Pluses, Minuses

[saavedra77]

My Friday began with a potentially serious mishap, & ended with ... shall we say, a new addition to the household:

Walking down Capitol Hill in the rain, this morning, I slipped on a wet grate, pitching forward into the pavement. I narrowly avoided hitting my head, breaking my fall with my left hand, and in the process (as an ER visit would demonstrate) fracturing my wrist and spraining my knee. So I arrived to work hours late with one hand in a cast, with a zillion voice- and emails, having to hunt & peck my way through a day's work in half the time.

But enough about that.

In happier news, I've finally chosen a successor to my late, lamented Giant Maine Coon Mutant Accident Cat, Puig. His sister Zoe's been extraordinarily bored, whiney, and clingy, ever since he passed. And then a friend introduced me to the kittens she was fostering. That pretty much did it: I decided that it was time for us to be a two-cat household, again.

The new kitten is an eight-week-old black-and-tan male medium hair (I'll post pictures, once I've had the chance to take and upload them), whom I've decided to name "Ozzy." (Think of the letters as a sort of hieroglyphic of a little, striped cat with a giant head and shorttail--the "O" representing his head, the "z"s his stripes, the "y" his tail.) Per prior agreement, I picked him up after work, today.

Ozzy's mostly just your typical kitten: hyper, awkward, wanting to get into everything. He's also clever: left alone for ten minutes in his nylon and mesh pet carrier while I ran out to the pet food store, the little bastard managed to unzip the door and get out into the apartment. So I came home to find him loose, gnawing on some of my shoelaces. This short-circuited my plan to prevent him from having direct contact with the other cat until she grows accustomed to his presence--but there was evidently no harm done.

Later, I introduced Ozzy to his food and water dishes. He was clearly hungry. But his behavior around the water dish was a little on the weird side: he slurped up his fill of H2O, and then started ... playing in the dish: jumped in, started splashing around. Not exactly typical cat behavior, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it, except that it looks like I'm going to have to wash that dish out a lot.

So, you might ask, how is Zoe taking this? She's mostly just sulking. I think she's upset about having this intruder in her territory, and may already sense that some of my attention is going to be diverted to the new arrival. But she keeps creeping up to him and switching her tail, either out of irritation or indecision, I'm not sure.

Everyone I've spoken to about this has stressed that the introduction of a new pet should be, to the extent possible, a gradual process, so that's more or less the plan. But I'm betting that Zoe's boredom and need for attention will ultimately lead her to accept the little guy: I mean, he's wayyyyyy too little to be a threat, y'know?

So, I know that there are a number of cat people on my list: any advice on introducing a new kitten into the house?

Comments

[bubblesutonium.livejournal.com]

I have zero advice to offer as the last time I got a kitten, I just let her loose in the apartment with Grover. After about 48 hours, they had bonded.

Let's just say I was damn lucky.

And congrats on your new kitten!

[feyandstrange.livejournal.com]

I'll ask my cat expert. Some folks swear by getting them to play together with a really good toy, like the feather-on-string deal; others suggest a little catnip will let them bond; others still suggest wacky stuff like making both cats smell the same somehow - probably with something really small-apartment-friendly like anchovy oil.

And yes, pictures, ideally of both; Maine coons are lovely. (A friend of mine is supposed to be maybe getting a pair of Maine boy kittens; I'm so hoping so, because he's close enough for frequent visits.)

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

Maine coons are lovely.

Yes, they are--easily my favorite breed. But while Ozzy has M.C.-like colors, he's basically a foundling of uncertain pedigree. He's a shorthair, with smallish feet--not the disproportionately padded paws you'd expect on a M.C. No telling how big he'll get, but I'm expecting average--not supersized like an M.C. :)

re: water play

[pinky-ki.livejournal.com]

I had a cat (an American Shorthair, which is an actual breed btw, not a domestic shorthair) who loved playing in water. I figured out he was both fascinated with the way water moves and liked to drink moving water. This cat figured out (from watching us, no doubt) how to turn on the kitchen faucet. Sadly, he had no interest in turning it back _off_. He also loved to sleep in the kitchen sink, whether it was damp or not.

He still hated to have water splashed or sprayed onto him by someone else. But much like cats play with their food, some figure out they can play with their drink too.

I recommend one of those water dishes with the spill free lip. I got one when my cat Pogo decided he liked to skate the dish across the floor. There's a trick to cleaning them, but they work like a charm.

Congrats on the new kitten! And condolences on the injury. Glad it's not serious, but sorry it will be a painful annoyance for some time.

[hippybngstockng.livejournal.com]

Like Pinky, I also had a cat that loved to play in water to the extent that you had to make sure you kept all the toilet seats down, and even some doors closed that had drips or drains that were just too fascinating. I've known other cats that also like to get in the sink, sometimes while it's full. My theory is that it's temperature related.. I've definitely known some cats to like hot stuff, preferring things like sunbeams, heating vents, and sitting on people at all times, and others like it cooler, laying on cement/tile floors, and often sinks!! Those same cats seem to be the ones who like to play with water.

Good luck with the transition. Let me know if I can help in any way, but probably safer to email or call in the next little while for guaranteed response! :)

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

My cat Gizmo used to love to sit in a damp sink, and let the water from the faucet bounce on his nose. And he would suckle that thing like no other. Cats are funny :)

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

and often sinks

Yeah, drglam's Gregor used to do that, didn't he?

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Ouch! That sounds painful. I hope it heals quickly.

And congratulations on your new arrival! I think with adding a new cat to your house, it really depends on ...well, the cats! When Jeff introduced Brutus to Buffy's territory, she completely freaked. (Brutus is enormous, Buffy is microscopic.) And it took a long, long time. Likewise Hobbes completely freaked out when we moved in to a space with another cat. It was a very gradual process.

But if the most Zoe's doing is sulking, it doesn't sound like you can't let them be around each other. It's only, I would think, if she was freaking out or if they were attacking each other.

The water playing kitten sounds adorable, and like others here, I can't wait to see the pictures!

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

But if the most Zoe's doing is sulking, it doesn't sound like you can't let them be around each other. It's only, I would think, if she was freaking out or if they were attacking each other.

Well, now she's in high dudgeon--hissing, growling when he comes near her. She's still kind of a coward about it, though: she won't approach him--this despite the fact that he's tiny, compared to her.

Mind you, Ozzy's at most puzzled by her. He'll look at when she hisses, but then go back to what he's doing.

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

We should get dinner again! Lets try to arrange something before Roxanne pops

Yeah, we should! Are going to the shower?

[saavedra77.livejournal.com]

Well, Roxane's definitely filled out some--that's one big baby she's carrying. Also, the big news is that they just got married!