New Edition
Husband and I went to a cat shelter on Saturday to see kittens. They had three (two boys, one girl) from a litter that a lady had found abandoned outside. Have you ever been inside a cat shelter? I guess I was expecting maybe a house with a bunch of cats running around. Instead it was a converted garage, complete with heat and air conditioning, a sunroom, and a stench of cat urine that could fell an elephant :-P The girl tending to the cats asked us if we wanted a boy or a girl. We told her that it didn't matter. I'm partial to girls, myself, but we had been talking about getting a boy since we already have our Bella. She went into the house and came back with the tiniest little black kitten I've ever seen. She was so beautiful--black nose, black feet, bright greens eyes, and six little white hairs on her chest. I knew her name immediately: Cleopatra. Cleo is so cute and cuddly, and she purrs like a car with a missing muffler. I love her :-) Now, if only my Bella would love her, too :-P
I've read pamphlets and looked at advise online. I kept them separate for a few days, and now we've been doing supervised interaction. Last night, I thought I'd let them both roam free eventhough they wouldn't be supervised. Bad idea :-P Bella laid in her usual spot at the foot of the bed and was fine until Cleo climbed out from under the covers. No blood was shed, but it wasn't pretty. They don't seem to be getting used to eachother, and Bella has been a bit withdrawn. We've tried paying her extra attention, but if Cleo's in sight, Bella hisses and bites at all of us. Everyone I've talked to says, "It'll just take time." But, honestly, I don't think I can take the disquiet in my house much longer. I'm worried that Cleo might end up feeling like she lives in a war zone. I'm worried that Bella, being the big girl she is, will hurt tiny little Cleo or maybe, you know, eat her :-P
Anybody have any suggestions for integrating a new cat into the household? I don't know many people who've had a cat or cats and then gotten another one. Littermates seem to get along just fine, but Bella is almost a year older than Cleo. Bella's cranky, Cleo's jumpy, my blood pressure is skyrocketing, and Husband...Well, Husband doesn't seem to be worried :-P Help!