Persi is getting married!

persi & alley

persi & alley

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We were going to get along just fine with just one cat. I had 7 feral cats before Persi and decided the last cat in my life would be a pedigreed cat with champion parentage. We also agreed we would have just one cat. I will bet that is what a lot of people on this site said that now have 3, 4 or more cats and I now join you. I know there is lots of good information on this site about how to introduce cats which I will be carefully studying before the arrival of Alley on the freight plane tomorrow night. Alley is just that, a rescued alley cat from the streets of L.A. I have no idea what she is and I guess it does not matter but if you can tell me it would be appreciated. I will spend the day today fixin up her own private room for a while. As you can see, she is wearing a collar that contains useless information and has been boarding with our children in California where cats are not allowed for a while but her folks were never found so we are taking her in. I do not mean to sound melodramatic here but I had dreams last night of this spiraling into a houseful of cats. I have had two cats at once before and my first obstacle I can think of is to turn this alley cat into a house only cat like Persi. Well, I guess my future posts on this matter will be placed on the BEHAVIOR forum and when that all gets worked out and they are getting along together in perfect harmony I will make a new siggy and accept the fact number three could be just around the corner.
 
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lionessrampant

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She's a standard breed domestic shorthair and her coloring is calico.

Do you know how shy she is?

If she's really shy, she may need to be in that one room for several weeks. She'll want to be somewhere small and covered to hide, so you may not see her for a while if she's REALLY shy. WHat you would want to do then is start by just going into the room and sitting where she sees you. Like I said, if she's REALLY shy, you might get some hissing and growling from her hiding spot, but she will likely keep her distance. Just do that several times a day until the growling stops. Then, start going into her room, sitting there where she can see you and reading to her or talking to her softly. Do this until you can pretty much guage that she's comfortable with that. By this stage, the semi-ferals are typically coming out of their hidey hole a little bit. Then you'd work on touching her. DO NOT touch a semi-feral cat who is being introduced into a household with your hands. Put on a thick glove and grab a cat charmer or other wand toy and pet her head and cheeks very gently with the wand toy. Keep doing this until she's used to it, then move on the petting her body with the wand toy. When she's ok with that, you can start using your hands to touch her.

Now, this is protocol that we use with the cats at our shelter who are absolutely terrified and have likely not had any/much human contact. I'm willing to bet that your cat, having been living in a home for a while, is NOT going to be this shy. So take these steps and sort of adapt them. A lot of times, former strays will just move right in, plop down, start purring and make themselves at home (as was the case with my Raphael), and sometimes they take a few days to stop hiding and start the purring lap cat routine (my Gracie), and sometimes, like my Leo, they take months and months and months to trust you. That's the absolutely beauty in these random-bred "alley" cats is that no two are alike and they are all so distinct and different. former strays and ferals have a special place in my heart...can ya tell?!


Also, if she isn't already, have her fixed as soon as possible.
 
calico2222

calico2222

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Alley is gorgeous! I LOVE calicos. Just my opinion, but if she is comfortable with a collar she shouldn't have problems with human contact, but she might have to get used to Persi and vise versa. Definitely keep us posted!

I have come to think of cats like tattooes. Once you have one...what's one more!
Having more that one can actually help because that have one of their own kind they can play rather than YOUR hand, feet, chair, <insert your own pet peeve here>
Honestly, I think you will be glad you got another kitty! Watching them play is priceless!
 
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yosemite

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She is a beautiful girl. I'm assuming if she was with your children in CA that she is probably quite well socialized. I'm also sure the freight trip will shake her up a bit but it sounds like your biggest hurdle will be getting her and Persi agreeable to each other. Bon chance!

I'll look forward to more pictures.
 
juliekit

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Wow she is gorgeous! I do have a special place for Calicos in the center of my heart.

I think they will be fine, as the other members have said it will be better for Persi to have a friend to play with. Human contact is great, but having another cat is priceless for them.

BTW, Im sure this girl will adjust perfectly. Ceci was really shy at first, and now 3 months later she is finally coming out of her shell. She still wont let DH pet her, but shes coming around!
 
laureen227

laureen227

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what a beautiful calico! she's much fluffier than my Java is - Java's coat is very flat, practically no undercoat. this one looks like she has quite a bit of fur - very pretty! congratulations!
 
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persi & alley

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by lionessrampant

She's a standard breed domestic shorthair and her coloring is calico.

Do you know how shy she is?

If she's really shy, she may need to be in that one room for several weeks. She'll want to be somewhere small and covered to hide, so you may not see her for a while if she's REALLY shy. WHat you would want to do then is start by just going into the room and sitting where she sees you. Like I said, if she's REALLY shy, you might get some hissing and growling from her hiding spot, but she will likely keep her distance. Just do that several times a day until the growling stops. Then, start going into her room, sitting there where she can see you and reading to her or talking to her softly. Do this until you can pretty much guage that she's comfortable with that. By this stage, the semi-ferals are typically coming out of their hidey hole a little bit. Then you'd work on touching her. DO NOT touch a semi-feral cat who is being introduced into a household with your hands. Put on a thick glove and grab a cat charmer or other wand toy and pet her head and cheeks very gently with the wand toy. Keep doing this until she's used to it, then move on the petting her body with the wand toy. When she's ok with that, you can start using your hands to touch her.

Now, this is protocol that we use with the cats at our shelter who are absolutely terrified and have likely not had any/much human contact. I'm willing to bet that your cat, having been living in a home for a while, is NOT going to be this shy. So take these steps and sort of adapt them. A lot of times, former strays will just move right in, plop down, start purring and make themselves at home (as was the case with my Raphael), and sometimes they take a few days to stop hiding and start the purring lap cat routine (my Gracie), and sometimes, like my Leo, they take months and months and months to trust you. That's the absolutely beauty in these random-bred "alley" cats is that no two are alike and they are all so distinct and different. former strays and ferals have a special place in my heart...can ya tell?!


Also, if she isn't already, have her fixed as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
Thank you for your detailed answer. I will follow your advice. It sounds like I should not even THINK about having our new baby meet Persi any time soon. Our house is such that we can partition the front half and back half off. Persi will say in the front and Alley will stay in the rear for a while, each with their own personal stuff. The wife and I will spend time in getting to know Alley, keeping her in her private "safe" room and then eventually let her explore the rest of the rear of the house but not meeting Persi yet. After she is quite comfortable with this, then we should start letting the two future lovebirds getting to know each other, starting with a few minutes each day and gradually increasing the time? We cannot wait until the newbie arrives tonight.
 
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