Sharing the space

Ksana's ears show she is alert as she shares her perch with one of Cici's kittens

Ksana’s ears show she is alert as she shares her perch with one of Cici’s kittens, Oct 2016

People sometimes ask us how our cats get along with each other – and the answer is “surprisingly well”.

In the photo above, pregnant Ksana was snoozing on top of a climbing post when one of Cici’s six-week-old kittens climbed up to visit. Ksana simply let the kitten crawl over her, then gave her a few licks and went back to her nap – although you can see from her ears that she’s staying alert.

The adult cats are extraordinarily deferential towards kittens. At meal times, the kittens eat first and no adult cat tries to get near their plate.

The other day I was playing a string game with the kittens, when Hoku walked in. It’s her favourite game and she desperately wanted to join in, but she would only do so if I flicked the string towards her – and there were no kittens within range. As soon as a kitten moved towards the string, Hoku would stop and simply let the kittens play as long as they wanted without interfering. It’s the sort of behaviour we have seen countless times from our adult cats. I guess they know how important the next generation is. 🙂

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One Response to Sharing the space

  1. Helen says:

    This is lovely to hear. Particularly impressed that Hoku waits to be invited to play.

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