hestia is adjusting!

[Tink]

well, after a standoff with the alpha dog hestia had a setback for two days..then decided "forget this, i'm not hiding behind a fish tank forever". migrated to the bedroom, started sleeping there during the days. kuan yin who was never interested in lying next to me is suddenly battling with her over who gets to lay by mommy's shoulder...usually hestia wins. was worried because she is declawed and of course kuan yin is not but that girl sure can make herself look intimidating.
last night hestia decided when the dogs ran in to sleep with daddy on the bed as is customary that she was NOT moving off for some "stinking dogs". laid on my legs all night and stared em down. that's good because the dogs don't fuss if something doesn't run away from them in fear. if a newcomer is confident then they just ignore them.
i think by next week she'll be queen of the household:D
kuan yin and her had a "groom off" this morning..quite interesting to watch. they were both on the bed with me and almost seemed to be competing who groomed themselves better, i.e. lick, lick, stare...lick, lick, move closer to mom, stare...lick, lick, hiss, stare...not sure what the communication was there but it was amusing.
very happy that this looks like it's working out, i have a multispecies house and one never knows if i'll be helping or hurting by adopting, i always fear that.
oh, and she is totally indifferent to the ferrets now..it's amazing how they can adjust, isn't it?

[Grete]

You are right, it is amazing :) I'm so pleased she has adjusted and the pecking order is getting sorted ;)

[meep]

That wee groom-off sounds hilarious! Of course it's never nice to have two cats growlng and hissing but it's just part of the settling in process, and it sounds like they're wee characters. They'll soon be grooming each other I'm sure ;)

[meep]

Tink I just re-read what you wrote, and noticed you said Hestia is declawed. Is there any particular reason for this? Is it common practice?

[Tink]

Tink I just re-read what you wrote, and noticed you said Hestia is declawed. Is there any particular reason for this? Is it common practice?

i wish she wasn't. it's not so much common practice anymore now that people are educated, but since she is nine (ten in december) i think maybe the owners didn't know how cruel it is (i hope so at least)..my seventeen year olds were declawed too:cry:

kuan yin is the only kitty in the house with all her claws cuz she's the only one i had since kittenhood. just hope she doesn't abuse her power;)

[dandysmom]

Yes, meep, unfortunately declawing used to be more common here; the rationale being that it prevented furniture damage! Thank God more and more vets refuse to do it now!
Tink, Hestia sounds like a lovely cat who's adjusting very well to her new multi-species household...I too bet she'll be the Queen Bee before long, bless her. Loved the groom-off story!!