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.

Somehow tonight Zeeke - who was on the living room side of the baby gate - and Merlin, who was on the kitchen counter, managed to knock over a pan of freshly baked cookies. While I was cleaning that up Zeeke immediately ran into the living room - where I had been, reading - and started scarfing down my snacks. Sigh. That damn dog.

So this evening I am reading in bed. After the cookie incident (which was only the last of many tonight) Zeeke has been locked in Den’s office with Den to give me some peace. But while the dog’s away…. the cats will play. And play they do, whole-heartedly. It really is quite amusing.

It started when Jo wandered in here to say hi. It was unexpected; it’s usually Merlin up on the bed for attention. But as he explored the rest of the room Merlin started egging him on, batting at him, trying to bite his paw. (It’s really quite funny to watch.) Then Merlin jumped on him a few times and Jo managed to get away. He walked off down the hall looking quite haughty and dismissive. But then he stopped, looked back, and came running back in here, only to land on top of Merlin. Snort!

So they have been running in and out. I see the tops of tails run past the bed. Every once in a while I see a head or two as someone leaps into the air. Sometimes there’s a paw. They look like WWE wrestlers - all show and exaggerated motions. And really just as entertaining.

Zoe is being the fretting mama. She’s on the bed watching intently. Before they really started playing she was trying to start something. She had been following Merlin around, and flattened Jo on the bed at least once. So now she’s just supervising their play, whining a little. I can’t tell if it’s whining because she’s upset that they’re being rough, or whining because she wants to join in. She seems so very torn. She runs over to them, then stops and runs away to watch from a safe distance. I need to get photos of her when she’s in this ultra-intent mode.

Oh, and when I got up this afternoon the tree was pretty hard done by. There were large gaps from where branches had been bent downward, and the garland was hanging off the tree haphazardly. Apparently our youngest has taken to climbing trees - but only at night when I can’t catch him. Lovely.

I love my new kitty very much. Somehow I knew he would be right for this family - I just knew.

Him and Zeeke are already getting along so well. Merlin’s preferential place to sleep during the day is in the middle of our king-sized bed - he aims big for such a small cat! - and it doesn’t matter that Zeeke is right there or not. He does what he wants to do, goes where he wants to go. And Zeeke is reacting to that attitude by shrugging. He still does follow the cat around, but his obsession level is already way down. He goes off and does his own thing while Merlin sleeps - I guess a sleeping cat, cute or not, is of no consequence. We are both very impressed with how very well it’s been going after only a week.

We’re developing a routine, Merlin and I - every evening I go lay propped up in bed with pillows and type on my laptop for a while. It’s a nice way for me to wind down at the end of the day. Well Merlin takes that cue to crawl up onto my chest and lay down and nuzzle my chin. He’s done this I think three days in a row now. He is so very sweet… he curls up right there on my chest and licks my chin and nose. His whiskers tickle. After five or ten minutes he moves off me onto his own spot on the bed to sleep.

A thing I’ve noticed about him is that his white hairs are longer than his black ones. It makes for a funny look, because his white patches seem to extend out into the black like a bunch of white whiskers. You can also feel that the longer white hairs are coarser too. It’s like Oreo with her black and white/merle fur (the grey hairs had a different consistency). Merlin’s fur was a little dry and his skin a little flakey when we first got him. It’s improved a lot. I gave him a light brushing a couple of days ago, and I think the change in food has helped too. His fur now feels much softer. Nothing like Jo’s, of course - Jo has soft rabbit-fur.

Merlin had a reputation for being a door-bolter at the sanctuary. He is indeed still curious about the front door, but he’s actually not as bad as Jo, at least so far. We’re already extremely cautious about the door thanks to Jo - and Zeeke isn’t an angel either. So Merlin is at least in a surrounding made for him!

