The Little Gray Cat Journal

Wednesday, May 23

Yesterday I bought a 24 inch flourescent black light tube for an old undercabinet fixture I had stashed in the basement. Those little battery-powered black lights sold at the pet stores for finding urine spots couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t find one if a cat peed right on them.

So, last night after dark I doused the lights and fired up the black light. Wow…..if thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s pee spots, this sucker is going to find them for sure!! What it did find is every single last place a cat has vomitted in my house. Those stood out like armadas of flourescent ameobas waging epic sea battles on the berberic oceans of my home. The sight rendered me speechless except for senseless similes dreamed up for literary luridness. Some time, when Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve got a LOT of time, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to have to try to clean those again.

If youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never cleaned your kitchen cabinet faces, you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to look at them under black light. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d better put cleaning them on my list, too. Somewhere down toward the bottom of the list. Down there with re-cleaning the carpet. If you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like what you see under black light then donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t look under black light. Mankind was born to live under a yellow sun.

But there wanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t any urine flourescing in the spot where Rocket sprayed, and none in his usual fake-spraying spots. I did find one place where it looked like a cat had sprayed on a wall; this one in the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room. I marked it for cleaning today. Then hopefully I can try the aluminum foil trick suggested by the vet so that Rocket can come up and I can see if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s still inclined to spray.

I occurs to me this morning that the little gray cat has been here for a week and a half and still doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a name.

Feeding breakfast in the bedroom goes fairly well this morning, although Mellie still doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have much of an appetite. I have to bring her back to her food twice, and she still only eats half of it.

When Mellie shows signs of going into her morning “psycho-kitty†period I look under the furniture for her favorite toy of the moment: a little cloth catnip “fishie†so I can throw that in the bedroom and see if sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll play with it in the. She makes a few desultory bats at it and then leaves. So I just leave it out in the middle of the floor. A few minutes later I notice that itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no longer there, so she must have gone back to it. And a few minutes later I peek in and notice sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nosed up to the gap and is hissing, a rather moderate hiss, at the little gray cat.

I spend my after-lunch snooze time with the little gray cat again. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure what sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s doing. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m vaguely aware that sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s moving around, and once she comes up to make sure Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m alive, but she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t snuggle.

Because Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m busy with other stuff today, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get around to Rocket until late afternoon. I put up the aluminum foil on all his spots and invite him to come up. He cruises around checking out all his spots, but he knows Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m watching so I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really tell whether or not heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s looking to spray.

This looks like a good time to do some work with treats in front of the gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s door. I have to go back to the kitchen twice to fill up my pocket with treats. Everybody gets some, but Rocket gets most of them. When I open the door just a tiny crack, the gray cat hisses briefly. Twinkie watches from a distance; Mellie is off to the side; Rocket is right in front of the door. Not much is going on. Rocket is more interested in the treats. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell if anything was accomplished here, so I end the session. Rocket goes back to the basement. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not at all happy about that.

Suppertime next to the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room goes about the same as before. Maybe theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re a bit more comfortable. But Mellie still only barely touches her food. Twinkie finishes his. Both cats are put into their room so I can have a quick meal. Then I bring Mellie back to her food dish and wish some coaxing, she eats about two-thirds of it.

I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time for the little gray cat to spread her scent further afield, so Mellie and Twink go back into their room. Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s foil get picked up and put to another use on the kitchen countertop. If little gray tries to jump up there sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have a surprise, and maybe she wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to do it again. She comes out of the bedroom and goes on scouting patrol, sniffing and looking, looking and sniffing. I hope sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll leave her scent for the other cats to smell, but she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do any marking. The scent from her paw prints will have to do for now, so she goes back into the bedroom.

Names, names…..come up with a name for the little gray cat!! The list changes daily. Top name on the list right now is “Tattie.†This comes from the Tattercoat Kit in the Joe Grey series. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s only two-thirds of a real tattercoat, but hey, close enough. Other names that have caught my fancy are Teenie, Mickie, Neenie, Teelie, Missie, Slik, Pipsie, Squeal, and Jonnie. Tommorrow the list will probably be entirely different.

what about sophie?

