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Temporary sibling rivalry
Sep. 12th, 2020 03:09 pmThis morning we went to Chesterville to pick up Crystal the cat. He'll be staying with us for a couple of weeks while his human is in Montreal.
It can be challenging to corral a cat at the best of times, but it's even more so during a pandemic.
He escaped from his human's arms and shoulders twice before said human managed to wrangle him into the carrier, which we had ready and waiting for him just outside the door to the apartment building. At least our carrier is well designed for skittish creatures. It has a door in the top and another in one end. Leaving the escape hatch in the end firmly closed, you simply insert the struggling cat through the top entryway, keeping a firm hold until a split second before final closing and latching. And at least cats aren't required to wear masks!
Our own cat, Nanook, has always been very talkative ever since we brought her home. Crystal, on the other hand, has not uttered a sound. During the car trip home, he settled down in the carrier and watched me through wide-open green eyes.
When we got home, I let Nanook sniff at the carrier with Crystal still shut inside it. I saw a little ridge of fur stand up slightly along her spine, but mostly she just seemed curious and they didn't really interact much. There was no obvious hostility though, which I took as a good sign.
Then I took the cat-in-carrier into one of the bedrooms, equipped with a bowl of water and a litter box, where I set it down and opened the end door of the carrier. He continued to stare at me from the carrier but didn't look inclined to venture out. So I went out of the bedroom and closed the door behind me, leaving him to explore his surroundings at leisure.
When I returned to the bedroom a bit later, the carrier was empty but not too surprisingly, there was no sign of Crystal. I had a short nap in there and when I got up, he was still nowhere obvious but I eventually noticed him peering out from behind a rack of LPs. I let him sniff my hand a bit and left again. The next time I went in, he had evidently found a new hidey-hole but I expect he'll emerge at some point when he wants his supper.
Nanook has been pretty clingy with us this afternoon and I suspect she's a wee bit jealous. But overall, I think it's going to be OK. If anything, the main risk is that we'll all be a little too attached to Crystal when it's time to take him home again!
It can be challenging to corral a cat at the best of times, but it's even more so during a pandemic.
He escaped from his human's arms and shoulders twice before said human managed to wrangle him into the carrier, which we had ready and waiting for him just outside the door to the apartment building. At least our carrier is well designed for skittish creatures. It has a door in the top and another in one end. Leaving the escape hatch in the end firmly closed, you simply insert the struggling cat through the top entryway, keeping a firm hold until a split second before final closing and latching. And at least cats aren't required to wear masks!
Our own cat, Nanook, has always been very talkative ever since we brought her home. Crystal, on the other hand, has not uttered a sound. During the car trip home, he settled down in the carrier and watched me through wide-open green eyes.
When we got home, I let Nanook sniff at the carrier with Crystal still shut inside it. I saw a little ridge of fur stand up slightly along her spine, but mostly she just seemed curious and they didn't really interact much. There was no obvious hostility though, which I took as a good sign.
Then I took the cat-in-carrier into one of the bedrooms, equipped with a bowl of water and a litter box, where I set it down and opened the end door of the carrier. He continued to stare at me from the carrier but didn't look inclined to venture out. So I went out of the bedroom and closed the door behind me, leaving him to explore his surroundings at leisure.
When I returned to the bedroom a bit later, the carrier was empty but not too surprisingly, there was no sign of Crystal. I had a short nap in there and when I got up, he was still nowhere obvious but I eventually noticed him peering out from behind a rack of LPs. I let him sniff my hand a bit and left again. The next time I went in, he had evidently found a new hidey-hole but I expect he'll emerge at some point when he wants his supper.
Nanook has been pretty clingy with us this afternoon and I suspect she's a wee bit jealous. But overall, I think it's going to be OK. If anything, the main risk is that we'll all be a little too attached to Crystal when it's time to take him home again!
