The oldest guy, Spike
who is 18 (!) and
cherishes his privacy
wanted nothing to do with the new little boy, Junior
(shame on me--i still don't have a good photo of this little scamp)
who stalked the black cat constantly.
It got pretty intense around here.
No blood, but plenty of fur flying and lots of yelling at each other
everytime Junior ventured upstairs to find and stalk the phantom
he could only catch glimpses of.
The screeching yells of a surprised-shocked-indignant cat
who has just been pounced upon by a brash youngster
can be nerve wracking, to say the least.
And it is not a lot of fun trying to extricate
a terrified young cat who has wedged himself
under the bed and against the wall
in the middle of the night.
He would never admit it
but Spike is much more active (and happier) since the hide 'n seek
games with Junior.
He often races around upstairs
flying up to the stair railings and
skidding across the hardwood floors
stopping to look down the stairs at Junior
then flying off to hide...
only to emerge with tail held high in triumph
after Junior fled.
My life changed a lot too.
i was literally wearing out the carpet on the stairs
tending two litter boxes.
One, upstairs
one, down
and refilling two sets of water and food bowls twice a day...
because
that handsome, spoiled rotten black cat
flatly refuses to go downstairs anymore.
The truth was becoming crystal clear:
it will be some time before we achieve detente around here.
And a mad cat who knows he is beloved and
refuses to go downstairs to use the litter box leaves
one with only one choice:
Give in.
Junior became very clingy to his humans.
He was clearly lonely and very bummed out
that the senior feline resident is paws-off for the time being.
So
as counter-intuitive as it may seem
the thought of adopting a third fur ball/kitten/buddy for Junior's sake
and ours
kept coming to mind.
Apparently, i gave words to that thought in the company of
a friend who volunteers at Antler Ridge, a wild animal rescue charity.
Next thing you know
there is a phone call
"Didn't you say Junior needed a friend?
Wouldn't you like to meet a sweet young cat who
must have gotten lost during Irene and showed up on
our doorstep?"
Half an hour later
we are holding this sweet young thing
who snuggled into my arm
purring loudly.
Four hours later
after a visit to the vet
we have a third litter box and feeding station
set up in the back room
and i'm searching for a basket and warm rug
for Lucy
Isn't she pretty?
Doesn't she look sweet
and mellow?
Yes, well...
Junior has his paws full.
to be continued...
lol! Watch out, Junior! Lucy is *beautiful*!
Posted by: Lynette | November 03, 2011 at 12:48 PM
oh the things we do for our cats x Lucy is lovely, I hope she settles in well, and that you are keeping warm in the snow.
Posted by: driftwood | November 04, 2011 at 05:17 AM
Pretty cat!
Our longhair calico and blue Persian tolerate each other (the Persian is younger and wants to be friends) except when the Persian gets the occasional shave. This outrages Theodora, who spits and bites in response.
Posted by: marly youmans | November 04, 2011 at 08:42 AM
Good news! Junior and Lucy spent the night in the same rooms, with no excitement in the wee hours.
Posted by: zephyr | November 05, 2011 at 09:28 AM
I love it! Aren't they a soap opera in and of themselves. Glad to hear things are working out and the drama has been minimal--my goodness the things we do for our little lovelies! x
Posted by: Janine | November 06, 2011 at 10:09 AM
Hello again, and thank you so much for sharing your snowflake story over at theknobbyknitter, I can hardly wait to read more about it here! What a treasure you have created for your family. Would absolutely love to see your PDF too, feel free to e-mail anytime!
Posted by: Janine | November 16, 2011 at 07:46 PM
What, no new saga of peaceful or spitting felines?
Posted by: marly youmans | November 16, 2011 at 11:24 PM
It's coming...soon...it's been busy around here, too...but not too busy for pie!
Posted by: zephyr | November 17, 2011 at 12:40 PM