Playmates

Introducing the newbies to the resident cats was a concern to me and it was important that I find the balance to make sure both sides won't murder each other. Luckily, no one has yet been injured. There has been the expected growling, snarling and once or twice my senior cats have swiped one across the face of the kittens to put them back in their place which is in their minds, down the toilet I'm sure. I really wanted Kecik and her kids to feel welcomed and get comfortable with the house. But I also wanted to mind the feelings of my own cats. I didn't want anyone to be upset but naturally, cats don't like change. Especially if it's caused by other cats. And having more of them enter their territory would much resemble the house of ANTM with girls clawing and bickering at each others throats. As expected most of them were hostile and for a few weeks NONE of them wanted to use the front door nor walk about the front of my house because there were aliens invading their space there. They started lounging around at the back and would only come and go through the kitchen door or the windows. Of course there was a lot of evil looks being thrown here and there. And envy was evident.

Parsi was different though. Parsi was very welcoming. He embraced them with opened arms like the annoying school counsellors in highschool who 'REALLY care about YOUR feelings'. He immediately took to the newcomers and fast became their bapa angkat. He thinks of them as his new playmates and often follows Kecik around. They quickly familiarized themselves with each other and they seem to like him too. You wouldn't think that he'd be the one to play with the kittens because he looks like such a freaking badass and IS the biggest sour puss I know. But then again he likes cats more than he likes people. He is so damn heavy though you wouldn't think he would be able to walk let alone run. Or tumble. Or give chase. He draws the line at climbing trees -- clearly he's got some sense and uprooting trees would bring on a DIET scheme for him, and this one LOVES his food. He truly is a kitten at heart. I think Kiki is relieved that he has someone else to bother. If not, every night he'd be rolling around the floor and ambushing Kiki. While she tolerates his playfulness but she doesn't really want to break a hip bone over Parsi's inability to grow up. Plus, he doesn't know his own strength.

Parsi. Master of the death sleep. Also known affectionately as Pat, My Big Black Cat, Epat or Dark Lard. He's clearly done for the day. Playing is a tough job.

As the months have gone by, most of my kitties have gotten used to them being here. They're no longer opposed to being in the same room with them breathing the same air and they now share the same feeding area. But still, they have their personal space that the new ones need to respect and they understand that. What's funny though is how the kittens and Kecik are more gravitated towards the ones who dislike them the most. That volatile one is Sakura. She utterly despises them. But whenever she enters the room, they'll run up to her or follow her and insistently tries to sniff her butt =p And Sakura acts like a drunken star trying to shoo away the pestering paparazzi.

It's a lot of work because I still need to be aware of how much attention I need to divide between all 10 of them. Forget one and you risk finding your shoes soaked in urine the next morning. 10 is a HANDFUL. Make no mistake. But since I'm a stay-at-home- hobo freeloader daughter-&-sister, my time and strength is well spent on making them all happy including the human residents. Of course this is only entirely possible because all of them understand that I don't do dishes nor cook and they don't expect me to. But I can open a can of catfood and use a spoon mighty skillfully. Oh and having the BEST MOM works well for me too.
Living the good life? I say, not bad for now. It'll end soon enough but in the meantime, I'm content.