Getting to know you

We expected the whole Captain-meets-Liam situation to go very, very badly. Captain is your typical spoiled, egotistical cat who’d been the centre of attention for almost 5 years. We didn’t expect him to take his demotion well. We were pleasantly surprised; he has basically ignored Liam since Day 1. Every now and then he will creep over and give him a quick sniff, but for the most part, he refuses to acknowledge that we are now a family of 3 (or should that be 4??) Too Many Cooks has not been that much of a concern for us after all.


Lately, though, Liam has started to take a real interest in Captain, so the dynamic is bound to change soon, whether Captain wants it to or not. Chad took this photo a couple of weeks ago. As you can see from the layer of fur on it, this chair is Captain’s chair. Chad decided to tempt fate and see what would happen when he plunked Liam down next to the cat on his own turf. I think he got the hairy eyeball for a couple of minutes before Captain decided he had better things to do elsewhere.


I am now actively trying to get Captain more accustomed to Liam. Liam is so much more aware now, I think it’s just a matter of time before he makes a grab for that tail. With Liam in the high chair, I have started to leave cat treats on the tray to entice Captain up close to him, so he'll learn that there's no need to fear him. Yes, I realize that Captain will acquire the skill of eating off Liam's tray on his own with no help from me, and that perhaps it isn't the best thing to do to encourage it, but it's bound to happen sooner or later anyway and I am trying to foster a sense of brotherhood here - do you have any better suggestions??


I think it seems to be working. You would never have gotten a photo like this just a few weeks ago. Captain would have high-tailed it out of there, even if he had been sleeping in the last patch of sun in the house. Hopefully, this is the start of a beautiful friendship.