June 7, 2003.
Welcoming our new kitty: Tiffany.
We'd like to welcome our new kitty, Tiffany, who arrived today. She is 7 years old, pure white Persian which odd-color eyes (one blue, one gold). As is quite common with the breed, we have been told by Tiffany's previous vet that she is deaf, and also blind in one eye.
Tiffany's previous owners didn't want to keep her because they have a baby on the way. My dear friend, Jenni (who has earned her title of "Cat Rescuer") wrote to me asking if we knew anyone in Melbourne who could adopt this little darling. Of course, Mia and I are a pushover for kitties so we agreed to have her.
Mia and I have never had a Persian before, but we have read up and understand that she needs daily grooming and eye-cleaning. We just tried to clean her eyes, but she is not very tolerant of the procedure.
We have been keeping Tiffany in a separate room until Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe get used to her scent. However, in her previous home she was an "only cat" so she very territorial of "her room". (There was a screaming match a few minutes ago when she sneaked out and chased Romeo and Chloe around the house. Poor Juliet was terrified of all the commotion.)
Anyway, photos of her will be available later in the week - I'll let you know.
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Tiffany Update.
Thank you all for your kind comments and good wishes for our new furbaby, Tiffany. After a very shaky start, Mia and I are starting to get used to her now. I do the eye cleaning and Mia does the brushing. For the first few days we were very concerned that Tiffy had not gone potty properly, but this morning everything is normal. (woohoo!)
Tiffany is still very aggressive towards the other cats. In her former home she was an only cat, but now she has to share her home with three other felines and she is not at all happy about that. I've had to keep her locked in my study area (where the computer is), because if she goes out into the rest of the house she seeks out Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe and chases them all the while screaming at the top of her lungs which is all the more scary for them and for me! Juliet is shy so she is in hiding – it will take her much longer to get used to Tiffy. However, Romeo and Chloe want to make friends with Tiffy but she won't have any of it. I'm sure in time they will all settle and Tiffy will accept that she has to share her new home with Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe.
I've taken some photos of her and have uploaded them to the catpage.
I appreciate your messages of support, and will try to reply to everyone.
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Tiffany Update.
I thought I'd give you an update of how things are going with Tiffy. She seems to have settled now - she is eating, drinking, and using the litterbox regularly.
Tiffy is being kept secluded in the study because she's still aggressive towards the other cats, and there is a lot of hissing and spitting going on under the door. The only time I can let her walk through the house is when Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe are all outside. Juliet and Chloe tend to stay outside for a very short time, so Tiffy has to go back in her room before the others can come back inside.
Sometimes at night Tiffy wakes in fright and I hear her crying. Then I come into her room to check on her and find her sitting in her basket. I think at those times she wakes up and she can't hear anything, and she can't see anything because it's dark, so she's feels scared. I comfort her for a few minutes and then she is alright.
Before Tiffy came to me she had to have a few teeth out, including a couple
of fangs. She has now been put on prescription dental food, so hopefully she
will be able to keep the rest of her lovely teethies. 
Mia and I are having a hard time getting Tiffy used to being brushed. Tiffy doesn't like to be groomed and will struggle like a wildcat if we try. We've bought a special "de-tangler" comb, and both Mia and I quickly comb Tiffy for 30 seconds at a time, several times a day.
Tiffy also doesn't like getting her face cleaned, although she is getting used to it. I have to sneak up on her and get the job done very quickly before she freaks out.
Tiffy is a very well-behaved cat. She does not sit on the furniture. She does not claw the furniture. She does not sit on the bed. (Poor thing, how awful to be raised not to sleep in bed with her slaves.) She does not like to be picked up. She is not a lap-cat. She does however enjoy sitting on a chair in front of the window and watching the birdies outside. She spends hours doing that! She also likes to relax in her two favorite baskets (hand-me-downs from the others).
For about 20-30 minutes a day Tiffy likes to play with her favorite toys: the peacock feather and the cat-dancer toy. She loves to chase them, and she jumps all about trying to get them. She looks so funny when she slides on the wooden floor from one end of the room to the other, with her feet wildly trying to change direction. My sister saw her doing this the other day and she thought it was hilarious and said that we should send a video of Tiffy doing this to Funniest Home Videos.
