Today we had a big cleaning job ahead of us, and we weren’t looking forward to spending time breaking down and tearing apart all the huge boxes left over from Christmas. So I said, “Get Zeeke to do it.” So he did! He needed our encouragement to keep going at it and really tearing them up, but the look in his eyes when we told him it was okay to rip the cardboard to shreds was sheer excitement and disbelief. He just couldn’t believe that we said it was OKAY to do it. Destruction! Sanctioned destruction! What could be better??

Meanwhile, Zoe is having an absolute ball playing with Merlin every day. She just loves the attention, and loves to wrestle. I did note that she was doing several of the same moves that Zeeke does on her - such as squashing and head-biting. Merlin doesn’t seem to mind. Someone looking at the photos remarked that Merlin had his claws sheathed in all of them. They’re both pretty gentle with each other… they play hard, but they are definitely just playing.

I constantly remark to Den about how laid-back Merlin is. He’ll sleep anywhere, anytime, usually with all four paws in the air. He doesn’t care of Zeeke is practically trampling him… doesn’t really care much about anything. He’s a very happy-go-lucky cat. If you rough Jo up a bit or hold him longer than he’d prefer he tends to get grumpy and will bite you to let you know his displeasure. Merlin though? You can annoy the heck out of him and he just does an imitation of a rag doll. He’s a very energetic cat, though - always running around, playing with Jo or Zoe, sometimes even Zeeke. He definitely has his daily crazies. Jo appears a lot more sedate than Merlin… even though previously we thought Jo was a crazy one! Either he’s mellowed (because Merlin is tiring him out!) or just the contrast makes it obvious. Jo isn’t a kitten anymore.

Merlin’s getting fat, though. I haven’t gotten any pictures of just how chubby he’s been getting. I just can’t believe how much he eats - he’s always in the food dishes, and always telling me when they’re empty. I finally had to strictly ration the cats to a cup of dry in the morning, a half cup of dry in the evening, and an evening meal of 1 can of canned food. Right now I’m feeding the Wellness canned, it has excellent ingredients, and Dave’s brand dry food. The cats love it! I threatened them that if they continue to eat it like such pigs that I’ll have to switch to a brand they don’t like as much! But anyways, Merlin weighs at least as much as Jo does at this point. And he’s a bit chubbier in the midsection. So my goal is to get him slimmed down a little bit - no fat pets in this house.

I LOVE all my pets. I just adore them all. Despite anything else that goes on in my life, sometimes I think it was all meant to happen this way, because I was meant to get all these animals, these specific, particular animals. Merlin coming into our lives was such a circumstantial thing, we weren’t looking for another cat and Den certainly didn’t WANT another cat. But he came anyways, and we just love him. We’re amazed and thrilled with how well he gets along with all the others here. He’s changed Jo for the better - Jo is no longer quite so afraid to venture out of the kitchen, to sleep on the couch or play in the hallways. I put a little fleece blanket on my desk, and Jo frequently comes over to nap beside me while I work on the computer.

They are all just so special to me.

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!

Merlin is home! It went way better than we were expecting.

First thing we did was get the cage set-up and ready for him. So when I came home with him Den held Jo back while I quickly put Merlin in the cage and closed it. Then we let Jo go and watched. Merlin checked out the cage while Jo came over to sniff everything possible. Jo wasn’t being territorial at all, but he was a little nervous and not sure what the heck that thing was and why was it in his house? He’d lean forward to sniff, then jump backwards. Merlin, for the most part, was wholly unconcerned by everything, he just seemed to wish he could get out of the cage to explore more. He looked around his cage for a while, ate some food, drank some water, used the litterbox. Jo, surprizing us both, stayed close to the cage to check out the new dude.

“WTF?!”

Sniffing

Can I come out now?

Merlin right away was sticking his paw out of the cage to touch Jo, he seems to love other cats. A little while later, after watching Merlin for a while, Jo tried getting his attention by doing the same thing. It was so cute!

When we let the dogs into the living room it was a bit interesting. Merlin’s first reaction to Zeeke was to puff up like a porcupine and hiss. He did not seem impressed by the big barking thing. Not at all. Zeeke was immediately obsessed.

Zoe didn’t really seem to understand what was going on at all. She just wanted to greet me, who had just come home from work. Zeeke was barking and spazzing, Zoe was put off by all the energy zapping around the room. We let her in the kitchen to let her check out the new cat, and she seemed even more put off by that - she just didn’t want to be in the kitchen. She always gets yelled at for being in the kitchen, it’s scary. She did notice the cat and go up to the cage to sniff him, but when he so much as twitched she hid behind me. Because of this Merlin filed her under the “unimportant” label and totally ignored her, even when she was sniffing him. He just didn’t care.

So after a while Jo had layed down on the kitchen floor to take a nap and Merlin was eating after napping in his litterbox (don’t ask, I haven’t the foggiest). Den and I shrugged and opened Merlin’s cage to let him out. It should have been too soon, but honestly it was going so well. So Merlin came walking out. Jo got to his feet to check him out up-close.

And it continued going so well we couldn’t believe it. The cats sniffed each other. Merlin explored the kitchen while Jo alternated sniffing him and sniffing the cage where he had been. It was so low-key. Jo just followed him around, sniffing here and there. We let Zoe in the kitchen again, she sniffed Merlin again. Merlin again ignored her. It appears Zoe is just not going to be a problem at all. Jo had the exact same reaction to her - “A dog!! Wait. It’s afraid of me. Oh, okay then. Maybe I can beat it up…” Merlin’s not quite at the “picking on her” stage, but I bet he will be soon. Zoe is just such an easy target, she’s so docile. LOL

Hi dude.

