It's Been Stressful...

Aside from being scheduled for a medical procedure this week, a stray cat has adopted us! We noticed a cat outside our house in early December. Perhaps it chose us because our two indoor cats would sit at the window and watch it. This kitty would come and go and as winter weather set in we started putting food out for it and I constructed a make-shift shelter. Little by little it would come out of the shelter when it heard food being put in its bowl. We started calling it Georgie because we couldn’t decipher if it was a male or female. To make a long story short, after six weeks and everything from sub-zero temperatures to torrential downpours, we were finally able to coax this little survivor indoors just a few days ago. Yesterday he went to the vet to be neutered and tested and I’m happy to report that he is very healthy! The vet estimated that he is four years old. Georgie is very loving and is becoming more trusting of us every day. He is adapting so well to indoor life that I can’t help but think he was just dumped by someone who no longer wanted him. If he were truly feral, I doubt he would be so comfortable around people. Now the process of integrating him into our family begins. Unlike dogs who can become fast friends after a few sniffs, cats are extremely territorial and are seldom eager to welcome a new cat. It can take weeks or even months for cats to get along. Some never do! We’re taking it slow and easy. Georgie is confined to our family room where there are French doors so the cats can watch each other and, if so inclined, pass toys back and forth under the door. There is a bit of hissing and a few yowls now and then, mostly from Jackson. Cooper, I think, will adapt more readily to Georgie. Jackson will take much longer. I find myself trying to think like a cat to make transitioning flow with the least stress possible. My husband’s grandpa always said, ‘Everything always works out.’ And it will. It takes time. We feel so fortunate to have saved Georgie from the outside world…something tells me that he knows how lucky he is to have chosen us!