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We took Candy on because her previous owner couldn’t find her a home. And we tried to integrate the cats. We tried, so hard. But Candy is a girl who wants to be Queen of All She Surveys. Boomer believes, with some reason, that as he’s 7 kilograms of muscle the position of undisputed king of the neighbourhood belongs to him. And so Candy gets grumpy/nervous/upset, and goes after my Tigra, who is a nervy scaredy skitterbutt, won’t fight back, and goes and hides and piddles in corners.

This is not a recipe for feline happiness.

We tried for four months to integrate them. Supervised visitation, supervised meetings, unsurpervised… we tried and tried and tried. Once it escalated to fur flying, and a cut on Tigra’s nose that didn’t heal for three weeks, we realised that enough was enough.

Candy lived in our bedroom for two months before I tried to introduce them again. Same dynamics resulted. However much I love Candy – and I do, she’s a delightful cat who I’d keep if I could – we had Boomer and Tigra first, and our loyalty has to be to them. So, Candy lives in our bedroom. It’s a warm sunny room, and she has plenty of affection and cuddles and games with us; but a bedroom really is not the best place to keep a cat forever. And as it creeps closer and closer to summer, it’s going to get horribly hot in there. We’ve got to find her a home.

She was an SPCA Special when her previous owner rescued her. She’d been surrendered to the SPCA by her original owners. Then S went overseas. I could, if I was desperate, surrender her to the SPCA again, but I don’t want to abandon her. She deserves better than that.

Kitty biography: Answers to Chicken as well as Candy. Knows her name, comes when called, more of an indoor cat than an explorer. She’s a bit shy, but when she gets to know you she is affectionate, playful, and loves nothing more than to be allowed to snuggle on (or in!) the bed with you. Comes with scratching post, litter box, litter, selection of foods, bowls, and an adorable selection of purrs, meows, and chirrupy noises. She’s a darling, and I’ll miss her, but she needs a home of her own.