Ailsa's Blog - At risk of being labelled the ‘Mad Cat Lady’, enter Conti
Conti is our new Oriental Havana kitten. Our previous Havana, Daumas, was very sadly killed a few months ago leaving our other cat Islay, alone. As Brian and I are out at work much of the time, and Islay has lived with Daumas since we had them both as kittens, we decided that we would get another kitten as Islay is 9 and likely to live hopefully for quite a few more years.
Islay has always been a jealous bird and whenever Daumas was getting attention, she would frequently rush over afterwards and smack him on the head with her right paw or bite him. But five minutes later they would be cuddled up together licking each other. So, we were well aware that Islay would not take kindly to a new kid on the block.
Conti is now 4 months old and has turned from a very tiny 11 week old little chap who was very skinny and bony (see above) and simply terrified of us, into a lovely little boy who is playful, affectionate and rushes everywhere like a magic mouse. When he first clapped eyes on Islay, his immediate reaction was to shout his head off and rush towards her thinking ‘hey I’ve found a new mummy cat’. She was horrified and turned instantly into Hissing Sid, growling and snarling and rushed straight out of the cat flap.
She is still hissing and growling to some extent, especially when he runs straight at her, so we are having to keep them separated during the day while we are at work. Also he is too little to go out as yet and so even when we manage to get to a state where Islay will tolerate him, we have the complication of enabling her to go through the cat flap but not him! She is also pretty angry with me as he has interrupted our usual routine so I am now on the receiving end of intermittent growling and hissing too!
As I write this we are making slow progress and I have even managed to get them eating out of the same bowl, until Islay remembers that she’s supposed to be growling. Brian and I are also having to share the rushing home at lunchtime to feed Conti who is eating for Britain and growing daily! Unfortunately so is Islay, but growing in the ‘getting fatter’ sense as she is comfort eating for Britain in view of the stress of now having Conti in her life. We love the oriental breed because they are cats who behave more like dogs, are very social in that they love sharing life with you and being involved in all you do, but the downside is all the human emotions are on display at the moment!
Hopefully Islay will come to accept him and turn back from being Miss Grumpy Knickers/Hissing Sid to the lovely natured cat she was when Daumas was alive.
Does anyone know of a good ‘cat whisperer’??