Thursday, May 24

Last night I brushed Mellie in the bedroom with the Zoom Groom. Mellie just loves being brushed. She didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t show any anxiety at being brushed and the little gray cat just feet away on the other side of the door. I forgot to mention I tried this once before (I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t remember the exact day) and she was too antsy to let me brush her. I really do think Mellie has made great progress.

Yesterday was the third day with no poopies in the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s litterbox. I was getting concerned. She wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take hairball gel, and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to force it on her for fear of her developing an aversion to me handling her mouth. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s plenty of time for that later. I mixed in some hairball gel and psyllium powder in her supper yesterday evening, but she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat all that much of it. So I was very happy when I went in to check on her just before going to bed and found a wonderful and absolutely humongous poop in her litterbox. Things like that just make my day.

I had already shut down the computer for the night, but I fired it up again to write about greyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s poopies. Funny how Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d rather sit through Windows booting up so I could type what I want to say in Microsoft Word rather than just pulling out a tablet and picking up a pencil to write it down the old fashioned way. We get so dependent on our tools and of course weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d rather use the tool weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re most comfortable with. Even if it takes three times as long and costs a zillion times as much. My longhand has gotten so sloppy due to lack of use. It reminds me of the story of how NASA spent I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know how many millions of dollars to develop a pen that would write in zero gravity, and the Russians solved the same problem by just using a pencil.

None of the cats has shown any interest in playing footsie with the little gray cat even when they see the tips of little gray paws poking through the gap at the bottom of the door. Maybe today we can crack the door open just a wee bit and see if thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s any more interest when they can see a little gray cat nose trying to poke through the crack.

Introducing cats this way is really time-consuming. It feels like theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re not getting enough of my time, and at the same time everything else that needs to be done is also getting neglected. The day ends later than normal, and and it seems like Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been going right up to the end. What makes it worse is that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m dealing with three groups of cats: Mellie and Twinkie, Rocket in the basement, and the little gray cat. Each group of cats requires its own set of caretaking duties -- playtime, feeding, grooming, and personal attention -- in three different locations, and more or less simultaneously. Not to mention running off to the computer every time I want to put something in this journal. I can see that for a lot of people itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s easier to just “throw them together and let them work it out.†But based on my past experience with Mellie, I feel obligated to make the best possible effort to integrate the new cat into the group, and so thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s why Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going all out and doing it this way. The chances of failure are too high doing it the easy way. Sometimes what starts out to be the easy way ends up being the hardest.

Breakfast doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t go too well. Neither cat is too interested in what I put down. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m serving leftovers this morning. Mellie can always tell leftovers. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure how, but she only wants “fresh†out of the can. Twinkie prefers raw. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m concerned about Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s weight, so eventually I give up, open a can of something I know she likes, and move them both back to the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room. When I go in there later to pick up the dishes, most of the food is gone. Of course, now I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know who ate it. But both cats are calmly sitting in the recumbent position with smug looks on their faces.

When I go into the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room to check on things the first thing I notice is thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a bare spot on the top of her head. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s so obvious it just leaps out. I know this wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t there yesterday. “What the ?????†is becoming a familiar exclamation around here. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s such a squirmer itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hard to get a look, but I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see anything unusual except thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a spot about half an inch in circumference where thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s suddenly no hair. The skin looks like normal skin. No injury, no bruising, no sign of inflammation. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a thin layer of very short hairs over most of the area, which resembles new hair growing in. I look around her room and I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t find any tufts of hair. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m puzzled. And concerned in case this is something contagious. And frustrated because tomorrow is Friday and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a long holiday weekend coming up. I struggle to take a few fuzzy photos to post, hoping for some wise counsel from my friends on the forum.

And itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not just the little gray cat. My computer has a virus and a good part of the morning is spent chasing it down. The nasty little sneak is hiding in some restore points. Every time the anti-virus program wipes it out, it comes back. The anti-virus isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t finding it because itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s set to user-level permissions and User doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have permission to access where itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hiding. I have to boot into safe mode and change permissions.

