It’s almost the end of 2024 and all is calm and quiet in the Pumpjack & Piddlewick household. Well, sort of. Actually the days of tranquility are very varied, especially since we were adopted by our little Cabbage. Mon petit Chou. (Chou = Cabbage in French and is a term of endearment. Technically it refers to chou à la crème, a cream puff. In other words sweet or sweetie.)
So let’s meet the latest addition to our household. A little boy cat. Well, maybe not so little but I think he has about stopped growing. At least he does look like he has grown into his paws finally.
We are Chosen
Chou, at a guess, is about 10 months old at the writing of this. He began stealthily coming into the house as a wee feral kitten. Sometime in April came the realisation I wasn’t feeding 3 cats, but 4. He would creep in at night. Usually I would never see him, it was more a recognition that the amount of food being consumed had increased.
Then having a guest staying in the main bedroom, meant I slept in my eventual office. Which is currently where I feed my cats (until the eventual kitchen is finished). Sometime in the night I heard a cat at the crunchies feeder. I thought it was Lapsong by the colouring, but this cat was definitely smaller. My first sighting, of a sorts.
Acceptance
Now I have always taken the view that if my cats allow another cat into their territory, that’s fine by me too. I leave it up to them to decide who is welcome into their home, and who is not. Gigi in particular is very territorial. She barely puts up with the other two, and she’s lived with them all her life.
Typically if another cat comes even into the garden, or anywhere near the territory Gigi has laid out for herself there is a hissing match. So the fact that a cat was able to sneak in and eat without my being alerted vis a vis hisses, meant this cat was essentially acceptable.
My 3 Older Ladies at Play
I have had my 3 female cats, Gingembre (Gigi), Lapsong Suchong (Lappy) and Noisette for closing on a decade now. We are not what I would call staid ‘old’ ladies as yet. But we have learned to embrace tranquil times, with the odd bought of frenetic activity. In the case of my girls, this takes on different forms. Noisette is my huntress and brings me regular gifts of rats, sometimes the odd mouse. She is either out, or in. When not working on her gift giving, she sleeps. Conserving her energy. She’s conserving at this moment.
Gigi is my hide and seek girl. When she goes into play mode, it’s a quick tilt of the head as she looks at me and runs out of the room. I am meant to follow. If I don’t, I get called. I then have to ‘search’ for her, calling “Where’s Gigi?”. She is crap at hiding. Very often it is behind something much smaller than her. I think it is because she likes to be found. When I do ‘find’ her with a my own form of pounce and the cry “There’s the Gigi!”, this sets her into darting out from her hiding place to find another. And the game continues.
Lapsong is my house cat, in that she prefers the comforts of indoors and being by my side. Literally, she is glued to my hip as I sit and type this. She often has zany moments of play, where she darts around the lounge/bedroom, pulling herself along by her nails to the underside of my bed, and then pouncing and throwing about the odd play mouse. It’s pure chaotic fun.
And now there is Chou.
My Little Cabbage
Chou is very definitely a kitten. He may be cat size now, but his temperament is pure youngster. I have a curtain at the door to my lounge, and that is his favourite place to play. If one of the girls comes through without paying attention, he is quick to pounce. This has resulted in many a howl and hiss. And a look on Chou’s face of ‘who me’?
To curtail the caterwauling, I grab my go to toy for playing with my animals. Mouse on a stick. This is a cloth mouse, attached to a stretchy string, attached to a stick. (See video below) Dangle the mouse in front of Chou and he is in heaven, pouncing, leaping, grabbing, chomping, and generally letting off lots of his youthful steam. The absolute best is when this is done by the curtain. He loves to leap at the mouse and use the curtain to slide across the floor in pursuit.
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Learning to Trust
But it hasn’t always been youthful play. When Chou began coming around, he was very much a petit chat sauvage, a little feral cat. For him it was all about eating. There was no trust. This he had to learn, and we had to build. I was able to touch him for the first time in August. And I still remember that moment, when he sort of let me touch him, done sneakily whist he was eating. Then it was a hiss and swipe at me. But still, a touch none-the-less. It was at this point when I named him my little cabbage.
Progress has been slow but steady and I can now pet him and he no longer swipes, most of the time. It’s definitely much better since being sterilised last month. He especially likes to be petted when relaxing sleepily in his little box. Cheek and nose rubs are very much encouraged, and even the odd tummy rub. Such a difference!
Learning to Play
And as part of that trust building, was learning how to play. With no mother on hand since who knows when to teach, and at a guess having to fend for himself from day 0, play was not on his radar. He honestly did not know how to play.
He would watch me play with the girls, sitting off at a distance, trying to figure it out. I noticed his watching and grabbed mouse on a stick and slowly slid it past him. He watched it, and continued to sit there, timidly, ready to run at a moments notice. Persevering with patience, his natural instinct eventually got the better of him. And he pounced.
The mouse jumped up and came rushing back at him, and he ran away. Turning around a few meters away to see what had attacked him. More patience, more playing the mouse back and forth, and he crept forward. Another pounce, and run away. And then it was like a light bulb went off in his head, and he began leaping about with abandon. That boy can gain some real height!
We Are Family
And so we welcomed our little cabbage into our lives. It has been an interesting journey. It is my first time working with a feral kitten, as well as a male cat. Much of what I do is based on instinct and simple patience, letting Chou find his niche, build his trust and ultimately, slowly, become one of the family.
We are not quite there yet. There are still milestones to achieve. He does not like to be picked up. This involves a lot of hissing, but thankfully no scratching. It’s more that he is simply not used to it and doesn’t know what it means. He may never be a cuddly cat, only time will tell, but he is definitely becoming friendlier and more and more playful as he settles in with us. And I for one, am grateful to my girls for letting him join us. Even if they have to deal with his pounces.
More Animal Antics
If you enjoy my pets stories, you will find more in my Other Animal Antics. Tales from the various animals in my life. And if you especially like Cats, click here. Or Ducks, there are my Duck Tails in Pet Duck Antics. (Or if you wish to learn more about having ducks as pets, check out my Ducks 101.)
If you enjoy what you read, consider Nourishing Pumpjack & Piddlewick. Or if all else, have a browse of My Shop, where no surprises, I like to find the odd vintage and antique animal related find from France. Here’s a taste:
Simply click on an image to see more.