Don’t you have the same problem with your cats?  In this article I will introduce how I play with them and recommend the toys.

Zoe does not like Hugo when he becomes aggressive.  When Hugo insists his priority to play with me, Zoe quits playing.  So I used to prepare two rooms for each of them and visit them respectively.  I always play with Zoe, because she came to our home first.  For Hugo, I throw his favorite cat teaser and leave him during I am playing with Zoe.

Zoe’s favorite toys are a mouse and a ball.  I choose a piece of thick paper of 10cm square and crumple it tightly into a ball.  She likes the size and density of this ball and chase it around joyfully.  She does it as if she is dribbling a soccer ball.  When I toss it she jumps and catches it.  She sometimes smashes it back to me.  She looks as if she is a ball of knitting yarn when she plays with it.  When the paper ball gets wet with her saliva, I take it so that she does not eat it and give another toy.

Zoe hunts the mouse toy.  Its color is while, brown and beige, same as Zoe’s fur.  It contains pebble inside and she cannot wait hunting it when she hears the noise of pebble.  Every time she is given the new one she “customizes” it by biting the body.  The mouse becomes like a triangle pole and it is easier for her to hold it in her mouth.  When I toss it she jumps and catches it and then lays at full length on her stomach, with the mouse under her belly.  She then finishes it off by smashing, kicking and dribbling it.  She pretends as if the mouse is alive and intentionally got under her belly.  In this way she likes to play by herself.

Sometimes I snatch the mouse out of her hands and toss it to her.  She gets more excited and jumps a lot.  However, this mouse is a bit heavy for her to catch on the sensitive nose, so I toss it to the place that I guess that Zoe would jump so that she does not hurt.  Zoe’s preference of toy changes after several days so I change the toy to the fishing rod with the thin plastic flower and a cat teaser made of flexible metal rod.

Zoe likes fishing rods, but I never use it with a fine string because it might get her injured.  I always choose the one with rubber string.  The rubber one seems to attract Zoe’s attention a lot.

Zoe sometimes gets tired easily and play little.  She might want to eat rather than playing.  At that time I put a paper ball at the edge of a table so that she can see a little of it.  I can leave her as she wants but I want her to play a lot for her exercise, that’s why I try a variety of toys to her.  When I put a ball at the edge, she always stands on her tiptoe, looking her so pretty!  She likes to tackle with something challenging.  She is not attracted by chasing the crawling ribbon, but she likes me to hang it down from the back of the chair.  When she sees it she enthusiastically catches it.  I do not understand why she does not like the crawling ribbon but the one from the back of the chair, but anyway she likes to be stoic.

Zoe also runs away from me when we look at each other during playing.  At first I thought she misunderstood that I was threatening her or she is afraid of me deep in her mind.  And that thoughts made me hurt.  But the hope was that she did it only when she was playing.  After researching about cat’s play I concluded that it was also Zoe’s play, something like playing tag or inducing me to play.  I was so relieved to know that she still loves me.

In doing so Hugo starts to meowing.  He wants to play with me want without waiting any longer.  Zoe is clever enough to understand that it is Hugo’s turn and she finishes her turn.  I can tell it from her attitude that she does not react my toss of a ball and start taking a rest.  Then I move to Hugo’s room.  Hugo always stands at the door by putting his favorite cat teaser in the mouth.  Sorry, Hugo, for making you wait long.  Now it’s your turn!

Hugo also likes to play with the paper ball.  He likes a ball of fur, too.  This fur was originally a part of a cat teaser but it was fallen out.  He rather likes the fur part, so I keep using it.  Another of his favorite is a cat teaser with the thin plastic cicada on the edge.  When I shake it in front of his face, his eyes become larger and round and he tries to catch it by his hands.  However, if I keep shaking it he becomes scared and stay still with his eyes even larger.  It is really difficult to appropriately attract him.

When playing with a ball Hugo jumps and catches it, and chasing it around in the room.  He brings it to me and put it out of his mouth and wait for another throw.  I need to make him play with a ball enough, otherwise he takes cat litter out of the litter box.  His favorite paper balls are large and light one and small and firm one.  He catches it without a bounce and brings one to me.

I try to put pauses during his play.  Hugo’s heart beats much quicker than Zoe.  Our vet said that it was by his nature and the heart rate was within the normal range.  I was relieved to know it is not a ill, but still worried about it because Hugo often pants when he is so excited in playing.  So, I came up with putting some pause by making him take a rest and changing a toy so that he does not have to move around.  Hugo’s play finishes when his paws get sweat.

Even with that, it is a problem that Zoe and Hugo cannot play together.  When Dad is at home each of us play with wither one, but I cannot play with them together at the same time.  I feel sorry for Hugo for having to wait for Zoe every time.  I was also afraid that Hugo becomes not liking to play because of it.  So I started to make them play together step by step.

When Zoe started to get tired to play, I slightly opened the door of Zoe’s room so that Hugo can see her playing.  Sometimes Hugo tried to get into the room, but I put the priority on Zoe.  When she completely finishes playing, I invite Hugo into the room and play with him, making her watch it.  It depends on how they are whether I keep doing it or taking him back to the original room.  I anyway leave the door open and make both of them accustomed with it.

Sometimes Hugo chased the ball in front of Zoe making her surprised, but now they seem more accustomed.  Zoe sometimes smashes the ball and we three can play together for a short while.  The secret is to keep the order of play (Zoe then Hugo) and showed each other’s play.

