The Calico Cat

Hestia Twilight has been here just a short while. She is from a shelter, was declawed, and is 7 years old. Weighing in at somewhat less then eight pounds, she seems a midget compared to the two Maine Coons. Her name came from her color as she has the colors of a stormy twilight. Hestia is the Greed goddess of hearth and home.

She had been very sick at the shelter so she was in quarantine here for two weeks in the spare bedroom where she had a bed to hide under and later to sleep upon, a window to look out of, and safety from the other cats who were not at all pleased to have another cat in their house. Summer would stand at the closed door and hiss loudly before stalking off with his dignity offended. Sky would stand and stare at the closed door.

Finally, the letting out day arrived. I let her out and she started to explore. The other two were on a kitchen chair and both became rigidly at attention when she walked into their view. Their heads swiveled as she moved on by and when she moved out of sight, Summer jumped off to stalk her. Staying a discreet distance behind her, he followed her everywhere, finally cornering her under the computer table. Or so he thought. She hissed, spit and batted him in the face and ran. He regrouped and resumed the stalk. Anytime he got too close, she hissed and batted at him. After a while, he tired of this and found a place to go back to sleep. After all, a Maine Coon can’t be expected to expend too much energy.

Currently, we seem to have achieved an armed stand-off. He still stalks her when he can summon enough energy to do so. Anytime she is near him, she hisses and spits loudly and will take a swat at him. Sometimes she will box him with both front paws, which he will usually ignore unless she is especially irritating and then he will clobber her once with one of his front paws which causes her to run off and hide. He has also discovered her litter box and makes sure he uses it once a day to mark it as being within his territory.

I still shut her into her bedroom at night so that she can relax without being stalked. She also takes most of the night to finish her food as she is a grazer rather then a gulper. It also allows the other two a peaceful night without her. And it allows me a peaceful night’s sleep with the two guys, uninterrupted by any hissing, spitting, or chasing. During the day she is out and, when possible, in my lap.

It will be interesting to see how the cats’ relationships continue to evolve and what happens next.