Norton 2+2 – the remainers

Bandit and Finger were clearly a little unsettled when their siblings went off to their new home 3 weeks ago.  Whether that was because they missed them, or because they feared they’d also be shuffled into carriers I’m not sure.

Three weeks on and Nancy & Dodger are getting well settled

Nancy

Dodger

The nice suprise here is that Bandit has come out of her shell more. There was no suggestion that she was being bullied or intimidated by her siblings … but she whilst she wasn’t particularly scared of people, she wasn’t that bothered about interacting either.  Since the others have moved she’s been much more interested in approaching for snuggles.

Bandit was much quicker to come out to play when Rachel visited this weekend, and she’s been more likely to come to find me when their bedroom door has been open than ever she used to be. Shyly peeping round the bathroom door, and loving the fuss she gets when I spot her.

Since they’ve just been a twosome they’ve been accepting other feline visitors.   That’s not been so much initiated by their hospitality as my need to make the most of time and space.  We have Dasher downstairs, desperate to play with someone, and Dexi who sadly does not like him.  So Dasher has been up for a play date.  Bandit was a bit shy with him but Finger entertained him and showed him some smart hunting moves.

It also occured to me that I spend ages waving toys around for these girls, and then a similar amount of time in the next room with Howard firmly planted on my lap … If we could join up and multitask they could have twice the play time and Howard could have double snuggles.   That kind of went ok too.  The girls are lovely and friendly, Howard does his best, he’s not actively aggressive but bear in mind that he arrived in rescue very poorly .. and recovering from an abscess that we assume was the result of a cat fight.   He has a clear idea about purrsonal space .. and each time the girls breached it, said “How” ..  more assertively than aggressively.

There was an awkward moment where Finger had gone into his bedrooom whilst he was in hers.  As Howard returned to his own room, Finger decided to leave.  The shape of the landing forced this into being a bit of a confrontation.   Words were said, but no threats were acted on.

Less stressful moments were when Howard and I sat in his room,  watching Finger play with a rug on the landing.  She suddenly noticed that the cat in the bathroom mirror had an identical rug … and freaked a bit.

Today it’s been Rufus who went to visit.  No particular reason .. other than the fact that the girls have been here for months now, confined to their bedroom with occasional access to bathroom, stairs and landing.   I wonder if we might be able to get them coming downstairs a bit, so they have more interaction, and even a chance to play out in the garden.  However that means them interacting the the residents, as well as Dasher (who they’ve met) and Dexi (who I’m sure will not be pleased to meet them).  That meant we left the door at the bottom of the stairs open

We love our Ru to bits … but his social skills aren’t great 😉