Now, I have to solve the problem that Hugo becomes sad when waiting for his turn.  According to my observation he looks dissatisfied with me shut the door of his room.  So, I started to leave the Hugo’s door open and Zoe’s shut.  By doing so Hugo can come to Zoe’s door and hear inside, and his meowing became less.

Only several days has passed since I tried this.  I cannot yet make Hugo wait for his turn with enjoying his own play, but now I do not have to completely divide the space.  They are surely making a progress.  I will write another article when Zoe and Hugo can play together more.

This article is just a record of Zoe and Hugo’s health and not applicable to all cats.  Please consult with your vet for the symptoms of your cat.

I hardly knew that cats could be allergic to food, but Hugo seems to be the one.  One day he suddenly became itchy on his belly and started to scratch the belly.  Because of that his hair started to fallen.  At the same time I found red itchy spots on the inner side of my upper arm, so I thought Hugo and I reacted the dusts or mites in the house.  I started to vacuum the rooms more intensively since then, but Hugo’s itchiness did not disappear.  I took him to the vet and found out that it might be food allergy.  I could not believe it when I heard it.

“Doc, I am also itchy on my arm.  Is it not food allergy but house dust?” I asked.  The vet broke into laughter and said “Food allergy for cats makes them itchy mainly on the belly.”  Oh, I see.  But I still could not believe it.  Eating is the most enjoyable thing for all living organisms, but the variety of cat food is limited by nature.  To make matters worse, Hugo might have to be more limited what to eat because of the allergy, which I felt sorry for him.  Furthermore, I worried that he might not like the special food made for the cats of food allergy.  That’s why I did not want to believe it, I think.

Me and Dad gave Zoe and Hugo the baby’s and kitten’s foods until they became one year old.  We then started to give them low calory food.  We chose it mainly for Zoe who used to eat more than needed.  Several months before Hugo got allergic to food, we have started to feed another kind of food additionally so that they can broaden the taste.

Our vet said the newest food was not necessarily a cause of food allergy; the cats could be allergic to the food that they have had since long time ago.  So the vet needed to clarify which food causes allergy to Hugo.  He decided to feed the low calory food for a few weeks to see if Hugo is still allergic, and feed the new one for the next few weeks.  We only found out that neither one was the cause; Hugo’s itchiness did not go away.

Hugo started to wear Elizabeth cat collar so that he does not lick his belly any more.  The Elizabeth collar with cute pink pattern on the surface looked good on him in accordance with his gray and white hair.  But he had to spend stressful days because the collar made him feel difficult to eat food or drink water.

Dad did DIY so that Hugo can drink water whenever and as much as he wants.  He installed a drinking bottle with a nozzle on the wall.  That bottle is usually installed on a cage and a cat can drink by pushing a ball in a nozzle.  We expected that Hugo can drink without a problem.  However, it resulted in no luck; the collar we was wearing was too broad to drink.  We then tried to get him water using a syringe.  He loves taking medicine from a syringe and we thought he would drink water, but still resulted in no luck.  Me and Dad were fretted because he would become fatal if he could not drink water.

While making many tries to make Hugo drink water, Zoe passed blood and went to the vet a few times.  A few lumps were found from the ultrasonic inspection.  The vet said it might be clots of blood, so he told us to apply medication to Zoe and keep watching for a while.  Then, Hugo passed blood, too, and we took him to the vet.  Me and Dad worried so much about them.  Only our wish was that they did not get more symptoms.

Zoe’s “lumps” were not identified what they were, but the medication worked well and they disappeared within two weeks.  The vet said both Zoe and Hugo have a risk to their lower urinary tract besides Hugo’s itchiness.  So we started to feed the special food for lower urinary tract to both of them.

The special food had two flavors, chicken and fish.  We gave them the sample packages and found both of them finishing them all in a blink of time.  Hmmm, both flavors seem yummy to the kids.  Cats by nature do not like medicine (Zoe and Hugo love taking medicine from a syringe, though), so dietary cure is usually a critical therapy for the patient cats.  There are a wide variety of therapy food to fit each symptom.  By eating the therapy food in every meal, the patient cats can cure the symptoms.  I have heard the cat food producers are having great efforts to make delicious food so that the patient cats can enjoy meals.  We were so relieved to know that Zoe and Hugo like the special food.

Me and Dad decided to buy both flavors.  We expected that they stop passing blood soon.  Hematuria was gone after a while, and, an unexpected and pleasant outcome also happened.  It was really a surprise that Hugo’s itchiness started to go away after a few weeks!  The vet was satisfied with the state of cure.  After three months the itchiness completely disappeared and the vet took the Elizabeth cat collar away from Hugo.  We still do not now know what was the cause of his allergy, but “All’s well that ends well.” 

The symptom of food allergy for cats is just an itchiness, but formidable.  The vet never took the Elizabeth collar away from Hugo until he confirms that the itchiness has completely gone away.  We cannot be too careful because the symptom easily comes back, according to the vet.  I thought it was really good to take Hugo to the vet soon after he started itchy.

BTW, I wondered if we should keep the kids away from the “CIAO” treats that they love.  We give only one stick of it to both of them in a week, but we were afraid that it could become a trigger of Hematuria.  The vet said the treats in general could affect badly to the lower urinary tract, but only one stick of “CIAO” treats for the two and once a week was within permissive range because they were not currently pass blood.  So we started to buy the “CIAO” treats that are made for the cats having risks at lower urinary tract.  Both Zoe and Hugo like them.  Hmmm, it seems delicious to them, too.  Good for you, kids.

