# Anissa



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

She's hard to get pictures of since she's always moving, but here are a few...


















And Fergie really wanting to get IN:


----------



## XmalD73 (Nov 23, 2009)

She is so cute! Uncle David & Uncle Brad can't wait to meet her.


----------



## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

What a cutie pie!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Are her legs really that short? She looks ... ADORABLE! 
I really love that first pic ... she's a kitty checkin' out her new digs, standing kind of both crouched/tall at the same time (_I call that a position of 'readiness'_), her tail flies at half-mast and sort of sways side to side and her head cranked as high as it can go so she can see everything there is to see.
She makes me want to pick her up and snuggle my nose right into the fur over her shoulders.


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

She does have pretty short legs, at least compared to Fern and Fergie.... I bet their daddy was a very tall white cat, considering how little orange the girls have when their mom has so much. I've seen pics of the 3 boys in the litter and they're also mostly white too!


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

She is so gorgeous!!! She's going to find out very soon what a great home she just landed in.


----------



## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

She's beautiful! I'm so happy the family is back together. :kittyturn


----------



## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

OMG!!! I love her!!


----------



## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

She's a gorgeous girl, and Fergie is so cute wanting IN.


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Fergie wanting in w/ her mamma made me think of this video:


----------



## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

She is gorgeous. Sorry if I missed it somewhere else but how old is she? I have my fingers crossed for a smooth introduction for you all and here's hoping she can enjoy her new spoiled life with her daughters soon.


----------



## Cats Rule (Sep 18, 2010)

Awwwwwwwwwwwww 

It's love at first sight. They're awesome. :love2


----------



## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Very beautiful kitty! Adoorable expression! she almost looks like a "Munchkin" breed with her short legs, or is it the camera angle?


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

She's estimated to be between 4 1/2 and 5 years old.... She was found in a garage with her 5 kittens, so I know how old my first two are within a week, but we're not 100% sure with Anissa. Since cats seem to have their first litter at about a year old, maybe a year and a half, that's where we get the estimate.

I think it's just the angle that makes her look a little like a munchkin... She's got noticeably shorter legs than her daughters, but not so short that I think she's part munchkin. She has not spent a lot of time standing tall yet, as she's been exploring and somewhat hesitant when she hears the other two on the other side of the door.

Anissa is totally ready to come out, but I know Fern and Fergie have to be ready to meet her face to face. They still hiss every time we crack the door and Anissa comes close. Anissa, thankfully, will only hiss when hissed at, so I think she'll be fine!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Sounds like things are going great, so far!


----------



## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

She's adorable! I hope the hissing doesn't last too much longer and you're able to let them all roam free.


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Fergie managed to get in the room today, snuck around me while I was heading in.... 8-O We didn't want to freak out either cat so we watched to see what would happen. She stopped just inside the room and STARED at Anissa on the other side, then very slowly worked her way across. She wasn't stalking, she was doing that walk where kitty is standing tall but reaching out hesitantly with each step and extremely focused on the goal. Anissa just sat on the window ledge and watched her come, and didn't look too concerned. Fergie got to about three feet away and started to growl, which is when hubby picked her up to see if that would calm her down. She barely noticed and kept up a low growl, that kind of moaning angry sound they make sometimes, so he took her out of the room then. I stayed with Anissa and she seemed fine, and Fergie calmed down once she was away from the room.

Any thoughts on this? I've never done a kitty intro before so I don't know if this reaction is good, bad, or what. We've just had hissing when we've cracked the door and they get to sniff each other. Does that go away eventually or do you sometimes just have to let them get face to face and hiss it out?


----------



## Ilovemykitties (Jul 26, 2010)

Aww, how cute! My old cat's loved boxes, at least one of them did. When we got out a board game he would try to lay down in the box whether from REALLY small or REALLY big.


----------



## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

She's adorable. So wait, she's Fern and Fergie's mama?


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, I don't think that was a very good sign for right now ... but I don't think it is hopeless, either. 
It only tells me that the intro will need to be slower. 
Keep on doing the door-crack-thing, offer praise and food treats near each other. Maybe see if Fern would be a better kitty for the 1st-contact intro? I use Louie and Floofy as my 1st-contact intros to big cats w/ foster kittens because they are so accepting and laid back. The kitts can hiss/growl and Floo and Lou don't even bat an eye, just continue w/ whatever they were doing as the kitts follow along behind them, trying to get close enough for a sniff.

