LIFE: Best Friends

Well maybe not proper best friends if Ed gets her way. We've had Smokey over a month now and it's been a joy having that additional kitten in our lives even with hissing, the hiding under the bed and that trip to the vets. I thought I'd update you all and share you some more of my photos of our little dude.

Let me start with the vets trip, those of you who follow me on twitter will know about the issue of Smokey's gender. We were always told that Smokey was male and neutered - a factor noted by the vets at the rescue center. Why would we think any different? When getting Smokey registered with our vets - the said vet is convinced Smokey isn't a he, but she. Ideally we were looking for a male to balance it out with Ed [who although the male name is female] and because of the old wife's tale you shouldn't have two female cats together. Emails were sent back and forth with the pet rescue people who were shocked and were certain in their vets appraisal. A week later Smokey was defiantly in heat. When your used to a cat being shy, quiet and keeping herself in one place - the transformation that occurs when they are in heat is incredible. So today Smokey's gone to the vet's to finally get spayed - when we rang the vets they say on their records Smokey is marked as female - so we have no idea what's going on or why the rescue people would declare she, was a he.

That aside Smokey and Ed get on well to a point. Ed is a bit of a scaredy cat, little things scare her and with Smokey being a year old she's playful and wants to be play with Ed. She'll chase Ed's tail, run after her and do what I find rather cute - follow her everywhere - Ed use to hiss a lot about it, but she really has settled down a lot in the past week or two. Then you get super cute moments of Smokey licking Ed's head [and Ed letting her] they touch noses and they'll sit by each other like in the first photograph, Smokey's follows Ed's call when it's food time too so they do have their cute moments and Ed's started licking Smokey back - we're finally getting somewhere!

Smokey at the start was very timid - often hiding under our bed, and introducing the two wasn't easy. We first introduced them for an hour or so at any one time, then returning Smokey into what's known as the "safe" room which Ed couldn't get into. The more they saw each other the better they got on, but there was a lot of hissing to start with. Now they both have the freedom to roam everywhere, Smokey use to sleep in our bedroom but now she's found some snug places to sleep around the apartment she's happy to stay outside of our room. 

If your thinking of rescuing any animal I really would urge you to do so. It's especially daunting when you already have a pet, and I was worried how Ed would take it. But as long as you aid yourself and your original animal in the process and make it as stress free for them, they can and will welcome a new companion in time. And time really is key.