Kisa the Kitten

Why I thought adopting a kitten at this point in Caliber's life was a good idea, I'll never know. I've been wanting a cat for years and Mike has been telling me to get one (especially the free ones at Petco), but it just never seemed right. I was aimlessly wandering through petfinder.com and came across a very cute kitten at my local shelter. I had no choice but to adopt her, if for nothing else, to change her name to anything besides Nicole. Who names a cat Nicole? This little cutie pictured below had been at the shelter for THREE MONTHS! Can you believe it? She came in as a stray, and is believed to be about five months old. We're pretending she has the same birthday as Caliber since he was five months old too!

 

I named her Kisa (pronounced Keysa). It's from the wonderful manga Fruits Basket. Cute as can be, but she's been a real challenge for my little guy. He just wants to play with her and sniff her all the time. I think he's expecting her to play like the dogs at the dog park. Instead she shys (runs frantically) away from Caliber.

 

This is pretty much how the entire day goes...Kisa on her side of the baby gate, Caliber on the other... whining. Nonstop. Pacing. Ringing the bell to go outside. Sniffs around the house for her. I swear he thinks there are two of her. Getting a big gulp of water. Repeat.

 

 

Until she runs across the house and dashes under the bed. Then all hell breaks lose. Caliber isn't quick enough for Kisa's tight maneuvering. His paws thomp on the floor (when did I get a horse?) and his claws scurry--I swear our hardwood floors are an ice rink for him. Of course, when the bedroom door is closed it really throws off her game. You never know if she'll make it back to laundy room in time, or if she'll hideout behind the couch.

 

We have tried everything to get them to be calm around each other. Caliber has never once tried to hurt her, he just buries his nose into her for a good smell that he cannot get enough of (no, she doesn't appreciate it). We had her wear a calming collar that smelled like lilacs and chamomile that was supposed to mimic mom's pheromones, but it didn't seem to calm her. We had Caliber on a leash, but Kisa didn't know that so she still ran away. We had Kisa in the carrier and let Caliber come to it, but she just hissed at him. I even did the no-no thing and held her and put her near him. That actually seems to work the best. I kinda hold her against her will and don't let her swat at his nose. From what I read, it will take a while. It's been over two weeks and let me tell you... I am running low on patience. I can understand why she's afraid of a big thing charging at her, but he's not always chasing her and he's never once tried to bite her or anything.

 

It's extra hard for me because cats aren't energy-based like dogs are, so I don't know how people train them. I think it'll get better once Caliber stops reacting to her presence. Eventually she'll stop being afraid, right? I don't know how anyone, or anything, could not love my sweet baby dog. He doesn't get it either...