Pearl came home with me on November 1, 2007, a day after my 50th birthday. After losing Mandy and Rocky earlier in the year, I was greatly missing having a snuggly kitty. Jack (the remaining kitty) isn't very snuggly and I was feeling very lonely. I had met Pearl earlier at my vet's, where she was up for adoption. She was brought to the vet by a rescue group, along with her kittens (which she was still nursing). While she was there, she became a foster mother to an orphaned kitten. All of her kittens were adopted and the vet spayed her. Since she was a black kitty, the vet knew it would take longer for her to find a good home. A family did adopt her, but brought her back after getting tired of her staying under the bed all the time.
Pearl is a very shy kitty. When I brought her home, I set her up in the Stamp Room where she could have her privacy and I could keep the door closed when necessary. I had hoped Jack would accept her, but after 4 months, he still hasn't. I've tried the regular tricks and they haven't worked. Maybe one day he'll accept her.
When Pearl first moved in, she hung out in the closet in the Stamp Room and would not come out. I would drag her out and put her in my lap, while sitting in a rocking chair. Over time she would come out of the closet on her own and finally accepted me. She will still run from situations and noises she's not used to, which also includes me if I freak her out.
Dirk put up a cat/child gate at the end of the hall so we can keep Jack away from her. I keep the gate open when I'm here and will put her on the perches when Jack is asleep on the bed. She loves being up there, especially when it's sunny. She's very aware of Jack, though and will run when she hears him coming down the hall (he has calluses on his paws). I shut the gate at night so she can sleep with me at night - my ankles are favored pillows!
All in all, I'm thrilled to have Pearl in my life and I hope that one day Jack will accept her and she'll be able to roam the house at will. In the meanwhile, the Stamp Room is now her room and is set up with towels to sleep on and tons of cat toys (plus the basics - food, water and cat box, of course). The stamping desk has a pull out section to it. Next to that is a white, 6 drawer unit with her box and towel (for snoozing). A short hop away is the wooden table top (all items from Ikea - my favorite store in the entire world!) where her food and water are. Next to that is another cabinet with a thick towel. She can hang out there and see what's going on in the hallway. Jack is too fat to get up on all of these, so she's quite safe and out of reach. He will go in there and stare at her during the day.
Sometimes Pearl will taunt Jack by waving her paws at him, knowing he can't reach her. He'll stand on his hind legs, hissing and pawing at her. It's quite funny, to say the least!
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Hanging out on the top of one of the two perches in the living room that Dirk built for the kitties some years back. They're quite the favored spot as the kitties can look out the window and watch the world go by (including birdies). |
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Checking out the string in the Stamp Room. At first Pearl was very afraid of the string and would run when I'd toss it around. I finally gave her the string and let her tear the stuffing out of it. She now plays with the string quite a bit, especially on the bed. |
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Hanging out in the Stamp Room (aka Pearl's Room) |
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| The sequence of events - Pearl is hanging out on the perch, admiring the view and the birdies. Jack was sleeping in the bedroom and woke up. He wanted to hang out on the perch and discovered that Pearl was up there. He has not accepted her and tries to prove his dominance every chance he gets (even 4+ months later). Note the fluffy tail. Also note that Pearl has not moved from the perch and is keeping a close eye on Jack. Right after the 4th photo was taken, Pearl jumped down onto the cabinet next to the perches and dashed into her room. By the time Jack got down from the perches and scampered into the Stamp Room, Pearl was on top of the desk and out of reach. | |