Tiffy appears to be an indoor cat. I showed her the outside, but she got scared and ran inside. As a matter of fact, I'm glad that she doesn't want to go outside because her disabilities would make it very dangerous for her to be out there if she can't hear the traffic, nor see it very well.
As for the other three furry ones, Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe are secure in the fact now that Tiffy is staying in the study and cannot attack them. However, I feel that it may be unfair for Tiffy to have to stay in one room most of the time, even if she does appear to be happy with the arrangement. I think, ideally, Tiffy would like to be an "only cat". Mia and I have become very attached to Tiffy, but if an opportunity presents itself for Tiffy to go to another home where she can be Queen and Ruler, we will have to give it some serious thought. In the meantime, Tiffy will have a home with us indefinitely, and will be treated as one of the babies, with the love and care which she deserves.
Thank you everyone for your kind messages and hints on how to care for Tiffy. Mia and I appreciate your help.
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Tiffany Update.
Tiffy has been at her new home for 10 weeks now and is slowly settling in. She is still spending most of her time in the study, which she doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact, even when I let her out she quite often comes back after a few minutes to "her room" to sit on her favorite chair by the window. Other times she wanders around the house for up to half an hour.
I've had to increase Tiffy's exposure gradually to Romeo, Juliet and Chloe. Tiffy is still aggressive towards them but I suspect it is because she stares at them to try to read their body language because she is not getting the vocal signals. There is still a lot of hissing and spitting going on under the door, and when Tiffy spots one of the cats in person she still chases and screams at them. Fortunately though, Tiffy does not jump onto high benches or furniture so Romeo, Juliet, & Chloe have found a way to avoid her by "hiding" on the tall furniture for the half hour while she is walking around the house.
For the past week I've been adding Rescue Remedy to the cat's water bowls, but doesn't appear to have had an effect on Tiffy. The other cats, however, have really mellowed out! The first day after I started to add Rescue Remedy to the water, Romeo spent the whole day sleeping inside his Kitty Cube! This was unusual because normally he likes to go outside in the mornings. I noticed a change also with Juliet and Chloe, in that they weren't quite so stressed about Tiffy.
Ever since they were kittens, Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe have been allowed to
jump up on the bed, furniture, (and even kitchen benches at times
).
However, it is obvious from Tiffy's behaviour that in her previous home she
had not been allowed to do this. Sometimes when she is walking around
inspecting the house she jumps up onto the bed or other (low) furniture for
a few seconds. Then she spots me and cringes - poor darling thinks that
someone is going to hit her. Slowly though, she is getting used to the fact
that we don't mind her jumping onto the furniture. Several times now when I
have been out of the room and she thinks I'm not looking I've caught Tiffy
jumping up onto the desk and even onto the monitor. At these times I'm
careful not to make any sudden movements or even look in her direction - I
don't want to frighten her. She is slowly getting used to the fact that she
can jump up on the bed and other furniture here without getting into trouble.
Grooming Tiffy is still a bit of a problem. Mia and I comb her for up to a minute at a time now. We always make sure to reward Tiffy with treats for sitting still for us. It is a slow process.
Tiffy still hates having her face cleaned. I wait until she is sleeping or relaxed and then sneak up on her. As with the grooming she always gets a treat afterwards.
Slowly but surely Tiffy is getting used to being petted. Sometimes she will let us pet her for a minute or two, and at times she even purrs! Mia and I consider this to be quite an achievement under the circumstances.
I'd like to thank everyone for your kind messages of support and for your helpful hints. Mia and I appreciate all your emails, and we apologise in advance if we don't get around to replying to them all because of our heavy workload.
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Tiffany Update: A Breakthrough.
I wanted to let you know about Tiffany's progress. As you know, she has been with us for three months now, and last night for the first time she sat on the bed! Yes, and she actually curled up and went to sleep for almost two hours!! Mia and I are very excited about this because she has only jumped onto the bed a handful of times, and when she did she jumped off almost immediately. But last night was different. I think she is starting to trust us and to feel secure that we will not chastise her if she jumps onto the bed or furniture. Woohoo! This is a major breakthrough for Tiffy.
