Integration process 65% complete and steadily rising....

[badgerpup]

:bounce::party:
Last Thursday, one week from the day that little D'Artagnan joined this menage, he and Finnegan cooperated in a long session of Wrestlemania, Chase, and Tag...with some "Bowling Ball" variations added as the game progressed.
This last is an advanced technique of Chase/Tag and consists of "Run into stuff and knock it over", with extra points if 'Mom' (dat's me) loses it and starts yelling.:evilgrin:
Think Finn enjoys having somebody smaller than himself with whom to play...his usual sparring partner Wimsey is half again as big as he is. Finnegan is a long, lean, slinky not-quite-ten pounds with the delicate-yet-wiry Siamese build. Wimsey, while not carrying any extra weight, has a much bigger overall build; bigger bones, a sturdier frame, more muscle development overall and weighs just over 13 lbs.
There is a very noticeable gentleness in the wrestling when Wimsey and Finn are playing, but it still must be nice for Finnegan not to be 'the little guy' for a change...

Saturday, D'Artagnan came up to Riktor and I was expecting the usual hiss and pulled-punch swat on the head ("Go 'way, kid...ya bodda me") which has been Riktor's usual social response.
This time, Riktor sniffed him- his butt, his ears, his nose...and then bit him on the neck. Very quick, just a nip I'd a missed if I hadn't been watching for it, and he didn't prolong the contact like he does with the rest of the clowder (he usually holds the bite for up to 5 seconds- that's really quite a long time if you conciously count it out: '1 chimpanzee, 2 chimpanzee...or you can use 'Mississippi' as the timer)...
but it was a greeting behavior!! :toast::bounce:

Esme, bless her, is so plegmatic and laid-back...:hippie: If this cat were any mellower, she'd be unconcious. :boring:
She's been OK with sharing the human furniture (again, dat's me) as long as D'Artagnan respects her personal space (read: doesn't try to sit on her or to play with her), I don't think she really likes him yet...but she tolerates him without much fuss and they'll probably end up being friends. She likes to snuggle, and he's a sweet-tempered little guy, so they should be doing pretty well within another week or so.

The only hold-out is Wimsey. If you close your eyes and listen to him, you'd swear there was a full-blooded Siamese cat in the room, what with his trills, moans, mrrows, and other vocalizations. He doesn't swat the kitten, but doesn't bother with the 'speaking look' one can sometimes see between one's cats either..."MRRROOoowww mmmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmm" with the moan/whine/hum going up and down the scale like ordinary human-type conversation.
This particular bit of dialogue had a definite feeling of 'Get outta my face, ya little rat!'. :yoiks:
Think Wimsey will be reconciled once D'Artagnan has had 'The Surgery' though. That's what happened with Finnegan; he was fixed and suddenly Wimsey (who is also neutered) was his best friend.

I feel so fortunate to have cats who get along with each other like they do (and they will! :thumbsup:)...some of the stuff I've read on the web about people whose furkids are mortal enemies...:hide:

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Cats are such drama queens, aren't they?

There's always some weird interaction going on among them that we can't really comprehend, but it's always fun to watch.

So where are the photos?

[japple]

2. Yeah, where are the pictures. Sounds like there's never a dull moment

around your house. Who needs TV? It won't be much longer before your tribe will all be mixing and mingling, although not always happily.