Friday, August 7

Life with senior cats



It's been three weeks since my mom's cat Sumi has come to live with us. If you follow me on instagram you will already have seen a couple of pics. Adjusting to the new circumstances has been challenging for all of us. Also, for some reason I always thought Sumi was eight years old. Actually, she is already eleven years old! I am so glad that I had arranged space for her up in the attic, and I am even more glad that she's accepted her cat tree (she loves curling up in the hammock-thingy at the top). The first week I kept the door closed, but there is quite a big gap at the bottom, and once or twice I spotted her spying :) But otherwise she pretty much keeps to herself, sleeps a lot during the day, thankfully eats her special dietary food and makes quite a rucus at night!
Meanwhile, thirteen year old Sammy only realized there was another cat in the house after a whole week had gone by. haha. Yes, I did let him sniff the cloth I had rubbed on Sumi before, but somehow he wasn't impressed. Then, finally after another week had gone by he climbed the steps to make "sniffing" contact - boy, was he in for a surprise. Sumi threw a hissy fit and basically communicated to him to stay out of her territory. Yup, the attic is now hers and hers alone.
Sammy has not gone up the stairs since.
After two weeks I decided to leave the door open during the day. I mean...cats are known for their curiosity and at some point I was sure Sumi would venture downstairs. No chance! Sumi simply sits on the threshold and observes/listens to what's going on downstairs, while Sammy remains downstairs and doesn't seem to be all that bothered. And me? I'm getting one heck of a workout running up and down those steep steps every day checking on the cats! Plus the outdoor cats Leo and Molly need to be taken care of too.
I do hope that Sammy and Sumi will eventually "meet up", but I've accepted that they need to do it on their terms. After all, in thirteen and eleven years respectively, both Sammy and Sumi have never shared their home before. Thankfully, domestic cats are social creatures and are known to adapt to new circumstances over time. I hope so anyway.

Es ist drei Wochen her, seit Sumi, die Katze meiner Mutter zu uns gekommen ist. Einige Leser hatten bereits Bilder von ihr auf Instagram gesehen. Aus irgendeinem Grund dachte ich immer, Sumi sei acht Jahre alt. Eigentlich ist sie schon elf Jahre alt! Sumi ist eine eher ängstliche Katze, daher bin ich froh, dass ich Platz für sie auf dem Dachboden geschaffen hatte, denn eine Zusammenführung mit Sammy ist einfach noch zu früh. Ansonsten verhält sie sich eher ruhig, schläft viel, putzt sich ausgiebig und isst zum Glück das spezielle Diätfutter. Es freut mich, dass sie gleich zu Beginn ihren neuen Kratzbaum angenommen hat - das weiß man schließlich bei Katzen nie. Vor allem liebt sie es sich in die Kuhle zu kuscheln (Bild ganz oben). Die ganze erste Woche hatte ich vorsichtshalber die Tür zu gelassen, allerdings ist unten ein großer Spalt wo sie spionieren  nein durchgucken kann. Ab der zweiten Woche hatte ich tagsüber die Tür aufgelassen, aber Sumi hat sich nicht getraut runterzukommen.
Der inzwischen dreizehn Jahre alte Sammy hat erstmal gar nicht realisiert, dass eine weitere Katze im Haus ist. Der "Trick" mit dem Tuch hat leider bei beiden Katzen nicht viel gebracht. Dann, endlich, nach ca. einer Woche wurde Sammy doch neugierig und kletterte die Treppen zum Dachboden hoch...das war Sumi dann doch nicht geheuer und mit lautem Gefauche hat sie ihn wieder nach unten befördert. Offensichtlich ist der Dachboden nun ihr Revier. Seit dem ist Sammy auch nie wieder da hochgegangen. Sumi sitzt nun oft auf dem Treppenabsatz und sondiert die Lage. Und ich bin in den vergangenen Wochen richtig sportlich geworden, bei den vielen Treppen auf- und absteigen, um nach den Katzen zu sehen. Und die zwei Freigänger wollen ja auch versorgt werden. Puh.
Trotzdem hoffe ich natürlich, dass die beiden sich näher kommen. Ich habe Verständnis dafür, dass es für beide nicht einfach ist nach dreizehn bzw. elf Jahren als Einzelkatze die neuen Umstände zu akzeptieren. Vorsichtshalber habe ich Feliway im Einsatz, in der Hoffnung, dass sie die Umstellung besser verkraften. 

