I hate this schedule so much. I barely have any time for myself before or after work because of the inconvenient hours. But I cannot afford to get less hours until I find another part time job. I can’t get another part time job because I have to be here at 1pm almost everyday until close. I feel like I’m trapped and I feel sad. I love my job, I hate my hours. What do I do
Hello, I have 2 tortie girls I’ve had together for years now and while they’re not besties by any means, they’ve certainly come a long way and bonded over the last few years. It was so hard getting these two used to each other without trying to fight for several months when I first got them. The fighting would decrease less and less but I would constantly have to rotate them and keep them separate while I wasn’t home for several months. It even took years for them to be fine sitting close proximity together. They don’t snuggle but they touch noses often and seem to not mind each others company after years of living together. But it wasn’t easy. So for that reason it was never my intention to get a third cat, I knew I didn’t want to have to deal with that process all over again but with two cats.
Unfortunately, my mother recently passed away. And my step dad was going to send her 13 year old cat that I had since I was 14 years old to a shelter. Of course I couldn’t let that happen, my mother and I loved that cat dearly. I knew she wouldn’t want that. Nobody else in my family wanted her, so of course I jumped in to take her after my mom died. I drove out of state to get her and it took a week for her to even be comfortable with me or my home. She hadn’t seen me in years since I moved out at 17. I hadn’t seen her in over 5 years almost.
Now, I have had her in my home for about a month and they swapped places and I would swap their blankets to smell. I have tried letting two of them meet yesterday and they did good for about 30 minutes before they tried to get into a fight (1 of my old torties and the new cat)
They’ve been swapping scents and room for a month now, I feel like that’s really long for them to be separated. I want them to meet but it seems like not long before they get really upset. I have baby gates now, should I not let them meet without the baby gate separating them for a while? How long should I do this for? I just feel overwhelmed to get 3 girl cats who are all a little sassy to get along. It took me so long for my two to get along, I feel defeated to do this all again but I love my mom’s cat and of course it’s worth it. I just need help and guidance to make sure it goes smoothly so I don’t have to struggle for almost a year getting them to not fight
I’m scared because my moms cat was declawed from the shelter we got her from cuz this was in the 2010s, and she’s a lot smaller than my other two cats who have all of their claws. It feels like with her age, size, and now front claws, she’s at a disadvantage. I feel worried and protective that I don’t want them to hurt her. I just want to go about this the safest way possible.