Cattitudes

[bunn]

We've had lots of little milestones with the three kitties.  Nenya (the white one) is slowly becoming more chilled and less likely to chase the other two and bop them.

Fankil (the grey one) was terrified of her for a while (despite them being so close when we saw them at the rescue!)  I think it was because Nenya didn't know Gothmog (the black one, and the youngest).  So, when she arrived, Gothmog tried to play a bit rough: Nenya was in no mood for that, having just been spayed and suffering from mastitis, so she chased Gothmog, who ran to Fankil, who hissed and hid.

So for a couple of months we have had something of a state of war within the house, Fankil and Gothmog hiding upstairs, and Nenya ruling the roost downstairs.  But things have got easier since Nenya has been allowed outside (and has discovered that the outside is the realm of the Giant Next-Door Cats, who are all about twice her size.)  Also, Nenya does actually like cats, and I think she got a bit lonely.  So we have been trying to encourage peace, and basically not spitting and tearing around the place like tiny furious loons in hot pursuit.

Today for the first time, Fankil went outside.  I saw Gothmog leading him through the living room and then out through the open door (because it was sunny this morning I had the door open so the cats could dot in and out.) I was a bit worried that Fankil was going to just vanish, but no, he and Gothmog played with leaves for a little bit on the patio, then they came back in.   Nenya has worked out how to use the catflaps, but Gothmog and Fankil haven't, yet.

And now they are playing in the livingroom, and Fankil just came and sat on the sofa next to me for a bit!  Now he's gone a little way away, but he's still sitting on the sofa next to Rosie.  This is very fine progress. I admit at one point we were starting to wonder if we would ever see Fankil, and then if we could possibly get all three to actually get along.  But things are looking good now.

Comments

[alithea]

Excellent news :D

[elwinfortuna]

That sounds great! It's good when the cats get along -- our two have the occasional spat which mainly seems to involve Socks wanting to play and Rey going HELL NOPE to that idea. They will never be best friends but they have learned to more or less share the house and each have their own 'safe spaces' where they can be reasonably sure the other will generally not venture.

[dhampyresa]

I'm so gald your kitties are doing so well!

[scripsi]

I'm so glad to hear they are getting along better!

[bunn]

Yes, I'm really delighted that he's moving forward so well, though I doubt he's ever going to be super-confident.

[bunn]

Yes, I think that was the problem between ours, too. I am still hoping that they may be able to achieve a friendship, since they are all so young and still settling in many ways - Nenya's coat is still improving, it was very coarse when she arrived, and I think possibly her skin was a bit irritable to go with that. But if they don't, then as long as they can learn to share, it should be OK.

[bunn]

Me too! Thanks!

[bunn]

It's a great relief : nobody likes having animals arguing.

[topum.livejournal.com]

In Romanian "nenya" means "uncle" used by kids when talking to grown up men (who are not their uncles). A lot of Moldovan kids in the village called me "nenya Bjorn". It is spelled "nenea" though I think ("ea" is a diphthong).

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

I'm glad matters are improving.

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that there has been so much progress! It's wonderful to hear that Fankil has become confident enough to assume ownership of the sofa...

[howlin-wolf-66.livejournal.com]

Baby steps! :-)

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Really? Weird coincidence! (Also says a lot about Moldova that there's a word for 'sort of uncle that isn't my uncle'... Or do they call their actual uncles with the same word?)

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Me too - I was worried for a while!

[bunn.livejournal.com]

He seems to have decided that was A Step Too Far again, but I'm hopeful that he will be back on the sofa before too much longer.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

Yes indeed. Encouraging he's making them though!

[topum.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there is a different word for the uncles who are their actual uncles ("unchiul"sounds like "oon-qyool"). "Nenea" is for adult men who are not your uncles, but it kind of means "uncle". In Russian it is the same word though (Dyadya). In Romanian they also have a word kids use on much older boys who are not fully grown adults yet (say 17 year olds) and that's "badea" (sounds like badya). And they have a whole of bunch of singular "you" (tu, mata, dumneata, dumneatale, dumneavoastra) that you have to pick from depending on your age / social status in relation to and degree of familiarity with whoever you are addressing.