Meet Marlowe

Friday morning I got an email from the kitties' foster mom. She said that if I was interested, I could pick up Marlowe that afternoon. Of course I was interested! I drove out to her house at about 3pm. I was a great drive through local farms, and I even saw a few sheep along the way. At her house, we signed all the paperwork and I was on my way with my new cat after just a few minutes. He cried a little in the car, but not nearly as much as Sam.

Back at home, I put his carrier down for Spencer to sniff, then it was up the stairs to reunite Sam and Marlowe. When I opened the carrier door, I heard one of them hissing, but couldn't tell which one. Marlowe cautiously made his way out and about, and then I could tell that it was Sam doing all the hissing. I guess it doesn't take long for a cat get territorial. Poor Marlowe tried to explore the upper level, but Sam followed him around hissing everywhere he went. I think Marlowe thought he could get away by going downstairs. That's when he really met Spencer.


Spencer was a bit better with Marlowe, having gotten (somewhat) used to seeing a cat in the house. But he was still a little too up-close and personal for Marlowe's taste, so poor Marlowe was stuck between the angry cat upstairs and scary dog downstairs. I'll spare you the rather dull details of two cats getting to know each other, and just tell you that by the end of the evening the two were somewhere between civil and friendly (it's hard to tell with cats).


I will say this about Marlowe: he is brave. He comes downstairs a least a few times a day, and gets much closer to the dog than Sam will. Last night he even came down and sat on the arm of the couch with me for several minutes. Each time he comes down, he eventually gets chased back up the stairs by Spencer, but Marlowe keeps coming back for more.


I think Marlowe might end up doing a better job of training Spencer than I will. He is patient, and he's very consistent- if Spencer gets too close, he's gone. And he's never swatted at Spencer's face which makes me feel better. Maybe with a little luck the dog and cats will be friends in a matter of weeks instead of months!