Three's a crowd

Today

We've had the kitties for over a year now and Abby doesn't seem to be any closer to accepting them. In fact, it's getting slightly worse, with Abby only coming in for meals and growling even when sitting on my lap.

I feel a combination of anxiety and irritation. I want both to reassure her and to tell her to stop being so silly and get over it!

In My Day

When a customer of Paul's told him that they had a cross-bred Abyssinian cat to give away he jumped at the chance to get it for me. Abyssinians are renowned for their intelligent and affectionate natures and for their beautiful short, dense coats in which each hair is striped, honey, brown and "tipped" either with red or black. These kittens were "cross-bred" because their owners, who kept two pure-bred females for breeding, were bad at security and one female regularly escaped to enjoy the attentions of the local tomcat population. This resulted in unsaleable kittens and a queen spoiled for future breeding.

Just about as soon as Paul had committed himself to taking the kitten, we discovered that our cat Amelia was pregnant. About a week after the kittens were born, the Abyssinian, now called Agamemnon, came home. He displayed the usual playful interest in the kittens whose eyes were still closed and Amelia, without so much as a growl, let Agamemnon know that he could look but not touch. She allowed him to join in at feeding times, which he did by lying down behind her and grabbing a nipple from above.

Once the kittens were running about and had their eyes open, Amelia was completely laissez-faire and allowed Agamemnon to bat the kittens about, He never injured them and they came back for more.

For all their long lives together, Amelia and Agamemnon were close companions, usually curling up at nights to sleep together. Amelia continued in her maternal duties by washing Agamemnon regularly, pinning him down by one ear.

If only I could explain to Abby that she's nothing to fear and that life would be more rewarding if she could welcome the kitties into her heart.