Tumbleweed and her sister Calamity were adopted as kittens by an old friend of mine in June, 2014, and grew up in his house. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with cancer a few months later, and ultimately died of it in November, 2015, leaving his little girl cats in need of a new home. While affectionate with their owner, they were very feisty and free with their claws with everyone else, and were clearly going to be in need of an experienced and patient hand. I like a challenge, so I agreed to adopt them.

And they were indeed a challenge. Just getting them into carriers for the trip to my house was a major battle, and they were both screaming like banshees at me for several days afterward. The strays I take in quickly realize that their lives have improved, and settle down accordingly, but these little girls had been happy in their old home and were frightened and traumatized at being uprooted. Gradually, though, they did learn to trust me, and after several weeks they became friendly and affectionate. Tumbleweed was not as violent as her sister, but it took longer to really win her trust. For quite a while she was unpredictable, letting me pet her one minute and hissing and clawing at me the next. However, I was able slowly to win her over, and she loves to curl up in my lap and be petted.

The next step was integrating the girls with the other cats in the household. (I had kept them in a separate room while they were settling in, to minimize stress.) That also took quite a while, and we still get some tension and unpleasant language, but they are mostly managing to co-exist peaceably and are starting to venture into the rest of the house. It will be a longer process before they're completely at home here, but they're doing well.