17 comments:

  1. Hallo liebe Duni,
    da hast Du ja gut zu tun, um beide Katzen in Schach zu halten.
    Wir hatten auch mal über eine Zusammenführung von Katzen nachgedacht, aber ich hatte auch bemerkt, dass Katzen doch sehr gewissenhaft ihr eigenes Revier verteidigen und wir haben es gar nicht erst versucht.
    Ich hoffe, beiden Katzen geht es gut.
    Viele Grüße, Synnöve

    ReplyDelete
  2. My dad's cat is currently living upstairs by herself. She is about 12, but does not act it and she has the most amazing, silky fur! My human is hoping she will find a home for her, since she really needs her own person, and she won't have that here because Binga and I have dibs on the humans already. So it's a different situation from yours - but similar.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well it sounds like Sumi is adjusting quite nicely and liking her new accommodations. At least her and Sammy have agreed to split the house :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a fascinated story of your kitties and well written. I think you need to move to a book publishing ... and if this is you new venue - you will have a free illustrator!!!! I think we need more stories about love, happy ending and caring for a little creatures! ... just saying :)! with love, L.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awww! It's cool how they are coexisting in their own spaces. You have to update us if they do meet up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sumi is a beautiful ladycat! Of course Sammy is super handsome too! I'm glad they've each got their own space and are both happy with that space! You've handled the situation purrfectly!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad the transition has been fairly easy for Sumi. She sounds content with her area. Maybe cats lose a bit of their curiosity with age. Hmmm. Eventually they will cross paths when they feel the time it right. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. That does sound tiring, but at least they're peacefully co-existing! It seems much healthier and happier for them to each have their own spaces than to be fighting over the same space. Sumi is such a pretty kitty. My sister has been calling my attention to some of her IG photos to make sure I notice them!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That does sound tiring, but at least they're peacefully co-existing! It seems much healthier and happier for them to each have their own spaces than to be fighting over the same space. Sumi is such a pretty kitty. My sister has been calling my attention to some of her IG photos to make sure I notice them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. so many kitties! glad to hear they are co-existing even if they are not hanging out (yet) ... hopefully some day

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hope they can learn to love one another so you don't have to keep running up and down stairs! I guess that means two litter boxes :(
    Fortunately, I never had a problem when introducing the "new" cat to the "old" cat, but then they were always much younger than yours! Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I really hope they can become friends in the soonest possible time. I'm sure Sumi is having a difficult time too. After reading this post, I admire you more for your patience and deep knowledge about taking care of domestic cats. I never knew those information Duni.

    Wishing you a great day and beautiful weekend ahead Duni!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It will work out. I'm sure they are both too old and tired to fight about it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Guten Morgen, liebste Duni,
    ach, ich hoffe so sehr, daß sich die beiden aneinender gewöhnen werden :O) Aber, bei Deiner Fürsorge und Liebe wird das sicher gelingen *lächel*
    Ich wünsche Dir einen guten Start in die neue Woche!
    ♥ Allerliebste Grüße , Claudia ♥

    ReplyDelete
  15. My daughter has an old cat and a young cat, they do not mix! The young one is a little mean at times to the senior cat, but he can still take care of himself. Although they share the same house, they steer clear of each other! Hope your's find each other soon!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Liebe Duni,
    da hast Du ja wirklich keine einfache Aufgabe.
    Du wirst sie aber meistern, da bin ich mir ganz sicher. Denn Du bist soooooooo tierlieb!
    Liebe Grüße schickt Dir die
    ANi

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful cat photos! I am a cat lover and have had cats most of my life (I am 58!) I love cats of all ages, from kittens to adults to seniors. They are just wonderful companions. Thank you so much for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Hi readers! I welcome your comments and read each single one :) Please be aware that by commenting you agree to the terms as stipulated in my privacy policy
https://www.dunistudio.de/Privacy-Policy-Cookies:_:2.html?language=us
SPAM COMMENTS WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE DELETED
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liebe LeserInnen! Ich freue mich über jeden Kommentar. Spam und/oder Kommentare mit unverifizierten Links werden allerdings sofort gelöscht. Mit der Nutzung der Kommentarfunktion erklärst du dich mit der Speicherung und Verarbeitung deiner angegebenen Daten durch diese Webseite einverstanden.