(no subject)
On the one hand, having Pearly in the house is an obvious model as to how Nitty is a weird cat. He is self-entertaining, personable, agile, a pouncer, chirps in response to human voices, and can tell the difference between play-biting and real biting. Nitty has none of these key cat-attributes; she spent the late spring figuring out how to wake me in the night (answer: scratch on the box spring). She also purrs very rarely, at a very low volume and pitch.
But on the other hand, getting a second cat has done a lot for her, by which I mean she interacts with Pearly in 2-5 minute intervals, a few times a day, and when I separate them she's ready to curl up next to me and be affectionate. She purrs! She is kneading my lap right now! I won't say she hasn't bitten me in the last month, but the random-attack rate has plummeted.
She's a little afraid of him; she rarely ventures into his space, even when I encourage it. He slips through the door the instant I open it, ready to investigate. She gallops up to him and then pauses, a little stumped sometimes. On a good day she'll lick him aggressively once or twice and then peel off for a while; on a bad day she'll leap for his neck right off. He, of course, is a typical adolescent kitten, and so sometimes just up and attacks her (but can sometimes be distracted by jingly toys). He's a much smaller cat, so tends to be overmatched physically, so will retreat under the couch where he fits and she kinda doesn't and that equalizes things a bit. But he doesn't seem to be scared of her any more; when I separate them he wants to jump back into the fray, not hide. Eventually she gives off tells of being stressed out (tail, hissing), and we're done for that encounter. For a while I would pick her up to chill her -- someone clearly taught her at a young age to hold still belly-up in a human's arms -- but she'd chill for a short while and be more aggressive thereafter. Anyway, Pearly is more often the persistent aggressor as of now, so I'm pulling him off her and not really vice versa. I have yet to see him get stressed out during these encounters; I'm not even sure what it would look like. He still almost always purrs on human contact.
(And soooo cute. Weekend afternoons, he naps on my lap! If not for weekends, I would have no direct evidence he sleeps at all, as he is playing with jingly toys when I go to bed, and when I wake up, and possibly the whole time in between. If he is not pouncing on my feet.)
(Although he was nearly-uniform warm gray when I got him, tone-on-tone stripes on his tail indicated some tabby in there somewhere. Dots and short stripes have emerged on his flanks now too, still lighter-on-darker gray. He's silver about the face, and very round-headed.)
(Really the question is, if I adopted him a 4 lb. 9 oz, 17 weeks old, and at successive vet appointments he's been 5 lb. 4 oz. (19 weeks) and 6 lb. 3 oz. (21 weeks), how big will he eventually grow?? I adopted him in part because of his intrepidity and aggression, so that he would be a match for Nitty and not cowed by her. What happens if he ends up a really big cat, and he overmatches her?)
So overall the decision to get a second cat has been good for her, and for me. I have to get Nitty's weight under control, and the power-lift the roofers use has been freaking her out a little. But I find her calmer and friendlier and more predictable than she was at midsummer, so progress. She is now lying belly-up half in my lap, falling asleep to the sound of her own farts. Cat heaven.
Note: Do not send me jingly toys. I have had my fill of jingly toys. You may send me silent toys if you wish.
I have moved mostly over to Dreamwidth. Please comment there if you can.
But on the other hand, getting a second cat has done a lot for her, by which I mean she interacts with Pearly in 2-5 minute intervals, a few times a day, and when I separate them she's ready to curl up next to me and be affectionate. She purrs! She is kneading my lap right now! I won't say she hasn't bitten me in the last month, but the random-attack rate has plummeted.
She's a little afraid of him; she rarely ventures into his space, even when I encourage it. He slips through the door the instant I open it, ready to investigate. She gallops up to him and then pauses, a little stumped sometimes. On a good day she'll lick him aggressively once or twice and then peel off for a while; on a bad day she'll leap for his neck right off. He, of course, is a typical adolescent kitten, and so sometimes just up and attacks her (but can sometimes be distracted by jingly toys). He's a much smaller cat, so tends to be overmatched physically, so will retreat under the couch where he fits and she kinda doesn't and that equalizes things a bit. But he doesn't seem to be scared of her any more; when I separate them he wants to jump back into the fray, not hide. Eventually she gives off tells of being stressed out (tail, hissing), and we're done for that encounter. For a while I would pick her up to chill her -- someone clearly taught her at a young age to hold still belly-up in a human's arms -- but she'd chill for a short while and be more aggressive thereafter. Anyway, Pearly is more often the persistent aggressor as of now, so I'm pulling him off her and not really vice versa. I have yet to see him get stressed out during these encounters; I'm not even sure what it would look like. He still almost always purrs on human contact.
(And soooo cute. Weekend afternoons, he naps on my lap! If not for weekends, I would have no direct evidence he sleeps at all, as he is playing with jingly toys when I go to bed, and when I wake up, and possibly the whole time in between. If he is not pouncing on my feet.)
(Although he was nearly-uniform warm gray when I got him, tone-on-tone stripes on his tail indicated some tabby in there somewhere. Dots and short stripes have emerged on his flanks now too, still lighter-on-darker gray. He's silver about the face, and very round-headed.)
(Really the question is, if I adopted him a 4 lb. 9 oz, 17 weeks old, and at successive vet appointments he's been 5 lb. 4 oz. (19 weeks) and 6 lb. 3 oz. (21 weeks), how big will he eventually grow?? I adopted him in part because of his intrepidity and aggression, so that he would be a match for Nitty and not cowed by her. What happens if he ends up a really big cat, and he overmatches her?)
So overall the decision to get a second cat has been good for her, and for me. I have to get Nitty's weight under control, and the power-lift the roofers use has been freaking her out a little. But I find her calmer and friendlier and more predictable than she was at midsummer, so progress. She is now lying belly-up half in my lap, falling asleep to the sound of her own farts. Cat heaven.
Note: Do not send me jingly toys. I have had my fill of jingly toys. You may send me silent toys if you wish.
I have moved mostly over to Dreamwidth. Please comment there if you can.