Cat Fight

A couple weeks ago one of the maintenance managers at our condo complex approached me asking if I had a cat carrier- he was holding a sweet little (very skinny) black and white kitten that he'd found wandering around the grounds. He was planning to take it to the humane society but needed to contain it somewhere until he could do so. That kitten was so cute he immediately grabbed my heart and I said I'd keep him at my house for the morning and see if he got along with Ozzie and Harriet?

So I let the kitten in, Moana went nuts (of course- she had been asking for a new kitten and I'd been telling her NO because, um, we already had two cats)... He was all skin and bones, with fur that was supposed to be white but instead was gray... but that little cat had some spunk and some fight. Looking back I think it was probably just because he was starving to death so he was just ready to do battle with anyone or anything that stood between himself and a bowl of food.

Immediately he smacked Hoku in the face... DON'T MESS WITH ME DOG... then I put some food out for him and he ate it eagerly and aggressively... Ozzie and Harriet were less than happy about this new little scrub eating their food so they growled and hissed but Tom (we named him Tom) was not even the slightest bit phased. I was sort of surprised that the two bigger cats just stood back and watched this little thing eat their food but that's exactly what they did. For the next few days, Tom ate everything in sight and didn't retreat at all when being hissed at by the others. I thought his alpha personality was admirable but I was a bit concerned that my other two cats were so unhappy about his presence.

For the next week or so- for the most part- the cats just ignored each other but feeding time was still a struggle. I could tell that Ozzie wasn't happy about his alpha status being downgraded. He just wasn't the same cat?  But then the other night we woke up ~2AM to a screaming cat fight... sounded pretty brutal... this one was not playful at all like Ozzie and Harriet sometimes have with each other... It didn't actually last that long, though I stayed awake for a while adrenaline pumping hoping everybody was okay.

Interesting thing then the next morning at breakfast. I fed the three cats as normal but rather than aggressively diving in, Tom stood back and let Ozzie and Harriet eat... then he took his turn when they were done. Wow! Interesting switch that one. Apparently Ozzie taught him a little lesson overnight about who was boss in this house... I'm also guessing that once Tom learned that food would be readily available pretty much all the time, he didn't feel quite the need to be so aggressive when it came to the food. Later that same day Harriet started licking him (like she does with Ozzie who is her brother) and now Harriet and Tom chase each other around playfully throughout the day. Ozzie isn't quite there to play with Tom yet, but he doesn't hiss anymore so I'm guessing another week or so and they'll all be buds. :) This morning they all managed to eat at the same time no hissing at all!

So all in all we are loving having Tom around. He is great with Moana- she holds him pretty much all the time when she's home and he patiently allows it. He's managed to clean himself up well so his coat is shiny now and his white fur is white... no ribs showing... He's a sweet content little cat.

So ya, call me the Cat Lady. It's fine! I feel good about rescuing this one. :)