Cats Will Be Cats, Part 2
A few weeks after we adopted two cats from a shelter, we were suddenly gifted a kitten due to a misunderstanding. While you should never gift a pet without consulting the person first, we did welcome the little one into our home.
However, the little one was too little — we later found out he was sold too early by the breeder, who denied everything — and after a week at the kitten ICU, we finally could take him home. The vet advised us to keep the kitten away from the other cats for now.
So, we put the kitten in a different room from the other cats. They were both around five or six years old, and one had been abused by previous owners and was super scared of humans. Those two cats met up at the shelter and got along great, so they were adopted as a pair.
The older cats didn’t like the kitten and hissed at it from behind the closed door, but the vet said that could change, so “keep hoping”. Careful introductions didn’t seem to work, either. We were starting to make plans to find a good new home for the kitten.
One day, I returned from getting groceries… and I couldn’t find the cats. This was odd, as the scared cat had his favorite spot near the door and the other always greeted me. But this was a big house, so after putting away groceries, I started looking.
When I came to the room with the kitten, the door was open. And I swear, we always checked it thrice! Where was the kitten? Now worried, I called for the cats and looked in every nook and cranny, and then I spotted a tuft of red hair on a high chair.
Thinking I had found at least one cat, I hurried over… and found three cats in that high chair, the kitten in the middle. They looked up as if I had interrupted their peaceful sleep. Everyone was safe and sound! That day, we found out:
- One of the older cats can open doors.
- The scared cat really likes to mother — or rather, father — kittens.
- The kitten was very smart, as it soon learned to open doors, as well (and can now talk using those “talk buttons”).
- It was impossible for the kitten to have gotten up the stairs and into that chair without assistance, so one of the other cats must have helped.
- These three really became a handful when together.
Unfortunately, the less scared cat passed away due to sudden kidney failure after a few months. The kitten grew into a really rambunctious cat who now, at age six, finally likes to snuggle. The scared cat is still scared of other humans, except us. He also likes scratches and likes to get in the way, so you must scratch him, or you’ll trip. We still can’t pick him up, but he picks us up if we sleep in too long and he wants food.
It’s maybe not how we intended things to go, but luckily, it worked out for us!
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Cats Will Be Cats