Things here at Casa ParkHopper are progressing slowly but surely. As I type this, Milo is on my lap purring. I'm glad because this is the first time he's let me pet him in 2 days and I missed him. When he first jumped up, he smelled Elphie on me and started to hiss, so I pushed him down (how much bloodshed is enough?) and he came back a little while later and has been there ever since.
I finally got around to reading some "introducing a new cat" articles online last night, and they basically say "Jamie and Scott are stupid." Apparently you're supposed to introduce the cats one sense at a time - separate rooms connected by a door so that they can smell each other, and then you're supposed to conjure a baby gate (though I haven't met a cat who can't jump one of those) so that they can see each other. And then after a period determined by the cats - 2 days to a month - you can introduce them to each other.
Whatever!
Right now, Elphie is in our room with Scott. We have errands to run today, so we're going to keep everyone in their separate corners until we get home. I'm hoping that Milo's calm isn't temporary. I know that he's still going to growl and hiss, but I'd prefer that his anti-social period be over. I haven't needed to refill their food bowl for the last two days either, so I'm happy to see him eating again too.
Elphie and Kilo are going to be fine. He scares the crap out of her, and occasionally takes swats at her, but they were in the same room making eye contact for most of last night. She's already established herself as the #2 cat, hissing at Kilo until he backs off. That's fun to watch! Poor Kilo - he just wants a little love from someone!
Y'all are just going to be stuck looking at kitten pictures for a while. Enjoy them or skip over them, but I make no apologies. How can I help but snap all these pictures???
Elphie's "sweet and innocent" face.
She may look sweet and innocent, but check out those claws! Coming soon: pictures of Scott and Jamie's various war wounds.
3 comments:
I absolutely love the picture of her sweet face and extended claws in the same shot! WOW!
Squirrel had short hair with long hairs randomly and weirdly stuck in between. Nope, it never evened out but we ended up deciding that it was just adorable so who cares! I think it's just a mutt cat trait. Anyway, she had that whole long/short hair freaky thing going on. She pretty much always looked like she had just stuck her finger in an electrical socket.
Squirrel, in case Scott hasn't ever told you to story was The Most Awesome Brain Damaged Cat Ever. She was EVERYONE's keeper and kept us all in line, although it took her a bit since life was conquered in a long series of left turns. (She was hit by a bike, suffered brain damage, doomed to death by the vet but I refused to give up - who me? - and she lived for YEARS afterwards).
Here's some questionable advice: Cover the kitten with the oil from a can of tuna and toss everyone into the bathroom, close the door and go to the movies. I know it sounds harsh and I NEVER would have done something that sounded so cruel had I not gone through many, many sleepless nights. Frankly I was at the end of my rope and someone suggested this nutty idea and I was willing to try it if only it meant that I spent a night not playing referee. Seriously? I came home and everyone was the bestest of buddies. I was scared that the big kitties would cream the tuna covered kitten. Nay nay nay, when we came home everyone was in jolly spirits and, although it didn't last (the mood), it at least got us over that "I WILL KILL YOU ALL!!!!" hump.
Best of luck!
Heh. Looking at her again, she is a cute little monkey. I totally love the wild and random hair + completely earnest expression.
I predict that all the boy cats will soon get over their snootiness if only to fall in love with her wild and unconventional beauty (My poor attempt at channeling a Bronte.)
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