After lunch Rocket comes up for a while. He doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t spray but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still watching him like a hawk. The little gray cat hisses at him when he sticks his nose down toward the gap and he runs away. Funny how things are turning topsy-turvy here. Mellie and Twinkie hiss at gray and gray hisses at Rocket. Mellie on the countertop….and not only that, yesterday she climbed to the top of the kitchen cabinet, and today sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s on top of the refrigerator – Rocket and Twinkie territory. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going on, but if the end result is Mellie becoming a little bolder, that will be a good thing.

Little gray goes easily into the carrier for the trip to the vet, carried out to the door in plain sight of Mellie, although thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a jury-rigged cover. This is a good opportunity to let Mellie and Twinkie check out the room where little grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been residing. Check out that new cat scent. So the door is left open. If little gray has ringworm, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve all been already exposed; me directly and the other cats through me.

At the vet, little gray is restless in the carrier. When sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s examined, we find a second spot, much like the first, except partially hidden in the crease between the left pinnae and the top of the skull. Doc has a toothbrush ready to collect fungal spores, if theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re present. Gray likes being brushed. Also a few hairs are plucked. And she tries using a small black light, but itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s one of those I trashed yesterday. Doc explains that thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no point treating now. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re going to wait for the culture. If itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s positive, then sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll get a systemic anti-fungal. We went through this a year and a half ago with Mellie and waited three weeks for a negative. We never did find out what caused her hair loss and it eventually went away.

Compared to a year ago, the fee for the office visit is 18 percent higher and the fee for the culture is 17 percent higher. The government is lying to us about inflation. Whether itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s intentional or not, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know, but inflation is NOT at two and a half percent. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know whenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the last time Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve bought anything more expensive than ground beef. My income is not going up 18 percent a year. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re living in a financial fantasyland.

The carrier gets carried into the house in full view. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s meowing coming from the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room and the door is closed. Apparently the wind blew it shut while I was out, and Twinkie got stuck in there. I open the door and he rushes out, big eyes and all, and streaks to the top of the kitchen cabinet, where he looks at me with some kind of an indescribable expression, but he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t look happy.

Honestly, now -- this is a soap opera? I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t make this stuff up if I tried. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s real life and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s happening. Truth is stranger than fiction, or something like that. I mean, if this was fiction, youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d think we would have already reached the point where the hero saves the day. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still waiting for the hero to show up.

But thinking back on Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s intro, that didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t even start until two weeks had elapsed because of the cat cold he came down with. So I guess compared to that, weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re actually doing well. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll take that thought and take a break. Time for a beer, corn chips, salsa, and a show I taped.

Twinkie has pudding poop. I think he caught what Rocket had. No wonder he has no appetite and heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s unusually quiet. I suppose Mellie is next?

I saw that you had a beer? Did you remember to have one for me as well? I keep reading these posts, but it seems that you already know what your doing so there's not much for me to say LOL. I just wanted to add to keep up the good work... keep the journal updates coming- because people are reading them!!

Thursday, May 24, Addendum

I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see how a single person with a full time job could do this. When I was working I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have cats. Now that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m retired and have cats, it seems like a full time job. Sometimes I ask myself why I do this. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not rich and my income increases only a tiny amount each year. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been paying for the cat expenses by not spending much on myself. So taking on another cat is not trivial. I know that, yet I ask myself if I was too hasty; did I do this on impulse without thinking through what I was getting myself into? I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know the answer to that, but when I hold little gray – when she gives me a nose bump with her little wet nose or looks at me with her huge golden eyes – frankly I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t give it much thought. Only a person with a beloved pet could understand this. Sure, they create a lot of problems. But they also make those problems bearable.

I see further evidence that the resident cats are becoming more accustomed to and less anxious about the presence of the little gray cat. Now when Rocket pokes his nose up to the gap and gets hissed at, he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t back away. Mellie and Twinkie ate their meals in the bedroom. I could actually close the door and leave them in there unmonitored. They didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat ALL their food, but they did better than this morning. Maybe it was a good thing for Twink to get stuck in there this afternoon. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t yet get around to the crack in the door routine yet, but maybe this evening or certainly tomorrow.

Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s warm here today and the cats are re-learning how much claw they can use with my thinner summertime “skin.†All three have scratched me just a little bit when jumping off my lap. It hurts. I jump; I yell; they learn. Next time they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t use so much claw. Twinkie comes back to me and rubs up against my leg as if to say heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sorry he hurt me.

Grey isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t a happy camper tonight. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been a rough day for her. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m trying to accustom her to being held on my lap in the bathroom so I can care for her but tonight sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s giving me angry noises and even a hiss. So we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get too much done. But she has a chance to explore the bathtub. Twinkie gets a full view of her as I carry her and I can discern no reaction at all.

Today I like “Tatter†because I think that goes well with her tattered appearance, and perhaps her tattered mood.

How about Tatter Grey? Then you could call her Tatty for short

I just wanted to say I'm really enjoying the little gray cat journal...what about "Gracie" or "Graysie"? I actually think "little gray cat" is a very cute name, but I understand the need for a proper name.

Friday, May 25

Poor Rocket. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t trust him and I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t watch him. When he was up for a little while last night he still backed up to the couch, a spot where heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d been fake-spraying, and vibrated his tail. I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t wait to see if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d cut loose with a urine squirt; I tossed a treat. So heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s up – heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s down – heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s up – heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s down. He doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going on. Every time he goes back down he gives me a hurt look and then spends a half hour complaining.

If he stays down, I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t find out if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going to spray. If he stays up, I have to watch him all the time. I wonder if I do some positive association at the spots he wants to mark: treats, scratchies, playtime. Even catnip. Or maybe he should just stay down until the little gray cat is in the group. He spent the night down.

This morning neither Mellie nor Twinkie are interested in eating in the bedroom. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m getting concerned about Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s weight, so I give in again and move them both. Twinkie goes to the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room and Mellie goes to the office, so that I can monitor how much each eats. Even with encouragment, Mellie still only eats half of her smaller than usual serving. Twink eats nothing, but I find a couple small vomit spots that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m pretty sure werenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t there before. So now Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sure heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got the stomach bug Rocket had. But heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s at a good weight, so I not too concerned about him. Vomit is getting to be such a common sight around here that I just let it sit there and chill until I can get back to it.

Usually the cats get weighed on Saturday or Sunday. I haul out the scale and weigh Mellie. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like what I see. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s lost about half a pound over the last couple weeks. Post a thread, call the vet. The vet is out on vacation. This would require bloodwork, which has to go out, so with the holiday I wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know the results until Tuesday. I can take her somewhere else sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been before, but she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like it there and the bloodwork would still have to be sent out. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not an emergency; Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m pretty sure it can wait until Tuesday, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not happy about it. I called her alternate clinic and explained my concerns. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re booked solid, but a vet will call back.

I go out to run some errands, including buying some more of Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s favorite food. Well, I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s her favorite food. Her favorite changes without notice. She likes to leave me guessing.

The vet from the alternate clinic called back while I was out. His message on my answering machine said I could bring her in on a “drop-off†basis -- I could drop her off and someone would look at her when they have time. No way Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to do that. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in mortal dread over there. He didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t sound too concerned about it, though. I think waiting until next week will be all right.

I share snooze time with the little gray cat. Again, sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in motion and doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t settle down until just a couple minutes before Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m ready to get up. Then she settles down, lying on the bed next to and resting up against my left shin. I prolong the moment just so we get a little quiet time together.

Mellie was waiting right outside the bedroom door so I decided to open the door a crack. Both cats growled and hissed at each other. Soft hisses and soft growls. Drawing a line in the sand, not a declaration of war. An exchange of stiffly worded diplomatic notes outlining positions. And both stood their ground. No fear on display here. Hopefully the treaty talks can begin soon. At least about the shape of the table. I wish the little gray cat was friendlier toward my cats, but this is something I think we can work with. The little gray cat goes back in her room and the next thing Mellie knows is thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no one there. Confrontation, not escalation.

Mellie and Twinkie get fed in the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room tonight. Twinkie gets raw, which Mellie isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eating right now, and I remove him as soon as heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s finished, so I can monitor Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s appetite. Rocket and the little gray cat get fed on opposite sides of the closed bathroom door. When Rocket is finished he goes back to the basement. I let gray out, she smells Rocket, and she hisses. So I move her food bowl to Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s tray. I hope sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll associate her food with Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s smell. Mellie still hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eaten much. I have to encourage her to eat more, and she does. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stand over her every meal; sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to start eating on her own again. But at least for now she has some nourishment.

