No Love Lost

Early in the year 2022 we made a big decision. We got a kitten. Not just any kitten, but the worlds cutest and cuddliest kitten. She weighed just under 2 pounds when we got her from the Humane Society and brought her home. Already inhabiting the home how ever was the fierce panther we call Calliope. She was a street cat for the first year of her life and has now enjoyed the love that is house cat life.

As we brought Minerva (newly acquired kitten aka a ball of fuzz) into the house for the first few weeks, she was so tiny we needed her to wear a bell. Let me tell you she was adorable. The only down side of this tiny kitten? Her older sibling (half sibling I suppose) could not stand to see her. Calliope regularly hisses and bats at Minerva, sprints away, climbs cabinets and just over all tells her off.

At first we were bereft. We didn't want our first cat to be constantly on edge and in rage. But here we were, hoping beyond hope that soon these two fuzzy fools would be fast friends. A few months passed by with no improvement. It was bad enough that regularly only one of them could sleep on the bed with us otherwise Callie would run off into the darkness, mad as all hell. Finally one night, the two of them managed to sleep in the same bed and let me tell you, it was like a war had ended! Well, kind of. They still didn't get along during the day, but at least at night we could cuddle both of them equally. Then one day Callie even let Minerva sleep next to her (not all the way of course, but within a few inches of each other).

Fast forward another few months and they both would hang out in the same room with us, within a few feet of each other without fighting or whacking each other. It was lovely to be able to have two happy kittens in the same room! I loved seeing both of my furbabies near by and loved that they were feeling more at home with each other. Or so I thought. Then this week began.....

It started randomly one night where Minerva started really going after Calliope. She would be chasing her throughout the night and even early in the morning. Chasing, fluffing up her tail and standing tall. It was time for the dominance to shift from cat to kitten. Calliope (not normally an aggressive cat, she's friendly to everyone and everything she meets) has not been pleased. Fighting and fighting and punching and punching, these two have been going at it. It has been absolutely weird to see how their relationship has changed and progressed over the past year, but I am optimistic that when this dominance duel ends, we will end up with two really pleasant cats.

Although at first these adorable little creatures were not friends, I am holding out the hope that it is a slow adjustment period. There is no way to ensure that they will ever love each other as I love them, animals are just like people. Sometimes you just want to scream at some one and bat them over and over in the face and run away screaming. Butl something tells me these cute little fluffs will eventually find common ground, bringing peace to this tale. No longer will screeching battles of feline fury wake me from my peaceful sleep, but maybe that is just the kitten resting on my shoulders talking.