I really do love my new little boy. My two kitties make me very happy. (Of course I tell Zoe that she’ll always be more special - but just not to mention it to the cats. )

Everything going smoothly still. The cats are still play-fighting several times a day. I still am not quite sure what to think about it. The only thing I am sure about is that Jo is not actually plotting to kill him in his spare time. It’s not at all like when he and Angel used to get into it. He does look vicious though - ears half-back, tail swishing madly, body turned sideways and slightly puffed up. But he does the same thing to Zoe when he’s beating her up, and in that case he is the sole aggressor and it is most definitely in play. I think he just looks mean when he’s in full out play mode. He always has been a slightly kooky cat.

Today for their dinner I gave Jo and Merlin each half a can of Wellness. Before I brought Merlin home they told me that he wasn’t a big fan of canned foods but he loved the dry. Well he’s loving every canned food I’ve pulled out. Today was Wellness Chicken and both cats gobbled it down (Jo slightly less than Merlin). Yesterday I fed them Felidae, they both loved that too.

One of Merlin’s very odd habits that has emerged: he tries to bury his food when he’s done eating. Unfortunately we have linolium flooring so that doesn’t work too well… but even so he’ll scratch at the floor for a good several minutes before giving up and walking away. And he’s not always unsuccessful - yesterday he managed to scratch some of the cardboard shavings off one of their scratching boards and onto the food saucer. Today the actual scratching board was somewhat on the saucer. It’s too funny to watch. That poor boy is very determined.

I think Jo is eating more than he was before, too. Though part of that might be that he eats what he does, leaves, and Merlin continues eating. Either way I can now use a full can of cat food and not have it going to waste. Though I’ll have to make sure Mr Piggy doesn’t eat too much and get fat.

Den also noted that Jo’s attitude towards us seems more aloof. We’re not sure if he’s feeling put-out because of the new bundle or what. Maybe he’s feeling less lonely, less “clingy” since he has a friend to play with now. Maybe it’s just our imagination.

The dogs sure were funny tonight though. I like to throw in a little surprize in their meals… sometimes a whole egg, sometimes some yogurt. Today I threw in a tablespoon of yogurt and some cut green beans, which Zoe loves. I know Zeeke hates green beans, so I just took one little piece and put it in his bowl to see if he’d eat it or not. I walked in later and Zoe’s bowl was empty, as usual. Zeeke’s had some kibble left… and a single solitary green bean right in the center. LOL! He hadn’t even eaten the kibble directly around the green bean, I guess it’s that distasteful to him. What a funny boy.

The pets all have me stunned today.

First the two cats. I decided I was going to step in more with their little wrestle matches when Jo appeared to be getting very annoyed. So today I did so. This morning they were getting rough so I put Merlin in time-out in his cage while we went out for breakfast. The rest of the day they spent sleeping around the house. This evening they both woke up and Merlin jumped Jojo again. The second time they started was in the living room and I shoo’d Merlin off and told him to cut it out. He walked off down the hall into Den’s office. Next thing I know Jo goes running down the hall after him. A few minutes later they both come flying out of Den’s office and down the hall, and Jo’s tail was most definitely in a crook. They ran around the living room a bit, climbing furniture, then sat down for a while. Then off they went again down the hall chasing one another. So apparently Jo is not nearly as upset about Merlin as I had feared. While I was reading a book tonight both cats snuck into the bathroom (which had the door cracked open) and proceeded to roll around in there for quite some time, thumping into walls and nearly shutting them both inside. After a while I saw the door get pulled open and Jo came sauntering out… a couple seconds later Merlin came out and walked in the opposite direction. It was the funniest thing! Unfortunately our bath mat is covered in a bunch of little black fur clumps. Whether or not they are getting “too” rough they are certainly not being gentle on each other. (Not that this should surprize me - our dogs beat the crap out of each other too.)

Merlin spent the entire day sleeping on the futon, then moving to the couch to sleep. He completely ignored Zeeke. After just two days he is walking around the house freely like he owns it - dog be damned. He does get a little ticked off with Zeeke nibbling on him, but he is definitely not the least bit scared. Zeeke has been acting much better than we expected - still not as good as we had hoped, but it is only day 2. Zeeke was basically ignoring Merlin the entire time he slept on the couches… just not paying any attention at all. This is a big improvement. However soon as Merlin moves Zeeke jumps to attention. We’re hoping that reaction will diminish over time. We hope. As it is, Zeeke is rather annoying when he starts the barking and panting and obsessive following and biting at the cat.

