Rumi, Zoey, and Pandora adopted 2026

[the-new-trio]

Last night, another first - I got to see Mira and Zoey play-fighting! I have been told that this is something they do together and I believe that's true when I'm not around, but it's not something Mira has let me see before.

[the-new-trio]

oh my god?????

Mira just got on my bed to "leisurely" sniff where the food had been before. (Leisurely in quotes bc there is still the underlying tension and constant looking at me to see if she needs to run.) She glanced over at me and I kinda froze up and tried not to do anything at all. Held my breath almost. She casually sniffed, found not much interesting, and walked past my legs almost over my blanket!!! to hop off again.

She is still sort of scoping out the bed.

I need to get up to turn down the A/C and turn off the lights bc it's 12:15 AM on a workday ......... ok she is leaving the room.......... okay now's my chance

[the-new-trio]

!!! I opened up all flavors of the perfect portions cat food to see whether Rumi had a preference for flavor, and of course Zoey cottoned on fast.

But I just glanced up and MIRA was here too!!! On my bed!!!

She saw that I saw her and looked just as surprised as I was. I tried to freeze but she backed up and eventually left. I feel bad for her and I truly want her vote on flavor (I'll see which one has been most eaten -

okay, she is sneaking in from a different corner of the bed very slowly, on my left hand side. so i have turned my head away and will very deliberately ignore how she glances over at me to see if i notice her. Juuust watching her out of my periphery lol.

To be fair to her, it's hard to distinguish her from Zoey without being able to clearly see either her face or the tip of her tail (Zoey's is orange).

I knew I could try to lure her onto the bed with treats, but I figured that would not expand her comfort zone so much as push her boundaries and make her uncomfortable/stressed. But I don't think it counts as luring if she just came here of her own free will.

Just stretched and shifted my weight and I thought she was gonna bolt, but she looked at me not looking at her... whenever she thinks I'm going to move she heads toward the edge of the bed, but then creeps back to the food when I don't.

I thought we were past the "eye contact = aggression" thing and could maybe move to "slow blinks = affection" but I didn't realize how simply not making eye contact makes her so much more comfortable. I don't know if she thinks I really can't see her or if she knows I'm just playing along or if she literally just has fight/flight related to eyes??

Anyway. she finally left so I set the food up for Rumi, but he sniffed and remained disinterested. Zoey is still going at the bowls vigorously.

For the record: 2 of them are untouched almost - the savory chicken entree and the roasted turkey entree. I'm surprised that the beef entree is the most picked clean. But sustainable salmon was the one that first got Rumi's attention and came in as runner-up.

...Even now Zoey is trying to get the harder-to-reach bits of salmon and beef and entirely ignoring the poultry. So my mind is made up I guess. And I'm glad to see that with so few portions it's not been a feeding frenzy where just one cat ate the best stuff.

Set up the 4 containers closer to where Mira is comfortable after she left the room and the two kittens are doing a little dance around the food. Mira seems to agree with the group consensus already seen.

Paused to get the portions on a ceramic dish, since poor Mira was trying unsuccessfully to scoop anything out of the container that just slid around on the floor. Now she's getting what she deserves - a full portion! :) Also the poultry is getting noticed, finally. Rumi is just supervising the group meal.

[the-new-trio]

crosspost from Facebook:

Unexpectedly, "Mira" (who is warming up to me slightly after three months or so) has turned out to be a great name for a cat. Plenty of material there. "Mirabel," "Mira" (like the Spanish word), but especially using it as a homonym for "mirror." Mira, Mira, in the hall. Oh Mira, why can't I see you clear-ah.

Rumi, more expectedly, is easy to shorten to Ru, and also Ru-miracle (named after a character - I didn't make that one up), and "Room." He also gets "buddy" / "bud" a lot, purely for being a male cat, I'm sad to say.

Zoey is the one who is most playful and, you would think, most liable to get nicknamed. But apparently the more dignified or standoffish you are, the sillier names you get. I don't make the rules.

--

In other news, because I was talking to the vet about giving Rumi meds (he refused a pill pocket without even trying it) and because it's been an issue that he has been uninterested in basically any food other than his standard food and green Temptations (even Churu fails with him!!) - and also because they were on a diet at the rescue of half dry food and half wet food, which seems better for them long-term - I got some experiments for them at the local pet store.

