He is 6.75 lbs of nuzzles and tiny mews. I loves him. And I think he loves me, too, because he won't stop snuggling me.
I picked Sam up at Petsmart today, and the poor dear cried the whole way home. I let Spencer smell him in the carrier for a second, then we went upstairs to my knitty room. I sort of expected him to freak out and be skittish- that's been my experience with cats. They don't really like change. But when I opened the little carrier door, he came out, climbed in my lap, and got right to nuzzling. I know it was probably more about marking me with his scent than about affection, but it was still cute.
Once it was clear that he wasn't afraid of me or his new environment, I let him out of the knitty room, and we explored the upstairs. He checked out all the closets and the bathrooms, and we looked out windows. He seemed really laid back, and I'm not sure if it's him or the Feliway I spritzed about earlier that morning. He is a bit clingy, and follows so closely that I have to walk very slowly and make sure not to step on him. When I started down the stairs, he followed, and he and Spencer really saw each other for the first time.
Sam just froze at first, but when Spencer (at the bottom of the steps, on the other side of a baby gate) started to growl and jump around, Sam arched his back and hissed. Which in turn made Spencer even nuttier. After a minute or so of shushing, I got them to at least stop making threatening noises at each other. Sam sat on the landing, glaring down at Spencer; Spencer let out an occasional grumble in return. I felt some positive reinforcement might help, so I gathered both their treats and sat at the bottom of the stairs. Slowly, I got Sam to come down a few steps at a time for a tasty treat. Each time he got a little closer and Spencer was nice, he also got a treat. But once Sam was next to me on the second step, Spencer couldn't hold it back anymore. He let out a growly-bark (not especially mean, but very scary to Sam) and Sam hissed and ran back upstairs.
I spent the next hour or so going back and forth between Spencer and Sam. I don't want either one to feel neglected. Then I thought maybe Sam should have a chance to explore the downstairs area, so I put Spencer in the bathroom and got Sam. I tried to show Sam that Spencer was behind a door, and couldn't get him, but I guess Sam was still unsure. He wouldn't go anywhere near the door. But he did walk around, and leared that he could fit through the stair railing, and get to the kitchen through the little window above the sink. Then I put him back on the steps, and let Spencer out. He took off before Spencer even saw him.
I hung out with Spencer a little, then went back up to check on Sam. We played a little, and I saw him use the litter box. That was a great relief, because I know cats can be persnickety and I've heard some horror stories about stressed or angry cats suddenly refusing to use the litter box. A short while later, I also saw him nibble a bit of the dry food I left out for him. The only snag I hit was when Sam decided that my leg would make a nice scratching post. But a firm "No" and showing him the actual scratching post seemed to solve that problem. He even let me trim his front claws as he zonked out on the floor. This cat is freaking awesome.
Quick bit about his name: I am a huge fan of old-timey radio. I listen to Radio Classics on Sirius all the time, and my favorite shows are the detective and mystery shows. Two of the biggest characters from that genre are Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. And they are who I named the cats after- Sam and Marlowe.
That's all for now, but I'm sure there will be more cat/dog shenanigans to follow.
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