And then there were five....

[teigyr]

Ok, yes. Albert does weigh more than my bike! Oh my.

Last night he was in heaven. I got home to find him flopped on his back with DH rubbing his tummy. Every time we'd leave the room though, he'd burrow himself into a small space. We were amazed he could fit in some of the places he went. He also jumped up into shelves. DH made him a "house" that is a long box on its side. The side facing the door is not open but has a spot that he can peek through. There's a kitty bed inside and it's not so tight that he's uncomfortable but it's snug enough for him to feel secure. It's perfect because he can see who comes through the door.

This morning, I was brushing him and he got overly animated and jerked his head toward me. He did it in the process of brushing so I smacked him a bit on the head by accident. He quickly ran into his box and hasn't come out again. It wasn't hard but I bet he had been abused at some point. I sat with him for as long as I could and I made sure he was purring before I left. I think he's tired and it is a new experience. Oh, he heard the next door neighbor call his dog and Albert started growling. He didn't seem skittish yesterday but he is today. I don't blame him though.

We learned he had been through two animal shelters before running out of time. He was then picked up by the rescue group.

We well know the "cat arriving on the doorstep" drill I had a pound cat who left us last year. He was 22-23, nobody really knows but he was very old. I had a abused cat (she had been kicked around as a kitten) until last year also. We have a cat that showed up on someone's porch as a kitten, a stray where I used to work (ex-DH has her offspring), a stray that had been feral - she has a clipped ear to show she was spayed, and another local neighborhood stray. ex-DH also took the one we found while going out to dinner years ago. We didn't go to dinner, instead we took her to the emergency vet and got her fixed up.

I am not sure how long to wait until integrating Albert into the cat population. Does anyone have any ideas? Alix, our latest stray (before him) is frustrated because she loved the room he is in. I have always been bad about cat integration but when Alix came, I think we did it the wrong way because she really terrorizes the others.

Anyway, here he was as of last night! Sorry about the poor quality of the cell phone picture.

And as always, it always makes me happy to read what you all write. I get frustrated wondering where all the good people of the world are then I see them all right here

[Ninabike]

What I have always heard about integrating cats, is that cats are more tuned into smells than visual things. If you take a towel and rub it on Albert, and then put that towel with your other cats, they will get familiar with his scent before you introduce him. Albert has no doubt picked up the scent of your other cats already so the towel trick probably won't make a difference with him He will just need to stay in his "hiding place" till he is ready to come out.

[rij73]

Oh, that's so sweet. Congrats on the new addition, and congrats to Albert for finding such a great home. I adopted my dog who had a rough start in life. Feels good, doesn't it? There is a really special bond, when you get a pet that way, I think.

[surgtech1956]

He is very handsome. Thank you for adopting. We have 7 cats now(lost one in April) and 2 dogs. We are like you - cats find us.