Ysabel’s been through a very hard bit, not least of which, as I began to suspect, was being allergic to the eye meds. We went out looking for Ocuvisc, couldn’t find it, and came away with a fairly decent substitute, GenTeal Gel Eye Drops. They’re soothing, a bit viscous, so they stay around a bit, and this morning I woke up with Ysabel (her most annoying habit) washing my hair—which was so good to see. She’s been so sick and so miserable. Shu hasn’t a mean bone in his body, but his instinct to romp and mock-fight was all too serious with Ysabel, and I think she got scratched in the eye, and was just so frazzled and upset she had a relapse from a respiratory infection, so it’s been touch and go with her. We had to bow out on our long-anticipated Crater Lake trip to continue her meds, which started on, I think [I’ve been a bit confused on time] Monday; and finally I’m seeing something like a restored Ysabel. Meanwhile Seishi, who arrived shy and hiding under furniture on Wednesday, is beginning to take gentle possession of doorways, and to engage Shu in all-out wrestling matches—when Shu can’t find him, Shu goes about crying and warbling and trying to get him to come out. Sei came in somewhat thin and is now eating like a horse: he scarfed down two pans of dry food yesterday, is running and playing with Shu—sometimes you wonder if they’re playing, but he’s standing up to the Demon Kitten quite well. That thick plush coat protects him against Shu’s bitey habit, and we only intervene when it starts getting too rowdy or too intense. It’s good for Sei, who’s grown up in a cattery, passive and willing to let life just kinda happen: Sei’s getting more assertive, Shu’s meeting somebody of his own species who will tell him ‘no’—no one ever has. If you discipline him, he yowls and has a little kitty snit-fit and tries to bite—and Sei is capable to telling him ‘no’ in a kitteh way that is good for Demon Kitten.
We think Shu will outgrow Sei—and is still gaining weight: his voice is still a little kitten mew, not Sei’s authoritative mao!–but in about another month or so the vet is going to level the future playing field.
With people, Sei is very shy, but getting more confident, and this cat not only loves tummy fur, he turns himself into a furry snake on your lap, rolling and head butting and wanting his tummy rubbed and his chin rubbed and his back scratched…he’s such a hedonist.
Let’s see: day before yesterday the latch on our storm door broke: it’s one of those steel security jobs with a lattice, and quite durable—except the latch. So yesterday, in the hot sun, Jane replaced the latch: didn’t remotely know you could get a new lock and latch for a storm door, but yes, you can. The one we got turned out to be a ‘return’ that had already been modified for somebody’s door, the rat, but fortunately the little stem of a lock axle that breaks in sections and lets you adjust for thickness had enough of it left for our very skinny door, so it worked. We liked this latch handle best of all the new ones: this is an old model, and came without instructions, so we went back to Lowe’s and got them to Xerox instructions from the new model box; plus re-key the lock to work with one of our other keys, so now we cannot get locked out.
Did I mention how we went out to the pond Wednesday night, the night we got back with Seishi, and got locked out by our new door? It’s got a tricksy handle. Well, we had the garage accessible, so we got a box knife and a ladder, and cut the screen out: Jane proved she can still climb in a window…and a bathroom window at that, which is not large, or low. But she got in, and opened the door, and the next day our front door latch broke—so we have now done a major number on our doors and locks and have a windowscreen in for replacement—our local Ace can do that.
So things are going to be a bit more tranquil now. Sei is rubbing round my ankle and Shu is try to start another wrestling match. The day goes on.
It is fun watching a new cat find his or her place in the heirarchy. I’m not sure where Sadie thinks she belongs, but if Birdie is on the couch with me and she sees Sadie, she jumps down and whacks her a few times, then walks away with her tail in the air. Sydney and Sadie like to ambush each other, although I think Sadie does it more than Syd. One thing I haven’t figured out. Sadie will lie on the floor on her back with her rear legs spread and her front legs curled up against her chest. I’m not sure if that’s a signal to play or that she wants a belly rub. If I go to rub her belly, she gets up and tries to lick my hand. I have NO idea…..had cats now for 10 years and still don’t understand them……
Lol—Feliway might help, even at this stage. It’s slightly spendy, but they make a wall unit that dispenses it via heat, like air freshener. In this case it’s a synthetic chemical compound that mimics the natural (undetectible by us) fragrance that a contented cat ‘marks’ with his chin on a beloved object: it gives off the kitty equivalent of apple pie and bread baking instead of excesses of estrogen and French perfumes or testosterone and cigar smoke. We have kept it going during the intro of new family members and do notice a rise in tensions as it runs out. We will keep it going for a few months, until everyone has settled.
shi she sha sho shu
ssi sse ssa sso ssu
How great that Seishi gets to discover he has elbow room and a place to be himself among equals, instead of low man on the ladder, or worse, invisible, uncared for, forgotten. To play, to be respected, to learn about those strange door things….
