Kitties vs. Max

So prior to getting Max home, I had been wondering to myself about how our two freeloading tenants (Bella and Lily) would react to a new family member. Holly and I talked it over and figured that Bella would be inquisitive yet understanding and cool while Lily would, well, be Lily and be aloof, turning tail at the mere sight of our new baby. As it turns out, we were wrong.


Bella was the first of our cats to scope out the new addition - she hopped on our bed right away and gave him a sniff. Bella seemed indifferent overall...until the first crying jag. Boy, does she ever go running! The best is that when she's hanging out on the main floor and Max starts wailing, she beelines for the bathroom and jumps on top of the toilet tank as if it were a kitty bomb shelter. In general, though, Bella has gotten a bit pouty. Before Max, she got about 2/3 of our attention when we were home and now it's down around 10%, reserved for when we're in need of a napping companion. Aside from this, she has gotten into the habit of getting into ridiculously pitiful poses right in the way of where we walk so that she gets noticed and, well, pitied. One arm full + one arm full = none left for Bella though. Hopefully, when care for Max gets a little less hands-on, we'll be able to rekindle the flame with Bella:)


On the other hand, Lily the scaredy-cat has taken to being around Max. Totally weird. The first time they met, Lily was about to jump on the bed but thought she'd check out the scene first and saw that there was some new creature there. Once satisfied that this being was not feline (and therefore not worth hissing at), she left the room, putting off getting to know Max until later. Since then, she really likes hopping on the couch or bed during feedings, just to bask in Max's greatness :) Being the less social (and dumber?) cat, she doesn't really seem to have noticed the drop-off in attention so appears to be as friendly as she's ever been. Still likes those tummy rubs!

We were a little concerned about how the cats would react before we got Max home...would they hiss and growl? Would they sleep on his face? Thankfully, they've been really civil and are afraid enough of the screaming outbursts that they afford Max a pretty wide berth. As long as they know where he is, they seem to respectfully keep their distance. Hopefully the cats will forgive us when he starts confusing them for stuffed toys.