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Last friday i took the kitten into the vet and we confirmed what i suspected - What we first thought was a she is a he. (cats are a bit ambiguous) His name is Oliver. He got all the vaccinations and passed all the tests and examinations. He's even been neutered already. I also got him microchipped. The whole thing came to $190 which I thought was quite cheap. I was relieved.

He's quite a sweetheart and can be very demanding for attention. However, it hasn't been easy getting him to make friends with my three year old cat weston. Both cats are comfortable in the space and with the smell of another cat. However - Ollie, the kitten, tears after weston and gets quite mean. Weston, while initially suspicious, would like to make a friend but not with such a meany. I need to rethink how i'm exposing them to each other. I really wish they'd get along so they could play together.

Looking back at the first pics I posted, Ollie's patch of missing fur is filling in quite nicely. Handling him more revealed about a half a dozen or more scratches and scrapes but they all seem to be doing fine. He's extremely easy to handle and will even let you put a finger between his toes. Definitely a cat that loves people.

Ollie's stay at my place is temporary until his eventual mom's allergic roommate moves out in a couple of months. Initially I was worried that plans might change in that time period but she wants to visit frequently and talks about the things she wants to buy him.

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awesome! keep playing with his feet. it will make it easier to trim his claws as he gets older if he is used to being handled. Try and get him used to being touched about his face, and eventually his lips and gums. Brushing his teeth may actually be possible someday.

A half dozen or more scratches and scrapes doesn't make you wonder why Oliver is being mean to poor Weston? It sounds to me like Weston is a sweetie pie and Oliver has figured that out. Ollie is probably taking advantage of that to exact revenge for all the torment he endured from other cats while he was on the streets. Weston happens to be available and too nice to fight back. Poor Weston.

I think Weston at some point will take corrective action however.

I'd put Oliver back in his own isolation room for a week or so. That's what we did with a stray cat that we took in. He was in for a week in his own bathroom as part of his quarantine, then, was let out to make friends with the queen who's lying across my desk right now. She was not too impressed and things were tense.

Then, his sneezing became pretty loud and clear and constant. We packed him back into his bathroom/quarantine room for another week. The queen of the desk/bed/chair took advantage of this to sort of taunt him and blockade his door.

When he came back out after almost a week, they became fast friends and now wrestle with one another.

quarantine where smells and sounds are the only contact often works well. They get used to the idea there is someone else without the agressive contact.