January 31, 2004 - 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.

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!

I have uploaded new pictures here:
http://www.flippyscatpage.com/newpictures.html

Purrs to all,
Flippy & Mia & 5 Cats!