Sarabeth and Simon's legacy: Charlotte

Here is Timmy---cooking my books---his eyes are blue, but he has been slow blinking me a lot

And Charlotte is taking a little longer to come around.  I spent an hour on the bed with her, sort of dozing.  I was rewarded by head butts (Hard!) kneading, and real cuddling---she grasped my arm in both her paws, and rested her head in my hand.  She also rolled over and showed me her belly.   Here, she was purring up a storm and slow blinking, right before she fell asleep.

They already sound like they are right at home with you! Clearly they know a good thing when they see it.

How is Gracie with them??

And again, I just want to put in a pitch for adopting an adult cat---their personalities are formed, they are very forgiving, and you can have an adult conversation ,without correcting the kitten all the time.  Not that this means anything to me, but I now have three pedigree pets. (no papers on the cats, but Timmy has a microchip from a cattery (who did not respond when contacted by the rescue) and Charlotte was purchased from a breeder.  This is crazy! It just makes no sense to me ---there are so many cats who, if they are lucky enough to be saved by a good rescue, can spend months or years in foster care (which is usually a bit chaotic) and we all know what happens to cats in what is euphemistically referred to as "shelters" 

oh they are so cozy with you already!! I love the head butts. Marvin is just starting to get comfortable w head butts and it's so nice. I am also a huge advocate for adult adoptions. Millie was an adult adoption, and Marvin is still kittenish but not a full blown kitten. 

They are both gorgeous, too. Looks like a lot of brushing is in your future!

All my babies were adopted as adults, except for Niki, who was taken in as a street kitten at the age of five weeks by Crazy_Quilter. I am a huge fan of adopting adult cats, for all the reasons listed above.

How do I edit a thread title, again?  Should I move this to a blog?

Timmy threw all the toys out of the toy basket, and is using it as a bed.  I ordered beds for them yesterday, should be here tomorrow.

Charlotte, on the other hand, prefers the support of a Sealy Posturpedic---beats wicker, every time!

calli, they're beautiful, and I'm so happy for you, and them, and Gracie!  (Timmy looks like my kind of guy, has a sense of humor?)

Whether it remains a thread or becomes a blog I appreciate the photos and the updates.  So glad that they are making themselves at home.  Have they interacted with Gracie yet?

If you go to the categories listing and find this thread from there, you should see the "edit" button below the title. 

These two have some fun personalities, that seems certain. 

mjc, they can see each other all the time through the gate.  This morning, after breakfast, Gracie wanted me to open the front door.  Timmy was manning the desk. I knew he was out of harm's way, so I supervised their interaction.  They were in close proximity, and basically ignored each other (which is exactly want I wanted at this point.

Thanks for the tech advice, Peggy!

Any time. Looks like Timmy and Gracie are going to be just fine.   

What a great new beginning!  Congrats Calliope!

I look forward to hearing the stories.  These are lucky cats, for sure.  Enjoy them!

Thanks, all!  Last night Charlotte almost gave me heart failure! I was getting them ready to bed down for the night, and assumed she was under the bed, when she didn't come running when I opened the can of food, I got concerned.  I scoured the house, looked in every conceivable place-even Sarabeth's most unlikely spots.

Then I remembered that we had no garbage pick up on Monday.  When I was straightening up their room, I cleared out the accumulated detritus that always got shoved under that bed.  I stashed the big black garbage bag in the middle room until the garbage went out last night.  I called her (she now answers to her name) and in the gap between the door and the floor, this little furry paw poked out.

Big sigh of relief! It immediately brought me back to the night the idiot plumber came early, before I had a chance to lock up Sarabeth. I had only had her a few days (deja vu) and although she was friendly and affectionate, she was crafty.  She had lived on the streets of Ft. Dix,after the first deployment to Iraq, when the service people just opened their doors and let their pets out.  The idiot plumber came in through the garage, left the garage door open, and the door from the family room, as well.  She was gone---JUST. GONE. 

After the idiot left, and after I stomped around  the neighborhood with a flashlight and shaking a can of treats, I propped one of the garage doors open with a Mayonnaise jar,  sat on the step, and just wept. A gully washer! My dad had died two weeks before, my Felicity was put down a week after that, and Sarabeth arrived less than a week later.  I was so bereft! Then, I saw some movement by the open door. It was my outdoor cat, Buster.  He lived next door, but he decided he was my cat. He came to console me, I thought, and then I saw Sarabeth behind him,casually enter the garage. I think the two of them had been smoking cigarettes behind the garage.  I was so happy to see them both, I scooper her up and dumped the treats in the driveway for Buster. Not only was he a very cool cat, he was a complete gentleman, seeing my little girl safely into the arms of her hysterical mom. 

This was Buster, my gardening companion.

You have the best cat stories!  Buster looks like a loving rascally cat!

Charlotte and Timmy are familiar strangers. They were at the same foster home, but from what I understand, they may never have had any close interaction.  Unlike my completely docile S&S, these two cats have an edge, sweet personalities, but frightened and a little reactive ---Timmy was known for giving hard bites (but not breaking the skin) and Charlotte is a scratcher.  Since I have had them home, I haven't,thankfully, experienced this, but having been warned, I am scrutinizing their body language, and getting out of "the zone of danger" before it escalates. 

The first night they were home, Timmy emptied the toy basket, and slept in that, Last night I think he may have slept on the kitty perch by the window.  I am pretty sure Charlotte spent the night in the wing chair in that room.  I have ordered beds for them, probably to arrive tomorrow.  But up until now, Timmy hasn't ventured on to the bed, except the first day they were here, when he snuggled up against me, and Charlotte did not venture from beneath the bed.

This afternoon, I decided to spend a little time in their room (there is a gate with the small gate open, but both of them are sticking pretty close to their room) Both of them joined me on the bed. And when I left, they stayed put.

Progress

Very happy for you all.

They are making good progress fairly quickly. That's great!

That is all so wonderful!

they understand furniture. very important!  

ya' know - there are some people who would be happy to not have kitties on the bed. (I'm not one of them.  )

but: it's just not a made bed until the four-legged ones approve!   

I have achieved the art of making up the bed, with the kitties still on it, to perfection!

Cute pics. Calli.

Congrats on the new family members!

calli, the 6 yo cat we adopted a couple of years ago (from maybe a stressful home w/dog, other cat(s) and kids) was a break-the-skin biter when he first arrived, and very reactive (run to the basement when the fridge motor turns on).  Now he's pretty cool, and while he still makes the motions of biting sometimes, he really just "tags" your leg with his feet/mouth (no front claws, as it turns out).

Enjoy!

That is good to know, mjc.  I am very patient, and I will give them as much time as they need to settle in. If I have anything to say about it, they won't be moving again. It is just a matter of puzzling them out---no doubt, they are very different from other cats I have had. 

We have an appointment at the vet on February 1st.  I am not looking forward to putting them in carriers.

hey Calli - I would have those carriers out and open now, with treats off and on in them.