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.
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.
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