Bitten by the Blogging Bug

Viola, I too have finally joined the blogging space! Had thought long and hard about starting a blog 'cos I wondered if I'd be able to keep up with the postings, what/how much to write about and whom the readers would be. Think, think and think. Heck, since I like to yak about my cats, how I'm getting on (you'll know soon why I'm saying this) and things/people that make me tick, the best 'place' to do so will be my own blog.

For my first posting, I must confess that I don’t know where to start. For sure, it is going be a LONG one. I shall start by recounting how Skoda and Braun landed up in the cove. Skoda is now a 10-month old grey tabby and Braun, a nine-month old brown tabby.

Grimlock had pestered me for almost a year to get a cat. I wasn’t too keen because I had always told myself I’d get a dog when I've my own place and I didn’t want more housework chores. Lo and behold, to honour a promise I made and after lying down some terms and conditions, we started to look for our first kitten on the Cat Welfare adoption board around September 2005.

Skoda was abandoned in a box with four other siblings at a lift lobby. She is the only grey kitten while the others are ginger/white kittens. I wanted a ginger (love the colour orange!) but Grimlock wanted a kitten with a X-factor. It was love at first sight for Grimlock and Skoda when we went to view the kittens. We brought Skoda home on 29 October 2005 and named her after the car model of Grimlock’s favourite newscaster (serious, I kid you not).

The first few weeks were quite an adventure for Skoda and us. She was hyperactive, kept racing up and down the living room and running up and down the sofa, and got really frenzy and bitty. She would be quite ‘manja’ (sweet) though after waking up from her sleep, rubbing her body against the back of our hand, doing her circles of '8' around our legs, meowing away gently, aawwww. Took her a while to get used to our home and us. She even grew to exchange kisses with me on the lips – wow! Those moments were so so magical (a little wet but nonetheless sensational). Grimlock had less luck, more of him wanting to kiss her.

As Skoda was spending long hours on her own at home, we decided to get her a playmate. We had never thought of having more than one kitten. We looked up the Cat Welfare adoption board again around Feb/March 2006 and I got to know one of the volunteers, ST. We wanted a kitten close to Skoda’s age so that the two could gel better. ST paid us a visit to take a look at Skoda and our home and he had a kitten in mind for us. The following week, he and another volunteer, CG brought the kitten to our home.

I could still remember the first time ‘meeting’ Braun - the date to be exact was 18 March 2006. She was a bit short (we were quite amused), of a small frame and I liked her coat colour (she is not exactly brown - looks more bronze to me, has a white chest and distinct markings on her limbs). Skoda didn’t take to Braun too well, she kept sniffing and staring at Braun. Had to bring her away when she lunged at Braun (Braun was in a pet taxi). After ST and CG left, we really wondered how to assimilate the two girls. Prior to going on this adoption trial, Braun had been staying in a cattery. “Braun” means brown in German.

We kept Skoda and Braun in separate rooms. During the first week, we let them sniff each other from under the door, opened the door a little and let them take peeps, swapped towels daily (and also made them swapped rooms) so that they get used to each other’s presence and scent.

In the second week, Skoda went for her sterilization so we kept Braun out of her sight. Ditto for the third week while Skoda recuperated from the surgery – very controlled introductions. We let them come into full view of each other during the fourth week. Initially our hearts were at our mouths because they kept hissing, growling and even spat at each other and constantly ready to pounce on each other. At one point in time, it looked like Skoda wasn't going to accept Braun. BUT things took for the better by the end of the week.

During the first week of their closer contact, Skoda refused to let us cuddle/stroke/kiss her and she stopped kissing us. We had several dialogue sessions with Skoda (a friend introduced a second cat into her household and according to her, this worked so we did the same) to assure her of her Alpha position and gave her special treatment (attend to her first, more treats for her, sometimes I only let her into the master bedroom etc).

After the fence came down, Skoda would follow Braun around the house and tap Braun on her backside to get her attention (which Braun disliked, she would turn around, hissed at Skoda and sometimes swiped her and other times both ended up in high-speed chasing). Braun was sleeping a lot and she seemed to prefer to do her own things (with Skoda watching on the side). Skoda liked to get on top of the table/chair (when Braun was below it) and used her paw to tap Braun, irritating her quite a bit.

Braun loves to be stroked but is paranoid about being carried. She rarely bites (and if she does, these are mild) and only uses the scratching boxes. The latter habit has rubbed off on Skoda who now uses the boxes more (instead of my sofa which bears the "scars") and puts in more effort while doing so (she used to be quite half-hearted).

Then it was Braun's turn to get sterilised. I'd say they got closer during this time because Skoda gave Braun the space that she needed and kept an eye out for her. After Braun came, Skoda has stopped biting us altogether and we are just so glad she now has a companion.