Extending our family

I recently ended up in a situation where I had to decide whether I would take my brother's two cats as part of our family. Another option was to risk never seeing the cats again. It would have also been a sadder situation for my brother if the cats had to go to a stranger. Well, you already know the answer. Truth be told, there wasn't even a decision to be made, it was obvious that we would try to see if the cats get along. So we started planning for the arrival of Elli and Nappi.

Cat personality analysis of sorts

We knew each of the cats has a different personality. This needed to be taken into account before introducing them. We also needed to ensure that there are enough safe spaces for all the cats. Well, that was no issue because we have many places for the cats to go to in each room.

We also bought two Feliway sets. I don't know if those do any good but some people say they help. Better to have all the tools. 

The cats are quite similar pairs. One more social one, and one that needs their own space. Osiris and Elli are very social. Lumia and Nappi like their personal space. We thought it is likely that Lumia and Nappi will take their own places. Osiris together with Elli might be the first ones to start getting to know one another.

The arrival

My brother brought the cats on a Monday evening. He stayed the night so that we could handle any possible conflicts without risks to any cat's health. But luckily we didn't have any fights!

Lumia was very interested in the belongings of the two new friends before the cats came inside. She always wants to smell things. But Elli and Nappi terrified her. All the cats were afraid of each other. And since everyone was on edge, there was a lot of hissing going around. Lumia tried to escape most of the time. Luckily she slept next to us like she always does, though she did come to me for extra safety. She usually sleeps on my leg with her back turned to me. She is most likely watching Osiris, who sleeps usually between my legs. But this time she came to rest on my chest face towards me and she actually slept there. My heart melted because she never does that. The moment she put her head down on my chest I knew that she needed support.

Nappi was diagnosed with asthma and received medication the day she came here. So for her, the change has been quite rough. New place, new cats, new medicine (that she needs to take twice a day). But she has been a trooper. She took less than an hour to find a place in the apartment to sleep. She has been investigating all the rooms, but she hasn't seemed all that troubled about her new home. As long as she gets food, some pets, social distance from her furry friends, and a place to sleep seem to be enough for her. She dislikes the medicine and will try to run away when she thinks it's time for it. Luckily she has been taught that she doesn't get to have her way, so she is easy to handle. Some protest meows but that's usually it.

Elli was also quite content with the apartment. But she was hissing and growling the most of all the cats in the beginning. She didn't like Nappi either, so hisses all around. Every day she has been getting calmer and calmer. After four days she has been trying to get closer to the cat friends. I suppose she misses having a friend to sleep on top of. She has also completely accepted us, humans, though she is a bit of a jealous type. But she has to learn to share the attention.

Osiris was panicky, he even hissed at Lumia during the first day. I was happy he stopped doing that because that caused Lumia very much anxiety. Osiris has been curious about the new friends, but things often get too intense and he runs away.

For the first night, we closed the door and had the cats on separate sides so all cats could get some sleep. Unfortunately, both Elli and Osiris hate closed doors. We spent the night listening to them trying to open the door. We had prepared for it by adding some weight next to the door so they couldn't get it open. But at least the cats did get some sleep.

The first week contained a lot of hissing, but less and less every day. We didn't feel the need to separate the cats for the nights. Lumia and Osiris slept in our bed, Elli and Nappi have been choosing different beds. I assume they are testing them all to see which they like best.

All the cats have been eating well. Though Lumia has a few times received her portions in another room to ensure she actually eats. But various combinations of the cats have been eating in the same room during each of the meals. Sometimes things get scary for some of them. But then we try to calm things down and give food to them in different rooms if necessary.

Candy time seems to be a quite nice way to have them closer to each other. And by candy, I mean dry-frozen chicken, which is something they all love. Elli and Osiris have almost bumped into each other because they are both so greedy. Nappi and Lumia are calmer, and one or the other might not be always present with the others. I'd say things have been going well so far, especially since there has only been noise and no violence.

Two weeks later

The cats still aren't all friends. They can eat their food most of the time close to each other, and candy time is probably the easiest. Elli and Osiris are kind of friends, Elli has been trying to play with Osiris. But Osiris is still often afraid.

They tolerate each other better already and seem to be getting warmer towards each other.

Nappi has also started to slightly show interest in the cat activities. But most of the time she is by herself. She comes to get me when she wants food or pets.

Elli is seemingly herself. She plays with toys by herself. She also takes part in any playing happening around the apartment. She has been trying to get both Nappi and Osiris to play with her. And sometimes she just zooms around the apartment. She's a little cutie.

I hope they will soon be good friends. Or at least stop all the hissing.  It would be fun to see them running around the apartment together.