It lasted about 15 minutes before the need to assert herself overcame the need for a nap. But she was aware of him and put up with it for several minutes.
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Little Bit has made it into the office. I was at the computer, and she started growling softly. I turned, and she was in the middle of the floor. Pharaoh was at the door about to come in, and she thought he was approaching her purposefully. He wasn’t, he wanted to get to me, but she happened to be smack in between us. She didn’t do anything but kept up her warning growl; she still is defending her distance and needs to learn to relax around them more. It will come with time.
Pharaoh, who is a very smart cookie, turned himself in slow motion 90 degrees to the right, too gradually to evoke protest, and then jumped onto the six-foot-long-but-low bookcase (magazine and miscellaneous bookcase) which extends all along that wall between the door and my desk. Once up on its track, Pharaoh walked it the length of the wall, past Little Bit on the floor, stepped from the bookcase onto the keyboard shelf (but not on the keyboard itself; see the First Feline Commandment), and then entered my lap, his planned destination all along. He flipped upside down, which he loves, and began purring up a storm.
And Little Bit sat in the floor staring puzzled at the sight of another cat upside down in my lap. She cannot make sense of this. She has never experienced laps yet. Perhaps, as she did with toys, she will learn the purpose of laps in time. She’s doing very well for just five and a half weeks here, but there’s a lot in this new environment to learn about.
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Has it really been that long? I’ve been checking this thread daily for a little boost (much needed with my Dad in hospital since before Christmas).
Happy she’s doing well, and is willing to think about everything new. 
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Yes, I caught her on January 8th. She has come a long way, but a long way left to go.
She’s in the office for the last few hours. This is probably excellent for Little Bit. She’s over there watching the other cats come in and out and interact with me, and for the most part, they are ignoring her. There is much more to learn about life in the office than there is tucked up in her safe room.
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Eye to eye.
This was a good encounter. I had given the other cats a treat and took a few in for Little Bit. However, they got tangled up in my pocket, and delivery took a minute. Just as she was finally getting the treats, Brio came sailing into the room and jumped on the bed. He’s fond of treats.
I pinned him and told him no, and she slowly finished eating them with a close eye on him. Once she was done, I backed off and gave it a minute for them to just look at each other. Brio is large and boisterous, but he’s all play, and he has shown amazing restraint with her so far, realizing she isn’t up to playing with others yet. She hissed at him a few times but did not slap. After a minute, I stepped away and called him, and he jumped off the bed.
Slow progress.
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Little Bit has developed a cute habit in the last week as she explores out into the house. In the mornings, she will be waiting out in the living room while I feed the other cats, and then she will follow me back to her room for her breakfast. We step in, and I have to close the door, only Little Bit stops shortly inside. She is in the way of the swing of the door, not being that used to how doors work yet. So I slowly start to close it, she just stands there, and it bumps against her side. At that point, she will turn around and hiss at the door. I have to laugh. This little girl is spunky, and she lets anything, whether other cats or doors, know that she is not to be trifled with.
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Showdown at the Breakfast Corral.
I’ve seen this one coming. As Little Bit gets more exploratory, she has gotten on the table a few times. That in itself is not a problem. My cats are allowed on the table, and she has seen others up there lots of times. It’s also a prime jump-off spot to the counter, which has a big window there.
However, the rule that DOES apply is that food in my possession is mine, period, amen. See the Second Feline Household Commandment. They may get on the table, but they may not make attack runs on my plate.
This morning’s breakfast, like that 90% of mornings, included turkey bacon. I came to the table holding a plate of breakfast with bacon, and Little Bit went into Meat Alert and promptly jumped up on the table, heading for my just-placed plate.
I grabbed her and told her no. She protested vocally and tried to bite me, which fortunately I dodged because I had anticipated it. You still cannot handle this cat physically as casually you would a lifelong house cat. I never touch her, even petting her, without keeping an eye on body language because even with petting, she has a limit.
So, I dodged the bite, grabbed her again, and managed to push her off into the chair. She hissed and tried to bite me again, and I tilted the chair over until she quit this carnival ride and jumped to the floor. She then stalked off in that Offended attitude that cats do so well.
Sorry, Little Bit, but there are rules. There aren’t many rules, but the ones that exist are nonnegotiable. Food in my possession is mine, and sharing it, or not, is entirely my prerogative. She will learn. Hopefully she will keep watching the other cats as well. Solo jumped up on the table herself halfway through my meal, but she settled down at a respectful distance wearing a halo. Food is the issue, not the table. I’ve never had a cat who couldn’t learn the rules with consistency, though some take longer than others, and Little Bit is quite intelligent. She’ll get it.
