The Rocky and Ria show

[MarySkater]

In my earlier thread "New friend for bereaved cat?" I discussed getting a second cat as company for Rocky, whose long-time friend had died. Then my most recent thread, "They keep you guessing" started as the story of Rocky escaping from a first-floor window, but morphed into the story of my new kitten, Ria, arriving. Not to sidetrack threads too much, I thought it would be better to start another.

Rocky is about 7, and was very good friends with the late Bridie, but I don't know how much contact he'd had with other cats. Ria is a 3-month-old Norwegian Forest Cat, raised in a household with several other cats of various ages. She's a picky eater and rather thin, but full of energy. It's currently just 3 days since I brought her home, and I'm experimenting to find foods she will eat, to try to get some flesh on her bones as well as giving her enough nutrition to grow.

Rocky hissed at Ria when he first saw her. He has stopped doing that, but does try to avoid her. If anything, he seems rather scared of her. I don't mind that; if he'd been aggressive, it would have been harder to manage. Ria goes up to him fearlessly. I'm working hard at dividing my attention between them. Obviously a kitten needs attention, but I'm also spending time with Rocky so that he doesn't feel he's being edged out. It will take time for him to become friends with her, but I hope that he will do so. To begin with, he'd escape out into the garden (which is enclosed). But Ria has learned how to use the cat flap (I didn't teach her) so that doesn't help any more.

Ria going out.jpg (192.96 KiB) Viewed 1864 times

Rocky on composter.jpg (214.36 KiB) Viewed 1864 times

Short video here of Ria discovering the cat tower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr3pHAp ... e=youtu.be

Mary

[Crewella]

You really did get yourself a beauty there! Hopefully Rocky will soon fall for her charms too.

[Lilith]

Aww, lovely pics and video - and though Rocky's reserved, it's obvious that he's already very interested in her; I don't think it'll be long before they're playing together, especially when she stops smelling 'new'.

Just a word of warning though - the dangly mice on the cat tower are lovely, but after Mousey had a bad experience with a blind cord I've always been wary of hanging strings/cord of any sort as they can get caught round a kitten's neck. The mice are perfect to keep a cat/kitten amused but personally I'd supervise her. Sorry, I AM a worrybucket about such things I know,

[MarySkater]

I've always been wary of hanging strings/cord of any sort as they can get caught round a kitten's neck.

Yes, I'll have to do something about that. Today was the first time she's made it on to the tower, but in future I'll tie or tape up the strings before I leave her unsupervised.

When I first got Rocky, I had vertical blinds on my front window, and he was actually pushing through the blinds to sit on the window sill. I took the blinds down and replaced them with net curtains, with a cat-size gap at the bottom.

[Mayday21]

Hi Mary she's a cutie & inquisitive. I'm sure Ria & Rocky will be bonding soon. I'm still trying to get pics of my 3 posted but can't get them to my email to edit for uploading. Technology & Iso updates grrr. Vivian