Aug 18 – So I guess we are back to public blogs. A lot has happened. Welcome back!

A few notes to catch up. We lost Julio in the fall of 2021 to what we think was FIP. It was long, hard battle he didn’t win. Needless to say we were all pretty devastated. A few months later we added Rivers to the mix but not long after we got him, Lutzy tore her ACL. In an effort to minimize the damage we kept her and Rivers apart before and after her surgery. After that, she held a grudge against Rivs and we’ve had to keep the separated ever since. (It’s been a long 4+ years). Fast forward to a few months ago and a cute little orange boy started hanging around. I started calling him Wally because he reminded me of the neighbor for Leave it to Beaver, only his name was Eddie. Wally was the brother. Anyway, Wally stuck.

I’m typing this as Wally is sleeping on my desk. He officially made it to gen pop this week! As I mentioned he was moved into the bonus room, which meant I lost my workout space/treadmill for a while. But I was determined to take it slow. Also, we were a little scared of him for a while. While he wasn’t feral, he wasn’t fully domesticated either. It took a few months for him to really settle into indoor life. I really wanted him and Rivs to get along and I didn’t want to rush their introductions. We started slow and for a while everyone had their “out hours” during the day. Wally really bloomed once he started getting more access to the house. He’s turned into a very cuddly and sweet boy. I told Matt, I’ve never had an older cat, that I didn’t raise from a kitten, and it’s been fun watching Wally learn in real time.

Almost immediately Lutzy was pretty obsessed with him. It was very odd but her and Wally started hanging out first and once I trusted Wally around her they got to be out together. Him and Rivs were a little more work. Wally really wanted to WWE Rivs and he just didn’t know how to play like that. Wally has been much more gentle with Lutzy. The boys finally worked it out this weekend and with that, ended Wally’s bonus room lock down. He’s now out almost full time. He’s still sleeping in the bonus room for now. But I’m so happy that he has become friends with both of them. The hope is maybe, just maybe, Lutzy will get over her beef with Rivs or at the very least tolerate him enough where all 3 can be out at the same time but for now I’ll take 2 out at the same time.

A little about Rivers. We got him from a friend of Matt’s mom down near the beach. She has a rescue and he ended up being the last of his litter to be adopted. He’s such a handsome boy but he is a BIG boy! I will say he was a little bit of a terror when he was a kitten. He would jump at you and bite. I used to call him a tiny pterodactyl! He still does a little but he’s definitely calmed down. He’s very affectionate but he is not a cuddler. He’ll let you pick him up and carry him around or he’ll “shark” you weaving around your legs but he will not sit in your lap. He has his own room at night and mostly sleeps in the sink. He loves his brushies (he’s a medium hair boy). And his favorite past time is chasing Lutzy, hence why she doesn’t like him. She runs and he thinks they are playing. She thinks she’s going to die. He’s very much a middle child. Easy and go with the flow. We just needed a third to make him the middle.

Top L- R – Wally, Wally and Lutzy, Bottom L-R – Wally and Rivers, Rivers