I’d like you to meet the newest member of my little family. This is Lila. She is nine months old, and I adopted her this weekend from a rescue.
I’ve been thinking about adopting another cat for a while. Originally, my plan was to adopt two kittens, preferably siblings, but then Eloise came into my life in the most serendipitous way possible. And I think adjusting to cat mom life with one cat who was just out of the kitten stage, rather than two rambunctious kittens at one time, was exactly what I needed.
But I wanted Eloise to have a sibling. I waited until she was settled in her new home and comfortable with me before beginning a search. It’s been a little over two months since I adopted Eloise and in that time, she has blossomed and has become my little shadow. Last week, a friend came over and kept remarking about how different Eloise seemed from the first time she met her. She’s now queen of the castle, just as I had hoped.
I had been following my shelter’s website for a while and continuing to fall in love with kittens, only to see their pictures removed the next day. I finally decided to take a trip to the shelter with a fellow cat-loving friend on Saturday just to look. Maybe I’d find my furever friend, maybe not.
Lila was the first cat I saw. She was one of their newer rescues, arriving at the shelter a week ago. Like Eloise, she was found by a cat rescuer. Lila showed up one day outside the rescuer’s home and while she was trying to coax Lila inside, Lila was attacked by a tomcat. Lila ran away but showed up at the rescuer’s house again a few days later, and this time, she was able to trap her and bring her inside.
Lila’s cage had a warning. It said, “I’m shy. Please go slow and play with me in my cage.” How could I not fall in love with a cat who had that warning on her cage? Kindred spirits, I tell you.
I stuck my fingers in the slats of her cage and she immediately came up to me and rubbed against them. Then she flopped down in a playful manner and continued to rub her face all over my fingers. She was so in tune with me from the beginning, so playful and adorable.
It was instantaneous love. I tried looking at the other cats at the shelter, and also tried to convince myself that it was crazy to adopt a cat so soon It felt so spontaneous! (This is also how I felt before adopting Eloise, ha.) But I also knew that if I left the shelter without her, or if I looked on their website next week to see her picture gone, I would be devastated.
When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. You know?
I took her home on Saturday and have spent the weekend trying to introduce her and Eloise slowly. Eloise hasn’t been too keen on our new family member just yet. The one time I brought Eloise into the room with Lila, Eloise took one of her toys and when Lila tried to get it back, Eloise batted at her head and hissed at her. Sooo. It might be a process for them to fall in love.
Lila, though, she’s been an angel. She’s spending a lot of her time hiding under my bed but will emerge if I sit down on the floor and call to her. She will come up to me for pets and even flop down in my lap, and it’s honestly the sweetest thing ever. It warms my heart.
Of course, I have some reservations. I worry that Eloise will think I don’t love her enough. I worry about them never actually getting along. I worry about the financials of taking care of two cats. I worry that I haven’t handled the introduction as well as I should have. I worry that I may be turning into a crazy cat lady. (<– okay, that’s a joke. I don’t care if I’m a crazy cat lady!)
But it’s normal to have these worries, especially if you’re like me and seem to thrive on worrying about every possible worst-case scenario. It’s not a small step to take, adopting a cat, and it’s going to take some time for all of us to get used to this new normal. I am so, so happy, though, to have grown our family with this new little baby. Lila is the perfect addition, and now we are a full-on girl power home.
Welcome to your new furever home, my little lady love. I’m so happy you’re here.
Wow, she’s such a cutie! Congrats on the new addition to your family. I’m sure the cats will adjust. My dogs have never been too crazy about all our new additions and then, of course, they become besties. As for the finances, honestly I’ve always worried even when I knew I could comfortably afford new pets (I’ve had up to five dogs and two points since I adopted my first back in 2006). The way I see it, I’d rather do everything possible to give them a good life than have them spend their lives in a cage. And, of course, things have always worked out. I’ve been able to afford food, treats, emergency room visits, year long battles with auto-immune diseases, surgeries, cancer treatment. And I don’t miss the money or regret the expenses. I’m grateful that I was able to give the best life I could to all 6 of my fur babies. All I have are the good memories, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Awww Lila is a beauty! How exciting! I hold that Eloise adjusts quickly and they become good friends. I am sure it will just take some time for them to get to know each other. But it will be good to have 2 cars that can play together while you are away. I kind of wish we had gotten 2 cats when we got Oscar but now she is firmly a 1 cat kind of cat. She would not accept a new cat as she is quite, um, tempermental. Ha.
Hopefully your cats will be healthy like ours has. It’s been really inexpensive for us to have a cat!
Awww… Welcome to your new home Lila! She’s so beautiful!
Hopefully Eloise will grow to love her new sister and they’ll be inseparable. <3 My cats are siblings, but even they have moments when they don't want to be around each other. But most days they love each other, even if they aren't cuddling.
congrats on the new addition! it’s always hard at first, but i’m sure eloise will adjust and the two of them will be bffs. 😉 good luck with all of that.
Welcome, Lila!
You have a beautiful feline family . Congrats!
OH MY HEAVENS SHE IS PRECIOUS! Also, love the name 🙂 (we have a Lyla, too – with a y instead but still!)
Speaking as a two-cat mom, it definitely does take time for them to adjust but they do. Ours never became BFFs (they tolerate one another haha) but I think that’s mostly because our Lyla was older when we got Nala and had been an only cat for YEARS. I think getting them close together is super smart. There’ll probably be a little bit of bickering over turf, but they really do get used to one another.
SERIOUSLY THO – THAT LITTLE FACE. Ugh. So precious. What an adorable little family 🙂
What a sweetie! It took my cats what felt like ages to become besties, & while they’re frequently still worst enemies, they also really love each other. They cuddle & clean each other & are just overall adorable together – & I hope the same is true of Eloise & Lila soon!
YASSSS, girl power!!!! OMG Lila is so gorgeous! Look at these marking! Congrats!
It wasn’t really spontaneous – you had this in the back of your mind! And you went in on the right day and found your new fur baby, yay!
You’re a wonderful cat mom and will show them both the right amount of love for their personalities! With the size of your apartment, I think it’s totally unavoidable to introduce them any other way. It will take time for them to become besties, if they do, so be patient. I do wish many a future kitten cuddle pile to you though 🙂 It’s like, the best thing, ever. 🙂
So are they close in age? I am so glad Lila is already coming out to you. And that your friend commented on how much Eloise has come out of her shell. YAY YAY YAY!!! Being a cat mom is so great!
She is so cute!!! Congrats on expanding your family!
OMG. look at that face. How could you NOT adopt her!?
I really hope Eloise warms up to Lila (and I think she has, didn’t you post a picture of the two of them napping together?)…
P.S. I miss the neighborhood cat from where we used to live. Now that we moved to an apartment with a no pet policy, mind you, J has been saying how he would like to have a cat. Go figure!!