This article is just a record of Zoe and Hugo’s health and not applicable to all cats.  Please consult with your vet for the symptoms of your cat.

Vomition

Cats are said to be the animals that often throw up, generally speaking.  Long-haired cats throw up to take the hair ball out of the stomach.  Some cats prefer eating cat grass to promote throwing up.  Zoe and Hugo keep throwing up when cold days and warm days come repeatedly in the middle of the seasons.  When they throw up I hear the sound like pumping.  When they do not have the other symptom and seem fine after it, we keep an eye on them without taking them to the vet.  When they do it in the middle of night, we take them next morning.  We take a picture of the vomit by a smart phone or bring the vomit to the vet.

When they throw up, we tell the vet whether or not they are energized and whether or not they have enough appetite.  We also tell the vet if the vomit contains a hair ball, food or blood, and whether the food is digested or not.  Our vet asks us whether or not they moved the bowel.  When they look fine, the bowel condition is good and the vomit does not contain blood, the vet administers the drip injection and tells us to have them take antiacid and dietary restriction.

For the dietary restriction, we give one-fifth of the food for the first day, two-fifths for the second day… and five days later we give the full portion of food.  When their vowel does not move, it means the symptom is more serious.  Fortunately, Zoe and Hugo did not get such a serious symptom.  The diagnose of our vet is always really accurate and Zoe and Hugo’s symptom goes away within five days.

The bloody vomit of them was not serious; we could see slight pink thing in the gastric juice.  However, when it comes to Hugo, it gives burden on his body and he cannot do anything other than staying in bed.  We feel so sorry for him when we see him sleeping with a suffering face.  Zoe, on the contrary, have good appetite and she wants more food even in the dietary restriction.  We feel sorry for Zoe, too, when we see her asking us for more food and we wish the five days will pass quickly.

What is difficult in having two cats in a house is to feed each of them.  Zoe and Hugo did not have the symptom at the same time, so it can happen that one is given the full portion of food but the other has to be in a dietary restriction.  It is the cat’s nature of cats to finish meal by eating little by little, so, neither of Zoe or Hugo finishes the meal at once.  So in order to have each of them finish the meal, we have to separate the room.  However, we cannot make them keep staying in the rooms for a long time, we anyway took the dishes away even if the food remains, and see the other chances to have them finish the meal.  Since cats have a keen sense of smell, each of them finds that the other is fed.  But we cannot find any better way at this moment.

Hematuria

Both Zoe and Hugo have suffered with Hematuria, bloody urine.  We prepare three cat litters for them.  The cat litters have two layers; we put the pellets on the upper layer and disposable pads on the lower layer.  The pad absorbs the urine penetrated by the pellets and we can check the state of urine- color and whether or nor it contains crystals.  Hematuria comes suddenly; the bloody urine shows bright red, so we get flurried.  According to our vet, disturbance of lower urinary tract endangers the life mainly in male cats.  So he decided to apply a dietary cure to two of them (please follow the instruction of your vet). 

When we find blood on the urine, we specify who did it and sample the next urine in a syringe.  When sampling, we put the pad upside down on the pellet so that the one pees on the plastic surface.  This is what our vet told us.  According to him, in doing so we can sample the crystals easily if the urine contains.  If we use the pad in a regular way, the fiber catches the crystal and the examination cannot detect.

At first neither Zoe or Hugo had a problem to pee on the sheet spread on the pellet, though they looked at it suspiciously.  But now they refuse it; maybe they acknowledged that it is completely weird.  They restrain themselves not to pee and it continued for hours.  Hugo started to take out his anger on Zoe for his irritation.  Me and Dad worried about them because their condition might get worse if they continue not to pee.

So, we came up another idea.  We bought a cooking ladle to sample the urine and cover it with plastic wrap or bag.  When they start to pee we sample the urine by putting the ladle under the tail.  When they finish peeing, we suck it up by a syringe.  This is the way that the other cat owner introduced on YouTube and it goes well for Zoe and Hugo so far.  I came up with wrapping the ladle with the plastic wrap because I wanted to avoid contamination of current and past urine even if it is washed every time.

Well, how do we find which passes blood?  We cannot know it so we have to infer it from the recent situation.  In watching the everyday situation we can get used to infer who does it.  Sometimes we see the moment that the one passes blood by checking the pad frequently.  When sampling the pee we bring the suspect in a room and I sleep with him/her.  They are surprised at and suspicious of the non-daily situation and get away from peeing, but they usually do it in the early morning.  I wake up once I hear the noise of pellet and prepare my special ladle.  Once it starts, they cannot stop.  I put the ladle under the tail.  They must feel “Nooooo!!” but I keep putting the ladle.  I cannot sleep well, but I feel a big achievement when I finish sampling.  I wrap the sample in a plastic bag and put it in the refrigerator so that it does not get bad.

Me and Dad hesitate to take them to the vet when they pass blood but are energized enough, because the symptom looks less serious.  At those times the books like “The Veterinarians’ Guide to Your Cat’s Symptoms” helps.  We have a similar book written by a Japanese vet and we can look up the disease from the symptoms.  It tells us when to take them to the vet and when to keep an eye on them.

Zoe is just healthy, and only she went to see the vet besides vaccination was bloody urine when she was two to three year-old.  Now she takes dietary cure for it, and she does not have to see the vet any more (but she still has to go to see him to take vaccination).  Hugo goes to the vet monthly to clean his ears, but he does not like it.

