breeder that had the possibility of black and whites as they are not very common. He finally found one in September 2004 all the way in Georgia! She had a litter which had, amongst the kittens, two black and white tuxedo males named Bada Bing and Bada Boom. She sent him pictures and he made clandestine arrangements to drive up there. He had decided that Bing was the one he wanted, but she said she couldn't guarantee anything. If someone else came and wanted him, since she didn't have a deposit, she'd have to sell him.

Ferdy waited until a Saturday when I had a full day of weddings to do at church(remember I'm a wedding coordinator there) and would be gone all day. He then told me he was going to a Corvette show in Jacksonville and was going to be getting up and leaving the house at the crack of dawn(actually, I don't think it was even dawn yet). Anybody that knows Ferdy knows that this was no stretch to believe that he'd do this for a Corvette show.

When he arrived at the breeder's house, he found that Bada Boom had been sold, but Bada Bing was still there. He played a little with him and decided that yep, he'd take him home. So, back in the car and home he came. What a grueling day of driving. Apparently Bing wasn't happy to be in the carrier and wanted to ride on Ferdy or on top of the carrier.

Now, Ferdy had a plan that he wanted to be home before I was to set up the surprise. He later told me he didn't have much time to spare and barely made it home before I was due. He took Bing right into the bathroom(to keep him separated from the girls) and waited for me to come home. So, I got home and the first thing I did was kick of my shoes before I even got inside as my feet were absolutely screaming from being in heels all day running around. I had an even more pressing problem than that. I had to pee like there was no tomorrow. So, I ran in the house and headed for the bathroom. Ferdy calls me from one of the other bathrooms(where he was with Bing). I told him hang on, I had to go!!!! I took care of that and then finally went into the other bathroom. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw this!!!! Now, before you ask, yes, I'm wearing just a slip. I was trying to change clothes but Ferdy was persistent that I come to the bathroom - now!

I should back up even more in this story and explain to you that this is not the first time he surprised me with a cat. Apple was an early birthday present for me 4 years earlier. I had gone to Nashville for Thanksgiving to visit Sarah as I always did and when I returned home (very late from a delayed flight), I was surprised with Apple. I was so tired and confused, that I remember asking him "What the hell is that??". He had let her in from the laundry room and I really thought a cat had gotten into the house. Hee hee. Thank goodness I had a happier reaction this time!

He loved to get on my chest and snooze.

As you can see, he's been up to this trick for quite some time.

Now, who would have known this little fuzz ball(pic taken at the breeder's house just after Ferdy got there) .....

Would become this big boy we have today....

Actually, we did expect he would be a big cat. Maine Coons are normally very large cats and his dad was a big boy as well. To see a picture of his dad, click here. He's the 2nd cat down(the gray and white one). And from the beginning, his feet were HUGE!!! It was like a large-breed puppy with big paws they have to grow into.

Here is a picture of his fur mommy:

The breeder had, of course, given him his name. Ferdy said I could name him whatever I wanted. I thought and thought and tried to come up with something I liked, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked Bada Bing and that we'd call him Bing. I think it fits!

So, there you have the story of Bing's arrival into the Santana family. I guess just like all kids, it hasn't always been easy. You see, he's quite naughty. And when he was younger, it was much, much worse. It wasn't uncommon to wake up in the middle of night because of something crashing to the floor. He would get into anything and everything. We've had to sweep and vacuum glass up in the kitchen at 3am more than once. For a while, I wasn't so sure he was going to work out if he kept getting into to stuff and breaking everything. He's so darn stubborn too. If he does something wrong and you smack him on the butt to get him to stop or move on, he just hunkers down and won't move. I joke that he's dumb as rocks sometimes. But, I will say, as he gets older, he gets a little less naughty. And, as you've seen on the other blog, he's got personality and then some. He cracks me up daily with his antics. He's definitely a good boy with Gabriella and will be her buddy for years to come.

I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and Bing stories and antics. As you've no doubt seen, he usually gives me plenty of material!

Don't worry, he won't bite (much).

I leave you with this, my assignment from Sarah. He was not having any part of the sunglasses. Sorry Sarah, we tried!