So The Outsider has survived her first night as an inside cat with us!

She’s pretty okay with the concept.

The other cats, however, are not quite sure about the whole thing!

My younger daughter supervised the adjustment, and was very happy when The Outsider snuggled with her on my bed. DahBoy and his Mama were circling like sharks, but eventually settled down, too – Mama on the bed, DahBoy on a chair.

The Outsider has generally ignored our cats, for all their growling and hissing. She’s used to being around lots of cats, having strange cats show up, and the occasional fight between the big toms. So our cats growling and hissing just doesn’t phase her. The only time it went beyond the growling was when Mama was on one of the dining room chairs, under the table, and The Outsider hopped up beside her. That was a bit much for Mama, who swatted at her. That was the extent of the altercation.

At one point, The Outsider made her way under my bed, found a lovely little “cave” to curl up in, and spent several hours there.

Our Mama cat had come to use as a stray, twice. When she found us a second time and was pregnant again, and we no longer had the contact information for the couple that adopted her, 2 years before, we found someone who was willing to take her and her kittens in and adopt them out when the kittens were old enough. They had lots of other cats, and Mama did not like them at all. She was quite aggressive with them, but all that aggression disappeared when she came back to us. When we were fostering her and her boy, the first time she came to us, we had two other cats, and she had no issues with them at all. There was a while when we were caring for a friend’s cats until he could find a new home that allowed pets. She didn’t like them, but they generally got along.

DahBoy, on the other hand, has only ever been an indoor cat, with very little exposure to other cats. There were the two we had when they first came to us, and the two we took in temporarily, and that’s basically it. For the longest time, it has been just him and his mom

This is probably the first time I have ever heard him growl and hiss like this. Oh, sure, there were a few hisses through the window of the storm door at the main entry, but mostly he was just very curious about those other cats on the other side of the glass.

There was only one time I was awakened by the sounds of a bit of a fight in the dining room. Another time, I heard a noise and found The Outsider on the lid of the aquarium; I think she was trying to get at the window. Some crashing another time had me finding she had gone onto the counter between the kitchen and the dining room, knocking a few things off and breaking a small plate. Another time, I heard a noise but was never able to figure out what caused it.

I haven’t found signs of any mess, so it looks like she’s figured out the litter box

By morning, I was no longer hearing growls and hisses. The Outsider did discover the upstairs and visiting with the girls. When my husband got up, she demanded attention from him for a while.

I haven’t actually seen her yet, today. I have no idea where she is. When I went out to feed the critters and do my rounds, though, I couldn’t help but feel sad for Doom Guy.

Ah, well. It’ll work out.

The Re-Farmer