Hello and welcome to new followers who found me via photos of cats spotted on my paper round on Substack Notes!
Lately, our main focus has been on introducing Daisy and Noodles. We’re going slowly, carefully, and trying to be consistent.
If you’re a newer reader, this abundance of caution is in part because introducing our last foster, Bunny, went very badly. Both for Noodles, who was traumatised, and for me who, as a result of trying to comfort Noodles, ended up with a handful of claws and an afternoon in A&E.
Also, Joe wants to keep Daisy, of course he does, and we can’t keep her if she and Noodles can’t learn to coexist. (Of course, since no one seems interested in adopting her, we may well end up keeping her by default. But still.)
They both seem cautiously interested rather than aggressive or upset. Daisy seems more relaxed than Noodles - eating while Noodles stares and then wandering off. A couple of times when Daisy has walked off in Joe’s room, Noodles has followed but in the hall, apparently unfamiliar with the concept of walls, bless her.
Yesterday, we tried a lower barrier. Daisy studied it for a while - Noodles still in the next room - and then, suddenly, Daisy darted through the barrier and into the other room. All of us, including Noodles and, apparently, Daisy, were startled. Daisy zoomed back to the safety of Joe’s room, leaving Noodles looking shell-shocked and the rest of us relived that there hadn’t been a cat fight.
I think we’re swiftly approaching the moment we have to let them come face to face and just hope for the best, but I am dreading it. Maybe they’ll be best friends! Maybe they’ll simply tolerate each other. I just don’t want either of them - any of us! - to be upset.
Introductions aside, they’re both happy and weird and we love them a lot.
Paid subscribers receive a Saturday diary post, along with access to the full archive. You’ll also get a link to download the INSTANT NOODLES photo book pdf.
What’s that you’re eating?
If you’d like to upgrade, but can’t pay right now, email me and I will add you, no questions asked.
If you enjoy these posts but would rather not commit to a regular payment, you can tip me with the button below.
Thank you!
If you’re not interested in Noodles News posts, you can unsubscribe from them (and still receive the rest of my posts) by unticking the box here (scroll down).
If you know anyone you think might like this newsletter, I’d love it if you would share it. Thank you!
it is astonishing that no one wants to adopt Daisy. If I did not live nine thousand miles away, I would. What a sweet girl.
I suspect if I was to try and introduce Tommy to another cat there would be a cat war not a cat fight.