Lady Zahara and Wolfsbane came to Happy Cats after their mom was abandoned outside, unspayed. She was found very pregnant, and one of our wonderful foster moms helped her raise the babies to be social little butterflies.
But when they first came back to Happy Cats, they regressed at first. Wolfie hid a lot and Zahara much preferred playtime to petting. Our loving volunteers took the extra time to reconnect with them.
Then came Jennifer with her busy family of 3 lovely daughters, 2 cats and a dog too. Who could be a better match for these active little kittens?
They were renamed Toulouse and Charlotte and their catmom Jennifer gave them a safe room in the office. This was perfect as it had French doors so they could see the activity and adjust from a distance, getting used to the new smells of the other cats and dog. Their daughters even took turns sleeping in the office with them.
They also switched territory like we recommend, putting the home cats in the office while giving the kittens a chance to explore the rest of the house. This let the new kitties leave their scent in appropriate places for the other cats to discover before actually meeting them.
It worked like a charm! Jennifer says when they first met, “They just sniffed the noses of our big cats and went about their business. No drama.” They were a little skittish of the dog, a sweet older lady of 14 named Lucy, but once they realized she had been speaking cat her whole life, they quickly adapted.
Their favorite place quickly became the custom cat tree that Jennifer’s husband Chris made for their cats when they were kittens, a huge cactus with bright green rope. It’s tall and climbable and even has a secret nesting spot, perfect for any cat!
Their older cat Veronica even lets the kittens cuddle with her in the tree.
They got another tree when Christmas came. We hope they had unbreakable ornaments!
Jennifer says, “We love the kittens and I think they’re loving it here too.” It sure looks that way to us!