When Zoe was young, she recks little and let the vet do what he needs on her body.  All the time she tried to please him.  But one time Zoe bit him when she was playing with the vet’s hand.  Zoe licked the hand immediately like saying “I’m sorry, Mr. Vet.”  The vet gave a little chicle to her saying “Thank you, dear.”  When me and Dad saw it, we were relieved to know she will not have a problem to take the medical care at the vet even if she becomes ill in the future.

However, Zoe now totally forgets those days, I believe.  Now she gets stressed to go there.  It might also be because Zoe is a “Mike” the three colored cat which is said to be sensitive and cautious.  One time when I was waiting for her finishing a drip, I heard a loud scary scream like “me-aaaaaaa-ow shhhhh…”  I do not know how to express it in English.  Anyway it was such a scary scream of a cat, I mean, Zoe. 

I was so startled and thrilled staying in the waiting room.  I was not able to believe that it was Zoe, but it was surely she because she was the only patient at that time.  I have never heard such meowing of hers.  I guessed that Zoe was so scared by being left alone in the consulting room and got prepared for action against the vet to protect herself.  When I went back to the consulting room, the vet looked really frightened.

Sorry, Mr. Vet.  Nothing you and I can do; she just hates vets or animal hospitals.  And sorry, Zoe, I know you are usually such a lady…  Now me and Dad take any means to prevent ill and accident so that Zoe does not have to go to the vet other than the vaccination.  BTW Zoe has once got frightened at the trimming salon, and tried to escape, too.  Since then I do all kinds of care by myself.

Hugo, on the contrary, never fights at the vet because he is mild.  The vet quickly finishes the ear cleaning so that Hugo does not get fear.  The vet always hums and says “Boy, I understand, I do understand…”  He does his best to calm Hugo’s nerves.

Sometimes Hugo cannot put up with it.  He then takes off the towel on him and twists his body like saying “I cannot stand anymore!”  The vet finishes up the ear cleaning when he sees a chance, but otherwise he stops it then.  Hugo seems to hate the ear cleaning; when we come back home Hugo asks Zoe to cure his mind by licking his ears.   Zoe is grace enough to answer to his request.  Since then, Hugo acknowledges her anytime.

Both Zoe and Hugo overcome the difficulty in their own way.  Once the medical treatment finishes, they come back to the normal state.  They rush into the carry case and get ready to leave, without revenging on the vet.  I admire them because they never pay tit for tat even though they got such a hard time.

They have to take medication when they got bloody urine and food allergy.  When taking medical treatment, I prepare the medicine twice a day by pouring water in a bag of powder and put it into their mouth by a syringe.  I have them sit on my knees and put the syringe at the side of their mouth.  The medicine might smell quite yummy to them and neither of them refuses it.  Hugo drinks it deeply.  Zoe sometimes takes me to her cardboard house and drinks the medicine from the inside of it.

They do not like to be cuddled, but when they take medication they allow me to put them on my knees.  It may be because they feel it is a special occasion.  Sometimes Hugo sticks around me and asks me to give the medicine to him even though I prepare it for Zoe.  He thinks all medicines are for him.  When he understands it is Zoe’s, he becomes envious and stars at her.  They are such queer cats to positively take medication.

From Spring to late Fall we apply a spot medication which protects the cats from Filaria, ticks and fleas.  We apply it to each of them once a month, and it is really a tough work.  Zoe and Hugo must smell a lot of it, which smells like instant glue, for their keen sense of smell.  Me and Dad have to catch them escaping around and spot the medicine on their back.  It does not take long to catch them; maybe because they cannot put up with the fear that comes to them during escaping.  We are really sorry but it is necessary to keep the ill away.  Only we can do is to quickly catch them before their fear increases too much.

The vet is dependable when Zoe and Hugo are sick, but the best thing is to live without him.  The vet is such a complicated occupation.  We will keep making our kids healthy so that they do not have to go there often.

I said it is always true, but one thing is different in case of Zoe.  Zoe sits down on the joint and end of the sofa at her ease.  She intentionally sleeps on the roof of her dome bed, though inside of it is fluffier.  When she plays with her favorite fishing rod toy, I have to make her play in the more difficult situation by entangling the fishing line on the leg of a chair to enhance her hunting instinct.  If not doing so, she stops playing and leaves there with a disappointing look.

Zoe has such a stoic girl on the contrary to her cute appearance.  Another different thing is that both Zoe and Hugo sleeps at nights unlike most cats who are nocturnal.  I wonder whether they are satisfied with their “cat life.”

A day of Zoe and Hugo starts a bit earlier than 5:30am.  Dad gets up at 5:30am and prepares their breakfast.  He prepares his own breakfast after that.  Sometimes Zoe and Hugo get too hungry and wakes him up by jumping on him.  Poor Dad.  Zoe and Hugo are very active in the morning and eat breakfast voraciously.  After Dad leaves home for work, they change the target to me and keep their eyes on me to request playing.  They form an encirclement at me who enjoy the morning coffee at the sofa.  The encirclement gets smaller and smaller with time, and I start to feel uneasy.  Before I finish my coffee I usually make up my mind and start playing with them using the toys.

