| Complete name: | Dakini Aruna Ayan (pedigree) |
| Usual name: | Ayan |
| Day of birth: | April 4, 2007 |
| Gender: | Male, neutered |
| Breed/colour: | Somali ruddy |
| Name dam: | Duncan’s Aiyana Siubhan |
| Name sire: | Le Chat Somali’s Ibrahim |
| Hobby's: |
Food (especially the pellets of Chyara), telling stories, lounge around, verhalen vertellen, luieren, trample on a sheepcoat, bringing presents |
| Results: | - Zwolle, September 9, 2007: BIS male 3-6 months group Abyssinian/Somali |
| - Zutphen, Novemner 4 2007: Ex2 | |
| - Groningen, December 9, 2007: Ex1, BIV |
Ayan is our first Somali and a great boy. He came to live with us in August 2007 and we are very happy with him. Ayan is a real chatterbox, he is always telling us a lot of stories, so there’s a lot of chatting going on in our home.
Ayan is now 3,5 years old. He has grown to be a beautiful Somali with great looks. At home he is the Big Boss, the King, and he radiates it too. I love it. He isn’t as playful as he used to be, we call him our ‘lazy player’. He can be tempted to hit a feather teaser or a piece of string, but only if we dangle it right in front of him. 
We do have our private play sessions (without his hyper active niece Éowyn, who always wants to join in on the fun) and during these sessions he often goes all out on the feather teaser. But he isn’t as quick as he used to be. 
On the whole, Ayan is a sweet, sensitive and careful cat. He isn’t the ringleader-type en will not always show himself when there is company. He prefers a quiet spot upstairs. His best friend is still Chyara. They might not share a cat bed, but you can tell that they get along very well. Every now and then they still enjoy chasing each other and chirruping to each other. Chyara and Éowyn sometimes play together too, but this can get too fanatical for Chyara and she will draw the line. When that happens Ayan will rush over (“what’s going on here, ladies?”) and sometimes positions himself between them as if he wants to protect Chyara. It’s very sweet (I don’t know if I should interpret it like this, but it sure seems like it). Ayan didn’t particularly like Shanti (Éowyn’s mother) and he’s not a big fan of Éowyn either, although the relationship with Éowyn is better than with Shanti. I don’t know the exact reason for this. Maybe it has to do with hierarchy (neutered animals are usually lower in the hierarchy, especially when there’s also a mother with kittens), different personalities or the fact that he’s been here longer than the others. It is probably a combination of factors. But on the whole they get along and we try to keep him happy by giving him special attention (with the special play time, for example).
Ayan loves the garden. He likes watching everything around him, nibbling on plants, catching little flies and butterflies en sitting beside the pond. We do know that he definitely prefers the summer. He doesn’t like the cold at all! When it’s chilly, he’ll only go out to get some fresh air, but he soon comes back in to find a warm spot indoors. Sometimes he even spreads out over the radiator, that looks hilarious. Of all our cats, Ayan is the one that assumes the most weird sleeping positions. When you go and cuddle him he’ll even make these cute little moaning sounds. Yes, he’s still our ‘Bibi’ Ayan, a big boy with a tiny heart…
Because of Ayan, we fell in love with the Somali breed. We like the fact that they’re active, smart and affectionate. But above all, we love the way you can interact with them. We always thought that the Somali would be ‘our’ breed, judging by the general character description, stories of Somali owners and the many pictures we saw. Ayan certainly confirmed this feeling.