I'm happy to say that Rumi does in fact like Dashi! And because they're individual cups, it's pretty easy to set them all up to eat separately and all at once (though it's proving useful, if there's no medication involved, to let them peruse at their leisure the abandoned cups that still have little bits at the bottom) .

I know btw that the Dashi are "side dish" / supplemental feeding only. For a regular wet food, I have to sort of work around my adhd, and it's very unlikely I'd be able to wash the food dishes every day. so the single-serving cup is great for me. I know the metal cans are better for the environment but they stack up fast, also, and I would feel awful putting them in the trash instead of recycling - but I have come to terms that sometimes, it is better to throw recyclable things away if the only alternative available to me (for adhd reasons again) is for them to pile up in my living space. But the other decent option, price wise and not-messy-wise, seems to be the "perfect portion" Sheba. I got one of each flavor and plan to test 'em out another day - I know cats can be sensitive to diet changes, and Rumi in particular is susceptible to vomiting.

This had the unexpected benefit of grabbing Mira's attention IMMEDIATELY so she came into my room and seemed to be contemplating getting on the bed. I don't want to push her past her comfort zone but I am tempted to try to get her to come up here. If she absolutely refuses, she gets the treat anyway, of course. There is also the fact that if she's hiding from me all the time, I can't observe her for signs of illness.

[the-new-trio]

Short play session with da bird - Mira happened to be already downstairs when I went there. I was able to sort of hide behind the windowed door and dangle it around her without issue.

But when I came in the room all the way to play with Zoey and Rumi, she actually stayed put most of the time!! And very briefly at one point, actually engaged with it! tracking the toy a little, I think batting at it once or twice.

She did wind up slinking by to get upstairs, but her machinations did still wind up taking her past me a little closer than she liked, but she even actually stayed nearby for quite a while!

Afterwards I got out treats (I don't think it's been immediate enough that anyone has put together the playtime = treats afterward thing, but it's something I did with my kitty and I see no reason to stop), and leaned over to turn off the downstairs light - and caught Mira looking up. She seemed abashed but didn't retreat. I did, but still rattled the treats around, and pretty quickly she came up for treats after all. I was able to smuggle them to her by tossing some for Zoey, and showing Mira where I was putting them (they are unfortunately almost the same color as the floor), and she got the hint after a bit and got her cache.

Also as I was typing, she came into my room only a few feet from the bed, wandered around and back out. She was still p conscious of my presence, but the fact that she openly wanders nearby me is a big win!

[flowergirlmiwa]

ending a social interaction with a friend and thinking "I think we grew a little bit closer today." in my head as if I'm a dating game protagonist

[the-new-trio]

Took Rumi in to the vet for the stuff I thought was probably feline acne - the vet agreed with me. Looked him over, said it was okay to get a little witch hazel pads like for humans if he has a flare up. Also encouraged me to give a laxative eg mineral oil in his food and that it would be ok if the other two cats had some, since his digestive issues might be caused by fur and get eased that way.

I'm glad that, right at the end, she brought up the possibility of testing the eye discharge to confirm if it was the virus she thought it was, which would flare up with stress (looking up what she said [sounded like "clici"] I think it was fcv). I opted in because tbh having my cat regularly apparently weeping blood is in fact something I want to know the root cause of, especially since it seems like a lifelong thing. She also floated the idea of giving him an antiviral regularly but that seems harder to do because of the shared food, and bc he isn't very food motivated except by that one (1) kind of dry treat. They also had to clean out his ears but they didn't see parasites, yay.

He did very good.

We got home and I let him out one room too early, and he went down to the basement and ignored me calling for him. I always want to be honest with cats when I can, so I refuse (unless there's literally no other option but I can't think of when that's happened) to call out nicely and/or bribe with food in order to grab the cat and then make them do something they don't like. I want to be able to give them signs that I'm safe to be around or to come to. I also try to respect bodily autonomy as much as I can. It does mean I sort of have to surprise them to get them in a carrier or to give them meds, but it also means they can ideally know for sure when the hard part is over and it's ok to relax, because I'm petting and giving treats and talking sweetly and stuff. Sun vs wind approach.

