A new member of the household

A few weeks ago we welcomed a new member to our household, our "grandcat" Oscar. Formerly of my older son's household, Oscar is a reclusive cat and after three moves, two children and a dog, he was an unhappy eleven-year-old kitty. No one, feline or human, should be that unhappy if there's an easy solution to the problem, and Oscar came home with us.

Not that every member of our household was happy with this. Our elder statesman cat Tuxedo cast a gimlet eye on the situation and has been hoping Oscar is going away, as he has before when we would keep him when he was a kitten. Alas, Tux is not to get his wish.

They haven't really reached kitty detente, but Oscar is adjusting. He's not as reclusive as he was. He likes to watch the birds on the windowsill and has his favorite sleeping spots picked out. I think they may be dividing the house, with the kitchen and my study as neutral territory, the downstairs belonging to Tux and the upstairs to Oscar.

We had other cats do this, Calico and her kitten Frisky. Frisky owned me, the living room, and the master bedroom. Calico took charge of the boys, their rooms, and the den. They really didn't cross into each other's realm.

Of course with Oscar, we started with separate food bowls and separate litter pans. Within a week, Oscar had shown a preference for Tux's dry food. They used each other's litter pans in what I'm sure was a show of "I'll show you!" and all it got them was one litter pan. I'd had enough of that nonsense.

Today, I poured some of the outdoor kitties' food into their bowl for a different taste treat and they chowed down together until Oscar took offense and swatted at Tux. Tux backed up and I picked Oscar up and moved him away from the bowl. Eat together amicably, or no one eats. The special treat is still awaiting whoever shows up first.

I'm glad Oscar is with us. He's added a bit of spice to our staid household and will keep Tux on his kitty toes.