“OK, children, let’s start!”  I stand up and walk to the drawer where I put the toys, their eyes get large.  Hugo meows excitedly.  Zoe looks in the drawer and chooses her favorite toys.  “Today I’m gonna play with this, this, and that…”  I move to the playing room with the toys in my hand and sing a song of my original “Zoe, Hugo, let’s go.  It’s morning.  Let’s go!”  This song make them so excited because the sound of “It’s morning [a-sa-da] ” in Japanese is similar to ”Let’s play [a-so-bo].”  This means that they understand the word “Let’s play.”

I play with Zoe first every morning, as the vet advised me, because she came to our home earlier then Hugo.  I ask Hugo to play by himself in the next room for a while.  Zoe likes playing with fishing rod and catching a ball.  She is good at catching the ball by jumping.  After a while Hugo gets lonely and starts meowing, but I ask him again to wait for a bit more. 

By the time when Hugo starts meowing, Zoe finishes playing.  When I open the door of the next room, I see Hugo sitting at the back of the door with holding his favorite cat teaser in his mouth.  My heart aches every time I see it, and I play with him as much as possible.  Zoe sits there and gaze at it.

After playing with them, each of them start to do what they want.  I start my job in my office at home.  Zoe makes it a rule to rush up to the cat table and continue the breakfast after the playing.  When she was a baby, she preferred playing to eating, but now she loves eating.  These days Hugo mimics her routine and finish his breadfast.

They then take a nap at their favorite places, but Zoe gets up around 11:00am and wait for lunch, which is given by the automatic feeder.  She sits on a bed near the feeder and wait for the lunch time.  She is really a stoic girl to wait for lunch for such a long time.  But it may be a pleasant time that she can focus her attention on lunch.  When the automatic feeder feeds lunch, Zoe rushes to it and start eating.

They spend time in their own way in the afternoon, too.  Nowadays they come to my office and take a nap.  Zoe sleeps on the top of a bookshelf and Hugo does on a chair besides me.  When Hugo does not come to the office Zoe takes a sheet on the chair and sleeps.  Sometimes Hugo wakes up and start walking on the keyboard, so I cannot be careless.  Neither of them likes to be hugged but they like to be in a same room with me very much.

After 5:00pm, Zoe walks around in a fidget like saying “Where is my dinner?”  Yes, dinner time is 6:00pm.  When she finds me going to the kitchen, she gets a start on me and wait for dinner.  When I prepare their dinner Zoe edges up to my legs and looks on the table by standing up.  Hugo does not eat much and he seldom eat dinner at 6:00pm, but around 7:00pm.  I weigh their dinner and put it on the dishes of their own, but they do not care which is whose.  After preparing their dinner, me and Dad start the own dinner.

After dinner Zoe takes a rest in the wardrobe and Hugo sometimes fawns on me and some other times sleeps in a hammock of the cat tower.  At 10:00pm me and Dad move to the bedroom and watch the TV.  We decide to sleep in the bedroom altogether so that we can evaluate smoothly at the time of a natural disaster.  In order to have Zoe and Hugo in the bedroom, we have a toilet and water server for them.  When we move there we bring their midnight meal.  I weigh the midnight meal so that the total calories do not exceed the daily calories they should take.  When I bring the midnight meal, Zoe comes out of the wardrobe.  She is such a cute baby who loves eating!

There are days which they do not want to go to the bedroom.  At those times they hide under the sofa to play more.  I try to catch them but if I cannot do, I leave the door of the bedroom open so that they can come in when they are ready to sleep.  When they were kittens they used to rush around in the bedroom but now they were calm and usually spend time by grooming themselves on their beds.

I usually watch the TV until I become sleepy and Hugo sometimes visits me to fawn on me.  He likes to step on meas if I am his “cat Mom.”  His steps make me sleepy and I turn off the TV and lights.  By this time Dad has already fallen asleep.  I think back to the day, ”Zoe and Hugo looked happy.  What will I do tomorrow?  I wish tomorrow will also be a happy day.”  This is my most peaceful time of a day.

For long-haired cats like Zoe, I use the one which is called “a slicker brush.”  A slicker brush has many pins on a square surface.  Zoe is mixed of Norwegian Forest Cat and Maine Coon, both of which have long hair, but she looks single-coated.  So brushing her is not that tough because she does not have so much fallen hair.

For the first time I did not know that characteristics of Zoe and believed she should have lots of fallen hair just because she is long-haired.  Also, some of my friends have Exotic Long Hair which are double-coated, and that makes me believe lots of Zoe’s hair should be fallen out when brushing her.  I tried to brush her intensively, only resulting in not liking it.

Here are the brushes I tried for Zoe; a small slicker brush (for kittens) with a ball on the top of each pin, a rubber brush and a comb, a large slicker brush (for adult cats) without balls, and a large slicker brush with balls.  Zoe complained of pain when using the one without balls even though I brushed her gently.  I tried to brush her as gentle as possible but she did not like it, either.  I also used a grooming rake that desheds undercoat, but it worked too much for Zoe and now she just hates it.

The large slicker brush with a ball on the top of each pin was what our vet recommended.  I found out that choosing the right size for a body was very important.  When I used the small brush for Zoe after she grew up, it took forever to brush and Zoe and she got bored and tried to run away.  After changing to the large one, she stopped complaining and gradually got used to it.

Zoe often grooms her chin, back, thighs, and the base of the tail, so I brush those places intensively and then move to the sensitive parts like the belly and underarms.  When I brush the belly and underarms, I do it very gently with a full caution.  In doing the underarms, I also use a comb to remove hair balls.  Zoe likes the comb very much, especially when she is combed the head.

