Patty OH!

Pounds o' Patty

Patty O'Malley has gotten quite large in a short time.  I swear, I am feeding the outside cats the same amounts as ever, but Patty is either pushing the other's off their bowls, or he's snacking somewhere else as well as eating my food.

3 and a half cats!

As you can see by the photo above, he's much bigger than Sammy or Mama Mia.  He grew large last year, in the winter, but I think he's moving into sumo wrestler range now.    

I hate to withhold food, especially when it's cold, however Pounds O' Patty needs a break!  I've cut back on the amount of kibble, since that's so full of carbs.   Wonder how I can get him exercising...?  

Gentle Sammy

Sammy

Tonight, I traveled out back to give the outside cats an extra pour of kibble, for it had rained and sleeted, and no doubt the cats stayed hidden most of the day.  Patty O'Malley and Sammy came out of their houses right away; Mama Mia was fashionably late but still managed to snag a good snack.

Funny thing was that Sammy did not eat a single kibble.  He simply walked to me and let me pet him for a really long time.  I stroked his head, his chest, his ruff, back, sides, and legs.  He simply purred and stood there.  After a few minutes, I could feel my world of worries and timetables and responsibilities smooth away, and there was only Sammy and me.  We kept at it, until finally Patty had had enough of me ignoring him, and with head bunts and finally smacking his tail against my face, the spell between Sammy and I broke.  The feeling of peace lasted awhile longer, as I listened to Mia crunch her kibble.

Gentle Sammy gave me a lovely gift tonight!

Update on Shadow

Loretta

We have tried dozens of names, but she just did not respond.  She's never responded to Shadow either!  So, late last week, the name Loretta popped into hubby's head, and I tried it out.  She came running to me!  Wow, I was so excited that I shed a tear.  Since then, I've been using Loretta as her name.  She is still in the safe room, since all of the cats seem uneasy still.  We play with her in there, I've taken naps in her safe room, and she watches out the windows at the world.  We feed one meal a day on either side of the door; all three cats appear to be nervous about that.  We'll keep doing it, until they all ignore each other.   A general lack of enthusiasm is exactly where we would like the cats to have (not have?), so we can add Loretta to the family group.  I believe her small size may be a sticky point, since Angel is over eleven pounds, and Chuck is probably four pounds more.  Loretta is only four pounds, even with the couple of ounces she's gained in two weeks.  Her belly is beginning to fur, as are the two shaved areas on her front legs, but it will no doubt take months for a uniform length.  In the meantime, she's adorably vocal, and she's beginning to relax into the rhythms of the household.  Now, if only I could relax my concerns about a successful (and fight-free) integration!  Yikes...what a Nervous Nelly I am!