Hello everybody,
My name is Tania and I live in Brussels, Belgium. Before that I was in chicago for 8 years, but after my husband and I broke up I decided to move back home (Belgium) to be near my family and friends (the heart needs that kind of balm when it hurts). I had two cats when I moved back, Izzy and Emma. Izzy had originally made the trip over with me 8 years ago and Emma is a little stray I found in the alley in Chicago. It was a pretty traumatizing event for all of us. Izzy was 13 years old and had already been through a bout of fatty liver disease 4-5 years ago (absolutely horrible - had to be tubefed etc.) and a few weeks after getting back to Brussels, she came down with it again. I knew from the onset of the disease that this wasit. I knew instictively that she was dying. I dragged her in and out of the vet's for about a month and finallytook that most terrible of decisions... to have her put to sleep. I can tell you, it was just about the hardest decision I've ever had to take. On top of that I was feeling emotionally wrecked after my separation , which made it even harder. It felt like Izzy and Emma were all I had left. So, on July 8th Izzy went over the Rainbow bridge. Even though Izzy and Emma weren't the best of friends (Izzy was a pretty obnoxious, calico alpha-female who had lived as a single cat for 11 years before having Emma forced on her), they tolerated each other and there were very few incidents. They just kept to themselves most of the time, even though Emma would occasionally try to play... It never really happened, but nonetheless, they were OK together.
After Izzy died I felt like Emma was always looking for her. My human interpretation was that she missed her and was feeling lonely. I did my grieving and a few months later I thought it was time to get a kitten in the house. So, in waltzes Reggie, a 6-month old little tiger.
It is the first time in my life I have a cuddly cat! I have always owned rescued stray females who all seemed to have some sort of psychological problem. He, on the other, hand is what I consider a normal cat. At least, I hope he'll stay like this. From experience, I know that they can change when they reach adulthood.
You can gather that I got him partly because I thought Emma was lonely.
Now you have to understand that Emma has always been terribly afraid of just about anything, especially people and more importantly men. As soon as she hears the doorbell, she's off under the bed and depending on whether it's someone who visits regularly or not, she will stick her head out of the bedroom after about an hour or so. But she always hovers near the bedroom doorway so that she can easily slip unser the ebd in case something freaks her out, which coudl be anything from a knife falling to the floor to my guest goiing to the bathroom. It's absolutely amazing. I even freak her out sometimes, just by making a sudden movement. It's quite sad actually. I have only ever been gentle with her and I'm sure she knows I would never ever hurt her, but it seems to be a reflex that is stronger than her. Well, I guess she is who she is and all I can do is take her for who she is. That's also something I've learned from experience.
Reggi, of course, is a kitten and plays a lot and is rambunctuous and a pest half of the time. He actually bullies her a bit. It used to be that he would try and swat her as she walked by, now he literally piunces on her and needless, to say, she doesn't really defend herself... I wonder if there is anything I can do to stop him from bullying her. I mean, he's still a kitten and I'm hoping I can steer his behaviour into a more gentle approach to Emma. Then again, maybe I'm dreaming...
And why is it that kittens wake up and start causing mayhem, the minute you turn off the lights to sleep? It drives me nuts!
I'd appreciate some help on educating him because he's definitely on the way to becoming a disruptive little alpha male. He is snipped though, can't imagine what it would be like if he weren't!!!
My name is Tania and I live in Brussels, Belgium. Before that I was in chicago for 8 years, but after my husband and I broke up I decided to move back home (Belgium) to be near my family and friends (the heart needs that kind of balm when it hurts). I had two cats when I moved back, Izzy and Emma. Izzy had originally made the trip over with me 8 years ago and Emma is a little stray I found in the alley in Chicago. It was a pretty traumatizing event for all of us. Izzy was 13 years old and had already been through a bout of fatty liver disease 4-5 years ago (absolutely horrible - had to be tubefed etc.) and a few weeks after getting back to Brussels, she came down with it again. I knew from the onset of the disease that this wasit. I knew instictively that she was dying. I dragged her in and out of the vet's for about a month and finallytook that most terrible of decisions... to have her put to sleep. I can tell you, it was just about the hardest decision I've ever had to take. On top of that I was feeling emotionally wrecked after my separation , which made it even harder. It felt like Izzy and Emma were all I had left. So, on July 8th Izzy went over the Rainbow bridge. Even though Izzy and Emma weren't the best of friends (Izzy was a pretty obnoxious, calico alpha-female who had lived as a single cat for 11 years before having Emma forced on her), they tolerated each other and there were very few incidents. They just kept to themselves most of the time, even though Emma would occasionally try to play... It never really happened, but nonetheless, they were OK together.
After Izzy died I felt like Emma was always looking for her. My human interpretation was that she missed her and was feeling lonely. I did my grieving and a few months later I thought it was time to get a kitten in the house. So, in waltzes Reggie, a 6-month old little tiger.
It is the first time in my life I have a cuddly cat! I have always owned rescued stray females who all seemed to have some sort of psychological problem. He, on the other, hand is what I consider a normal cat. At least, I hope he'll stay like this. From experience, I know that they can change when they reach adulthood.
You can gather that I got him partly because I thought Emma was lonely.
Now you have to understand that Emma has always been terribly afraid of just about anything, especially people and more importantly men. As soon as she hears the doorbell, she's off under the bed and depending on whether it's someone who visits regularly or not, she will stick her head out of the bedroom after about an hour or so. But she always hovers near the bedroom doorway so that she can easily slip unser the ebd in case something freaks her out, which coudl be anything from a knife falling to the floor to my guest goiing to the bathroom. It's absolutely amazing. I even freak her out sometimes, just by making a sudden movement. It's quite sad actually. I have only ever been gentle with her and I'm sure she knows I would never ever hurt her, but it seems to be a reflex that is stronger than her. Well, I guess she is who she is and all I can do is take her for who she is. That's also something I've learned from experience.
Reggi, of course, is a kitten and plays a lot and is rambunctuous and a pest half of the time. He actually bullies her a bit. It used to be that he would try and swat her as she walked by, now he literally piunces on her and needless, to say, she doesn't really defend herself... I wonder if there is anything I can do to stop him from bullying her. I mean, he's still a kitten and I'm hoping I can steer his behaviour into a more gentle approach to Emma. Then again, maybe I'm dreaming...
And why is it that kittens wake up and start causing mayhem, the minute you turn off the lights to sleep? It drives me nuts!
I'd appreciate some help on educating him because he's definitely on the way to becoming a disruptive little alpha male. He is snipped though, can't imagine what it would be like if he weren't!!!