To recap: Vante hasn't peed anywhere except her litter box. I haven't found any brown surprises in any shoes (thank-goodness). She has been a part of our family for 2 weeks and seems to enjoy her new life (but of course I'm sure she misses Ms Linda, Mr Mike and Mr Bob).

Vante seems to be getting along with one of her sisters, Callie Mae, just fine. They tend to ignore each other with the occasional hissing, but rather than me go on, here is a story: I unwrapped a late Birthday present and as I undo the long, long ribbon Vante goes into action. Teaching that ribbon a lesson or two about who is boss. She loves to bite and slobber all over dangly things. After several minutes of this she realizes that Callie has come within two feet of her and is also mesmerized by the ribbon. Hiss... ohhh, look, the ribbon is moving. Bite, bite, nom, nom... hiss... ohhhh, ribbon. After several times she is a bit tired and it's Callie's turn to play with the ribbon a while. Then Vante's turn. They've learned to tolerate each other enough to share!
*sniff, sniff* "I'm so proud. They're ready for kitty cat first grade."

As for Vante and Amelia that is a whole different story. I caught Amelia eating Vante's food earlier today (she is in the middle of a diet to lose at least 1 pound). So her eating Vante's kitten chow is a big problem. No wonder Vante hasn't warmed up to Amelia very much - she's stealing her food. I'll have to keep a closer eye on my 'little' cat pilferer.

Stay tuned... I'm working on a list of Vante's likes and dislikes.

2 steps forward 1 step back

The photos are of Vante, sitting on her bed, staring out at Amelia & Callie. Then there's Amelia (black shorthair) and Callie Mae (dilute calico) sitting outside Vante's room - staring inside at her. This happens at least once, if not several times a day.

Vante and her new sister, Amelia, don't seem to be getting along. Amelia is just fascinated by Vante and wants to be near her and explore her room - Vante on the other hand wants none of that.

Within one hour this morning I found Amelia in Vante's room twice! The second time Vante was under the bed growling, then she moved out from under the bed - louder growling. At this point I stepped in and picked up Vante so Amelia could get out of the room. Vante yelled like a banshee! (Nobody was hurt; well maybe Amelia's feelings.)

This afternoon Vante was helping me surf the internet and Amelia came in the room. More growling, a little hissing, same story second verse. I picked up Vante and took her to her room. I closed the door and low and behold Amelia was at my ankles trying to get in the room with Vante.

She just wants to be Vante's friend and sister - I've tried to tell Vante that but she just wants to be a grumpy old lady about it and be left alone. I'll keep telling Amelia that too. We'll just have to see how this plays out.

Storytime

Earlier I was walking from our bedroom to the kitchen and Vante was crouched down on the cardboard scratching pad by the fireplace. All I saw was her back and front right paw and I almost had a heart attack.

I don't know if you do this but I walk through the house and identify objects and make mental notes like "Awww, Amelia" or "Callie is so cute" or "I need to water that ivy."

Anyway, so walking from the bedroom to the kitchen I saw a cat on the scratching pad and the thought that passed through my mind was "Hey Cocky" and my heart literally skipped a beat. I had to turn and do a double take. At a glance from the back Vante looks JUST like Cocky, my first cat. Eerily so.

(I got Cocky when I was 4 or 5 years old and she lived until she was 18 or 19. She passed away about 5 years ago. She was named after the Univ. of South Carolina Mascot, Cocky.)

I have a feeling I'll be doing double-takes again. I've just never seen Vante from the back like that; she's always turned around when I was coming. I guess she's getting more comfortable, but that was a strange experience.

By the way, any suggestions about how to introduce Vante to vacuum cleaners?

14 going on 4

Vante really does seem to be adjusting well. Yesterday we were discussing how for a 14-year-old cat she really doesn't act her age. She's been running around, playing with catnip sardines and the best way to describe her actions is frolicking. Last night she watched the TV show "Numbers" with me.

Miss V is eating well and has figured out the water fountain. When we let her out of her bedroom every morning the first thing she does is go and get some fresh water.

She enjoys getting brushed and if we're not brushing her where she wants she will mover her head and manipulate the brush to where she wants it. She's a smart girl. We even think she may have figured out mirrors; she'll watch us wave in the mirror then turn around and stare at us. I wonder if she has 60 whiskers. (Reference to The Cat Who books, which is a great series of cat murder mystery if anybody is looking for a good read. They're written By Lilian Jackson Braun.)

