It’s been a while since I posted a kitty update.
With the wisdom of hindsight, I now realise that introducing a second cat into a household is not such a great idea – unless they are both kittens, or already used to each other.
However … we have persevered and, after five long months, I think we may actually be over the worst of it (fingers crossed).
The Princess Diva Puss Kitty
Miss Fleur was raised in a loving foster family from the tender age of just two weeks old, until we adopted her in August 2014, just a few weeks before her first birthday.
What can I say about our Fleur – except that she is our precious Princess Diva Puss Kitty? So spoiled she even has her own hashtag – #furbaby #fleurbaby!
She was (and is) so adorable I just wanted another kitty to love! And so … we adopted Seth in June.
Seth’s Story
Our big boy is around 5 years old, and we were told that his previous family brought him here from Tasmania about this time last year. However they were unable to find rental accommodation which allowed pets, so they surrendered him to the pound.
Seth really does seem to dislike the hot weather, which seems to confirm that he is actually a Taswegian tabby, born and bred. He loves nothing better than to flake out in front of the air conditioning, and gives me a really dirty look when I turn it off which is quite funny!
Despite working really hard to introduce the new kitties, they really didn’t get along 🙁 .
Seth started peeing to mark his territory which didn’t exactly endear him to me either!
What Turned Things Around
We even called the pound one weekend to enquire about possibly returning Seth. Things were that bad 🙁 .
However you can’t just surrender a cat with a simple snap of the fingers, you have to go on a waiting list. We decided to adopt a “wait and see” approach, hoping that things would improve …
And thankfully, they have. In my mind, there are a few things that have really helped to turn things around:
- Feliway spray – worth its weight in gold!
- Seth is clearly used to being an outdoors cat. Now while I am against this in principle (see my post “Why I have an Indoor Kitty“), he was clearly unhappy and restless. So I began letting him out in the back yard to play each morning; and he enjoys an hour or two of outside time. At first he would ask to go outside again after lunch, but most of the time once a day is more than enough for him. It’s almost as if now he feels he has that freedom, he doesn’t really need it!
- Mr 22 has begun letting Seth stay in his room (previously off-limits to kitty cats, as he is very precious about his belongings, collectibles etc). As Mr 22 is Seth’s favourite hooman in the whole world, this has also helped improve Seth’s temperament.
As for Fleur and Seth, they seem to have sorted out their differences. They sometimes play chasey, or even eat out of the same bowl!
They don’t groom each other or curl up together for naps like I’d hoped they would, but they have certainly come a long way and things can only get better.
Top Cat
Despite her daintiness, Miss Fleur is without a doubt the top cat in the household. She displays her dominance by leaving her business uncovered in the litter tray (ewwwww), and always being the first to demand pats and love while Seth waits for his turn.
On the whole, Seth is clearly feeling much more relaxed and gradually trusting us. He is even starting to call me “Mummy”! I love this pic where he is resting his head on my foot 🙂 .
I am really looking forward to the day when we have the same bond with him, that we do with Miss Fleur. It will be extra special, because we have worked so hard to achieve it!
How have your pets been behaving themselves lately?!
Linking up with Kylie Purtell for IBOT.