Last week, when Henry got sick in the office where Stella had been staying, I decided it was time to let her out of the office to explore the house and to get to know Henry and Bridget.
She hasn't so much tried to get to know them as much as she's taken over the house. I was a little floored, considering how meek and quiet she had seemed in her space in the office. Rest of the house + 50 lb. dog + territorial cat? It's no problem.
Within an hour, she had kicked Bridget out of her spot on the windowsill in our bedroom.
Later on Saturday, Henry went up to investigate. I missed the first interaction, but in CJ's words, "Stella was like POOF! She turned into a big ball of fur, hissed at him, and then smacked him across the face!" Henry went back a few more times that first evening to "try to make friends" (otherwise known as trying his hardest to befriend anything that moves, but annoying them to death in the process). Stella started to growl at him -- this low, deep growl -- and then snorted at him. I think it baffled him more than anything, so he just looked at her in surprise and then turned away.
As many of you know, Henry is used to chasing Bridget -- but Stella holds her ground. The next day, the two of them stared at each other for about five minutes. It was so intense that Bridget walked right by him and he didn't even take notice. Henry eventually just decided that it wasn't fun with her not running away and so he got up.
Within the first few days of freedom, Stella had also requisitioned Bridget's litter box and food bowl as hers. And when I got home from work one day, she had also taken Bridget's spot on my side of the bed. That hasn't gone over, to say the least.
I can't say that all three pets will ever be best friends. Neither cat will ever be friends with Henry, and it's still up in the air whether Bridget and Stella will ever be friends. At best, I think all three will just learn to tolerate each other. On the upside, I guess it will always ensure that we never get bored since we have this built-in entertainment now!
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