So, I mentioned on Monday that we added a new cat to our little family over the weekend, and we’ve been having so much fun with her. But, I’m going to be real – adding a 1 year old cat to a house with two 9 year old cats who have been together most of their lives isn’t easy. This week has me totally drained, and it’s only Wednesday. We’ve had to split our time between different parts of the house, sectioned off to keep them separated. We’ve been waking up a few times each night to a little cat who wants to play at 4am. We’ve barely had any time to devote to our poor, neglected DVR. This is first world problems to the max, you guys.
Side note – I honestly don’t know how people with kids keep their sanity. This is just so much easier than having kids, and yet I still feel wiped out.
Also, who knew that there is a whole process for integrating new cats with old ones?? I certainly didn’t, until I started googling stuff like crazy. Little by little we’ve been introducing Owen and Taby to Riley, and it’s while it’s getting better, it seems like we still have several more days of keeping them mostly separated.
All right, all right, I’m being a little dramatic, but it’s really not as easy as one might think. Any day now I’m expecting a call from Bravo to sign us up for the summer’s hottest new reality show, “The Real Cat Lives of Wake County”.
Here’s how it’s been going so far…
Owen mostly watches from a distance
And then reports back to Taby, who is comfortably perched at the top of the stairs.
Then they get bold and start to approach – I promptly forget how to take a non-blurry picture.
Once they get close, they second guess their decision.
Meanwhile, Riley’s just like this…
Not a care in the world, while Owen and Taby feel like their whole world is collapsing in on them.
We’ll get through it soon though, and then everyone will be best buds. Until then, I’ll be chronicling the drama in preparation for that Bravo phone call…
June 18, 2013
Aw! I have a 2 1/2 year old tortie we got about a year ago. We’ve been blessed to not have any wake up calls at 4am! We play with her and she gets alot of action from our 1 1/2 year old pup. Sometimes she randomly runs all over the place like a crazy cat, but usually she sleeps sleeps sleeps! Good luck with introducing them! We were warned with our Hayley she is a one-cat cat, and so we’ll keep her that way! We love watching Jackson and My Cat from Hell.
June 21, 2013
New follower here! You had me at…cats.
So I have 5 cats! I tried the “slow introduce” with the 2nd and 3rd cat but found it more stressful for me AND the residents cats. With the 4th and 5th cats (granted they were kittens) we just let them in the mix right away and tried not to show my own fear and hesitation. I tried to go about my business and not dote and watch so they didn’t feel that pressure. Some times there were days of awful stress, sometimes weeks, and sometimes months! Heck one of our cats still gets totured by the other 4 but eventually they learn to love each other OR at least co-exist. I promise! I’ve been through the stress and sadness and shed plenty of frustrated tears but just give it a couple of months! If you have any questions let me know 🙂
January 16, 2014
I found your blog and of course as a cat lady, I had to read this. Love your three cat life! I have one and NEED another but my husband refuses – our one is a handful! These are all so precious and I hope they are getting along great by now!
January 17, 2014
Hi Lauren, I’m so glad you stopped by! They all get along for the most part now, so our lives are much less chaotic than they were that first week 🙂 Hope you’re able to convince your husband to get a second one soon – they’re so much fun!