{"id":15512,"date":"2025-06-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=15512"},"modified":"2025-06-24T17:21:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T21:21:54","slug":"floofers-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Floofenstein: On to Phase 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Welcome back to Whisker Wednesday! There’s a good chance you’re here because you want to know more about Floofenstein. But, if you’re new, I’m sharing our newest family member’s story from how he joined us until he has fully integrated into the clowder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last time<\/a>, I left off at Floof’s second spa day, cleaning him up after his misadventure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May 7 \u2013 June 24<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It’s been a while since my last Floofenstein update, and this is the final part of his “initiation” series. My next update will be once he’s fully integrated into the household, and I’m not sure how long that will take. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Health<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start with the most important information. Floofenstein has no adverse health effects from his misadventure. He neither contracted FeLV nor parasites! I was 99.9% sure of the former, but it’s good go have confirmation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These results only lead to two main immediate changes. When Floofers is out of the bathroom, I leave the door open now so our other cats can explore his space and his scent. And, to help with getting them to think of him as part of the clowder, I “transplanted” Floof’s poo to the other litter boxes so that his scent mixes with everyone else’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with a “clean” bill of health \u2014 not including FIV \u2014 we can move onto phase 2 of integrating him into the clowder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While on the topic of integration, there are definite signs that the bridges Floofenstein burned by pouncing on everyone are being rebuilt. Ritz has initiated three “nosings” so far, and has sniffed various areas (neck, tail, etc.). Dante has almost nosed Floof, and has sniffed his tail multiple times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Granted, all of this has been around wet food time when Floofers is at least partially distracted. And Athena has no interest in being friends. She’d likely be happiest if he just completely ignores her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until the boys show a bit less fear around him, Floofenstein will mostly stay on his leash while he’s out. I don’t want to burn those bridges again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He purrs!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may have seen my post on Instagram<\/a> that Floofenstein doesn’t purr. Well, that has changed. We found out on May 18 that he purrs, but only in his throat. So, it was virtually silent and didn’t reverberate through his body. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past few weeks, Jim was convinced Floof’s purr was getting stronger. When I listened closely, I was just barely able to hear it. Jim, though, swore he could feel the purr rumbles near Floof’s shoulder blades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Saturday (June 21), we got the proof. While it doesn’t rumble through his body as much as our other cats’ purrs, we both heard a proper purr out of Floofers for the first time. I guess he just needed to find his purr again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playtime<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In other happy news, Floofenstein has also started playing more. He thinks the red dot \u2014 AKA laser toy \u2014 is nice, but annoying. Mr. Rope, though, is tons of fun to chase and chew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While I will probably regret this sentiment later, I look forward to seeing what his zoomies are like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dinner dance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I have to say, Floofers is the most food-motivated cat I’ve ever met. And that’s saying something given Ritz has long been known as a walking stomach. That said, Floofenstein has an adorable dinner dance as he waits for his wet food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I walk from the counter to his eating spot, Floof’s eyes remain locked on his dish. He’s run into walls, the other cats, and chairs during this period, because he will not<\/em> take his eyes off of the bowl. On top of that, his paws tippy-tap \u2014 he takes tiny steps 2-3 times faster than usual to get to his spot. Then, once in his spot, he will “dance” in place until I set down his bowl. Then he attacks. It’s cute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leash and harness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As I’ve said in previous posts<\/a>, Floof is perfectly comfortable in a harness. He’s not particularly happy that we found one he can’t escape from<\/a>, but otherwise, it doesn’t bother him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Floof<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"floof<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What I’ve discovered, though, is that he will walk on his leash about 85-90% of the time, following me when I make kissy noises. I’m hoping that he’ll keep this behavior when we aren’t at home. I’m still hoping that we can take him on trips to PetSmart and the King Street Cats crochet bed sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Thanks for sticking with me for this intro series on Floofenstein. As I mentioned at the start of this post, my next Floof update will be when he is fully integrated into the family \u2014 out of his bathroom 24\/7 \u2014 or after his September 16th check-up, whichever comes first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t want to wait that long for information about him, then keep an eye on my Instagram<\/a>. I regularly post pictures of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Have you enjoyed these posts on Floofenstein? How long do you think it will take until he’s fully integrated into the family? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m sharing our newest family member\u2019s story. Here is the seventh and final part of this intro about our sweet boy Floofenstein.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingFloofenstein: On to Phase 2<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[367],"tags":[447],"class_list":["post-15512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cat","tag-floofenstein","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/floofers7-featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-42c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14944,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":0},"title":"Floofenstein: Mom’s Sweet Cuddlebug","author":"Rachel","date":"April 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m sharing our newest family member\u2019s story. Here is part three of five??? about our new boy Floofenstein.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Floofenstein with a paw on a crochet fish toy, looking up at the camera","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250322_085611.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14979,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floof-and-bumble\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":1},"title":"Floofenstein: a Gift from Bumbledore","author":"Rachel","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Jim and I are convinced Floofenstein is a gift from Bumbledore, and I'm sharing why we believe this.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/floof-bumble-featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14966,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":2},"title":"Floofenstein: A Beautiful Sweetheart","author":"Rachel","date":"April 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m sharing our newest family member\u2019s story. Here is part four of six??? about our sweet boy Floofenstein.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Floofers scared, gripping my arm as I hold him","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250327_073125.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250327_073125.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250327_073125.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250327_073125.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14943,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":3},"title":"Floofenstein: Our Gorgeous Boy","author":"Rachel","date":"April 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m sharing our newest family member\u2019s story. This is part two of four??? about our new boy Floofenstein.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Floofenstine curled up in the sink","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250316_082246.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15073,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":4},"title":"Floofenstein: Doubly Ours","author":"Rachel","date":"April 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m sharing our newest family member\u2019s story. Here is part five of six??? about our sweet boy Floofenstein.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Athena sitting on a shelving unit, looking down at Floofers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250408_175338.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250408_175338.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250408_175338.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250408_175338.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/20250408_175338.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14894,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/floofers-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":15512,"position":5},"title":"Floofenstein: The Injured Rockstar","author":"Rachel","date":"March 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing our newest family member's story. Here is part one of three??? about our new boy Floofenstein.","rel":"","context":"In "Cat"","block_context":{"text":"Cat","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/category\/cat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Floofers sitting on our front steps \"landing\" looking to his right. His whole wound is visible.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/floofers-wound-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/floofers-wound-4.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/floofers-wound-4.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/floofers-wound-4.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/floofers-wound-4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15512"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15533,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15512\/revisions\/15533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}