Sunday will mark four months since I became a mom of two cats. In those four months, my life has been filled with so much happiness and joy and silliness… and a lot of cat hair. (So much cat hair.)
I knew right after getting Eloise in December that I wanted to give her a sibling because I wanted her to have a playmate, especially for those times when I’m on a trip or away for the weekend. But I was also worried: would Eloise think she wasn’t enough for me? Would she be jealous of this new cat? What if they never got along?!
I didn’t introduce them to each other the “right” way. (It probably didn’t bode well that I was frantically googling “how to bring home a second cat” while at the animal shelter signing papers to adopt Lila.) My apartment is so small, though, that keeping her in a separate room wasn’t really feasible. Instead, I just opened her cat carrier and let them sniff each other immediately. Lila ran to hide under my couch and Eloise mainly left her alone.
The first few weeks were touch and go. They fought constantly and Eloise couldn’t seem to have a single interaction with her without hissing. But Lila was determined that her big sister was going to love her. She would curl herself right next to her sister when she found Ellie sleeping. Eventually, things shifted to a more loving relationship. They still have wrestling matches from time to time but it’s always playful. Once they started to groom one another, I knew they were best of friends. It warms my heart so much.
Eloise and Lila have very distinct personalities, which I find so fascinating. I really didn’t know much about cats and their personalities until I adopted my girls, and it’s been so fun to see how their personalities have developed as they have grown more comfortable with me and their environment.
Eloise is my little extrovert. While she took longer to warm up to me than Lila did originally, she’s the one that will greet new guests more easily than Lila. She always needs to be near me, so I’ll often find her sitting on my kitchen island if I’m working in the kitchen or sitting next to me when I’m on the couch.
She’s a major snuggler. She’ll snuggle right in between my legs at night. She lets me hold her like a baby and snuggle her face next to mine and give her tons of kisses all around her neck. In the mornings, she’ll meow at me as if to say good morning and rub herself on me, flopping down for tummy rubs.
She’s a dainty little eater, especially compared to Lila who goes nuts when I get the treat jar out. When I give the girls treats, I have to put them in separate areas so Lila doesn’t steal Ellie’s treats because Lila eats hers as if she’s never had food while Ellie daintily eats each piece slowly.
Ellie is also a bit more easygoing than Lila. I can trim her nails and brush her hair without too much issues. She doesn’t get into trouble and usually lets Lila steal her toys without issue. (Although I do wish she would be a little more aggressive about that – stand up for yourself, Ellie-Bellie!)
Oh! But before you think Ellie is a perfect angel, she definitely thinks my bar stool is her throne. I have a very small apartment to the point where there’s no place to fit a dining room table. My kitchen island effectively serves as my table – it’s where I work when I’m at home, it’s where I eat, etc. I only have one bar stool right now for the island and Ellie will stare me down when I’m using it. The minute I get up, she races over to the stool to sit on it. I definitely need to train the girls on not using my kitchen island (…since I eat there), but how can I take away her throne?! (I know, I know. We’re working on it!)
She has the most expressive green eyes, the sweetest little meow, and the cutest little stomach pooch that I like to squeeze. 🙂
Oh, my sweet sassy Lila. I consider her to be my introvert because she takes a bit longer to warm up to people and often likes to hide away in a closet or under my bed to take naps. (I finally got her one of those cozy cave-like beds for my closet so she can really hide away!)
She’s a snuggler, but on her terms. She won’t let me pick her up but she will jump up on the couch or my bed and lay on my chest to request pets. And she loooooves pets. My goodness, she’s a little whore for pets, haha. She will paw at me, roll on her belly, and basically do anything to get my attention so she can have her pets. It’s adorable and, of course, I give her all the snuggles and love she needs when she asks for them!
Lila goes nuts for toys, although she often bats most of them underneath my TV stand within minutes of me retrieving them. She also loves bottle caps and if I ever leave one sitting on my kitchen island, she will find it and bat it to the ground within seconds. (Last night, I dropped a bobby pin on the floor and knew Lila would find it, and sure enough, home girl found the bobby pin and spent 10 minutes playing with it like it was the greatest toy in the world.) She’s still learning how to share, though, and often takes any toy Ellie is playing with.
