Scratcher of heads, rubber of bellies
From 2013, this wasn’t technically the first time they met but it was the first time after we let Boo out into the house at large. The brothers both flopped onto their sides in submissive gestures, getting Sam to accept Boo was not going to be an issue.
On the day we gave Boo his first taste of freedom in the house, I grabbed my camera to document the event and laughed when I saw what was awaiting him at the top of the basement stairs. He had already met Ellie and got along with her from the start so it isn’t as imposing as it looks.
As he scrambled up the stairs, he assumed a submissive pose as he did with all the other pets, as Sam and Emma were at the top of the landing watching him. He sized up Ellie but of course he had nothing to worry about. Ellie has been a sweetheart with both of the young kittens we’ve adopted and the three cats we had when we adopted her.
Sam a week after we adopted him in 2007. He and Emma stayed in the guest bedroom the first couple of weeks, giving the new arrivals time to bond, but he was getting awfully curious about the cat on the other side of the door, a cat he would adore the rest of her life.
Probably a sneak attack is best.
From 2013 after we adopted Boo, we kept him in isolation for a couple of weeks to let him build up his confidence and give the other pets time to adjust. The night before letting him into the house for the first time we let the other pets come into his room. Boo was eager to impress his older brother. Fortunately he did not follow through on his instinct to jump on Sam from behind.
We’ve had six cats over the years but Sam more than any other wears his heart on his sleeve. He wants nothing more than to feel safe and to feel loved and showers you with love in return. He is now our oldest but it was never a crown he wished to wear, he was happiest when he had his older sisters to look out for him. This is Sam as a kitten in 2008, a couple of months after we adopted him, pondering the world outside the picture window. Thankfully while the move to Arizona was hardest on him he has adapted well, he’ll have another move a while down the road but it will be a short drive away so not nearly as stressful as the move from Oregon.
The past couple of days have been so disheartening, let me share a little joy, young Samwise playing with a toy mouse shortly after we adopted him in 2007. He and Emma brought happiness after we mourned the death of our beloved Templeton.
We adopted Sam and Emma on the same day and kept them together in isolation for the first couple of weeks so they bonded quickly as they played and adapted to their new lives. Emma was about a year older so she and Scout helped raise the little fellow and he was naturally devastated when both his older sisters died young.
After over a month with us, the shy little fellow was beginning to feel at home.
Boo in 2013 about a month after we adopted him. Shy as he was, he was never afraid of Ellie and enjoyed sleeping in her beds right from the start, especially if she warmed them up for him. He’d slink in underneath her as she got up which almost got him sat on once when she was just shifting her position.
Boolie 