I hope you're enjoying the updates. The photo is of Vante on our bed and Callie Mae is behind her falling asleep in her cat bed.

Drinking Problem

Last night Vante roamed the house with my husband while my two other cats stayed in the bedroom with me. Apparently Vante was fascinated by our cat drinking fountain. However, every time she tried to drink from it she ended up with water on her ear and would have to stop drinking to shake her head and dry off. Poor girl, she apparently did this several times and never did get the hang of it.

Vante has been roaming the house almost all day. She'll go back into her bedroom when she's tired and hang out but has had free roam of the house and we're without incidents. Amelia went into Vante's room while she was under the bed and sniffed about - no issues.

We're currently fight, poop and pee free!
YEAH VANTE!

Exploring

Vante has been out and about in the Norris household several times now and we're quite happy with her reaction, or lack thereof, to Callie Mae & Amelia (her two cat sisters). There has been a little hissing but no batting or physical interaction. Vante usually just looks like she's not interested and walks away. The fact that she was living around ~25 other cats probably helps her not care too much about my two cats.

She loves exploring, getting brushed and petted. She has quite a motor too!

Please be a Hairball

I hope it was a hairball... but I'm not quite sure. I found it on the middle of the floor last night and it seems to be her only indiscretion, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Vante is really flourishing. She's enjoying sleeping under the bed and almost always comes out the second we get in the room. She is eager to get out of the room but is only doing so under strict supervision.

One issue is that she doesn't like fans and hides when they are on. We have fans in almost every big room in our house, so we're going to slowly have to work through this issue.

She has seen her sisters, but still hasn't met them personally. For the most part all cats seem to be ok with the other. I'm hopeful.

Beyond the Bathroom

Well, around 8:30 p.m. last night Vante left the 'comforts' of the bathroom and ventured out into the bedroom all on her own. Within two hours she was walking or running around the room like she owned it.

Since then she has taken a quick lap around the great room before bedtime and right now she's with me in our home office exploring.

She's learning about fans and ceiling lights and beds. She's adjusting quite well but we don't quite think she's ready to meet her little sisters. They need to sniff each other through the door a little more and get used to each other's smell.

Vante was quite vocal during her two nights at Casa Norris. My mom spent the first night with her and she cried a bit. Last night I spent a couple of hours with her sleeping and she was good but when I left to sleep in my own bed she cried a bit. Poor baby, but I just couldn't stay with her; my neck is killing me today from sleeping on a different bed.

She's a sweetheart and Steve and I are truly enjoying her company.

First 24 hours in new home

Welcome to Vante's Blog. She is a celebrity and known by many and I want to keep her fans and Best Friends family updated on her progress. So, read and enjoy!

On Friday, July 17, 2009 Vante came to her new home in Las Vegas. I, Ashley, am now Vante's proud 'new' mother and am very excited to have her join our little family. My family consists of my husband, Steve and my two other cat daughters, Amelia and Callie Mae (both 6 years old). We've known Vante since mid-February and after much discussion decided that she would be the perfect addition to our family.

Vante is living in our spare bedroom so that she can adjust to home life before being fully introduced to our two other cats. Upon being let out of her carrier she inspected the room and decided she liked the area behind the toilet. She wasn't scared, she let us pet her and she was purring, but she was just very content behind the toilet. Several hours later she decided to move to the bathtub and she spent the night and so far most of the day in the bathtub. (She did use the litter box last night.)

Since she's spending all her time in the bathtub, we have cat beds in there, we've given her wet food as well as her kitten chow in the tub. First and foremost we want her to eat and stay healthy. She's constantly peeking out of the tub and trying to see in to the bedroom, so it's only a matter of time before she expands her world beyond the bathtub. We go in and spend time with her frequently and pet, scratch and love on her and in return she purrs like there's no tomorrow. What a sweetie - we are so lucky!

Steve is napping in the bedroom with Vante now in the hope that she'll feel more comfortable. Vante has definitely made some connections with men in her lifetime, like Bob and Mike in Colonel's Barracks at Best Friends. She seems to have a bit of a favoritism towards men but she truly does love everybody.

As Vante progresses I will keep the blog updated. Enjoy!