April 13, 2015

K as in Kajsa. Love at second sight

the cat A to Z Challenge, Cat versus mouse, Kajsa cat behavior, power, shelter

I’m embarrassed about this post. I thought about editing some parts, but I want to be authentic on this blog.

I fell in love with Tessa at first sight. She was so cute and made it easy for me. She let me pet her and showed that she liked me. Kajsa was hiding. She continued being shy for some days, but she eventually warmed up. I had nothing against Kajsa, but it was Tessa I adored. Kajsa felt more like an “attachment”. Wow, this sounds cruel. I made sure that Kajsa accepted me, because I wanted her to feel comfortable at my place. However, it didn’t immediately feel like the perfect match, but rather like another wonderful cat that comes along with Tessa. I love both now. Kajsa and I just needed a bit more time.

It’s kind of funny; things didn’t turn out the way I anticipated. I thought that Tessa would be more of a pussy cat, whilst Kajsa would prefer doing her own things. At the moment, it’s the other way around. Kajsa is crazy about me. If I let her, she’d lick me all the time and purr whilst I pet her. Remember the rash on my hands? That was Kajsa’s fault. My hands are getting more and more used to her tongue, and I hope it’ll continue that way. I really enjoy when Kajsa is treating me. I need to teach her to do that on my back, it’d be a great massage. Is this gross? Probably. It doesn’t feel that way though, I like how we “pet each other”. It’s strange – I also like dogs, but I hate it when dogs are licking me.

However, Kajsa is sometimes really challenging. She wants to be with me most of the time, and she’s jealous when Tessa gets my attention. Kajsa hisses at her and hit her. I’ve difficulties handling this situation. Tessa usually goes away when Kajsa hits her.

My instinct tells me to accept their power relation. I’ve also talked with the staff about Kajsa’s behavior, and they advised me to accept Kajsa’s power. However, I should make sure to keep it within bounds. Tessa should also be able to be with me, eat and use the litter box. The latter ones aren’t an issue, and Kajsa doesn’t push Tessa all the time away. It normally happens once per visit (about 45 minutes). The staff explained it may be harmful if I continue playing with Tessa after she has gone away. My behavior could disturb the relationship between the girls. I get that. However, it’s sad to see when Tessa is dominated by Kajsa. I usually don’t play with Kajsa afterwards, because I don’t want to encourage her behavior. Is neither following Tessa nor paying attention to Kajsa a good solution?

Funny enough, it’s sometimes also what Kajsa wants. A typical situation: Kajsa stays on the upper shelf, whilst I’m sitting on the flour playing with Tessa. Kajsa comes down, makes Tessa go away, and jumps back to the upper shelf. ??? What’s the point?? The result is that all three of us are sitting in our own corner and don’t look at each other. Sigh.

It’s also important to Kajsa that Tessa doesn’t bound with any other cat. The shelter opens always one cage, and takes turns at which cats are allowed to walk around. This cat is sometimes sitting in front of my cats’ cage. Tessa is usually curious and wants to interact. Kajsa is literally becoming a dog. She looks like a dog and she even growls when another cat dares to look at Tessa.

Eh, writing about Kajsa’s behavior makes me suddenly think that she’s maybe not jealous that I’m spending time with Tessa, but Tessa with me? In other words: I thought she’s angry that I give so much attention to Tessa. It could be the other way around though: Tessa is including other ‘persons’ than Kajsa in her life, whilst Kajsa wants to remain the only one. That would also explain why she often goes back to her shelf after she hissed at Tessa.

Uff. For a mess. I need to learn more about cats. However, chances are good that these situations will improve when they’re living at my place. There’s much more space for them to go their own ways. Living together will also change the relationship between me and them. We only see each other for about 45 minutes 5 days a week now.

Tessa is the one who is crazy about playing, but sometimes Kajsa wants to play as well.

Ok, this is Kajsa’s post, but Tessa was using her time well. Kajsa was laying on the shelf and we cuddled. Since I’m always a bit afraid of excluding Tessa, I thought it’d be a great idea to play with Tessa at the same time. I had a string toy in my hand, and I heard that she was moving. I didn’t feel any pressure on the toy though. I ignored my observation and continued petting Kajsa. Classical beginner mistake: don’t rely on that your cat is doing what you think she’s doing. When I turned my attention to Tessa, I realized that she had opened my shoelaces. Apparently, the shoelaces were more interesting than the string toy.