Frederica's new feline brothers & sisters

First, there's Vinnie... the alpha-critter in our house. He's 11 years old and is my best buddy. We adopted him in 1999 from a local shelter a few weeks before I found out that I was pregnant with our middle daughter, Christine. Christine grew up with Vinnie snuggled by her side. He's a ladies man and loves to sleep with any of the females in the house... not so much with Dean. Upon meeting Frederica, he sniffed at her, hissed half-heartedly and went off to clean up the food Freddie hadn't finished. They've had a few similar encounters since then - I don't think Vin is impressed.

Topaz (below) is Vinnie's sister. She's big and soft and squishy and loves to sit on laps. Topaz likes to sleep with Christine & Molly and, only occasionally, me. She's had issues getting along with Vinnie in the past and he'll still occasionally squabble with her. Link likes to pick at her and so do the dogs... it's hard not to pick at her when she reacts so well! She's not exactly a fun-loving kind of a cat, but she's a great lap warmer! Puddin', our English Springer Spaniel, is determined to become her cuddle buddy - they'd be perfect together and they're both big, lazy things. Some day...

Topaz only had two brief encounters with Frederica and she was totally unfazed.

Below is Link. She's going to be our hard sell. Link currently holds the adorable, "meet and greet" cat status in the house. She came to us 2.5 years ago when we fostered a small litter of kittens for adoption. Her sisters were adopted out, but somehow Link wove her way into the fabric of our household. She gets along with Vinnie and Mr. Bits and the dogs (who she actually likes to play with despite the fact that they dwarf her!)... not so much with Topaz. Link isn't at all enthusiastic about Frederica's presence in the house. While I think they'll come to enjoy each other, the acclimation process is going to take a little time.

...and last, but not least: Mr. Bits. Bitty-boy was a foster kitten, also. He and his mother came to us in November of 2007. His mom didn't do well with the dogs and the kids, so she went back to the shelter. Mr. Bits and Link got along really well and Mr. Bits wasn't bothered at all by the dogs, so he stayed. He was REALLY tiny when he arrived in the house, but has grown into his big feet. Mr. Bits is my studio cat, preferring to spend his days napping on my chair at my big drawing table. He's somewhat reclusive & nocturnal... and he doesn't like to come out when there are strangers in the house. However, he's one of my best night-time cuddle buddies.

Frederica got to know Mr. Bits' scent quite well as he usually sleeps right on top of me at night. Their first encounter was Frederica's first night in the house: Mr. Bits wanted into the bedroom at 3:30am to snuggle, so we let him in and he found an interloper in his spot. He hasn't hissed much, but he doesn't seem too please to have Frederica sniffing at him a half-inch from his face. I expect that he'll come around very quickly - as soon as we can have our bedroom door open at night again so he can come visit me.

The last two nights, we've kennelled the dogs and supervised Frederica as she's explored the downstairs. All four cats have observed her exploration and not interfered with her. Freddie hasn't really met the dogs, yet. She's seen them from a distance and high-tailed it back up the stairs! The dogs get along well with all of the other cats and they're very excited to meet Frederica. It's going to take more "visits" while the dogs are safely kennelled, I think. More on the dogs later...