Perfect Kitty Frenemies: Ivy and Her Orange Friend

Welcome to the Wednesday Cats of Catster! Every week, we share a story from one of our cat-loving Catsters. This week is about Crystal and her soul cat, Ivy.

Hi, Catsters!

The last time we spoke, I told you all a tale about my heartache and love when raising the dustbin kittens. I also told you how all but one little kitten survived!

Today, I wanted to share how Toast and Ivy became housemates, and how they co-exist together. Sometimes peacefully, sometimes not so much.

How It All Started

Ivy and Toast had met a couple of times before, but only briefly! They met a few times when he was a tiny kitten, barely even conscious, and a few times when he was a bigger kitten my sister brought over to our house.

She didn’t like him very much on either of those occasions.

Ivy has been an only kitty all her life, and I think she enjoyed it! Everything was hers – and only hers! There was no resource sharing and no competing for or lack of attention. Quite the opposite, actually!

So it came one day that my sister had to move in with us and, of course, Toast was coming with her.

Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous that Ivy would not handle it well at all. Over her little life, she had met other cats throughout the complex, and she hated all of them. She hissed, she swatted, and she didn’t seem to want anything to do with another cat.

So you can understand my nervousness!

How It Went

Nevertheless, Ivy had no choice but to start sharing her space with Toast. When he first arrived, we set him up in a different room and kept the door closed.

Ivy was immediately intrigued and suspicious of this whole situation, and spent many hours sniffing, sitting, and staring at the door. We started feeding them around the same time, with Toast eating on one side of the door, and Ivy on the other side.

We kept this up for about a week, and she seemed less interested in uncovering what was behind the door. So we decided to let them see each other, and allow Toast the chance to sniff around at his new surroundings.

This went about as well as you could imagine. Lots of growling, lots of hissing, and lots of angry staring from afar.

I held onto the little hope I had in my heart of them becoming best friends. You’ve seen those bonded kitty pairs, right? Always playing or snuggling up together.

Over time they grew semi-used to each other.

Toast was used to having a friend – a cranky, but very sweet, street cat that showed up to our old house one day. We took him in, named him ‘Mark,’ and he was there when Toast was growing up. They were great friends, and Toast regularly sought out playtime with Mark. And Mark, the old gentleman that he was, allowed it!

Needless to say, Toast was used to having a playmate. But Ivy very quickly showed him that she was not going to be his friend. His playful advances were all shut down at the speed of light.

Okay, so, they would never be best friends. I could live with that, as long as they could tolerate one another and share a space.

How It’s Going

It’s now almost a year later, and they’ve made so much progress! Sometimes, they’ll lie on the same couch. Other times when it’s especially cold, they’ll both lie on opposite ends of the bed. They sit next to each other when it’s feeding time, and Ivy now only occasionally hisses and swats at him.

But they don’t know that we know that secretly, they like playing together!

The first time I happened upon them playing, it was an accident. I was walking in the garden, and that’s when I saw them. They were too busy playing to even notice me!

Their playing consists of them chasing each other around and lying in wait for each other to pounce. Kind of like the cat version of ‘Hide-and-Seek.’ And yes, it is absolutely adorable!

This is now a weekly occurrence, and it really makes me so happy! The weird thing is, though, that as soon as they notice you looking at them, they’ll start ‘fighting.’ Almost as though they’re embarrassed to be seen having fun together!

When we go on walks, they both trail behind. When I get home from running errands, they both come running to get their treats. They now live together in purrr-fect harmony – well, almost. Also, I don’t know if I’d call it perfect, but it’s as close to perfect as we’re going to get!

All In All

Cats are truly such unique animals. Once again, Ivy ended up surprising me with her adaptability and willingness to share her space.

Of course, she still has her own cat trees, her own feeding spot, and her own toys, and she still gets more than enough attention. I think she’s realized that even though there’s another cat, it doesn’t mean she gets less or has to compete for anything.

She’s come to terms with the fact that her orange roommate is more friend than foe. And he will be tolerated. For now, at least!