Follow the leader…

Zoe doing the butt-sniffing thing

Pretty boy

There’s a cat in my sink

Still following

A little nervous, are we?

And then Merlin surprized us all. He went sauntering across the countertop to where Zeeke was sticking his head over the babygate. They sniffed noses. Merlin sat down… layed down… then stretched out and relaxed. With Zeeke’s head less than two feet away.

Yeah, okay, I see you there

Whatever

Yawn

He isn’t brave enough to venture out of the safety of the kitchen - Zeeke is pretty darn scary. Zeeke did lunge at the babygate twice with a mean-sounding bark, causing Merlin to puff up halfway. But honestly? It took a year for Jojo to approach Zeeke in a fairly relaxed manner and not take off running. I’m seriously impressed, and I think Merlin could very well become friends with Zeeke in time. I sure hope so.

Den spent time with the cats today too. He sat on the floor and Merlin did his usual - climbed all over him, headbutted, and purred. Den even looked slightly amused by this, it was cute. We’re sure to give Jo equal attention, too.

So it did go pretty much how we expected - Zoe is a non-issue, Jo is a little weirded out but okay, Zeeke is a barking monster, and Merlin doesn’t really give a shit except about Zeeke.

Once upon a time I used to be worried about my little Zoe-monster being hurt by the big mean Zeeke. He was so much bigger than her, and she was so shy and dainty! When they started playing I would watch carefully, hovering like the nervous mama that I was. I’d frequently tell Zeeke to cut it out.

Well Zoe isn’t much bigger, and she’s still a shy, dainty little girl. But she sure tells Zeeke where to go when he gets too rough. Usually if there’s the sound of a fight during a particularily rough play session, it’s her kicking his butt. She snarls and yips in a really high-pitched voice, jumps up and bites him on the cheek multiple times. Then there’s silence. Then the sound of Zeeke trying to pick on her again… then the sound of another bitch-fest coming from Zoe.

And of course, not 60 seconds later they are both happily playing together again, tails wagging. But I don’t bother worrying about my little girl anymore. She can hold her own!

So my work (the cat sanctuary) has loaned me a large cat cage for when we finally bring Merlin home - it will be good, I think, to allow him and Jo to size each other up and be in each others’ presence without fur flying or territory issues. Hopefully the cage will only be required for a week or two.

So in any case I brought this huge cage home, brand new in a box. I pulled it out and started assembling it - most of it is assembled, you just have to unfold it and snap it together (which, by the way, is not as easy as one would assume!). The base is a large plastic tray on wheels. So as I’m putting together the wire cage part, I turn around and Zeeke’s standing with his front paws on the plastic base, basically skateboarding around the living room. LOL! He’s such a dork.

Now the cage is set up in the corner in the kitchen but the large box is still laying in the living room. Jo checked out the box and hid in it for a little while, but it’s not really his style. Zeeke on the other hand thinks the box is a new dog bed just for him. He sleeps on it. It’s somewhat flattened now thanks to him, but the sides still stick up a bit creating a cradle for him. He is just so thrilled with it. I will feel bad when I throw it out, but I can’t just leave it laying around.

Merlin, by the way, probably won’t be coming home for another week or so. He still has a bit of a virus/cold and they can’t figure out what it is. He’s gotten better (his eye was all gunky before, now it’s clear), but he’s still congested. Whatever it is, we don’t want to give it to any of our three. My boss has Merlin on antibiotics, and will be trying a different type in hopes that we can kick it out. Soon as he’s better we’ll bring him home.

This morning the dogs wake me up by barking crazily. “BARK BARK BARK BARK!!” I sigh, get up and get dressed, and we all leave the bedroom to start our day.

And immediately both dogs jump on the couch and fall asleep. Thanks, guys!

I think we are finally getting somewhere with Zeeke in regards to appropriate behavior around the cat. Den just let him out of his office, and when Zeeke saw the cat on the bed he was predictably a little ramped up about it. But he’ll leave the room and come back in - and he hasn’t put even a paw on the bed. He’s slowly (slowly) learning the rules, the limits. We’ve really been strict with him about the bed, he is simply not allowed on it, period. He has a dog bed on the floor right beside the bed that is all his. He has the old futon in Den’s office. We do let him sleep on the couch sometimes. But he does not get on the bed. The fact that he is respecting that rule, even when the cat is laying in the middle of the bed, tempting him… well that is a big step for him. I’m impressed.

The baby gate hasn’t gone back up in the kitchen, either. The dogs aren’t great with that and have to be constantly reminded, but all it takes is a “Eh, OUT.” I will find them both standing in the doorway, staring into the kitchen, ostensibly to figure out how they can sneak in. Zoe is actually worse than Zeeke, she just doesn’t seem to be as aware of the rule (typical of her, she’s a little bit naive). Zeeke is perfectly clear on the fact that the rule exists, he just decides he doesn’t need to listen to it - as evidenced by the fact that he goes running in there about .2 seconds after Den walks into the bathroom. “Woo hoo, here’s my chance!” Unfortunately, I was sitting right there.

And Zoe is doing a very strange thing just now. She’s on the bed, laying there. And every time he sticks his head over the bed to try to get to the cat she lunges at him and snaps at his face. At first I thought she was just trying to play with him, but just now she started her high-pitched yip-bark as she lunged - her “MINE, don’t touch!” bark that she makes when she’s protecting a bone. She appears to be protecting the cat?? I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it myself.