memorablemeanders.blogspot.com

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Friends at last!

Since Ambrose' (our new kitten) arrival, Ginger hasn't accepted him. On the other hand, Shadow has taken the little guy under his wing, uh, flank. While Shadow and Ginger are firm friends, I've kept the oldest (known as De Boss) and the youngest  apart at all times.

Yesterday I decided to put Shadow in one part of the house, and brought Ginger into the passage (a neutral territory) with Ambrose. They sat at each end of my long passage until I picked Ginger up and carried him closer to Ambrose. Ginger began to wash his face, look everywhere except at the baby, while Ambrose crept slowly towards Ginger  - and passed him.

While we were busy with [these] serious diplomatic issues, Shadow made his presence known by crying outside the interleading door. I decided to open the door and allow him into the mix.   Ginger ran to Shadow, who shadow-boxed him (lol!) and the two of them sped to the kitchen in the hope of a treat from me. Ambrose followed in hot pursuit. A successful mission, even if I may say so myself!  

Last week, we let Ambrose and Ginger meet face to face through the mosquito gauze at the front door

Ginger looks in on Ambrose

Since being brought to me as a starving, tick-ridden kitten, about six weeks ago, Ambrose has not been outdoors again. My reason for keeping him inside was that I didn't want Ginger to attack him in the garden and chase him up a tree or into the bush beyond our grounds.

Yesterday that all changed. I took Ambrose outside where Ginger and Shadow were socializing in the rose garden. Shadow continued to stalk insects and other interesting creepy-crawlies while Ginger moved to see what Ambrose was doing at one of his favourite spots under the creeper.
Ginger ambles across to see what Ambrose is up to

Not to be outdone, Shadow raced to the concrete strip surrounding our house to show Ambrose one of his favourite activities while out in the garden - rolling around on the ground.
See Ambrose, this is how you do the roll-around

A quick learner, is young Ambrose!


6 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading all about the diplomatic efforts to defrost tensions between the two housecats ;-) Seems like you are all making good progress.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a completely delightful post, Jo. I loved it! I'm so proud of Shadow for big-brothering Ambrose, so that now you have a trio instead of three separate cats!
    Love, K
    PS -- We're leaving in less than 24 hours, and it will take us a long, long time to get home. I'm using this as a test to see if I'll ever be able to fly to Africa.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ahhh...Hope they continue to get along!
    hughugs

    ReplyDelete
  4. What a wonderful post, Jo! Such good news! I know the feeling of joy when all the household pets accept each other :) Well done on a mission successfully (& masterfully!) accomplished! The three Hedge's kitties are looking SO good!

    Big hug,
    Des xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. It looks like Ginger is warming up to Ambrose! It's fun to see the cats' interactions....especially because I've never had a cat. They do seem to have a hierarchy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very Kute! You are a good trainer, Jo.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate your feedback. Jo