But yes, if you make an attack run on my plate, you will hit the floor. That’s life on Erdenheim. Deal with it.
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Little Bit, Pharaoh, and Brio.
Nobody is actually friends yet, but she is getting closer without the hissing 95% of the time.
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Slowly but surely she is getting there. She appears to have plenty of tortie-tude so that ought to keep the others in check. lol
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Two months. I caught her January 8th.
Little Bit is adapting to house life, but she is also definitely her own fully developed (and strong) personality.
She is in general population now and has been through the whole house, but she has not yet made friends with any of the others. We are working on slowly getting closer when they pass each other without her hissing. She clearly does not really trust any cat on the place yet. As per her (known) lifetime reputation, she is a lone wolf.
With me, it’s more of a compromise. I like to think that we’ve made friends, but I still have to watch her every second, keeping an eye on the body language. I can touch her, but she does have a limit, and when her switch flips, I need to leave her alone. I have never yet heard her purr, but I haven’t yet had an ear up to her, either, not wanting to sacrifice an ear to the cause. She’s quick.
But she is warm and has claimed a few spots in the house as “hers.” She sits and watches the world go by, but she doesn’t seem to miss the scrabbling life. She knows how to play now, and at times, she will play with a toy, fiercely but always alone.
The adventure continues.
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We had one short fight while I was eating, and it was actually initiated by Atticus. Little Bit had been in the living room, playing some, lounging around some, being near the others and me without getting too close while I cooked. Just as I started eating, she stood up, stretched, and ambled back to her room, and Atticus suddenly came to attention and then trotted purposefully that way. I could see the thought bubble there and read it in his stride. Atticus is not aggressive, but he isn’t all that patient, either, and he’d just had enough of pussyfooting, literally, around the edges with this cat who to him is being unreasonably slow to make friends. He decided to go in there and really get to know her close up as cats should. I could see what was coming and was already starting to get up when the fireworks started, not just a snarl and a slap this time.
Atticus is on the slightly small side of average, and Little Bit is smaller, truly a little bit, but she had the advantage of knowing how to actually fight, which he doesn’t. He was trying to force a friendship, not a battle, and she still is learning any sort of friendship framework. She beat him handily. That ended with him retreating, all others rushing up to the door to spectate, and Little Bit, of course, retreating into a corner. She did not push the battle once he fell back. I spoke sharply to him and made sure she saw me do it. No real apparent damage done.
Well, hopefully that taught you something, Atticus. Slow and steady wins the race. She is making good progress; he just has no idea of where she’s coming from.
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7 cats in one shot. Little Bit lower right, Brio middle with front paws on the rug, Mary under the chair, Atticus beyond the table, Mystery on the table, Pharaoh on the counter, Solo on the floor in front of the fridge.
Satin and Rascal in the woods this morning on my walk. That’s not a cave in the background, just a carve out. Water runs through there when the river is high.
Well, COTH is playing don’t upload. I’ll try to edit it in after posting.
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Better and better. The first thing I do every morning upon exiting my bedroom is to take my thyroid pill, which is antisocial and doesn’t want to be near anything else in my stomach like food. I take this with a full glass of water. I then feed cats. So, there is a “we’re about to be fed” interval of a few minutes in there when the cats are right on go but I’m standing around drinking a glass of water. They are used to this, but they Do. Not. Approve.
Since having her door open, Little Bit still sleeps in that room, but she has started coming out to greet me and then walk back for her private breakfast. By this point, she is almost clear across the room to me as she calls (she has quite a voice) and waits impatiently for the Feeding of Cats.
So, this morning, she was up just about under my feet as I stood there drinking my glass of water. Atticus and Pharaoh were up above pacing on the counter. Atticus abruptly chose to jump down. I think in pre feeding excitement, he mistook Little Bit for Mary on the top view; those two are extremely similar looking. He didn’t seem to mean to do what he did; he was as startled as she was.
Anyway, Atticus jumped down from the counter RIGHT next to Little Bit, like about six inches over. Both of them spooked, and then she started growling and snarling, but to my amazement, she did not slap at him. Atticus very respectfully in slow motion backed up, increasing the distance, and she settled down. I praised both of them for that non-violent encounter, but I am very impressed that a cat abruptly jumped down directly next to Little Bit and she didn’t go into full attack mode reflexively. She definitely let him know he was out of line, but I would have expected her to smack him for that, especially as she was caught off guard.
Progress!
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