Here's Coco!

If you've reviewed The Herd page recently, you may have noticed the Herd has gotten a bit bigger. Her name is Coco, and she's been with us about a 6 weeks. True to any new family member, I can't imagine life without her!

On the right is how she looked when I first saw her at a Pet Refuge event. Purring. T.S. Elliot's kind of jellicle. Missing a front fang. Adorable. And needing brushed. (On the left is Day One at Bunny Haven Manor East after much brushing.) She decided in the first 5 minutes that this was her house and she was good with that. (She's much like Griffin.)

It took a week to get her to our house. The human male was out of town, and I wanted make sure he liked her before adding her to the Herd. The addition of another pet had been a point of discussion for some time. Killian has never been an only cat and he'd been a bit lonely. (The puppy is too boisterous for him.) I'd been looking for a kitty friend for him for a number of months. But, it needed to be the right friend:

• Not aggressive
• Must like dogs
• Must like visiting children

I also like cats with "house manners". Because Coco had been fostered with people rather than just being in a shelter, the likelihood of her knowing basic house manners was much better. Check. Check. Check.

In the spirit of modern communication - after I spotted her at the pet adoption event, said "hi" and she purred - I texted the human male the picture of her. He said, immediately, that I should get her. I wanted to wait until he came home. Unfortunately, by the time we filled out her paperwork, she'd already been selected by another family. We filled out her paperwork anyway. Apparently it was meant to be because we were selected as the better fit and the human male went to pick her up.

She made friends quickly. She and the puppy went from "I WILL Smack YOU" to "Whatever" in about 4 minutes flat. Now when she walks in a room, she goes over and says hi to Rusty the puppy first. 

Next she began to weave her spell on the human male. Coco the kitten is now "where is my Coco?" when he comes home. (We won't discuss when I sent her to the groomers, and he got her on his lunch hour because he decided she was scared there. Or the kitty toys and special bed he got her.)

Killian has been a harder sell. He's very careful in determining if a situation is safe. For the most part, she's been trying to engage him in play, and he's a little nervous - despite the fact he's 2x her size. The picture on the right is as close as he would comfortably get with her. The picture on the left is how he reacts to her play. Until yesterday. Yesterday, they played kitty tag, too fast for me to capture it. He chased her, she chased him - it went on for 5 minutes through the living and dining rooms. They had a grand time. No one hissed or clawed. Just played until they got tired and went to their customary spots. They aren't best friends, yet, but Coco has begun her spell on Killian.

Take-away - Give it time and be patient. Time changes things.