The pets are settling down a lot now. Merlin has decided he likes it here just fine and will sleep anywhere in the house, typically in the middle of the floor. Zeeke will harass him - bark, paw, bite playfully, nudge. Merlin barely raises his head and just ignores him until Zeeke goes away. It’s kind of funny. Merlin just doesn’t get upset by him, he doesn’t care.

Jo is still much more nervous about Zeeke and doesn’t like walking freely around when Zeeke is loose in the house. However, he is coming out. I put a fleece blanket on my desk so every time I’m at my computer Jo is napping beside me. Right now I’m in bed with my laptop, Zeeke is napping in his crate with the door open, and both Zoe and Jojo are asleep on the bed beside me.

It’s just a very relaxed atmosphere. Everyone is getting along so well and I just feel like my furry family is complete.

Eeee! Zoe and Merlin are playing together! They’re not wrestling, they’re just playing tag… and he’s ripping my nice comforter… but they’re playing! I’m so happy!

Zoe sure is feeling left out, even though she is absolutely still my bestest little girl. Merlin keeps curling up on my chest as I lay in bed with my laptop, purring and nuzzling me. Zoe gets upset by it, and she runs over, squirms up to me, and snuggles up close to get a bit of attention too.

She has also taken to sniffing the two cats thoroughly, sometimes licking them too. They don’t really appreciate it, especially when she snorts in their face (which is frequently), but they basically squint their eyes and put up with it until she’s done. Just now she pinned Merlin on the bed with one paw and sniffed his mouth. I guess he smelled like cat food.

The other day she was trying so hard to get either cat to play with her - she wanted to play so badly! But they wanted none of it. She was pawing at them, barking at them…. and unfortunately she pawed a little too hard, because she knocked them off the bed several times. Just, thunk, over the edge they went. I can’t feel too badly for them, though, since she wouldn’t harass them so much if they’d just give her a little bit of attention. They act as if she isn’t even there. I feel bad for her.

I feel so bad for Zoe! She really has lost a playmate. I’m in the bedroom with just Zoe and Jo, and she is trying so hard to tempt him to play with her. She’s dancing all over the bed, smacking her paws, grunt-growling, and she even started yip-barking at him. She’s desperate. She pushed him off the bed in her play-smacks. And he’s totally ignoring her. He even gave her a dirty look before walking off. And it’s just so sad, because he used to totally get into it and bounce around and play with her. Now he wants nothing to do with her.

There are random times where I see Jo, and I say hi to him and reach out to pet him, then Merlin walks in and I greet him… and I think, Holy! I have two cats! It’s a great feeling. I love watching them together. They really are best buddies now. They like to follow each other around the house, even when they’re not playing. I love having the two of them, they’re my little buddies - annoying at times, but still my buddies.

They are getting a little chubby though. Ever since Merlin came home they’ve both been eating so much food! I only put out one 5.5oz can of canned food a day, which they eat in entirety, but I leave out dry food all the time and they’re going through that like never before. I want to put out more food - because they’re always yowling for more - but I can tell they’re getting a little chubby and I don’t want to make it worse. I might have to cut back a little, and I don’t want to do that!

I got a water fountain from work, since Merlin is still obsessed with water. I set it up today, he was immediately enthralled. Jo was interested, but Merlin was… obsessed. He sat there for a long time pawing at the water pouring out of the top. Then he started biting it - the fountain, not the water. Twice now he’s pried the top off of it and pulled out the filter, and I say oh well. I got it more for him to play in than as a drinking source, and who really needs filtered water anyways? It’s the waterfall action that he’s interested in. So let him play in it. Better that than the sink when I’m using it!

It’s a momentous day: Zoe and Merlin are playing! Both are pretty hyper after us being out all day, Merlin is practically bouncing off the walls. So as usual when he starts acting up Zoe starts trying to entice him into play. She’s been trying for over a week, with both cats, and both have always just ignored her - she’s been feeling a little upset about it. She tries so hard to join them and they just blow her off.

Well today Jo wasn’t nearby so Merlin, as hyper as he was, started wrestling with her! Jumping on her, playfully batting at her nose. One picture-perfect moment Zoe stopped her bouncing all over to sniff Merlin’s nose. Merlin gently rested a paw on each side of her muzzle and they just paused like that. Too bad I didn’t have a camera!

It was just so cute. Unfortunately Den walked in with Zeeke, who came bowling in and split up the party, but now that they’ve started I hope they’ll do it more often. Zoe sure does love to play with her cats!

Merlin is turning into a prize-winning sleeper. He sleeps on Den’s computer chair, on the futon, on the TV table, on the floor, and especially on our bed. He’ll sleep anywhere. He even ignores Zeeke harassing him. Doesn’t care.

Zoe is so sweet. She’s gotten used to the new kitty and now is completely fine. As she’s chewing on stuff on the bed she tends to roll over frequently, and she keeps rolling into/on top of the cat. she rests her head right next to his and they just stay there for a few seconds before she continues chewing on her toy. It’s so cute!

Merlin has two favorite pasttimes (besides wrestling with Jo): playing with water and attacking Den’s extremities. Unfortunately he has combined the two in a new game of his: climbing the shower curtain while Den is taking a shower and attacking his arms through the plastic.

So this morning I was woken by a yell (Den) I heard alongside the sounds of running water. And now we have a gaping hole in our plastic shower curtain. Good thing it’s one of those cheap ones.

I gotta say, in all my years of owning pets I have never seen a cat sit down with a dog chew (like a nylabone type thing) and just start chewing on it like a dog. In fact, now he’s picked it up and is attempting to carry it off. Unfortunately it’s Zeeke’s bone and weighs near as much as the cat does!

I guess there’s a first time for everything… o.O

Jo just joined me on the bed! He’s stretched out beside my legs, purring. I’m very thankful that he’s decided to spend a little time with me - he’s been enjoying Merlin’s company so much lately that he has been ignoring us humans. I miss my bubba boy. He also hasn’t played with Zoe at all since Merlin’s arrival, and she’s feeling a little left-out. She’s been trying to tempt either cat into playing with her. But at least she has Zeeke, he certainly hasn’t been ignoring her.

Merlin has been a terror as usual. The tree suffered twice, but seems to be mostly untouched… other than a little chewing on the lower branches. He’s been spending a lot of time playing with Jo… both cats really seem to enjoy it. We’re still flatly amazed at how well - and how quickly - they took to each other. They really seem to have a ball chasing each other all over the house.

Last night Den let Merlin in the bedroom when we went to bed. Merlin spent quite a while on our chests, headbutting (and licking) our chins. He curled up beside Den’s head, draped across his arm. Unfortunately Merlin apparently couldn’t just sleep, so he woke me up about every hour or so, rubbing against my head. And after we got up this morning Den told me Merlin had attacked his feet a couple of times as well. So no more cat in the bedroom at night, unfortunately. Even though Zeeke didn’t freak out and didnt spend all night stalking him. Maybe when he’s old enough to calm down a little at night - but night time is when the two cats tend to expend a lot of energy chasing each other so I don’t know if he’ll ever be ready to just sleep all night.