Chee

We called him Chee, and I think it suits him.

What a distinguished profile!

I'll admit, I was a little worried at first. A lot of why we chose to get Chee is because Mouse seemed a little lonely and bored. We wanted her to have a partner in crime, someone to play fight with, sleep with, and pounce on from time to time. But cats are totally unpredictable, and there was no way to know for sure that Mouse and Chee would get along. We had high hopes, of course, but no guarantees.

Since we're responsible and we like to be prepared, and we're relatively new to cat-owning, we did a lot of internet research. The consensus on introducing cats to each other seemed to be that the best way to do it = slowly. So we prepared a room for Chee (my tiny office space), with a litter box, food and water bowls, a scratching area, and a little bed for him. And we kept him in there for almost three days (with frequent visits, yeah, of course, we're not heartless in the face of cuteness) while he proceeded to tell us that he was increasingly unhappy and missed his family.

I don't know if you've ever heard a kitten cry as loud as he can, but let's just say it's pretty loud. Kind of like the shriek of a bald eagle, actually.

Mouse, on the other hand, was quite suspicious. She hissed and growled outside the door of the office, and yet seemed unable to stop herself from coming back to sniff again and again.


Finally, and accidentally (oops! didn't close the door fast enough), they met. And they've pretty much been inseparable since. Chee is delighted to have another cat to be with (people are a little further down the totem pole for him so far), and Mouse has willingly taken on the mantle of mama cat, cleaning him, attacking him gently, and running to him any time he cries.

Getting a bath from Mouse. 

Faster than a speeding bullet!

He's a tiny little lump right now, weighs hardly more than a box of pasta, and yet I keep forgetting that because his personality is so darn big!  

Finally time for a nap.

His eyes are bluish now but they'll go green soon enough.

I love that little spot on his nose. 

So I think you could say that it's all turned out pretty well.