Day 4 - 130611

When I got home from work Ralph was his usual pensive self, hiding behind the sink as he is so often wont to do. As he's been camping in the bathroom for the last couple of days, and seeing as how terrified he was of the toilet flush to begin with, it's been nigh on impossible to get in there to use the shower. By last night I was starting to smell like jail, so I made the decision to bite the bullet and just go for it. I thought it would be best to close him in his box and leave him on the bed where he could see what was going on, so he wouldn't be too scared by the noise of the shower pump. Well, you'd think I opened fire on the room with a machine gun! He did not like the sound at all, and frantically began trying to escape from the box. So, naked and covered in soap, I moved him into the living room whilst I finished off. He seemed much happier with that and when I put him back in the bathroom when I was done, his curiosity had piqued and he wanted out. So I left the door open.

The first thing he did was exit under the bed, so I went into the living room leaving all the doors open so he could have a full wander. After five minutes I noticed he was lay under the there, watching me. He sat still as a stone for 20 minutes, staring at me as if he was completely enthralled... whenever I looked at him and acknowledged him, he just slowly blinked and kept on staring. It was like he was getting revenge for the last few days of me going into the bathroom to look at him - his turn to watch me for a while.

He spent the rest of the evening prowling around the flat exploring every nook and cranny, all the while keeping low and out of sight whenever possible. He moves just like a wild cat, it's fascinating! With his extra long back legs, which are designed for jumping, he walks with a slightly crouched gait very much like an actual leopard. He holds his tail out low and straight, and for the most part kind of plods and slinks around. He's stunning, and so graceful. Whenever he thought he smelled anything interesting he was up on his hind legs like a meerkat sniffing the air, and if he spotted me watching him he'd freeze on the spot and stare at me with his huge green eyes. Eventually he seemed to tire of exploring and disappeared back into his box, so I went to bed.

No point in trying to sleep though - he spent the next few hours searching for his brothers and sisters, yowling and crying for them. It was heartbreaking to hear, he's really missing his little family, and he doesn't half have a set of lungs on him too. I hope I can be his new family soon enough, but right now... I still don't think he likes me very much.

I could only get one shot of him on the camera last night - he's very sly and never stays still long enough, and his big old eyes just look like headlights. The video is too dark to see his spots, but you can see how he moves... sexy little bugger!