(I didn't get much sleep so I know I'm rambling.)

Anyway. I went downstairs and the poor guy had found the dirtiest most tucked-away hiding place in the basement. He was crouched under there just like they probably found him crouched under the car. Fortunately he came out to treats and didn't seem scared of me afterward. But he must have been so scared :((( He's back up here now.

He didn't go for the pill pocket with famotidine in it earlier this morning but he managed to keep everything down for both car rides!

[gaydogonline]

poking at Ur hand with my nose to get you to pet me

[caitlikescoffee]

you're going to try and bite it aren't you?

[gaydogonline]

im not gonna lie i will straight up be biting it yes

[the-new-trio]

Rumi and Zoey are cuddling adorably again. Mira allowed me to follow her slightly in order to keep tossing treats at her, and later I spotted her hopping off my bed (while I was in it, but the bed has a canopy that Zoey [and possibly Mira??] likes to cuddle up against from the outside, just out of view).

Earlier I asked Rumi (who was cat napping) gently if I could pet him, and he let me for a minute. After I drew back, he got up and kept asking for pets, so that seems like an enthusiastic yes to me. Zoey, I keep thinking but have never typed, does in fact snile sneetly! She also has just the slightest bit of pink in her fur around her mouth that is very cutely blushlike.

[the-new-trio]

Mira's still slowly becoming more tolerant of me. An hour or so ago, she came in my room to sniff at some of my dirty laundry (which Zoey likes to curl up in too).

I'm starting to think that what she feels about me isn't unadulterated loathing but curiosity that is impaired by her flight zone being much smaller than the house allows for.

As a for-instance, she just came upstairs and we glanced at each other, and instead of running for her life, she lay down sphinx-pose and is currently chilling.

But it's also hard to interpret her as not giving mixed signals! I got another couple hisses last week, through the glass of my door, which she usually is happy to get close to and observe me through.

Zoey's been a bit more vocal, at least when I get home from work. I admit I miss not just my kitty @bastet-thecat's company (and everything else about her), but the cuddling and hearing her voice a lot. So it's pleasant to me to hear Zoey's meows - makes the house feel a little less lonely.

Rumi and Zoey both will come up happily for petting, and sometimes will walk on top of me, but in no instance would let me pick them up (well, Zoey has allowed it, but uncomfortably and hopping out right away, so I don't push it) and never really seem to want too much physical content beyond petting with my hands.

It makes me guilty just to think about it, but I have found myself wondering if I should have prioritized adopting a cat who was previously owned - these guys seem to have been friendly strays. I wouldn't trade them obviously, but I've daydreamed about a fourth cat just to fill that cuddling craving that was half the reason I felt like I needed to adopt a cat asap in the first place. But 4 cats seems excessive and also needlessly stressful for them, and the idea of fostering is nice but I would want to be able to be working from home or something to be able to foster. I really need to go to a cat cafe and have a good cry I think.

I do hope that they'll continue to be more affectionate as time goes on but I'm also aware that that sort of thing is beyond my control and ideally isn't something I would want to change about them anyway. Unfortunately there is, as always, a big gap between "is" and "ought."

[the-new-trio]

Under a readmore, feces

I'm noting here more for record purposes than blog reasons.

I've previously seen Rumi's eye bleeding (looks like 'normal' cat tears, was a known issue when I adopted him, which like everything else plaguing him, is swept under the rug of "tests came back fine, it's stress") happen more after he's thrown up. (He'll usually have a bit of eye goop and it's usually reddish, but what I mean is when I notice that it's wet and bright red, instead of dried crust.) Otherwise it'll seem to happen at random.

But after watching him strain to defecate (and tbh most of it was just fine, there was just a little bit that he was really struggling with at the end), and knowing that he's had blood on his stool for similar reasons - I just noticed his eye blood being fresher.

So now I'm pretty certain that even if the eye bleeding isn't directly caused by gastro issues, I think that's probably a big cause of why hhe might bleed day to day.

He did go, then try to clean himself up down there while I scooped it. (Didn't see any blood on it this time!) Then a few minutes later, he came back and seemed to try to go again - if he produced anything it was too small for me to see.

