Doing A Hard Thing Is Hard

Hello readers!

I have been gone a long time. I realize this. I have been on vacation, and eating turkey and pie, and ...

... the husband and I adopted a second kitty.

This last thing has not gone over well in our household.

To explain briefly, our first kitty Sansa is a little spoiled princess. She has been the sole recipient of love, affection, compliments, and attention since we brought her home. She has been praised and petted and snuggled. But now there is Gizmo, a tiny shelter rescue with a coat the color of a sunset and a purr that sounds like something from a mashup of a wombat, a tribble, and a video game.

Gizmo

Right now Sansa hates Gizmo's guts. So we're keeping him in a spare bedroom for a few days so he can acclimate and adjust without having to fight for his life.

We've followed all the recommendations--we have rubbed him with a towel that we then put under her food dish in order to associate his scent with food/pleasure, we've let them sniff each other out with him safely in the cat carrier, and we distracted them with toys when the growling started (well, Gizmo was distracted. Sansa just watched him like he was the literal embodiment of the destruction of all her hopes and dreams).

We have let them interact a little, but we watch carefully because Sansa is on the warpath.

Yeah, this is Sansa right now...

In short, it's been a stressful few days.

Stress is not my friend.

 
At least nobody has done any marking of territory, especially not in our bed (read about that one online...)

Doing hard things is, well, hard. Adjusting to this new cat is hard. Writing a book is hard. Lots of things are hard.

But we're going to get through this one day at a time. Which is the way I get through novels, which are probably equally stressful for me. In fact, I'm procrastinating starting on my rewrite for that very reason. But I'm going to handle that like I'm handling these silly kitties.

1. Have goals.
2. Patiently work toward the goals.
3. If something isn't working, try something else. Allow extra time and expect set-backs.
4. Take it one day at a time so you don't become too stressed.

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving (or if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, hope you have a good weekend anyway :-D)