Believe it or not, I never liked or wanted any pets. Not even a turtle or a goldfish. Not even when I was a kid. All the extra cleaning and noises… who wants the trouble? However, a couple of years back, on a beautiful Winter morning, I was browsing the web and saw a picture of a red Maine Coon. My fate was sealed then and there. So we got a Maine Coon, and, of course, it is red. And he, no doubts, is the owner of this household and everything and everyone in it. We all worship Simon ?

        Naturally, when we realized that he was a little bored with us, his humble slaves, it was decided to get Simon a sister. At that point, being a true nerd, I read a lot about all kinds of cats, and RagaMuffins were definitely my favorite due to the beauty and wonderful personality. I realized how lucky we got with Simon, how much trouble we could’ve gotten into if he was not so healthy (knock on wood!). So I was looking for a reputable breeder. I did my homework, all right. Luckily I found  iCandy cattery. I wrote to Sara and was told that there was a waiting list. Yes, please, count me in for a girl! I want it to be as white as possible, with a very symmetrical mask, I wrote in my original email. And so Sara put me on the list for a white girl with a symmetrical mask that’s yet to be born sometime in the future. And the wait has started.

       A little later I had a conversation with Simon’s vet and mentioned that we are getting a female kitten, and the good doctor told me “Never deal with females. Believe me on that one and thank me later”.

‘Dear Sara’, I wrote. ‘Please change my registry on your waiting list. I would actually like to get a boy instead.’ – ‘You know what’ – wrote Sara back to me – ‘as a matter of fact, there is one boy. The last one. Not sure if you want him… he is not white at all. And there is a spot on the belly. And the mask is not symmetrical.’

I looked at the picture and my heart stopped.

It was in the middle of a pandemic and we couldn’t even meet Sara and her cats properly. I left my pet carrier on the porch, waited in the car, and got back to find a tiny little something inside the bag, scared out of his mind. He was so tiny so I was afraid to touch him. Maine Coons are three times larger at that age, I just never held such a tiny kitten in my arms! Oh boy, what am I going to do?..

My kids spent weeks arguing about the name, and it was decided to call that tiny little something ‘Beef Wellington’. Beef. Beefey.

            Immediately upon arrival home the baby ran under the bureau in the guest bedroom and did not want to come out for a day or two. I did not want to leave him alone in the room and slept there. Finally he realized that I was, in fact, his mommy, and the second night he spent on my chest, making as much noise as he was a little tractor trailer ?

            Yesterday His Lordship Beоf, the duke of Wellington, turned one. A lot has happened during this year. He grew up to be the fluffiest and funniest creature on the planet, no doubts! We love Beef dearly and definitely can not imagine our lives without him. He is oh, so soft and cuddly! And he smells like expensive fur coats and cookies and cream at the same time. He is there when I go to sleep, and he wakes me up in the morning by pushing my hand with his nose. He is a brother and best friend to Simon who loves him enormously, and my girls – 15 year old Maya and 18 year old Jean – say that Beef is their son. I don’t argue. It is obvious to me whose son he is. It is also obvious that I will never ever live without any cats in the house, preferably RagaMuffins.

Here are Simon and Beef Wellington, they say Hi to everybody. You may follow them on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/simon_and_beef/