Saturday, August 7, 2010

Room Enough For Two

While I have been honest about my-less-than-satisfying relationship with Delilah (hereinafter "Delilah Bug"), I was usually just teasing about getting another cat (specifically one who likes me).  My tendency was towards a kitten, presuming that Delilah would tolerate the addition of a kitten without much threat.  But that is not what happened.

Macy Grey f/k/a Gypsy is what happened.

Macy Gray is a cute name, but could we do better?

The bedroom is her sanctuary from Delilah Bug
She was a stray hanging around a friend's house (because she was getting fed).  Macy is actually on Petfinder.com as Gypsy and you can read her short little bio there.  My friend suggested that Macy might be a suitable second cat for us.  I considered that Delilah would never be able to accept a full grown cat in her house, but I agreed to give Macy at least a two-week trial.

Today is Day Eight of Macy in our household.   Because our apartment is small, we have arranged the cats to limit their interaction unless we are in the house with them.   Macy is usually confided to the bedroom and bathroom behind closed doors and Delilah Bug gets the front room, dining room and kitchen, and, of course, outdoors.   The first few days were rough, with each cat giving her share of the hissing and posturing.  Now, however, things are slightly more mellow, especially for Macy.  

While Macy is still timid and skittish, she is much more relaxed when in Delilah Bug's presence.  She usually just sits still and watches Delilah Bug as she walks by.  Delilah Bug, on the other hand, ignores Macy for the most part.  However, when Macy is directly in her sight, Delilah Bug scrunches up her face and hisses and screams about how important she is in the household but she also usually walks off.  

Of course, we are still limiting them getting in close physical proximity to each other.  I am not sure at what time we will feel comfortable when they are in the same room together (and not constantly monitoring them and holding our breath until they both fall asleep). Delilah Bug was very angry with us for several days and she refused to be held or touched or petted by Steve, her favorite person.  She's coming around now and has started napping for a few minutes with him each day.  

By this time next week, we will make our final decision about Macy's future with us, but I am feeling good about it.

I'm going to end this post with one of my favorite pictures of Delilah Bug.

Washing Up Before Dinner

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