Xiaoxiao's first day

It turns out that Xiaoxiao is not toilet-trained. Last night she peed on the couch but we figured it was due to the fact she was still barely able to walk because she was groggy from her op.

She recovered her legs pretty quickly, and was trotting around exploring. We put her to bed in the cat carrier before we went to bed but she cried, and Gam said we should let her out. It wasn't long before we heard a 'scritchscritchscritch' noise and were nose to nose with the little monster- she'd instantly figured out how to climb the side of the bed. Purring loudly, she tromped all over the bed, and us, before deciding that the best and only place to settle was right between 'mum' and 'dad'. No matter how many times we picked her up and plonked her in a more suitable spot, she kept coming back... so eventually we put her back in the cage. She cried for a bit and then went to sleep. She woke up again when some drunk idiots started talking loudly in the car park in the wee hours of the morning, before snoozing off again. Around 7:30am she woke again and appeared to be playing on her own in the cat carrier, so I opened the door. Instead of coming to harass us in bed, she went into the bathroom. When I got up to have a glass of water, she appeared skittish, even slightly terrified of me- she refused to come when I called, ran away when I stretched out my hand... a far cry from the affectionate little beast who attempted to colonise our bed the night before!

"I wonder what this is?"

"It doesn't look dangerous..."

"Let's have a sniff, then..."

"Whoa!"

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I went to bed again (Gam's having the week off- a great excuse for a rare lie-in) and it wasn't too long before she'd scooted up the side of the bed. She started playing with my feet when they moved under the sheets, one of Feifei's favourite games, but didn't venture up near our pillows, let alone between us. She was much less scared of Gam than of me, purring and allowing herself to be patted by him, climbing all over him. I think that instead of 'mum' I became 'that nasty lady who shut me in the cage all night'.

Feifei, studiously ignoring Xiaoxiao.

She has since peed on the bed, on a dirty old floor-towel, on two reusable shopping bags, and once in her litter tray. She didn't seem to like the texture of the litter under her feet, so I sat in the bathroom and encouraged her to play in it by hiding stuff under the litter and wiggling it around so she would dig it out. I think she pretty much only went in the tray because I played a waiting game- got her into the bathroom after she woke up following a nap, played with her in the litter, waited, waited, eventually had to heed the call of nature myself, and next thing I know she's hopped into her litter tray and done a wee. Finally! Since then I'm pretty sure she peed on that old towel again- after sleeping on it... hopefully the task of toilet training is not too arduous. We've shut both the wardrobes and shut her out of our bedroom for the day so we don't wind up with any mystery-smells if she decides to take a leak in some random place.

Xiaoxiao is still pretty skittish- taking fright at any noise (toilet flushing, truck driving down the street, whatever) and alternately acting afraid and affectionate and playful. Sometimes I'll raise my hand to pat her and she'll run away in terror, sometimes she'll grab my hand and bite it playfully. She's snoozing on my lap right now. She ate kitten biscuits last night and small portions of roo mince several times today, gutsing down the roo mince at ten times the speed of Feifei's efforts. She has apparently decided that she likes roo mince and is too good for kitten biscuits- she mewled at me for food but turned up her nose at the biscuits I offered.

As for her relations with Feifei- nothing has really gone on. Xiaoxiao arches her back when she sees him, they sniff noses when they walk past each other, and Feifei looks on at her playful antics like she's some kind of insect. Weirdly, Feifei will neither eat nor drink in front of her. Also, when I was brushing Feifei and Xiaoxiao hopped onto the lounge and started walking towards him, Feifei took off. That aside, Feifei did not respond badly to Xiaoxiao playing on and using his Fei-Tower, or even Xiaoxiao trying to grab at his tail. For a little while earlier today, they were both happily asleep on the tower. Still, they're not even chummy yet- I look forward to the day when they're good enough friends for Feifei to give Xiaoxiao a bath... god knows she could do with one- she has a lot of flea-dirt in her fur and also sat in her own pee at least once...

Not exactly BFF, but getting along well enough on their first day together...