Thanks again for the outpouring support today. I feel blessed to have found such a supportive, helpful and loving community!
Things are progressing slowly, but well, and when I stop being impatient, I realize how good we have it. It's just that I've thought for the last 10 years that I had two of the sweetest animal companions one could ever share their life with and when we came across another sweet, loving soul I thought things would be seamless. Not so, I understand. I also understand it doesn't take away from them being sweet. Everyone's looking out for their own safety first, which is good. Tonight, things are more of the same. Apparently Horatio did not come upstairs at all when I was gone, which is OK, my hubby is used to me being the cat-mother-queen of the house:-) Horatio did come out several times this evening. Both Bianca and Katie were in the living room, so Horatio lounged around under the dining room table, looking like he was born to be an "indoor cat." My husband said he is actually amazed that Horatio made it on his own for two years. The more he is indoors, the more it is hard to imagine he ever survived out there. He loves pets, he speaks in a soft, baby kitty voice and he just wants to be friends with everybody:-) Which, of course, at the moment concerns mainly Katie. Boy, does he want to be her best buddy ever!!!
Unfortunately we had more of the same with Katie this evening. A mad wagging of the tail, hissing and growling. She doesn't go after him, the ears don't go flat or anything, it's just that she's terrified of him and trying to defend herself. Bianca watched the whole thing from a chair tonight and didn't even flinch. She is not afraid!
But yes, I have been reading the story of Marlow and Sasha, which has been helpful and I have appreciated all of the stories today, too. I'm looking forward to having another day off with all three tomorrow. Maybe Horatio will come up during the day for a change. Another pattern I've noticed is that when he wants to be pet, he cries from the basement stairs and goes all the way back down to his "camp" to sit down and be pet. I have not been able to pet him during his upstairs visits yet. I hope to change that soon. My husband and I have also set a target date for full socialization, for his birthday, March 3. If things progress more quickly, we'll be happy, if not that's OK. The most important thing is that Horatio does not seem to be upset one bit about being indoors. He's adjusting really well to home life. He has even looked out of the windows and though you could tell he was recognizing places he used to roam, did not seem upset. Now, if I could just get Katie to believe that he's not a threat to her... Baby steps with our fur babies, I know.
Things are progressing slowly, but well, and when I stop being impatient, I realize how good we have it. It's just that I've thought for the last 10 years that I had two of the sweetest animal companions one could ever share their life with and when we came across another sweet, loving soul I thought things would be seamless. Not so, I understand. I also understand it doesn't take away from them being sweet. Everyone's looking out for their own safety first, which is good. Tonight, things are more of the same. Apparently Horatio did not come upstairs at all when I was gone, which is OK, my hubby is used to me being the cat-mother-queen of the house:-) Horatio did come out several times this evening. Both Bianca and Katie were in the living room, so Horatio lounged around under the dining room table, looking like he was born to be an "indoor cat." My husband said he is actually amazed that Horatio made it on his own for two years. The more he is indoors, the more it is hard to imagine he ever survived out there. He loves pets, he speaks in a soft, baby kitty voice and he just wants to be friends with everybody:-) Which, of course, at the moment concerns mainly Katie. Boy, does he want to be her best buddy ever!!! Unfortunately we had more of the same with Katie this evening. A mad wagging of the tail, hissing and growling. She doesn't go after him, the ears don't go flat or anything, it's just that she's terrified of him and trying to defend herself. Bianca watched the whole thing from a chair tonight and didn't even flinch. She is not afraid!But yes, I have been reading the story of Marlow and Sasha, which has been helpful and I have appreciated all of the stories today, too. I'm looking forward to having another day off with all three tomorrow. Maybe Horatio will come up during the day for a change. Another pattern I've noticed is that when he wants to be pet, he cries from the basement stairs and goes all the way back down to his "camp" to sit down and be pet. I have not been able to pet him during his upstairs visits yet. I hope to change that soon. My husband and I have also set a target date for full socialization, for his birthday, March 3. If things progress more quickly, we'll be happy, if not that's OK. The most important thing is that Horatio does not seem to be upset one bit about being indoors. He's adjusting really well to home life. He has even looked out of the windows and though you could tell he was recognizing places he used to roam, did not seem upset. Now, if I could just get Katie to believe that he's not a threat to her... Baby steps with our fur babies, I know.