Maine Coons are said to be wearing a pair of pantaloon, for their long hair at the back of the legs, so does Zoe whose parent was a Maine Coon.  I love her wearing a pantaloon!  I brush there, too, to remove hair balls.

It is said that long haired cats need to be brushed daily, but now I understand how much hair I should deshed from her.  Not doing it too much is a secret of making brushing time pleasant for Zoe.

Our vet mentioned that the grooming rake is a tool to “cut” the undercoat and Zoe does not need it for a regular use because her heir is not so thick.  After brushing, I wipe her out to clean her and remove the remained hair using a sheet of body towel for cats.

Hugo a short haired boy.  A rubber brush is the only and definite recommendation for short haired cats.  The rubber brush I use is a mitten with a rubber brush on a palm.  When I brushed Hugo with it for the first time, he was so surprised like saying “What the heck is it?!”  He was trying to run away from it and it took time until he used to it, but now he understands the purpose of brushing and enjoys it with purring.

When brushing Hugo, I make him sit on my knees and start from the head.  Then I brush his neck, back, and tail.  It is hard for Hugo to control the tail, I brush his tail intensively.  I brush it by holding it gently, from base to tip.  I then brush his chest and belly.  That’s it!  After the brush I wipe him out as I do for Zoe.  I brush Hugo once a few weeks.

Mitten shape enables me to affectionately brush him, resulting in enhancing intimacy to each other.  It is perfect for Hugo who likes to be cuddled.  Only a shortcoming of the rubber brush is that lots of hair remains on the mitten.  I have to remove all of it using an adhesive tape.

Cats have a variety of preferences.  I hope you will find a suitable brush by observing the response of your cat.

Zoe is good at understanding the atmosphere and fawns on me and Dad when she understands that we are ready for it.  The way she stares at us tells that she fawns on us.  Sometimes she kisses us on her nose.  I am always fainted in agony by seeing her face with her eyes slightly closed when she kisses me.  Dad makes it a rule to have time to cuddle her in a closed room every morning.  That is the treasure time for them.

Dad likes to watch the cat documentary broadcasted by NHK and learns how to comfortably cuddle cats.  So Zoe loves his cuddle.  Every morning when she finds him awake, she trots toward him and jumps on the night table, and asks him for a cuddle.  At first Hugo wanted to join them, but now leaves them alone as if he understands that the time is only for themselves.

Zoe looks a human daughter when she stays with Dad, but she also has a special relationship with me.  She follows me wherever I am and watch over me.  She stares at me when she has something for me to do.  When she looks at me with some intention, I can see that she understands me.  When she was left apart from me at the trimming salon,  she immediately got ready for a fight and threatens the trimmer, and tried to run away.

I felt sorry for her after seeing that, I started to groom her by myself- trim the craws, brush her, trim the hair between the fingers and the vent.  Zoe does not have too much dandruff and sebum, I decided not take her to a bath but wipe the body using the body sheet for cats.  I brush her teeth with Dad (it needs two people).  Some kinds of grooming are not what she likes, and those times she bites me with the molars.  But I believe the grooming enhances the relationship between us.  I whereas wonder why Dad is not bitten…  maybe Dad is like a boyfriend for her.

Hugo seldom kisses us on his nose, but usually asks me for a cuddle by lifting my hand by his nose.  At those times he walks across Dad’s knees and comes to me, as if he believes it is his right to fawn on people.  He never understands the atmosphere; he does what he wants whenever he wants.

However, he cannot refuse my cuddle.  As soon as I find that he is going somewhere, I start cuddling him. Then he changes his mind and decide to stay on my knee.  He moves to my belly and starts to purr.  Hugo also makes answers to me when I talk to him.  The answers sometimes sound “krrr” and some others does like a silent “meow” with his mouth open like a kitten does.

When Hugo wants to be cuddled, he sometimes assigns the place, saying like “I want your cuddle here, Mom, see?”  I wonder why he has such strong preference…  When he does it he keeps steping back by staring at me.  He is such a pampered baby.

The relationship between Hugo and Dad seems more or less difficult; it might be because they are male. sometimes they look to be in a tense atmosphere.  At the same time, Hugo loves Dad’s hug.  It might be because Dad is warmer and I as well as Hugo can look around from the height.  Dad is in charge of Zoe and Hugo’s breakfast every morning and That is the time Hugo gets enthusiastic reception.  Sometimes Hugo jumps on Dad sleeping and tries to wake him up asking for breakfast.  Dad looks still fine though he is waken up in such a rough way 😉

Both Zoe and Hugo, having different ways of fawning, learned how to “effectively” fawn on is after becoming three years old.  They became less enthusiastically fawning on us.  I sometimes miss the days when they sticked around me, but a strong bonding made by spending many days is a symbol of a family, I believe.

After a month, there was a happening that I saw Zoe’s feeling at bottom.

One day Hugo went to the vet to take a neuter operation.  He was supposed to spend a night there.  When I came back home alone Zoe came up to me and started to fawn on me.  She came onto the sofa, which she usually did not.  She might have thought that Hugo left home forever.  Since that day was the only day when she can have me all to herself, I decided to let her be fawn on me as much as she wanted.

On the next day, Hugo came back home.  Zoe immediately found his signs.  Her eyes lifted a lot and her face looked as if she said “You come back again!”

