It’s been a busy week and I haven’t been such a good big sisfur to Precious, the newest addition to our furramily. It’s not that I don’t like other cats, I really do but it takes me a really long time to adjust to a new one being in my home. I can’t see that Precious as mummy and daddy say is a teeny tiny kitty, all I get is a cat with a new smell, new sounds and new behaviours. She doesn’t smell like family, she has her own unique smell, the sound of her pawsteps is different and she makes a funny meow which I don’t understand even though she’s from the same country I came from. In my mind and for all I know she’s a ferocious intruder cat coming into my house and trying to steal my family and it freaks me out, big time.
Millie isn’t too phased by her but at the moment that’s no comfort to me and whenever I hear her coming I hiss and growl and kind of freak out, even to my other little sisfurs who take the brunt of my unhappiness. I feel safe, secure and happy in my home and the introduction of a new kitty upsets this balance and makes me feel very uneasy and unsafe in my own home and very threatened and I make this known to everyone around by screaming as loud as I can to deter the intruder cat Precious from coming near me.
Mummy and I have talked about this on our twice daily walkies as she’s been home all week to help us and Precious settle in. Mummy and daddy are very patient and know that this is just my way of coping and that we can work through it together. I did the same when Millie and Angelin joined our furramily and my behaviour upset all of us but as daddy said my instincts from when I spent those early months on the streets, trying to survive as a blind kitten are just ingrained in me, it’s my defence mechanism that enabled me to survive and it kicks in when I’m feeling threatened, even when I know deep down that mummy and daddy wouldn’t let anything into our home that would hurt us. Whenever I get scared mummy is there to calm me down and Millie is right by my side making sure I’m ok and if I get anxious then I have a good run on my wheel which helps burn off all that nervous energy.
Precious arrived a week ago today, mummy and daddy went off late last week to pick her up and bring her home after an epic 44 hour journey by plane, van and ferry, unlike me, Millie and Angelin who travelled with all cats in our van, Precious was one of only two cats in amongst 17 dogs. That must have been one long, scary journey for her. When she finally arrived home Mummy and daddy whisked her away to her own room, which was set up with beds, toys, litter tray, food, water and a scratching post. It’s was the same set up that they did for each of us when we arrived and they settled her in and then left her to just chill out and relax a bit after her long travels. Just popping in occasionally to check on her and then say goodnight and have kisses and cuddles.
As Millie and Angelin gathered around the closed door daddy explained that for the time being Precious was in there and that it was her room until she had recovered from her journey and it was time for her to meet us. She needs a safe space to be in until she really feels part of the family, he explained, just like you girls did when you first arrived. Once she’s settled in then we’ll introduce you. After a day or so, when mummy went into Precious room the door stayed open just a little bit, we could get a good sniff of her and start to say hello and figure out who she was and what she was doing. Sometimes mummy and daddy let Precious out for a little wander around for a short time before she went back into her room again. Little by little the time she was allowed out would get a bit longer and then one day the door just stayed open all day, it closed again at night when Precious was put to bed but after that night the door just stayed open all the time.
It was then that I started to get nervous, I hadn’t been too bothered about it before then as if I got nervous about Precious being around, I just went off to the other end of the house and carried on as normal but with Precious wandering around and getting more confident the more she explored, this triggered my defensive behaviour pattern that mummy and daddy had been waiting for. At least this time it’s only one kitty to get used to rather than two, I wish my big brofur Peppar was here to help me, Millie’s doing a good job but Peppar was my best buddy (aside from mummy) and always knew how to keep me calm.
Then, as I came in from our new catio by accident I bumped into Previous, I shouted, she shouted, I ran, she ran and mummy shouted. We had fur flying in the hallway then I ran off towards the bedroom but I could hear the sound of Precious paws coming after me and then that was it she jumped on me! Well, that was just too much, I screamed and growled and hid under the scratching post whilst daddy went off the other way with Precious and mummy stayed with me. Every little sound I growled at, flinched at every touch until I realised it was mummy touching me. How dare the newbie be so impolite, jumping on me like that, this is my house and I’m the Queen. Then mummy said come on Jen let’s go for walkies and we did, it was bliss, it’s my happy place.
Then later on, when mummy and daddy were elsewhere in the house again, I was sitting quietly in the windowsill when she jumped up into my spot whilst I was still there. I shouted at her to get off and ran for a safe spot but I could hear her walk past me and that freaked me out even more as I thought she was gonna jump on me again, I ran for cover but couldn’t find my usual safe spot so went and hid behind daddy’s hifi which I know is wrong but it’s the only place I could find that Precious couldn’t find me. Mummy came and put Precious back in her room and talked to me to let me know I was ok and safe and loved until I calmed down enough to come out. “I think we all need a bit of time apart to calm down and relax a bit, I know its been a lot for you girls to cope with, maybe we need to go back a step and take things a bit slower.”
Needless to say things aren’t all settled yet but give it time for us to all find our new rhythm and place (with me at the top of course) in our new purrfectly imperfect furramily
Jenny’s Story 