MARKING THE FIRST MONTH AND THE NEW CAT

 

a.k.a ROMI PROGRESS REPORT

You might recall we adopted a new cat. DH named her Romi.

Romi spent the first six days hiding under a bed in her dedicated room.

On day seven, she came out, looked at me, and sat at the window making sure I stayed far away.

On day eight, she came and sat next to me.

Day nine was a watershed moment: Romi came for pets and even let me pet her belly. She has been doing this every day since.

Day sixteen was the first day I let her begin exploring the rest of the house. For the next six days, this was always while my two resident cats were safely closed off in my room.

From the second week on, I have been doing the “scent swapping” thing with towels and grooming brushes changing places, so all three could experience each other’s smell. Day twenty-three was the first day they saw each other.

 

Only a couple of days later, and Romi was playing well with my orange cat, Nougat.

 And a few days ago, day thirty-three, all three played together and then got rewarded with a tiny snack, per cat experts’ advice to associate good, friendly play with good, tasty things. They've been playing daily together ever since.

Patience pays. Here’s to happy homes, y’all.

A NEW BEGINNING 🐈‍⬛

 

Meet Romi.* She is now our new cat.

*DH Chose to re-name her, in lieu of her shelter name "Elsa."

She is people shy and for the next couple of months will be “decompressing”, as the rescuer put it. She was returned by a previous adopter because she hid for three weeks and they deemed the adoption a failure. I won’t give up that easily. But any input you may have helping "wallflower cats" is welcome. 

She really likes other cats, I’m told. The introduction to ours will be gradual, per their needs as well.

For the next couple of months, one bedroom is her dedicated room. For the first three weeks the door will be closed unless I can be there to supervise. I will be there when I can, reading quietly or communicating with friends on the phone.

This means that for DD's upcoming visit I will make a bed in the living room for our daughter. She wouldn’t want to sleep with a litter box next to her, anyway.

By the time she comes next, things should be back to normal, or our new normal. 🤞🏻

I guess life was too calm, so I needed to complicate it. 🥵

I hope you welcome the new Breen: