A Bonus From Millie's Arrival

Millie passed her first night in the Cosy Cabin in peace. She pooped in the litter-box and wet in it, but too little to justify believing she might not wet outside, too. She may have just put a small amount in the box because she knows that’s what it’s for; where she actually goes habitually may be somewhere else. I suspect I will know more certainly when I come home from work.

The newcomer seems naturally friendly and happy. She had no fear of me and when I spent time with her last night, bumped her head against me numerous times, eventually curling up for a snooze, while continuing to purr.

A rather extraordinary result of Millie’s arrival occurred this morning. Because our new guest is occupying the library, and must be by herself for the time being, the door downstairs is shut. This cuts off the other fosters and the perma-cats from part of their domain. Though this is hardly a big deal for most of them, it affects Sable, since she spends half of her time in the library, and often travelled there to use the litter-boxes, even if she were upstairs. She cannot now do that.

However, soon after Millie came, Sabe used one of the two boxes in the cat-room (I added a second yesterday) without much fuss - unless one counts her yelping at the closed door to the stairs for fifteen minutes. That solved one concern of mine (though, since she had used upstairs boxes before, it wasn’t a major worry.) I knew that Sable would explore more of the upstairs if the lower level were no longer accessible to her. What I didn’t expect was catching her out from under the bed when I rose this morning.

She remained beneath the dining table watching the breakfast preparations, despite me giving her opportunity to run to the bedroom. I didn’t know how she would want her meal, so, upon serving the food, I simply set her dish under the table, about two feet away from her. She ate, despite being almost out in the open, despite my coming and going to attend to the other beasts (except for Sabe and Indigo, meals are never, alas, a simple matter of one dollop of food; most won’t eat much that way), and despite the other cats who, finished their own breakfasts, stopped to watch the novelty of the semi-feral eating in plain sight. Only when she had cleaned her dish did Sable trott back under the bed.

I don’t think she will be out like that every morning; she prefers the security of her safe spots. But that she did eat in the kitchen is another step forward. And I don’t rule out other benefits from Sable having only the main floor for her activities. The arrival of a new cat can disrupt much - and not always detrimentally.