This hissing makes me wonder whether the true personality of the little gray cat is friendly and affectionate toward people, but nasty toward other cats. That wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be acceptable. My definition of a successful introduction is that both sides begin to tolerate each other and neither side makes life miserable for any member of the other side. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have to actually like each other, but they should get along without open displays of animosity and/or aggression. There shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be “sides†at all and if they tolerate each other, chances are their early animosity will gradually evaporate. Others may have higher or lower expectations; higher or lower levels of commitment. Basically itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a personal choice. I realize that keeping this cat in this household is not guaranteed. And I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to keep working with a bad situation like I did for a year with Tommy. By the time I had to let him go we were really, really bonded and it was a quite a traumatic experience.

Tomorrow will be two weeks. A good day to get out the door jig that I made for Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s intro. Maybe even tonight if I get some other stuff I need to do finished. I think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re about ready for some through-the-crack-in-the-door interaction. Mellie is. Rocket is. Twinkie might be the slow one this time around. He still hangs back from the current gap under the door. He doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like getting hissed at.

“Tatter†and “Tatty†have been demoted. I need a different initial for little grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s toothbrush.

Sidebar – coasterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s “jigâ€

When I adopted Twinkie I made a “jig†to hold the door open a crack. A doorstop wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t good enough. The combined pushing and pulling of cats on both sides is too much for one doorstop. And being one person on one side of the door, thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no way I can place two doorstops. And just standing there holding it gets tiresome.

The jig consists of a form-fitted “shoe†that slides under the door. This mates with another piece form-fitted to the molding. A screw through two screw-eyes holds the two pieces together, and strips of wood inserted between the two control the width of the opening. The jig can be placed without opening the door wide enough to allow a cat to get through. Once itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in place, it can be left unattended to allow the cats to interact at will.

The pieces:



and inserted in the doorway crack:

Saturday, May 26

Wonder of wonders – my cats are letting me sleep in for an extra 45 minutes this morning. All is quiet on the western front, on the eastern front, and on the subterranean front. I wake up early anyway. But the pressure in my bladder isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t so great this morning that I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t just lie here and enjoy it for a little while. Then, as soon as my cats hear me stirring, the “I want breakfast and I want it NOW!!†cacaphony begins. They were just alertly waiting, ears rotated toward my bedroom, saving their vocal ammunition for just the right time.

Today is the first day of a holiday weekend. People take holidays. Cats donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take holidays. Therefore, people who take care of cats donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take holidays, either. At least not until cats learn how to operate can openers and how to scoop litter boxes. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t deny thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s possible; one of my cats knows how to open cabinet doors.

Two weeks today of little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s new life in my household and her initial enthusiastic affection has almost totally evaporated and made a one hundred and eighty degree turn. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been irritable, whiney, demanding, and generally not very pleasant. When I hold her now she makes angry noises and even hissed once. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m at a loss to explain this. Perhaps the wonder and excitement of a new home have given way to the dull routine of everyday life. Perhaps she knows thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a house out there and is frustrated not to have access to it. Maybe she even knows thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s an outdoors out there and is frustrated not to be able to get out. Maybe she thought she was going to be a worshipped goddess in a new household and found instead three other cats to compete for the attention she expects. Whatever the reason(s), I certainly hope itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just a phase and that sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll come to terms with whatever sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not happy with and be a well-adjusted cat. She certainly has great potential. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen it in her. What can I do now to make that happen? Or is it better to do nothing and just hope for the best?

