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- Jan 6, 2010
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Those of you who know Horatio's story will find the picture I'm attaching quite fun. As I write this post, he is sitting by the window only inches away from Katie, which is quite the accomplishment. (For those who might have missed the earlier threads, Horatio is a beautiful, 2-year-old orange long hair male we fed outdoors for 10 months and took in on Jan. 6th. Our two indoor cats, Bianca & Katie, 10 year-old sisters, had been quite depressed about the newcomer.) I think the 3-month mark must be some sort of turning point in cat relationships because a few weeks ago, it would have been unheard of for Katie to share her window spot with Horatio. But today, she just hissed at him once telling him to stay put and not get closer and he obliged:-) Horatio has made all sorts of progress in the last month. He started sleeping on our bed overnight, started playing with toys (his favorite is a yarn ball) and became more comfortable around strange humans, i.e., our guests. As for the girls, they still do not appreciate his initiative for play, which consists of him trying to chase them every time they move about, but they have started tolerating him more. He runs after them, they hiss and raise a paw, but don't get involved in a fight and go about their business. Bianca, the alpha female, is still generally ignoring him and trying to stay away. When we are home, all three will sometimes be in the living room with us. Mornings are the hardest on the elderly girls, who are most concerned with breakfast, but are welcomed with a super-energetic two-year-old who talks a lot and wants to play. He does seem to calm down in the afternoon and evenings a bit. Since the weather started getting nicer and we started opening windows, I've been concerned about what his reaction would be and whether he'd want to go outside. So far, he seems happy to look at the yard he used to roam and has not made any moves toward the door. All in all, we are doing fine. My hope for the next few months is for Bianca to stop hiding in back bedrooms and return to her regular routine. Maybe they will even start playing with him, who knows!