Rosie and Sophie have met each other!!!

Well, i brought home my bundle of joy on saturday, and what a little cutie she is!!. But i wished i had everyone at TCS to keep me reassured?!.

The first thing i did was take her blanket up to Rosie in her room where she sniffed at it for ages. I left her in her room while the kitten had a good sniff around downstairs herself.
Rosie could hear her meowing, because i kept going upstairs to check on her and she just stared at the closed door with huge eyes knowing something wasn't quite right?!. I even put Sophie in the bathroom so Rosie could come downstair but she wouldn't come down at all.

Because Rosie knew something strange was in the house she never came to me for cuddles or treats on saturday which made me sad .But that night i slept in the spare bed in Rosies room to be with her, and about 8.00 am sunday, there was Rosie lying on my chest gently tapping my chin(Awwwwwww), but i gave her loads of scritches back.

Because Rosie knew something was up i thought i'd let her see Sophie in her box.
She hissed and growled not only at Sophie but at me as well! .

She ran upstairs to her room where i followed her and started to speak softly to her and put my hand out, but she hissed at me and batted my hand with her paw as if to say "I HATE YOU!!"

As the day went on curiosity was getting the better of her, but during this time i put Sophies blanket in with Rosie and kept going to her with the smell of Sophie on my hand.
Rosie started following Sophie around everywhere in a stalking manner and giving the odd growl.
On several occasions, Sophie wanted to play by jumping towards Rosie sideways and jumping back again as if to say "Come on, chase me!!". This startled Rosie at times because she would step back.

Sunday evening. Sophie was curled up asleep on the arm of the couch, and Rosie came in and stood on her hind legs and gently tapped Sophie twice!. I praised her and gave her a couple of treats

Monday. Sophie went for a checkup at the vets where she was given a clean bill of health and goes for her first flu/enteritis jab in two weeks time. I told the vet that i wasn't going to bother with the leukemia and she respected that. I came away with a kitten pack containing 3 bags of food, vouchers with money off kitten food, treats, for when i get her spayed, a free yearly check!.

Rosie was slowly coming round to the fact that Sophie was not going away. She became more curious at Sophie and the way she was playing, and she followed her everywhere.
Sophie was playing upstairs on the hallway and Rosie was watching her from the top stair, and i was keeping an eye on both of them just down from Rosie.
Sophie just stood in front of Rosie where the pair of them sat looking at each other, then Rosie smacked the top of Sophies head with her paw a couple of times, but not hard and not with her claws. Sophie ducked down and i dont know if i should have but i didn't shout at Rosie, i just said "No, thats naughty". After that i put the vanilla on both of them.

Today, all growling and hissing has stopped! . While i was getting ready for work, Sophie was upstairs on the hall playing and Rosie a step down from her again. Then i heard Rosie make the friendly chirrup noise!. I stood at the bottom of the stairs and there was Sophie on her back with Rosie playing bats with each other!!! .
At the moment Sophie stays in the bathroom and Rosie in her room. When i put Sophie in the bathroom as i was ready to leave, i turned around to get Rosie, and there she was pressed against the bathroom door (Awwwwwwww).
So, up to now it's looking good as each day goes by, but i'm not giving up!!

Hooray! I'm sure they will be great friends soon! When I brought Max home I did everything wrong (I hadn't found TCS yet) but after a few days of hissing and posturing all was well. They are best friends now.

You must be so excited to finally have Sophie home! It must have broken your heart to see Rosie upset. I'm so happy to hear they are beginning to get used to eachother! I guess it just takes a little time. Glad Sophie's first vet visit went so well! Please continue to let us know how Rosie and Sophie are feeling about eachother!

Awww, it sounds like things ARE going great! I can imagine how you felt that first day, but I gotta say - it's really progressing well! Just keep giving Rosie lots of extra attention and special treats. She will bat Sophie on the head, and I'm so glad you didn't shout at her or anything. That behavior is completely normal, and I wouldn't even tell her "no." I'd only intervene if she was being mean about it and her ears were back, or her back was ridged or tail all fluffed up. Otherwise, she's just making sure Sophie knows who's boss. Once Rosie's sure that she's boss and Sophie's OK with that, everything'll be just fine. Having that hierarchy structure in place is something cats need, so I wouldn't discourage that - just any actual fighting so no one gets hurt. But it doesn't sound like things are even going to progress to that stage (which they usually don't when it's a kitten being introduced). Our Tuxedo (now that he's feeling much better) is interacting with all the other kitties here again - and he constantly bats them on the head when they "invade his space." He's not looking for a fight - just letting them know he wants his space. If they're walking by, he may give them a gentle bat. If they run into him accidentally, he'll give them a good solid THWACK. But with no ears back and no stare-down, it's clearly just a "move it along" kind of gesture.

Rosie sounds like she's handling it really well, and what a sweetie for helping you rescue a kitty in need. Sounds to me like Rosie's going to enjoy having a playmate around.

Awwww thanks everyone!

Laurie: From the sound of things i've been lucky!, because her hackles have never went up, nor her tail bush up!. The only time her ears went back was the first meeting on the sunday and she did a lot of hissing and growling.

The only thing that does frighten me is the staring that she does to Sophie?!. It scares the hell out of me never mind the kitten! . Her eyes are like black pools, but she's not as bad as she was on sunday.

And when she watches Sophie play, it's as if she's itching to join in, but not sure if she should?!.

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Sophie just stood in front of Rosie where the pair of them sat looking at each other, then Rosie smacked the top of Sophies head with her paw a couple of times, but not hard and not with her claws. Sophie ducked down and i dont know if i should have but i didn't shout at Rosie, i just said "No, thats naughty". After that i put the vanilla on both of them.