She’s a little troublemaker at times, but it’s never anything crazy. She’s just super curious and wants to figure everything out. The only time I find myself trying to discipline her is when she tears at the scratching pad with her teeth. She’s ruined so many scratching pads!
She’s pretty much a nightmare, though, when it comes to trimming her nails or brushing her hair. I have to trap her in a blanket like a burrito to trim her nails because she’ll bring out her back claws and tear me up. (The last time I trimmed her nails, she whimpered the whole time like I was ripping out every nail and it broke my heart!) Brushing is another annoyance because the minute I bring out my little brush, she runs away. Her hair is rather fluffy (at least when compared to Eloise), so she could use a good brushing a few times a week but a few times a month is all she’ll let me do.
She has the sweetest meow. She only recently started using her voice – she was pretty quiet for her first few months with us – but now it’s out and makes me melt every time I hear it. It’s the cutest little squeak, so I call her Sissy Squeaks a Lot. 🙂
If you can’t tell from the 900+ words I’ve written about my girls, I am completely smitten with them. I think about them constantly when I’m away from them (don’t even get me started on how crazed I was about updates when I was in Ireland!) and always get sooo excited to come home and see them. I get sad whenever I have plans after work because it means an even longer time for me to see them. Obsessed.
While I’ve always identified as a dog person, I’ve never been anti-cat. I’ve always loved cats! I’m an equal opportunity when it comes to animals. But man, having these two angels has put me firmly in the crazy cat person category. I understand it now. I am 100% crazy when it comes to these two ladies. They are everything to me, and I ask them all the time how I got so lucky for them to be mine.
I love this post and all the pictures of your sweet kitties! I am glad that they get along so well! This post makes me wish we had gotten a 2nd cat when we got Oscar. Now I do not think it would work to add a cat to our house. Oscar is NOT the kind of cat to warm up to others. I mean, it took me moving in for her to let me touch her. Before that she would sit on the dining room table and stare at me when I was over at Phil’s. She’s very territorial! Ha! Oscar is probably like a more extreme version of Lila. We actually can not even brush her. She HATES it. Nor can we trim her nails. She just simply won’t allow it. She has a super strong personality and lets you know how she feels about things. She also goes on our counter tops and dining room table. But she loves getting drinks at the sink so that’s why she’s on the kitchen counter. There is no breaking her of that habit. I am sure it disgusts people but oh well – you do you! She’s an indoor cat so she’s not tracking in stuff from outdoors.
They are so, so, so cute, & I love this post about their personalities SO much. People think cats are all aloof & the same, but THERE’S SO MUCH TO THEM!
Aw such a sweet post! I really love cats and miss having a cat sometimes since we rehired Webster to my brother due to him really not liking kids. But I also don’t miss all the cat hair haha! When we do get another pet when Olivia is a bit older I see it being a cat though since cats are so much more low maintenance than dogs in terms of care for them and I’m hoping if we get a kitten or younger cat and it grows up with Olivia around it will be good with kids as I always had cats growing up and never got more than the occasional scratch. Webster was just so ornery from being an only cat for so long and was prone to randomly attacking… obviously not good with a new baby in the house!
Love that you are loving your girls so much and they are bringing you so much joy!
I love this post and reading about their personalities! Data was a seat stealer too, and Starbuck does it as well. It’s so funny – they are totally waiting for you to move so they can steal your spot! Thieves!
It’s so great Ellie has a sister (and that Lila has a sister). I know I told you this, but I always thought Data was an only child until Khali showed up, then it was like he de-aged 5 years and was all spry and playful!!! A lot of cats really like having a sibling, it seems 🙂
You are a great cat mom! 🙂 <3
Oh man, reading this makes me want to get a cat so bad. J and I have talked about it a gazillion times and there was always one reason or another that it wasn’t “a good time”… but maybe one of these days!
Oh man I wish I had a cat! Your girls are adorable and I love your descriptions of their personalities!