Zoe doesn’t even come into the equation. Merlin attempted to try playing with her - tapping her with a paw and sniffing her. But Zoe very carefully moved out of his reach. She’s still not quite sure yet. I’m sure she’ll warm up - she’s been sniffing him maniacally all day. She is feeling the effects of not as much attention as she’s used to, however. Whenever Den walks into the room she runs over to sit at his feet and start whining and barking insistently at him until he gives her some attention. I think she’s feeling a little ignored. I’ve tried giving her some personal time today. Gave her a little brushing, some cuddling, some playing. But she isn’t demanding with me, only Den.

Just now we’re all in the bedroom except Jo. The dogs were in here and when Den came in to go to bed Merlin came sauntering in and jumped on the bed. He currently has Zoe’s tail clamped in his arms and is chewing on it. Merlin is now biting her toes. It’s pretty damn funny. I’m not sure how Zoe feels… I think she’s a little disconcerned. LOL!

These cats are hysterical. This morning I put some different food down on plates to see who liked what. They happily ate out of the same dish, although Jo wasn’t 100% sure about it. They both seem to really like the canned Felidae, though they both at the carved flavor of Friskies I put out. As far as dry food, both dishes of the Dave’s specialty brand was gone this morning. I was wondering why Jo was in Merlin’s cage eating - later found out he was polishing off the Dave’s food in the cage as he’d already licked his own bowl clean. So I guess that one is a home run.

The rest of the day Merlin was sleeping on our couch in the living room. Didn’t matter if Zeeke was out here or not, he didn’t really want to leave. If I was on the computer he might come over to spend time on my desk (and on my keyboard - he is still learning the rules), but mostly he slept on the couch. He was very cuddly when we sat down beside him to watch TV. He is very unconcerned about Zeeke. He doesn’t like being hassled, but he’s not very frightened at all.

The whole cupboard debate continues. Jo was sleeping in the cupboard most of the day. So this evening when Merlin went into the kitchen he was a littled disgruntled by that. I heard some pawing at the cupboard. Next thing I see, Jo comes storming out of the cupboard in a huff. I guess Merlin decided to just go right on in, and Jo is not yet okay with that so he vacated.

This evening both had come out of the cupboard and were walking around the kitchen. I guess Merlin must have been hyper, because he walked over to Jo and lunged on top of him. THUNK onto the ground they went. It was very obviously a play move, not an aggressive one. Again and again they rolled around on the floor. I was a bad mommy - after laughing hysterically (and trying not to make too much noise and disturb them) I asked Den for the camera. I snapped photos as we both stifled laughter. They were way too funny.

Guess who was on top? I’ll give you clue - it wasn’t the older, larger cat who used to beat up other cats. Merlin was jumping all over Jojo and biting at him. Jojo responds in turn. I was a little concerned, but then when there was a break Jo was the one sticking out his paw and tapping Merlin to get it started again. After a while Jo started making little noises. Den and I kept cheering Jo on, but he wasn’t doing too well, just getting peeved. So finally I grabbed Merlin and put him in his cage for a little while to chill out. (That only worked momentarily - they’re at it again right now). My boss had said that Merlin was causing problems at the shelter because he kept doing this to all the older cats who had no patience for it. She said Merlin needs someone to put him in his place. We had hoped Jo would, but apparently Jo’s a big sissy pants. However no fight has broken out, they’re just playing rough. I’m willing to let them sort it out on their own for a while. Maybe Jo will get annoyed and tell Merlin to bugger off. Either way it’s getting some energy loose.

Okay I just went in and there was more fur on the floor than I’d like. I think they were starting to get a little rough. I’d have seperated them and tossed Merlin into time-out, but just then Den opened the door and Zeeke came running in, breaking up the party. I’m not sure what to think. They’re both initiating it. I’ll have to go ask some cat-people.