Socializing

Fun cat tree

After I had Tarquin checked out at the vet to make sure he didn't have any nasty diseases he could pass along to Lucy and Brilly--AKA "the girls"--I kept him in the spare bedroom for a while. The reasons for this were twofold. One: he was a kitten and kittens just have a knack for getting into everything. Hey, what's this? Oops, did I break that? Sorry...And two: I wanted to take my time with introducing him to the girls. While the group of feral cats all seemed to be one big, happy family and everyone got along, it isn't usually that easy to introduce a new cat to existing ones. As an aside: the ferals were so accommodating that oftentimes one nursing mom would watch another mom's brood for a while. Even cats need mommy me time.

In Tarquin's room, there was a neato cat tree where he could scratch and climb. There also was a couch and a treadmill (that nobody used). And countless cat toys, food, and, of course, a litter box. I would go in several times a day to talk to him and pet him. Sometimes I'd take a book in with me and sit and read while he got used to me. One day I opened the door and Tarquin was on the cat tree. He saw me and hissed. He immediately acted contrite--"Oh, sorry, old habits die hard. I promise I won't hiss at you any more."

Hanging out in my room

Of course in no time at all, Lucy and Brilly figured out I was harboring another cat in the spare room. They'd be on the other side and the language used was not very nice. Growling and hissing and general complaint registering. Poor Tarquin. He'd look over at me when the girls would be carrying on and seemed quite shocked. "Wow. Do they eat with those same dirty mouths?"

Finally I decided enough time had passed to let them all do a meet and greet. We let Tarquin roam around the house. He seemed pretty bold and fearless, but Lucy and Brilly were in a tizz! He'd try to go out into the big room with the wood-burning stove and Lucy would hiss and bat at him. So he'd retreat. Brilly--the Brave *sarcasm implied*--basically let mom handle things. She sat under the dining room table and growled a lot.



I was amazed that Tarquin didn't press the issue with Lucy when she swatted at him. Lloyd said "He
had a mom. He knows about being told what to do." I still kept him in his room at night and when we weren't home. To, as the vet said, cut back on the destruction factor.

Lucy (l) and Brilly on the infamous couch

Tarquin soon learned that Brilly was more fun to tease than Lucy. I was sitting on the couch, with Brilly at my feet and Tarquin on the couch cushions above. He'd reach over and tap her. She'd do a combined hiss and snort (very ladylike) and swat at him. Then he'd repeat the process. All was fun until the cushion started to collapse and Tarquin rolled on top of Brilly. He moved pretty fast away from the source of the hissing and snorting (she snorted on the inhale, so it was a constant hiss, snort, hiss, snort).  I think he thought it was kind of funny.

Oh, and exploring was fun for Tarquin. He discovered bathtubs (couldn't figure out any good use for them), beds (fun to hide under), and TVs (they made a lot of noise and flashed a lot). It also seemed hard for him to fathom having this much space that needed to be investigated. But even with those hissy broads, it seemed a lot warmer and safer than living under the deck. And he soon decided the weren't as scary as raccoons or dogs!