John and I were "cat parents" before Tommy arrived last September. Tux and Tails were doted on...not that you can dote on cats that much...usually the relationship is on THEIR terms. But Tux bonded with John since John felt the need to run home at lunchtime when we first got him to "check" on him. Tails arrived a few weeks later and became a "momma's boy." Tux never was the most social cat, and when anyone came to our house, you could count on NOT seeing him the entire visit. Even visits that lasted a few days. We'd move a litterbox to our room, which is where he usually hid, during those days. Tails, well, he's a different kind of cat. We actually think he thinks he's a dog. He would roll over at the front door to greet us as well as company arriving. He's a huge lap cat. Follows you everywhere. Of course, after 7 years, I've realized he thinks he'll get food eventually if he sticks by your side. He begs at the table during dinner like a dog.
Since Tommy's arrival, both cats have had some personality changes. Neither is jealous of Tommy, though their routines were certainly disrupted those first few weeks, just like ours. Locking them out of the bedroom at night only lasted 2 nights due to constant clawing on the door, but interestingly enough, they just wanted the door open and found somewhere else to sleep most nights rather than being on the bed with us. Nowadays, they are back to sleeping on our bed at night. Tux has become a much more social cat. We're not sure if it's because he realizes that most visitors are there to pay attention to Tommy so Tux thus feels safe to roam the house and make appearances, or if it's because he is craving some love and attention since Tommy is the priority for Mommy and Daddy now. Tails is still the same social cat he always was. He seems interested in Tommy, and tries to make friends with him by rubbing against him, or sniffing out his French Toast sticks some mornings. Tails sees Tommy as a useful secondary food source apparently. Tails definitely experienced some stress after Tommy's arrival, as we had to rush him to the Animal ER where he was diagnosed with FLUID (Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease) last October. This is fatal within 24-48 hours if it is not treated. He'd had a chronic urinary problem since December 2008 that we were managing with diet and meds, but the changes around the house and upheavels in schedules with Tommy's arrival, plus the fact that John and I had a shifting of priorities and weren't paying as much attention as we should have been to watching Tails' situation those first few weeks home with Tommy, resulted in a severe aggravation of the problem. While it wasn't cheap, we did what we had to do to help Tails, and we've been fortunate to have the situation under control ever since. Did you know it's not that easy to get a pee sample from a cat? Have you ever tried?
Tux and Tails, would tell you, however, that they miss having dry food left out all day for them. We also don't have any water bowls around the house either...since there is no dry food, they don't and won't drink water by itself. The vet tells us they usually get what they need in the wet food, but at his suggestion, we add water to the wet food, making it a soggy mess. Again, not something they are happy with, as they know we don't water down Tommy's food or our own food. But they eat it, and the bowl is dry when they are finished.
As we'd hoped, Tux, Tails and Tommy have bonded as "brothers." My niece made a plate for us that she painted all 3 of their pictures on and it says "Brothers" on it. And Tommy is at that age where he notices the cats and what they do, laughing as they jump a gate, shrieking in excitement as they chase one another around the house, and petting them "gently" as we have been trying to teach him. Sometimes the cats like to sleep UNDER the comforter of our bed, and one day I showed Tommy. Now, he loves to pick up the comforter to look underneath, even when there is no cat there. He just thinks there is.
I'm not a fan of how I'm looking in these photos considering I had just raced home from the gym and hadn't showered yet, but I did not want to miss my Tommy time the other night. Keep in mind, Tux was in the room when John snapped these photos, but he refused to cooperate when John tried to get him to sit or walk by the chair so he could get all of us in the picture. He basically stuck to John's side, not allowing for a shot of him. But he often lays on the floor next to the rocking chair when Tommy has his bottle, or if I'm in there during one of Tommy's rare night wakings. Tails, as I mentioned, is a momma's boy. He has jumped up on my lap during night wakings while I rock Tommy and he snuggles against Tommy's back if he's laying sideways, front facing me. John did actually place him on my lap the other night while Tommy had a bottle, which usually ends with Tails jumping off rather quickly, but this time, he stayed for some shared quality time with Mommy and Tommy.
2 brothers and their momma
Tommy giving Tails "the look" so he knows the bottle is off limits.
Everyone look at Daddy...and TuxIn other Tommy news, his FIFTH tooth came in - the lateral incisor on the left side. Some days I forget to check so at some point I'll probably look and he'll suddenly have 13 teeth and I'll be mad because I didn't get the dates they came in to write in his baby book.
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