Well that's all really, I wanted to let you know the good news.
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Update on Tiffany
I haven’t written an update on Tiffy for a while now, so I thought it was time to do so.
Tiffy came to us on June 7th, 2003, and since that time, as you know, she was having trouble getting used to the three resident cats here. Every time she saw them she would come after them screaming and hissing. Romeo and Chloe wanted to be friends with her but she wasn’t interested. Poor shy Juliet was so scared that she hid and stayed away from Tiffy altogether.
Grooming was also a problem. Tiffy wouldn’t tolerate being groomed, and her fur had become matted. She had trouble grooming herself, and although she often tried, she very quickly gave up because the sheer volume and length of her fur was overwhelming. She couldn’t reach her skin through all the fur either, so I guess that was very frustrating for her. Cleaning Tiffy’s eyes was also a hassle, she always complains.
By late November 2003, Tiffy’s fur had become very badly matted, and brushing her was still out of the question. I was at a loss with what to do about the situation, until a friend sent me pictures of her white Persian cat (Holly) who is almost identical to Tiffy. She’d had Holly clipped! Yes, that’s right – No.2 with the clippers. Well, I thought that was a terrific idea. After all, Australian summer starts in December and the warm weather had already arrived. So I booked Tiffy in to be clipped on November 27th. On the morning, after being fasted for 12 hours, I dropped off a grumpy, miserable kitty, with matted fur and a sad disposition.
The next morning I went to pick up our little grumpy kitty. I had asked that Tiffy be shaved to the skin so that we can get rid of the matted fur, and also because it would give Tiffy a chance to clean her skin. I had also asked that the fur on her face, paws, and tail be left alone. Well, you wouldn’t recognize Tiffy now. She is a whole new cat! I started calling her “Sausage” because she looked like a raw BBQ sausage with the pinkish tinge. J
But the biggest difference however, was when we brought Tiffy home. The almost instantaneous change in her disposition was remarkable! She started prancing around with a definite “spring” in her step. She started to become more affectionate, even curling up with me in bed under the blankets! She started to become a “lap cat” – you can’t sit down without her jumping into your lap for cuddles! She still doesn’t like to be picked up, but she does enjoy scritches and loves to be patted. She also started being more sociable – to people AND to the other cats. One day I had visitors and she curled up on one my guest’s lap and went to sleep! Tiffy has become a sweet and friendly kitty.
Tiffy now tolerates the other cats, she no longer screams at them. She has accepted them and has taken her place as “one of the resident cats”. Romeo, Juliet, and Chloe don’t mind Tiffy now that she no longer chases them. And Tiffy no longer minds the stray kitty (Jetson) that came to live with us a few months ago and fell in love with her! These days Tiffy can often be seen sleeping on the bed beside the other cats. Even Juliet will sit beside her on the bed.
This week Tiffy has started sleeping on the sofa. This may not seem very important, but when Tiffy first came to live with us she would not sit on any of the furniture. Slowly, she did start to climb onto the “low” furniture, but when she saw us she would visibly cringe. Nowadays Tiffy doesn’t need to cringe anymore. She is free to sit on any furniture she wants – just like the other cats.
During the past six months Tiffy has gained confidence in many ways. In particular, she has become better at jumping onto high places. Sometimes she misses her aim (poor baby), but I just say “Never mind, Tiffy, just try again”. She routinely jumps onto the kitchen counter for her food and water, and she loves to climb the 7’ cat condo. But her favorite place to sleep is still in the basket under my desk when I am at the computer.
Tiffy has run of the house now, and she is enjoying her new life. She gets to go outside regularly for supervised play and to enjoy the fresh air. She enjoys watching birds and shadows and flowers. She also enjoys cuddles and affection, which she gets whenever she wants.
Mia and I both agree that Tiffy is a real pleasure to have around. She has come a long way in six short months. Well done, Tiffy!
Purrs to all,
Flippy & Mia.
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