A Tale of Two Kitties

It wasn't that long ago, that we Introduced Oreo. We love our cute kitty and can't really remember life without him! Uncle Kolby had said from day one though "get a second cat" as they can keep each other company, learn from each other what play is too painful ... and, two is better than one!  Daddy wasn't too into the idea (even if it was his brother suggesting it), but then Daddy extended his stay in Europe a few more days ... which gave me a little extra time to find a kitten to add to our family (Oreo had been added while Daddy was on a trip to Las Vegas. While Daddy is away, the family will play!)

Oreo had been adopted from the local shelter at four months old. We missed out on his cute kitten stage. This time around, we definitely wanted to enjoy a baby. I found an ad in the local classifieds and Cooper and I went out ... and came home with a kitten. 

She was such a little ball of fluff! I did feel bad taking her from her mommy and siblings, but she was going to get a lot of love here at our home too.

A little fun with a little kitten ... #blackhamkitty

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Jul 18, 2015 at 9:14pm PDT

Cooper named her "Joy"
She got a LOT of love 

Even Grayson accepted some snuggles!

... except from Oreo!

It's been over two weeks and we still have been unable to integrate the kitties. They attack each other almost immediately. Not sure what to try next... #twocattroubles #blackhamkitty #ataleoftwokitties

A video posted by JenB (@jenblackham) on Aug 5, 2015 at 5:45pm PDT

I'd read up on how to add a kitten to a household. We tried all the tricks. Keeping them in separate rooms first, so they could hear and smell (and get used to) each other. Putting them together with toys or food to keep them busy. But if they were ever actually in the same room, the fighting would start! As Joy got a bit bigger, she actually seemed to be instigating things and holding her own against Oreo. Some people said to just let them fight it out, but it totally stressed us out! For weeks, we'd keep them separated. Calls of "I'm letting the kitten out, where's Oreo, I'll put him downstairs" or vice versa.

Then, Uncle Kolby and his family came to visit. They gave both kitties a lot of loving, and then we put the kitties together so they could witness the attacks. And the kitties put on a good show. Uncle Kolby just laughed and said that they were playing. He gave us a convincing inner monologue of what Oreo was thinking, and it did make us relax and let the kitties "play" more often until finally we did dare leave them alone together. Life was SO much easier then.

The two kitties still "fight" sometimes, enough that we break it up ... but they also love each other and are always snuggling and licking and playing! We love both our kitties!