Olive has arrived and we are in the quarantine stages as described
here. I have not heard so much as a growl from Ermie at this point. I figure she can't fathom a worse addition to her life after meeting Luke and Aidan.
Ermie is a little more on edge and I can tell she's picked up Olive's scent. She's not as cuddly with me which makes me sad at times. This whole process is different than I thought it'd be. I thought I'd really enjoy having a little kitten around, but it turns out that a kitten plus a baby and a three-year old is just a lot of work. We were set to receive Olive in two weeks, but the woman taking care of her was forced to move and so off to their new homes went all the little kitties. I'm a little disappointed in that situation because she seems to be only four weeks of age. Regardless, Luke and Jay are enjoying her. We determined from the start that Jay would be her "mother" so as to not tick off Ermie even further, so we're calling it his cat.
The best way to describe our house right now is to say that it's like Shamu stadium. Ermie is held up in my bedroom with Olive in Luke's. They each take turns being in the main living area of the house. When one bedroom door opens, the other closes with brief periods of cat-free moments for the spectators. For now we'll have to see if the cats' tails start flopping over to the side now that they're being held in captivity with one another, just like our orka friends.
Despite all the inconvenience, it has been nice to see that one of my suspicions is correct. Although Ermie can sense the new threat, she has not growled at Luke all week. He has only picked her up one or two times since Olive's arrival and I'm sure she appreciates this. He was carrying her everywhere and I could tell she did not appreciate this. I figured a younger playmate might be a fun source of entertainment and companionship for him.
Perhaps one day our house will be open in peace, but in the meantime we'll be dealing with this tedious period of transition.