On a cuter (?) note, Zoey also just went in front of me, and I told her I wouldn't be petting and soothing her through it like I did for Rumi. I don't usually get to ("get to") see them use the litter box, but I know it's a good thing to do for vet reasons - I don't think I've ever seen Mira go, unfortunately. I've been thinking about how her first vet visit (after moving with me I mean) will go, and how to minimize the trauma involved, but that seems unavoidable at this point.

Anyway, Zoey did defecate , and then started pawing around the outer edges of the litter box. I told her laughingly that she was close, but she needed to scoop the litter itself ONTO the mess. She kept pawing and eventually got to the litter itself and covered it... but then kept pawing blindly at the box.

She's got the spirit 😭 at least.

[the-new-trio]

Mira update. She has come into my room by a few feet and was watching Zoey love on me and get pet. She seemed amenable (even though I think she hissed at me the other day? could have been someone else sneezing. but it's been a long time since a hiss). I wiggled my fingers and made eye contact with her and she didn't back away or anything.

Slowly leaned over and stretched my hand out. She was okay with it, even drew closer, her nose almost touching my finger-

And then smelled (presumably) the absence of food, and drew back with this look of betrayal and disgust.

Sorry Mira :'/

[the-new-trio]

Mira has been coming up to my bed and actually half-hopping up for a split second (never actually getting on). I've been confused because I've never caught her on my bed when I enter the room, only the bed in the cat room. It is encouraging that she'd willingly get closer to me for any reason.

I heard the thump and saw a quick flash of movement that made me think it was her, but when I looked, she wasn't visible nearby, so I suspect she'd gone under my bed (not a hiding place necessarily - it's p high off the ground).

And I realized that it's possible she is just ? Checking to see if I'm in bed and/or asleep?!?

[the-new-trio]

Nothing to make me question everything like Mira's stare.

She does that big doe-eyed over-her-shoulder stare like that one Dionysus-esque painting from that one meme and I start wondering how much my attempt to rope her into playing is manipulative of me or demeaning or pandering.

I know the laser pointer isn't an ideal toy because they can't pounce and catch it like they can with actual tactile objects, but I have one I got for @bastet-thecat in a failed attempt to get her energy back up. And I had been thinking about it and thought it might be the perfect way to entice Mira into playing From Afar with no risk of Zoey coming in and stealing the toy (and the spotlight).

Well, she was interested and played with it a little, but the moment she glanced up at me and made the connection, she started withdrawing. Then who comes barrelling in but Zoey, and it helped a little I think for her to see a cat acting like a silly kitten about it. But she did eventually go back downstairs. So I put away the toy.

And then Zoey was trying to figure out where it vanished to, twitching and wide-eyed so much that I felt really bad!

I tried to give her the "look, I'm controlling it. Click, it's on, click, it's off, see how it goes where my hand does," etc. And Zoey's bright but I don't think she got it...

(And by the time Rumi finished dinner and came over, we were done.)

I am of course aware of the Dangers of anthropomorphization. I do struggle so much with understanding what's going on in Mira-land that it's practically impossible not to project somewhat in order to keep trying to understand her.

I can at least acknowledge to myself that she's probably not actually judging me for being emotionally manipulative. (But don't try to tell me a cat doesn't know what pandering is at a deeper level than humans do lol.)

I typed all that up and Mira came back upstairs and we attempted round 2. She sat there with interest but mostly stoic placidity at Zoey did rings and donuts around her. Zoey is still trying to figure out where the dot disappears to :'/

But then she (Mira) did flop on her back just out of view of me, but where I could see her fluffy chubby lil legs for a bit. Which at least makes me think she's comfy lol.

[the-new-trio]

update: Zoey is so bored she is sleepin'

Mira is still watching her stories

Rumi in the corner chilling

[the-new-trio]

i took a video at first but it has been several minutes and mira has simply been. staring. at the fish

[the-new-trio]

Shelled out for a toy "fishbowl" with what turned out to be a water-activated "fish" inside, specifically for Mira, who has (as caught by kittycam) been flipping toys inside the water bowl.

She took a while to get close but she is officially Investigating!!!