Life With Cats and Art November 2021

Hello {{ subscriber.first_name or "friend" }},

I can't believe it's almost December! Where did the year go? Seems I am busier with each passing month. Guess that's a good thing but it's hard to keep up with myself. First, some cat news.

Bella and Red are doing great! People ask me how I knew they would get along and the answer is "You don't know". Nothing is guaranteed but if you follow the guidelines of introducing your furry friends properly you then have the best chance for a good outcome. Sometimes you have to fight family members, like my husband, who said "open the carrier and just put them together". NOT!!! This is an invitation to failure. I never listen, so Bella was given her own room with a screen (my art stand) in front of the door. Her food and a litterbox were there for her. They could see each other and I would go into "her room" often to visit. She would usually be under the bed. I would sit on the bed and call to her. She would come and let me pet her at first. Eventually she would come out and jump on the bed and we would "visit" a while. Red would peek in and was curious about her. Gradually, I would slide the "door" open after they had sniffed each other through the screen. This part took about 2 weeks. 

You can find suggestions on introducing animals on many pet advice sites on line. This is how I began and the rest is history. It has only been a few months but now they chase each other around and run from one end of the house to the other. Sometimes they stand and sniff each other's faces and Red licks the top of her head. They jockey for space on the bed or sofa next to me and sometimes they sleep on the big chair together.

Last issue I talked about nail trimming. She lets me do it without too much fuss but Red is impossible. I can sometimes do his left paw while he is semi sleeping and relaxed on my lap. I sneak in one paw at a time. This might take an hour or days. The right paw is another story. He won't let me near it. I know there is nothing wrong with it because I can touch it other times with no hysterics. Well, I finally had enough. I was going to take him to the vet to have them do it and then I decided to enlist help for one more try. I had read all the tips on line about the burrito method where you wrap the cat in a towel, etc. That was not happening. I can barely lift him much less get a towel around him. I decided to put him on the table and have my husband hold him down. This worked fine. He struggled at first but finally gave up. He wasn't too happy about it but we got it done.