In with the new

After sixteen and a half years of having the most neurotic, timid cat I’ve ever known (albeit also one of the sweetest cats I’ve ever known), I’m finding that bringing a new cat into the house means a completely new way of looking at some things. Gracie was a cat with a capital C. You had to come to her. She had her ways, and you needed to adjust to them. She wanted what she wanted. She didn’t follow me around, like Tig does. (That’s a Maine Coon thing, particularly a male Maine Coon thing. They’re very doggy cats.) Meimei? Well, she wants to be around me, too. Tonight was lovely. I caught up on Castle while Tig slept on the sofa and Meimei slept on the ottoman at my feet. They’re both in my office now. Meimei is playing, and Tig is watching her. He’s trying to figure out how to play with her. Sometimes they play perfectly. He’s gotten her to chase him up the stairs and around the landing. They were running in and out of his tube and kitty condo earlier tonight. I expect things will change as she gets older. I think Tig is scared of hurting her right now. She’s three pounds. He’s twenty.

Everything is new to Meimei. She was frightened of the television, until she got used to it. She was frightened of the fireplace. Tonight, she was frightened of the electric toothbrush.

Everything not frightening is a toy. She has to be chased off my kitchen and dining room chairs (the kitchen chair is doubling as a scratching post, apparently). All of Tigger’s toys are hers. If I lean down too close with my hoodie on, she goes for the strings that draw the hood tight. Piece of leaf on the ground by the front door? Toy! Edible toy, no less. A light socket? Attack! The zipper on my laptop case? Toy!

I have a very happy home again. I miss Gracie, but Meimei is filling her shoes quite nicely. Here’s the latest shot of my silly new girl, taken just after I wrote that last paragraph. She’s enjoying her new home as much as I’m enjoying having her here. I won the kitty lotto again.