Basil and Cats

Cats and Tortoises

There is always a possibilty that introducing cats and tortoises will not go well. However, our experience over nearly 20 years has been uniformly positive. Pumpkin, a silver-red male Siberian Cat, came to us at about 3 months of age in the late winter of 2003. Upon seeing Basil for the first time, Pumpkin leaned towards Basil to take a sniff. Basil was clearly unimpressed and rammed her shell into Pumpkin's nose, not once but twice. Thereafter, Pumpkin accorded Basil the respect she demanded.

Pumpkin's half sister, a torbie named Salem, came to our household a few months later. With Basil and Salem it appeared to be a situation of unrequited love. If Basil and Salem were both on the floor in a room, Basil would try to get close to Salem. Before Basil could cuddle with Salem, Salem would jump onto a couch perpetually frustrating Basil.

Basil and Rudy

In 2019 after the passing of Pumpkin and Salem, we welcomed Eddie, a golden-red tabbie Siberian, and her son Rudy, a brown tabbie, into our home. Eddie is tranquil and relaxed wanting nothing to do with Basil. Rudy is mischevous to his core and enjoys tempting Basil to take a chomp at his fur. If it gets to be too much, Rudy taps Basil on the snout (with claws fully retracted) or will eventually jump up on some furniture.