Kitty Cat Smiles.
After nearly 8 years of having Guinea Pigs as family pets, we found our home without any pets after the passing of our eldest Guinea Pig last fall.
The possibility of getting a cat was something that we had discussed multiple times over the years, but the idea of having a cat while also having Guinea Pigs was not a situation we felt was fair to either party. The fear the already naturally fearful Guinea Pigs would have at the presence of a natural predator would have only added unneeded stress to their lives.
Now, after nearly six months without a pet in our home, we adopted a bonded pair of cats from a local rescue.
The first night, the fear they had at their strange and unfamiliar surroundings made me feel we had done wrong by them. They found the first spot they could hide and took cover.
For the next two days, other than their food disappearing, and fresh clumps showing up in the litter box, there were no signs a cat lived in our home. They were complete ghosts.
By their second weekend with us, they had gotten accustomed to our presence and began trusting us enough to come out when we fed them to interact with us.
They were making really good progress, considering all they had been through in their short lives.
Born to feral cats living in an abandoned factory, they had been captured as kittens by a local pet rescue. After getting them health and spayed, they were eventually shipped to a second rescue where they were microchipped and placed for adoption.
While at the rescue, they became best friends, never leaving each other's side. Almost every photo they had of them; the other was right there as well.
When we finally made the decision to go see them, it was clear we were almost certainly going to end up with both.
While I was finishing up my workday, my wife and daughters headed up to the rescue to pick out the cat they liked best. While there, my wife called and told me they were just as inseparable in person as they were in the photos.
They were coiled up together taking a nap inside the box that was built into the cat tree, happy to be next to each other. Seeing this, the decision to bring them both home was not a hard one. They needed to stay together.
Hoping to make them feel more comfortable being around us, I went out and bout the biggest cat tree I could find. With multiple levels and spots to hide, the hope was they would be willing to hang out in the living room with us, even if they were keeping their distance.
It took a few days, but eventually Mango decided to come in and take a cautious break in the cat tree’s hiding spot.
It took a couple days longer, but Lucy finally made her way out to sit on the cat tree and observe her new humans in their natural habitat, reclined on the couch and watching TV.
Being the noticeably more skittish of the two, this was a huge step for Lucy. We knew that any movement would send her darting to the safety of her favorite spot, under the dresser in our bedroom.
That she chose a spot in out bedroom to be her safe space let us know she is not overly fearful of us, rather wary of us and her new surroundings. She is quite content to stay under the dresser and let us lay on the floor and pet her.
Mango, on the other hand, prefers to sit on one of the kitchen chairs where she can keep a close eye on what is happening. She remains very still when we go into the kitchen and will sneak from one chair to another if we get too close for comfort.
In spite of her wariness of people, Lucy has kept making her way into the living room, watching us from a distance. The night she decided to sit on the back of the couch and watch us and let us talk to her made us happy. She seemed to sense that we were happy she was around us, so she sat there, slightly nervous, watching her humans until she decided it was time she insist we get her supper for her.
Three weeks into their lives with us, they are warming up to us, even if it slowly. The one person they have both warmed up to the most is our youngest daughter. Mango has gotten so comfortable with her, that she will lay on her bed and let her pet her.
Lucy, still being a bit more cautious, will accept her interaction in a slightly less accepting manner. All interaction with her has to be on her terms, and only for the time period she is willing to accept our interaction with her.
Her preferred spots for us to interact with her are in the room where her food is served, and when she is sitting on her perch atop the cat tree. Rubs under her chin are her favorite. If you get them just right, she will give you one of her kitty cat smiles.
Seeing one of these smiles lets us know we are doing right by them, and they are accepting us. I am still waiting on the day one of them willingly jumps up on the couch and lays down on my lap.
The only thing that would make my happier, having both of them laying on my lap while we watched a weekend Premier League match.
That day will come. I just have to remain patient.