It's sort of Missy's fault - she got a little Maine Coon mix a few weeks ago and deluged me with pictures and stories. Nonetheless, I was firm in my resolve not to get a kitten until after my trip to CA in mid-June and the Gordon Conference in July, or so I thought. I made it about half way and then fell for the first female Maine Coon mix that I saw on the local* listings. Actually, I didn't even hold out until after my trip to CA, but Rita, the woman who was fostering the kitty, let me pick her up after I returned from CA.
Anyway, she's about 3 months old. I named her Molly. Her foster care name was Tilly - I didn't like that but it reminded me that I did like the name Molly, and it seemed to suit her. In the week and a half between when I met her and when I picked her up, I told people that I might name her Molly but was going to wait and see. But the name had really stuck even before I picked her up. The chemistry jokes (Molly Cule. Moly cat, etc.) did not occur to me later, despite the fact that we did a lot of molybdenum chemistry back when I was in grad school.
Molly was a feral kitten when the cat rescue organization found her, although her mother had obviously been a pet at some point. According to Rita,when they found her, Molly was almost at the age where it becomes more difficult to socialize them, but either Rita did a really good job and/or Molly is just very friendly, because it's almost impossible to tell. She is a bit skittish occasionally, but she is just a total lovebug and loves to be petted, wants to be with me much of the time, especially if I am sitting down, purrs loudly even when she is not being petted, etc. She is a lot like Rugrat was at this age. I am glad that I went with my gut feeling that a lot of these traits were somewhat type related, even in the non-purebred cats. I love my 'presence cats' but missed having a lap cat.
Luna and Lucy are adjusting. Luna always adjusts quickly to new kittens/cats. She is the queen, and she knows it, and so does everyone else. When Molly gets in her face too much or pisses her off, Luna hisses at her and sometimes swats her (if food is involved), but is not otherwise aggressive or too annoyed. It's not really any different than how Luna deals with Lucy. Molly has figured out not to mess with Luna too much. Lucy is having a bit harder adjustment, although by cat standards it's still pretty easy. She is very interested in Molly, but also kind of nervous and kind of pissed off. The first day she sat by the door when I was in the computer room, watching and growling. She seemed pretty normal otherwise. Now that I am letting Molly roam around the house, Lucy is somewhat better. She growls at Molly but only if Molly is too close or too feisty. It's basically the same dance, in reverse and sped up, that Lucy and Rugrat did last summer. Molly is not that scared of the older cats, although she does seem to have good judgement about when to back down.I was a bit nervous yesterday but they are already a lot more comfortable with each other today.
It's summer, and Molly has a lot of fur. She likes to sleep on cool, smooth surfaces like the tiles in front of the fireplace or the plastic chair mat in the computer room.
* local = within a 2 hour drive. I ended up getting her from a rescue agency in Syracuse. It was surprisingly hard to find long haired cats in Ithaca.
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