I used a completely different tactic when I intro'd 10mo old Skippyjon Jones to our herd. _(and in thinking about it, this is also how we intro'd the adult still-partially feral and recently neutered tomcat to our housecats) _We placed the new cat in a cage. The Wanderer was in a home-made hutch to contain him with his broken leg and Skippyjon was placed in a large wire dog-crate. He had a hooded litterbox, cat bed, shelf and a sheet draped over half of the crate for privacy and an area he could retreat to while the housecats could see him and interact, or not, according to everyone's desires. W/in 3 days, Skippyjon was OUT and getting to know the housecats and our home.

I'll post pics:































One week later..._and I wish you the same success w/ your kitty-family._


----------



## MaloreyAnimal (Aug 28, 2008)

What an adorable looking kitty!


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Well since today is Monday hubby and I are at work and the three girls are alone with whatever contact they can make under the door. I'm glad there's enough room for them to get an arm way under the door so they can play if they want, and I left their favorite toy on Anissa's side of the door but within reach of Fern and Fergie. Hopefully they'll play together a little and start getting used to each other!

We figured Fergie would be the better one for the first face-to-face meeting - Fern has been doing the bulk of the growling and hissing so it would seem that she is more upset by the intrusion. As she was growling on the outside of the room last night I was inside pushing a kibble under the door here and there.... Hubby said she looked completely confused and amazed, but was very quick to gobble up the offerings! Anissa doesn't seem to care much for the kibble (good girl!) so I'm happy to use her uneaten food to appease Fern, who is a kibble junkie!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

WhiteKitties said:


> As [Fern] was growling on the outside of the room last night I was inside pushing a kibble under the door here and there.... Hubby said she looked completely confused and amazed, but was very quick to gobble up the offerings! Anissa doesn't seem to care much for the kibble (good girl!) so I'm happy to use her uneaten food to appease Fern, who is a kibble junkie!


Hahahahahah! That's the way to use the ole noodle!


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

We had a breakthrough tonight! Hubby was home alone with all the girls, and he spent most of the time in with Anissa, playing with her and getting all three to play at/under the door with a toy. He cracked the door after a while and they were all still doing great, so he let Fern come in, just Fern, not Fergie. She very cautiously approached Anissa, and got close enough that hubby was able to pet and encourage both cats, and each of them gave a very small half-hearted hiss but there was no growling, no running away, no aggression. After a couple of minutes Anissa walked away and laid down, just kind of hanging out.

This is good, right??? I'm really excited that this went so well! We will probably do this again for the next couple of nights and try with Fergie as well as long as things continue in a positive trend. Maybe by the weekend we'll be able to let Anissa out of her room for a while to explore more of the house!


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

WhiteKitties said:


> We had a breakthrough tonight!
> She [Fern] very cautiously approached Anissa, and got close enough that hubby was able to pet and encourage both cats, and each of them gave a very small half-hearted hiss but there was no growling, no running away, no aggression. After a couple of minutes Anissa walked away and laid down, just kind of hanging out.
> 
> This is good, right??? I'm really excited that this went so well!
> Maybe by the weekend we'll be able to let Anissa out of her room for a while to explore more of the house!


Yay!!!!!!!! *_jumps up/down excitedly_*

That sounded awesome, Hubs did a GREAT job keeping the first meeting casual, no pressure and cool. Way to go! Couple more of those ... and maybe putting the girls up and letting 'Nissa check out the rest of the house w/out any pressure (_curious daughters_) and then seeing if Fern's continued acceptance will help Fergie accept their mother, too. Sounds like it went GREAT.


----------



## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

When I walk into Anissa's room, I can tell that the smell is a little different in there. I know if I can tell, it's really obvious to them! Would it help with the scent mixing and adjustment if we shut Fern and Fergie in Anissa's room and let her out to explore the rest of the house? We were thinking of letting her explore and putting the sisters in our bedroom, but maybe we need to swap their territories so they can sniff everything out?


----------



## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Actually ... I think that would be a GREAT idea! 
Could you do it w/ one person in each area to help keep everyone encouraged and knowing they are loved? 
_I think having someone w/ the girls in their Mom's room would help and I also think it would help Anissa explore if someone was walking with her and 'showing' her the house. You could both switch between rooms to give everyone equal-time with each person while they are in their new areas._


----------