Funny, apparently the whole household is learning about doors.
Well, it’s good to know that if either of you have to, you can join the Thieves’ Guild with your cat burglar door and window skills! 😀
Could be worse. It wasn’t that old trick, the air duct, in which our intrepid heroes (or the scary monsters) get from Deck Eleventy-Dozen to Deck Umpteen-Thrice. You’d really think some captain would have the crew guarding those ventilation shafts. You’d also wonder how the heroes and the monsters happen to be carrying around tools to get past the blocks in the ducts.
Huh, I get GenTeal for my grandmother’s eye irritations, but I don’t automatically think of using human meds for cats or vice-versa. Good that Ysabel is feeling better.
Smokey, now about 1 2/3, has been chowing down even more than usual lately. This past week, Smokey’s been filling up that little tummy to the point he might be likely to gain weight as he gets older. Goober remains perpetually thin at 4 3/4; he has a built-in appetite control and lets Smokey take his food besides. I’ll have to find a way to balance this. A friend suggested something easy: put out a third bowl that’s neither Smokey’s nor Goober’s, and see if this curtails Smokey, instead of him assuming *all three* are his for the taking, and giving Goober a chance to make the third bowl *his* when he wants. Seems spectacularly sensible and simple, and I feel silly for not having thought to do that already. We’ll see. There’s always dry food out, but they both want moist, and I try to limit that to once a day.
The only combination they forbid is Su-shi. 😉
I don’t know. You’ve got perfect Su-shi in the back yard with a bridge to balance on yet. This is for the cat who has everything, a private fishing pond.
Lol—well, we do not let Shu-shu and Shi-shi into said back yard: our poor koi have enough problems!
My basic rule of thumb about whether it is play fighting or not: if it is relatively quiet, and you can see what’s going on, it’s play.
I used to be really worried about how my two played together until this: Rana had Pyret pinned down on her back, biting at Pyret’s belly while Pyret mewed piteously and swatted at Rana’s head. Just when I was getting concerned and was about to go break things up, Pyret (who was making the piteous meows!) spots a shiny tinsel ball that she can JUST barely reach with her front paws, and suddenly switched all attention from Rana (who still has her pinned and is biting at the belly!) to bat at the shiny ball. I figured at that point that none of this was as dramatic, life-and-death as it appeared!
When I was growing up we added a young brother and sister kitties to an older female cat. Though the (neutered) male was a clear dominant there was no dominating the (5-or-so-year older) female. And so the dynamics remained for several years. But other than that experience, cat-dynamics are a mystery to me.
Your situation is a bit different (much older female), but I think the addition of Seishi was very well thought. Allow Ysabel to attain her dowager-hood in peace, give her a roost to rule with a glance. Best outcome: Queen Ysabel.
But whatever comes – have fun with the chaos! 🙂
Maybe, since Sei has been a passive sort of cat, other residents in the cattery claimed some of his food. Now that he is in a situation with only two other cats — and I imagine Ysabel, with her allergies, isn’t encouraged to chow down on just anything, and Shu is at an age where he has lots of things to do besides eating — Sei will have his food to himself and he will fill out a little and feel a lot more comfortable. It sounds as if he is settling in, and Shu has a case of hero worship, and She is getting a desperately needed break, which even semi-immortals like the original She require now and then.
Sei now has his own food bowl, which I had to fill twice yesterday. Hopefully the endless chase games won’t run it off him and Shu.
LOL even if they play race-n-chase all day long, they wont let themselves starve!
Be careful about Shi-shi as a nick — in Hawaii (and possibly elsewhere, I dunno), that refers to Litterbox #1. You may get some undeserved giggles.
We are duly warned… 😉 Shi-shi is too hard to say, anyhow—try calling that several times: it tends to be Sei, or Sei-sei.
I find myself using Seishi quite naturally. It fits him and he likes it. I hate to admit…Shu is more and more the Shuster!