Ah, just as I suspected.  She still had an emotional conflict deep in her mind.  I was so disappointed and had a guilty feeling.  Hugo is a part of the family, dispensable.  I made up my mind to search out the best way for each of us to live in a happy life, I never gave up on it.

Here are what I decided:

Respect the cat’s rules.

Treat them equitable but treat Zoe first: serve meal to her first, call her name first, and give CIAO treats to her first.

Me and Dad kept helping them get closer by exchanging toys and smells, but at the same time watched over them without intervening too much between the quarreling two.

After a while, we started to take him to the bedroom to sleep with us.  Zoe used to sleep with me at my pillow, but since then, Zoe started to sleep somewhere else.  I was sad, but I decide to put up with it.  It was Zoe’s decision.  I accepted all decisions of hers.

For a few days, Zoe continued to jump down from the bed once Hugo comes to the bedroom.  One day Hugo found that he took Zoe’s space.  Then he started flurried and left from the bed immediately.  The real feeling of me and Dad was that we want to sleep altogether on the bed, but we decided to put up with it and accept their own feelings.  We tried everything so that each of us can make a right choice for oneself and accommodate the feeling. 

Three years since then, we now have the days that Zoe and Hugo gets along very much, and the days that Hugo gets naughty chasing Zoe around.  We also have the days that Zoe and Hugo spends time separately.  Now Zoe does not only run away from the naughty Hugo but gives tit for tat.  She became able to do it because their relationship is now much closer and known each other better.  The fight of them now becomes a fun wrestling play, which is one of the major fun for Norwegian Forest Cats.

One day I found Hugo fawning on Zoe after getting through ear cleaning at the vet, which he does not like.  Every time Zoe takes care of him by licking the ear, as if she is relieving his mind.  Passing those days, Hugo now acknowledges Zoe’s superiority.  They get into mischief together, keep comfortable distance when sleeping, and yield the turns to play with me and Dad.  In this way they now make a perfect pair.

The funny thing is that they play tag in a very serious way.  The one always chases the other around with full force, and the other makes a fierce look with the round big eyes.  When changing the turn, the same thing happens vice versa.  Me and Dad guess they get revenge on what they have got from each other the other day 😉

“The problem in having two cats in a home” has concluded in this way.  The best solutions, as a result, are to keep the cat’s rules but not to intervene their troubles too much, and to protect the priority of the first cat but love them equally.  It took time but we are now “a complete family” by overcoming the difficulties.  I hope these two articles will help the people who are suffering the similar problems of having multiple cats.

In this article I am going to talk how Zoe and Hugo met and got along with each other through twists and turns.  I hope this article would be informative for the people who are considering to have another cat or to be annoyed by the conflicts among the cats.

When Hugo came home, me and Dad prepared a room where he lived until he got used to the environment.  Once he got in the room Zoe found the sign with her keen nose.  She wondered “Who in the world is beyond the door?”  She stayed in front of the door and tried to catch more signs.  She kept silence, refrained from scratching the door, and just kept looking at the room through the crack, all day and every day!  I wondered and worried about her, “Is she not bored to keep just staying there all day long?  She should take a little rest.”

Zoe likes to please people.  She used to comb my hair with her tiny tongue at nights.  She is such a motherly cat.  So I thought it would result in success to have Hugo with Zoe.  It is said that cats sometimes take time to get familiar to each other, so it would be a good idea to leave the items which were bought for a new cat and let the former one to get accustomed to them before the encounter.  I did the same so that Hugo can be accepted by Zoe without a problem.

However, the thing did not go well as I expected.  One day I heard a growl when Hugo meowed beyond the door.  I thought it was a trick of my hearing, but I saw Zoe growling.  After a few weeks when Zoe seemed to be used to the environment, we tried to have her meet with Hugo.  We put him in the carry case and brought the case to her.  Hugo was trying to attract her attention, but she growled at him, jumping to the carry case.  Oh, brother, poor Hugo, it is called a one-sided love.  But there is no shortcut other than taking time.

After several tries of meeting through the carry case, we then started using a cage, which is larger than the carry case.  Zoe stepped on the top of the cage and looked down Hugo.  Since the cage was made of soft materials, the cage was squashed by her weight, resulting in scaring him.  Me and Dad felt sorry for him.

When we were thinking about having another cat, our vet said, “The current home is the only and absolute world for Zoe, so think about Zoe above all else.”  I had a sense of guilt because we could see that Zoe did not want this situation, which seems that we did not think about Zoe first.  Also, Hugo ended up with being scared.  Nothings went well for either of them.

Hugo had loose bowel when he came to our home, so me and Dad slept with him alternately to take care of him at nights.  In the daytime Zoe looked through the crack and we thought there was still a chance for them to be friends.  We decided to utilize the time that they play with the toys: we exchanged the toys so that they get familiar with each other’s smell.  We also let the one look when the other played with us.  We tried all the other ideas that was found from the articles on the websites written by the cat owners.

In doing so Zoe started trying to open the door by putting her cute round hand in the crack, and her growl became fainter.  We started to have them stay in the same room.  But some other times she was not able to accept him and we clearly saw her emotional conflict undergoing.  By this time Hugo might have been huffed by Zoe’s growl to know that she never accepted him, he started jumping on her menacingly.  Me and Dad were not able to come up with what more we could do for them even though we knew their sufferings.  All of us had a hard time.