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Stumpy (our alpha male) does that to every new cat in the house. It's his way of saying "I'm the king here and don't forget it". The smack is usually followed by some licks to the head, provided that the newcomer is submissive to him. After that, they all get along.

I'm so glad that you have Sophie and your babies are getting along!! We want pics!!!

Our cats stare at us and each other all the time! It's really weird. The only one that ever seems actually menacing though is Tuxedo. Sometimes he stares at Spooky or Lazlo and it almost seems like venom is shooting out of his eyes or something. Of course, I have no idea if that's the case at all. And sometimes Sheldon just sits there and stares at one of us - I have no idea why. Whether he wants something or is mad, I can never tell. It doesn't ever seem to be related to anything I can figure out!

Those "black pools" are like that because she's taking it all in. Cats express interest by dilating their pupils. Have you ever noticed this with Rosie when playing with her? She can be sitting there - and her pupils may look big - but if you get a toy moving, a feather flying or something (we really notice it with "hide and seek" while playing "make the bed"), have you noticed that her pupils completely dilate? My guess is that she's completely fascinated with Sophie (now that she's decided Sophie's not a menace or threat to her well-being), and doesn't quite know what to make of her. She may be a little jealous yet - and adult cats are sometimes annoyed with the play of kittens.

Flowerbelle has totally brought out the kitten in ALL of our cats. They're all playing so much more than they were - and in much more playful ways, if that makes any sense. They'd all become a bunch of lazy sleepers, and now our home is a madhouse for hours at a time. Spooky hissed and growled at her for weeks (Spook usually takes about six weeks to adjust to a newcomer) - ears back and all. But Flowerbelle wouldn't be stopped, and just kept on trying to play with all of them. Now they understand, I think, that she's just a kitten (even though she's a year old now, she's a year younger than the rest of them) - and they know what's going on when she runs at them and jumps on them, LOL. They sure didn't know what to make of it at first! (And it is hysterical to see little Flowerbelle creep up on Shelly when he's sleeping and she JUMPS on his back - like she's trying to ride him like a pony! He's literally more than two times her size, and it's really a hoot). He'll roll over, she'll jump off and run away - he'll chase after her and try to sit on her.

But they did a lot of staring at her when she first came in. I think Rosie's just trying to take it all in and figure out just what that bundle of fur is and what it means to her.

First reel of film is going in for developing tomorrow, then a guy at work will put them on a disc for me hopefully monday/ tuesday, then thanks to Heidi when she gets a minute she's going to put them on the site for you all to see

Laurie, yes thats the same "black pools" stare when i play with her. I'm glad thats cleared that up!!

I just want to do everything i can to make it a happy household with them both

The vet nurse friend who i got her from said i could hand her back if they didn't get on after a week. But i'm not giving up easily. After all you wouldn't hand a baby back, and besides i've bonded myself with Sophie now!

I didn't realise how big Rosie was until i saw Sophie beside her LOL

Sophie: One and a half pound

Rosie: Twelve pounds

Yeah

I'm glad it's going so well! Any pictures yet? I can't wait to see what Madame Sophie looks like!!!

edit: cool can't wait to see them

YAY!!! I've been thinking about you and Rosie and little Sophie and wondering how everything went this weekend! Sounds like it's going pretty good so far.

I can't WAIT to see pictures of them!

Thanks Rosiemac!

Your post gave me great advice, and a bit more confidence for when I introduce Franz to the new arrival. I'm looking forward to your "Progress Notes!" Good luck...from NYC!

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Barbara: i was so nervous but excited at the same time. But it was all done with the help of everyone on the site. so you won't have any problems i'm sure with your new arrival.

I now know for sure i made the right decision in getting another after everyones advice and especially seeing them this morning

You've done a great job with this Rosiemac. I wouldn't have thought about the towel. And three cheers for Rosie Can't wait to see Sophie.

I must chime in with applause for Rosiemac for your diligent efforts at ensuring this transition is as comfortable as possible! I'm so excited about seeing pictures!

well done! I'm glad that Rosie has accepted Sophie and that they are playing together.. keep going! they'll be good friends soon!

I'll bet in another week or so, they will be inseperable. It sounds to me like you've made a smooth transition for both cats. Congratulations on your new baby.

That's great news, they sound like they're going to be great friends. Thanks for the progress updates and I can't wait to see pictures.

Just to keep everyone updated on the "kids"!.

It's getting better as each day goes by. When i got home last night i went for Rosie first and gave her lots of hugs, scritches and kisses, then we could hear Sophie "Squeeking" from the bathroom

After the two of them sniffed each other again they were chasing each other around the kitchen and up the stairs where i saw Rosie on her back playfully batting Sophie who would run away but come back for more!

I have a welsh dresser in my kitchen where Sophie runs under when Rosie is chasing her, but Rosies too big to get under now so has to make do with swiping her paw underneath it.

It's like a refuge for Sophie as well as "Hah you can't get me now!!"

I love their names! Are you enrolling Rosie in dance classes?

(we're months behind Corrie in Canada, that's the current story line.....)

Do you know i never realised until a girl i work with said "Oooh Rosie and Sophie off Corrie Street". Then i thought of changing it but thought "Nah no one will realise!".

How wrong was i?!, and Canada especially!!

I didn't know you people had it?!. And yes that is the story line so far, and i could cringe at the way sally is going on with her daughter, you'll understand why when you see it!.

For everyone thinking what Corrie Street is, it's a long running British soap called Coronation Street AKA "Corrie Street"