The Obligatory Cat Post: Part 2
So Lola came home in a small kitty transporter, she seemed perfectly fine with the whole thing. Having been a stray, and then going to two different shelters in her short life have probably made her used to upheaval - strange for a cat. She exhibits some traits of a kitten who was weaned too early or was separated from the litter and her mother. Very needy and loves attention. If I lay on the floor, she rubs through my hair and starts chewing on the dreads.
We put Lillie in our bedroom, and then brought Lola into The Kid's room and let her out. It didn't take her too long to start exploring, and while she's a little skittish, she just wants to know who's coming into the room when the door is opened, and then comes out of hiding.
Lillie was pretty unaware of there being another cat in the house after we let her out of the bedroom until she saw me go down the hall to The Kid's room. I left the door cracked a little bit so she could sniff in the room. Lola mewed a tiny bit and that unleashed a chain of hissing and spitting from Lillie. I shut the door, and Lillie continued to hiss and growl. I talked to her through the door but to no avail. Finally, I opened the door and kind of shooed her back down the hall. She hissed and growled at me and went after my feet as I walked past her.
Ok, this may take a while. For the next few hours I alternated petting Lillie, then going into The Kid/Lola's room to pet her, then come back out and pet Lillie. She's obviously annoyed by this other cats presence in the house, but at least she's not at the door hissing incessantly.
This morning I checked on Lola, and when I came back out and tried petting Lillie, she smelled my hands, and started hissing at me and swatting at my hands. Argh. She would have nothing to do with me and so I left for work. This is going to take a while, but fortunately Lola seems to care less about Lillie. I just hope Lillie doesn't turn into a bitter, foul tempered bitch because of this. Doesn't seem like she's too thrilled about the idea of having a friend.
Hopefully, if we take this slowly enough she'll warm up to the idea.
We put Lillie in our bedroom, and then brought Lola into The Kid's room and let her out. It didn't take her too long to start exploring, and while she's a little skittish, she just wants to know who's coming into the room when the door is opened, and then comes out of hiding.
Lillie was pretty unaware of there being another cat in the house after we let her out of the bedroom until she saw me go down the hall to The Kid's room. I left the door cracked a little bit so she could sniff in the room. Lola mewed a tiny bit and that unleashed a chain of hissing and spitting from Lillie. I shut the door, and Lillie continued to hiss and growl. I talked to her through the door but to no avail. Finally, I opened the door and kind of shooed her back down the hall. She hissed and growled at me and went after my feet as I walked past her.
Ok, this may take a while. For the next few hours I alternated petting Lillie, then going into The Kid/Lola's room to pet her, then come back out and pet Lillie. She's obviously annoyed by this other cats presence in the house, but at least she's not at the door hissing incessantly.
This morning I checked on Lola, and when I came back out and tried petting Lillie, she smelled my hands, and started hissing at me and swatting at my hands. Argh. She would have nothing to do with me and so I left for work. This is going to take a while, but fortunately Lola seems to care less about Lillie. I just hope Lillie doesn't turn into a bitter, foul tempered bitch because of this. Doesn't seem like she's too thrilled about the idea of having a friend.
Hopefully, if we take this slowly enough she'll warm up to the idea.
posted by 2ndaryHighway | 12:08 PM
4 Comments:
Ms. Rhen,
Your Lillie sounds a bit like my cat, Kaufman (a pre-emptive finger point to Stine at this juncture).
I just moved the Kauf to a new place with a new cat, and what we did for the first week is split their time in the apartment 50-50. One would be in his/her room, while the other was out.
We did this for about a week. And then, we started letting them out at the same time. Rough at first, but that very quickly changed to the point where they're smelling each other's breath, going into each other's rooms with very occasional hissing/swatting periods, that one or the other would start.
It's been almost a month and things seem to be going well.
Hey, good luck with those two!
But you do know that the obligatory cat post needs to go with pictures, right? ;-)
jose - was the other cat the resident cat? we're trying to balance out giving the new cat some privledges, and still making lillie feel like she's queen.
so far the kitten doesn't seem to mind being confined to a 10x10 room all day, since it's better than the 2x2 cage she's been in the past 6 months. i still have guilt about it though.
stefan - took pictures last night so they'll be up soon. :P
yes, the other cat was in the house long before the Kauf.
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