I kept playing with Zoe and Hugo using the toys.  Playing will eventually shorten the distance between the two, I believed.  Since it is a matter of their feeling, all I could do was to wait for “the time.”  Around this period I felt that the emotional distance between Zoe and I was enlarged.  She might have thought I started to love Hugo more than Zoe…  Oh Zoe, I love you so much!  But I did not how I could melt her frozen feeling, and that made me feel lonely.

“The time” came suddenly.  About a month of the hardships, Granma came to spend a few days.  Zoe and Hugo respectively came up to welcome her by sniffing the luggage and asking her to play with.  At the night before Granma leaves, I occasionally found that Zoe and Hugo were laying closely and touched their paws together.  I have never seen that.  You see?  Being friends is such pleasant, kids.  I could not stop grinning or taking photos because I was so happy.

Me and Dad were so relieved and thought that they would become friends from now on.  However, the disturbance of their relationship continues…  When would they get closer?  When would all of us be able to slip out of such a suffering?  When would we be able to be a family…?

<To be continued to the Second Part>

I finished settling the table and decorating the Christmas figures.  I also finished setting the wine which Dad chose for the dinner in a panier.  Only left I have to do is to finish up cooking.  The main dish is chicken, not turkey, as most Japanese prepare for Christmas.

At Christmas I always remember the roasted turkey that I had at my friend’s house in the United States.  I really liked the corn bread stuffed inside, and the roasted turkey became one of my favorite dishes.  However, I have heard the radio program saying “… this recipe saves to 2,200kcal per person per a meal.  It’s quite healthy, isn’t it!”  I knew the American dishes are really big, but I was about to fall over when I heard it.

Zoe and Hugo stick around me and Dad because they found something was different today.  “What are you doing, Mom?” asks Hugo.  I am writing this article in a spare time during the cooking, but Hugo disturbs me by lifting my hand onto his head using his muzzle and touching his whisker pads to the corner of the PC.  What is happening do you think, Hugo?  But I cannot tell you yet, Baby.

Today will be a big day for you guys, Zoe and Hugo.  You will get Christmas gifts!  The gift is always the same, two tastes of CIAO treats in a red stocking per kid.  Zoe’s stocking has a rabbit on front and Hugo’s does a panda.  I use the same stocking every year.

It is impossible to leave the gifts at their beds while Zoe and Hugo are sleeping because they seldom fall in asleep.  So I just give them directly saying “Here’s your gift.  Happy Christmas!”  Furthermore, these treats will be used for their regular weekly treats, they are not the Christmas gifts indeed, strictly speaking.  I wonder if they say “It’s mean!”

After settling the table I shut the door of the room so that Zoe and Hugo do not get in.  Since the decoration- the figures of Santa Claus, turkeys and cats, and a small Christmas tree made of glass- are so fragile, I am afraid that they might break them by dropping them.  I also want to avoid them from getting injured.  They scratched the door to enter the room when I shut it, but their interest moved to something else after a while.  They are such good kids.

Oh, the music.  I used to have a CD of Christmas songs, but it went somewhere unnoticeably.  I liked that CD because it includes lots of pleasant songs…  I tried to find it every year since I lost it, but this year I just gave it up and bought the new ones.  The new ones are omnibus, including the Christmas songs by the old and recent pop singers.  But now I will play Enya, which makes Zoe and Hugo relaxed.  Since they have been excited all day today without taking a nap, I am going to have them take a rest.

Hugo was killing time by laying upside down on the middle step of the cat tower, but he seems to ran out of patience; he started to enjoy himself in the hammock.  This hammock is his favorite because it fits his body perfectly.  He now relaxes in there by partly closing his eyes.  Zoe is taking a rest in a closet where warm air stays inside.  Dad is taking a nap.  Hon, you must be tired to have gone through the hard work for the year.  I am glad that you are able to take 11 days off for Christmas and the new year.  I hope you enjoy this Christmas and take a rest during the days off.

I think I am going to start the Christmas dinner a bit earlier this evening.  I make it a rule to feed Zoe and Hugo before our dinner so that I do not forget.  Once before I was tangled up too much with cooking and I totally forgot to feed them!  I remembered that I did not do it during I was eating.  They just waited for me without complaining, so I felt guilty so much.  That’s why I make myself feed them first.  They do not seem to care if their dinner is served early as long as they are certainly fed.

Every year before Christmas dinner we sing “Jingle Bell,” which is the original version of mine.  The lyrics means “Today is the pleasant Christmas day.  I am waiting for a gift by Santa.  I am glad today is Christmas.  Let’s celebrate it altogether.”  It is very simple and I enjoy singing it with cuddling Zoe and Hugo.  Dad, who is always quiet, might be too shy to sing it… 😉

Followed by the song we pray for all cats in the world for their happiness.  There are many suffering cats in the world, so we pray for them so that they can be as warm, full, and happy as possible.

After those, me and Dad start dinner, but feeding the kids comes first.  Since this Christmas is on the weekend and  Zoe and Hugo are given CIAO treats on Saturdays, I will also give it to them right after the sing and pray.  But Kids, each of you will be given the half of it, as usual.

It is always true that Zoe and Hugo settle in their favorite place after we start meals.  When they find the sign that we will start the meal, they get out of the room.  They are so grace to leave me and Dad alone during the dinner.  They might become happy when they feel the indication of us wherever we are.

That is so sweet of them!  I swear, me and Dad will keep this happy home where Zoe and Hugo can feel cozy and safe.  I guess today’s dinner will longer than usual, and soon after it, it will be the time for bed.  I am waiting for sleeping with them as usual.  Sweet dreams!