The cat's meow

Hi! Thank you for stopping by. On this site, I have posted information about my cats, Murray and Yuki, and my mom's cat, Simba, who used to be mine. I have also posted some cat-related links.

Enjoy, and have a great day!

- Murray's (and now Yuki's) Mom

On Oct. 23, I adopted a five-month-old Siamese/Snowshoe mix that the rescue organization had named Friedrich. I changed his name to Yuki, the Japanese word for "snow," since he is part Snowshoe and has some patches of white fur. I had seen his profile on petfinder.com, and it described "Friedrich" as very mellow and very loving. I thought his personality would be a good fit with Murray's, and based on my experience with Murray, I have a high opinion of Siamese cats. (And I had, coincidentally, just seen a program on cats that included a profile of the Snowshoe, which gave me a positive feeling toward that breed as well.) I inquired about meeting "Friedrich," but was told he was already spoken for - someone was to adopt him on Oct. 23. However, on the 23rd, I got a call that the potential adoptive "parent" had not shown up, so the kitty was still available if I was still interested. So I went to check him out, hold him, and pet him, and I took him home.

Yuki was very shy and skittish at first. Every move I made frightened him. He also didn't instantly let me pet him. However, he has really settled in. As I write this, it is Tuesday, Oct. 26, and he has only been with me since Saturday. But he acts as if the place is truly home (which it is now), and he loves to be petted by me - can't get enough. Although his profile had described him as not very playful, Yuki is actually quite playful, enjoying the cat toys that had once belonged to Murray exclusively.

I introduced Yuki and Murray to each other last night, Monday night, Oct. 25. (Yes, very soon after I brought Yuki home, but the lady at the rescue organization thought they were ready since I had told her the two cats had been playing "paws under the door.") It was half a success - Yuki was very glad to meet Murray (even purred when he saw him), and kept approaching Murray trying to be friendly. However, Murray wasn't so glad to see Yuki - he responded to Yuki's overtures by chasing him and batting at him with his paw. I don't think Murray intended to hurt Yuki - he was just establishing his dominance and perhaps showing a little bit of jealousy/frustration.

I had to go away for a bit, a couple hours after introducing them, so I separated them again until I got home. I opened the door between them when I got home, and let them be together again while I went to bed. I heard a couple chases at first, but then things quieted down (and almost got TOO quiet!). For a while, both cats were in bed with me. Murray didn't seem happy to share - he swatted at Yuki a couple times, but Yuki stood his ground and wouldn't leave the bed, so Murray grudgingly allowed him to stay.

The relatively quiet night gives me a lot of hope that Murray is starting to come around and learning to tolerate Yuki, realizing that chasing him will not make him go away. Hopefully too he will realize that I still love him as much as ever, even though I now also have another cat to love.

I look forward to going home from work tonight and bringing the two cats together again (I separated them before work today, just in case), to see how they interact. Will the chasing resume? Will all be quiet like overnight? Will Murray be less "shellshocked" than he appeared when he was first brought together with Yuki?

I will update this posting as the two cats go through the introduction/socialization process. I have high hopes. Things could certainly be a lot worse - there hasn't been any hissing, or real fighting (Yuki is too smart, or too easygoing, to fight back). Most people who know cat socialization have assured me things are going very well so far. I hope so. I love Murray dearly and would hate to cause him any pain/distress. I am also very fond of Yuki already, and don't want any harm to come to him.

My hope is that the two will learn to get along so during all the long hours when I am gone, working my two jobs, or home but busy doing schoolwork, the cats can keep each other company. Murray always got so lonely when I was away. I wanted to give him a playmate, as well as give a deserving cat a good new home. Hopefully everything will work out in the end.

I first saw Murray as a stray hanging around my apartment complex with some other strays. He caught my eye from the first because he was a big, beautiful Siamese. I said hello to him and the other cats, not thinking much of it. But it must have made a big impression on Murray, because he decided I was someone worth getting to know.

One night shortly thereafter, I was coming home and opened my apartment door, and in ran Murray. He went straight to the refrigerator and sat down - wouldn't take no for an answer. I had nothing much suitable for cats in the house, just some lunchmeat - and he ate an entire pack, he was so hungry. I left the door open so he could leave whenever he wanted, but instead he settled in with me in the living room to watch TV. When bedtime came, I just closed the door and let him stay.

I still wasn't sure I was going to keep him, though, since my apartment complex didn't allow pets. Still, I went out and bought him some cat supplies. And I took him to the vet for a checkup (especially since he had discharge coming from one eye), and some shots. He ended up having an allergic reaction to the shots (he turned uncharacteristically listless and antisocial), and I had to rush him to the kitty ER since it was a Sunday. Seeing him lying there looking so vulnerable, with his little paw shaved for an IV, I fell in love with him and just knew I had to keep him, no matter what.

Simba helped get me through a terrible depression some years ago, back when he was still my cat before he came under my mom's custody. He literally saved my life. When I was feeling suicidal, and couldn't get out of bed, he uncharacteristically lay at the foot of the bed with me and comforted me with his loving presence. That stopped me from carrying out any actual suicide attempts, because I worried about what would happen to him after I was gone, and I thought about how much he would miss me. Good thing I didn't know then how well he would bond with my mom - he probably has a much better life with her than he ever had with me! :-) Anyway, I am very glad Simba showed his devotion to me when I needed it, and helped me pull through. He will always be very special to me because of that.

In August 2010, midway through the month, he will turn 14 years old, but he still thinks he's a kitten. :-)

Check out http://www.catgalaxymedia.com/

The Animal Rescue Site: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com - click for FREE to feed rescued animals at shelters. Also has an online store (with proceeds benefiting rescued animals), discussion boards, and places to blog.

Free Kibble Kat: http://www.freekibblekat.com - another site where you can feed resced cats for FREE. Answer a trivia question, and whether you anwer is right or wrong, cats get fed.

Alley Cat Allies: http://www.alleycat.org - organization that advocates for, and practices, humane treatment of feral cats. Petitions against communities' "trap-and-kill" strategies, in favor of "trap-and-relocate" programs.

The Siamese Cat Rescue Center: http://www.siameserescue.org - includes a nice online store. I got a mouse pad from them with a kitty on it that looks just like my Murray! I'm also going to order their 2009 calendar.

http://www.thecatsite.com/ - Cat information and discussion site

http://www.thepetsforums.com/ - Pet discussion site, with cat area.

http://www.forums.cathobbyist.com/ - Has discussion forums. They also have live chats about cats in the evenings, including MeowChat (done three times a week), in which participants role-play as their cats. It's lots of fun.

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&webtag=ab-cats&lgnF=y - About.com cat discussion forum area. At http://www.cats.about.com there is general information about cats, and a blog by a cat expert.

http://catchannel.com - Create cat profiles for your kitties and interact in their forums.

http://www.pets.com - You can also create pet profiles here and network with other pet lovers, and hold discussions on the site's forums.

http://www.catchat.org - British site with cat info and forums.

http://www.pettags.com - Site for purchasing pet tags, and also has discussion forums.

http://www.mycatspace.com - Like MySpace for cats!

http://www.catage.com - Take a quiz to find out how old your kitty is in "human years."