TBT: Well things are not going perfectly among The Mews. But it has been only 3.5 days. I expect things will calm down. Soon, I hope. I left the door to the Mews Room open yesterday morning. I'll discuss each of The Mews in turn...
1. Lori is being the most difficult! She is completely upset that there are intruders in her house. She hisses and growls. She even grumbles while eating. Which sounds rather funny, but she is very disturbed right now. She has even hissed at Marley and whapped him a couple times. Lori is being very watchful.
2. Marley is being very good. It is sort of like "Oh, 2 more"... But it it having some kind of affect on him. He refused to eat his kidney care food for 2 days. He started again last night though. But he can walk past Loki without any signs of distress. And they have sniffed each other a couple of times. He isn't paying any attention to Binq yet.
3. Loki is adjusting well. He seems to be a very calm cat. He was walking around the house by yesterday afternoon. He is very exploratory. Seems to accept attention calmly too. He purrs slightly when I stroke his fur. He ignores Lori when she hisses at him. I kind of expect that from a cat that was calm in a shelter community room.
I am a bit worried about his breathing and appetite though. He seems to have sneezing or throat-clearing issues. I hope it it nothing serious. He doesn't want to eat. I've tried canned fish, chicken and beef. I've tried kibbles. I tried treats. I even tried a pill-pocket.
4. Binq is confusing. She doesn't seem to want to leave The Mews Room even with the door open for an hour. Yet she runs to me when I enter the room and seeks attention enthusiastically. But almost too enthusiastically! She is very "clawy". She wants to grab my hands with her claws and she wants to climb up my pants legs too. Good thing I was wearing heavy jeans (though I felt her claws anyway).
And I'm not sure why she wants to climb up me; she fights being held the couple times I tried (so of course I am not trying to force that). Meanwhile though, I have many claw-pricks on legs and hands. Nothing serious, but I look like I have flea bites...
She wants to play, but she is very rough about it. I wouldn't have expected that from a female cat. I had a few toys in the room and she played with those some. Yesterday, I tossed her a rattley mouse and a spring and she played with those briefly.
Her real obsession is the Turbotrak. I mentioned that she seemed good at it. But she is really REALLY good at it. The Bridge is a problem for most cats. She whaps it right over. When she hits the ball around the track in a certain way, she waits for it to show up under the Bridge. She knows it is coming. I hear her playing with it frequently.
I often participate in the game, flicking the ball back to her. She sees me flick it and she knows just where to expect it to arrive. And yesterday, I saw the ball roll out of the room. But she wouldn't chase it beyond the doorframe. I don't know why.
But, since she loves it so much, I think I will improve it. Lori used to play with the turbotrack often herself, so I bought a second one and made it a single bigger one (that took a while to figure out). Lori didn't like that, so I made it the smaller original version and she played with that sometimes. But I think I will combine them again. Binq might enjoy the challenge.
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So that is the current state of The Mews. I have a few things to do next. I hesitated for a few days in case there was something so obviously wrong with the newbies that one or both might have to be returned (and it would have had to be pretty serious). But neither of them seem to have problems beyond initial "new home" adjustment. Marley is not a problem. Lori should settle down in a week or two.
Call my Vet for a complete exam for Loki and Binq. Get accounts opened there for them and hand over copies of what medical records the shelter provided. Get them shots for any they are missing. Get all The Mews claws trimmed (I wonder if there is a groomer who visits at home). Or I'll just bring them to the Vet in pairs.
They sent me an email about "Holiday Specials" that included grooming and claw-clips. Loki has some dried stuff on his back and tail (that he resists me getting at) so he needs a bath and Binq has a smell. Well, as shelter cats, there is only so much care they can be given, so I'll get them washed, groomed, and cleaned. Maybe Lori will stop hissing if the newbies are all cleaned up. LOL!
I have some pics on the camera but haven't organized them yet. Next time, I hope... It will take a while to get back into regular routines.