Anja has been wonderful as usual.  She is now fully settled in and doesn't feel the need to stay by my side 24/7.  She is comfortable enough to wander off and enjoy time on her own.

She and Mollie are still in the getting used to each other.  We brought down the gate we used to give the cats their own space.  There was enough time there for them to understand that Anja was not a visitor but a new member of the family and that they should not be threatened. 

Anja and Fritz are like two peas in a pod.  They can either relax so completely or run helter skelter throughout the house.  The jumping and crawling abilities of Anja are amazing.  She can maneuver her way in a 5 inch high space under the bed or jump 8 feet from the chair to the other end of the couch.  Her running speed and leaping abilities outside give me the impression of a gazelle.  She has a grace about it that even surprised Connie.

She rang the bell yesterday to go outside.  While she has not done it on a consistent basis, this is an encouraging sign that she understands the cause and effect.  If she needs to go outside, ring the bell.  For the most part, Fritz will run over and ring it for her to come in or out (as he does for Natasha our other cat).  When he rings the bell for her, he and Anja stand side by side next to the door and wait for me to open it. They then let her walk by and follow her side by side.

She still likes to go to the crate to sleep at night.  She knows the treat will be placed in there and she settles immediately.  She and Fritz have that and other routines down. 

When either of us come home, she and Fritz greet me at the door, jump and give us lots of kisses.  It's a great feeling knowing you helped give an animal a home to be loved and they return that love in kind.

Update 1-19-2005:

GOOD MORNING:  Anja has become a integral part of our household, she rings the bell to let us know when one of the cat's want back into the house.  She cuddles with you and loves her daddy to hold her like he's burping a baby.   She still gets the shakes when it's bath time and has had an occasional gagging after drinking water, but the vet thinks it is just her not drinking it right.  Even Mollie our domimatrix cat has let her invade her space on occasion.

She has learned to catch the cloth ball in the air with her teeth and or paws.  She know to sit, down and I think she understands stay.  She does come for the most part when you call her and has not had a snapping incident in a month.

Christmas was a little stressful for her, she didn't understand all the fuss (just me and Connie) but the wrapping paper and her buds, Mollie, Natasha and Fritz were all tearing up boxes to get to their presents. I think she was stressed over the mess they were making LOL HA HA HA.

Update 3-21-2005:  The latest "letter from home" from Anja's Dad:

She has started 'kissing' licking our faces with much more gentleness.  In the beginning she was sooooo happy to see us that she would practically knock you down and scrape your face with her eager licks.  Now she learned to go it like Fritz and gets to lick even more LOL.

She and Mollie will actually sit side by side, Mollie (cat) previously shunned the new addition out of fear and being upset that she was not the alpha pet.  Anja quickly set herself up as that when she arrived.  She now sits back and lets Mollie join in, or shares a plate with Fritz, even likes to lick Natasha (other cat) as if she's cleaning her.  She loves to snuggle in Fritz's ear and they will lay around together or play fight all day long.

In the mornings, she goes out with Fritz and Mollie, then returns right to bed to cuddle with Mommy.

She is now learning to 'hold it' until someone can let her out, previously late at night if she needed to go, she would not want to wake anyone so she would find a space to releive herself.  Without any harsh punishments, we helped her to understand that it was not good to do that.  If she needs to go badly, she will come and lick my face (Fritz will 'sneeze quietly) so as not to wake up Connie.  We then reward them with a treat for going out to potty.

She has learned to sit, down, crawl and has 'walked' through a hula hoop. Fritz will do all that and even jump through the hoop.  We are not forcing her to do anything, she gets a treat whether she accomplishes it or not.  We both feel the reward and love get more positive results.

She still has the shakes when I take her into the shower, Fritz goes in and 'takes it like a man' as I joke to Connie. But I have to hold Anja and talk to her the entire time.  It make me feel like she had a horrible experience in a closed up room (even though she likes her wire cage).  She will hug on me after the 'experience' for as long as I will let her. 

Her teeth and hair have come a long way since we got her.  Pearly whites (from her loving to play rope pull with me) and soft hair (all the stiff black hair has gone away to reveal soft black highlights over medium light brown hairs), Her eyes still shine bright and blue with a soulful expression which makes you want to hold her all day long.  She will curl up in a tight ball and cover her face with her light creme color tail and just those blue eyes can be seen.

***  UPDATE December, 2005 ... new pictures of Anja, Dallas & Fritz at play HERE.

 More pictures of Anja & her family are posted here  http://www.geocities.com/tommy_stovall/pets