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Over the past several months, Maks and I have gone back and forth about adding a kitten to our family. I should note I’m actually a dog person, but I’ve grown to love cats. I grew up with several and I’m rather fond of them. While we don’t have the space (yet) for a dog, we figured we could add another cat.
As we’re in the process of trying to conceive (TTC), we figured we’ll test the waters (and space of a small house) by adding a kitten. So we did.
Currently, the City of Los Angeles is offering free cat and kitten adoptions and I encourage everyone in the L.A. area to get a kitten if you can.
We decided to let Bear choose the new kitten and give him the big brother/caretaker experience. He chose the kitten and named her. I gave her a rather funky spelling and voila…
Introducing Smokee.
Bear named her after train smoke (my kid is rather obsessed with trains) and she’s just a wee under 10 weeks old. She was sick with a cold when we got her so we haven’t been able to spay/neuter her quite yet. We will very soon.
Because she’s so young, we decided to start her on wet food and eventually give her dry food. Sushi never liked wet food so there’s a big difference between the kids.
After doing last-minute researching while at PetSmart and literally within the cat food aisle, I decided to go with the Nulo brand based on its high ratings.
It’s a brand I highly recommend just because of the flavors and nutritional value. When we gave Smokee Fancy Feast, we noticed her poop and gas were considerably worse than when we gave her the Nulo. Plus, it seemed she wasn’t so lethargic after the Nulo feedings.
We also purchased a bed for Smokee and so far, she spends time in it. She sometimes sleeps in it but mostly she uses it for lounging.
We also purchased some new cat toys for both kids as well as utilizing Sushi’s old toys she doesn’t play with.
So, how did the first meeting go between the girls?
Well…
Not well.
So far, we have the kids separated and each has their own room. When one wants to roam, the other is locked in. We’ve introduced each other’s scents via old socks and old towels. Sushi has also sniffed Smokee on her own and that’s a promising sign since she was about to fight her the first night.
Sushi is still rather standoffish but Sushi is also almost 9 years old and we adopted her around the same age of Smokee. So, it’s going to take her some time to get used to a new cat in the home.
But so far so good. It seems to be an adventure for all of us but a good one. It’s also a lesson learned for us when we finally have a new baby. And then, well, the adventure will begin again! 🙂