At least sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got an iron stomach. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been fed a couple different kinds of dry food and several different kinds of wet food, plus several different kinds of treats, and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve found no vomit and no diahrrea. One more data point for my theory that we create sensitive stomachs in our cats by feeding them the same thing all the time, something we do for our own convenience.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to work with Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s spraying using the same techniques used for urinating outside the litterbox. Last night Rocket and I had some solo playtime upstairs. I used a toy to draw him to the spots heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sprayed or fake-sprayed and each time the toy stopped at one of those spots, he found a treat. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure whether it was my imagination or just a random happening, but I could swear that afterwards I saw him walk past one of his spots, stop for a moment and begin to raise his tail as if he was going to spray, think better of it, and then walk on. Positive reinforcement works with me, too. I really need to solve this problem. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll do me no good to successfully introduce my gray tabby if my orange tabby needs to live in the basement or be put outdoors. If the only solution to Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s problem is for the gray cat to go, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m afraid sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to go. Rocket was here first. This morning he gets fed next to one of his spots on the couch.

Little gray is in a better mood this morning. She allows me to put ointment on her head without any of the angry noises of last night. I suppose she was just having a bad day. Today sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s on a two-a-day feeding schedule. She inadvertantly started that yesterday when I forgot to feed her lunch. No wonder she was grumpy. I get grumpy too when Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not fed. So I take myself out to lunch at a local Chinese buffet and fill myself up with happiness and good will.

The jig goes on the bathroom door. The crack is in place. Little gray claws at the door, trying to open it. Mellie approaches cautiously, and Mellie and gray see each other for the first time officially, if only through a crack partly. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m surprised, because thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no hissing on either side. Mellie doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stay long; she still doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think too much of the situation.

Little gray squeals insistently from her side of the crack while Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m putting on fresh bed linens. I ignore her. She needs to learn that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not going to rush to answer her every demand. Oh, I know people joke about being slaves to cat – I do that, too. But cats understand social hierarchy, and this little gray cat needs to learn that sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s below me in the heirarchy. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to discover her own place among the local cat group, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m the one on top. . And thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s as it should be.

And so now that I have the door crack in place, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just a matter of doing more of the same until theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re used to each other. As the two-week point draws to a close, I think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re now closer to the end than to the beginning.

Sunday, May 27

I really think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re making some progress now with the introduction. Maybe the process is like the boulder rolling down the hill. It starts out slow and then goes faster and faster under the pull of gravity. Yesterday evening all three cats took their turns at the crack in the door and despite the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s growling and hissing, none of them really showed any great fear. And none of them growled and hissed back at her. And when I carried her from the bedroom into my bathroom, she was briefly in full sight of Mellie and Twinkie, and even though she hissed, they didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t react at all. Just sat there looking resigned.

I wish I could be more sure of making progress with Rocket. I let him back upstairs for awhile last night, just to cruise, and it sure seemed like he was looking for a place to mark where I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see him doing it. There was one point where he was out of sight for just a few seconds and when I got over there he was backed up behind the recliner with his tail up and vibrating. No urine, but if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d had longer, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know whether he would have squirted or not.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve added Squeal and Piggy to my list. Both for the sounds she makes and her personality. Spitfire would be appropriate, but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t much care for the way that comes out of my mouth. Pipsqueak has the same problem.

Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s still having a problem with poor appetite. I had to stand over her this morning and continue encouraging her to eat. But then she threw up most of it a couple hours later. There was a little bit of hair in it. Not much; nothing approaching a hairball. She was in the kitchen and made that funny noise some cats make before vomitting, so I grabbed her and kept her from running away off the vinyl, and held her while she did it. Afterwards, we just sat there, she in a little ball crouched on the floor, me with my hands on her comforting her. She turned her head to rest on one of my hands. It was actually quite a touching moment.

Noontime snoozetime with the little gray cat again. This cat delights in head butting me all over now that she has ointment on her head. Finally she curls up next to my right leg. Apparently this cat prefers to curl up beside her human, rather than on top of him. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s nice but doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t look good for lap-cat possibilities.

Twinkie still surprises me as the slow one. I thought for sure it was going to be Mellie. But Mellie will go nose right up to the crack, while Twinkie hangs back. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hard to tell from his expression and his body posture whether heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s reticent or just uninterested.

Does there exist in the world a perfect cat? One of my cats is a perfect lap cat but he drives me nuts with his vocalizations, and now heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s down in the basement anyway. One of my cats is very affectionate but she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like to be held or to sit in my lap. One of my cats can and will eat anything I give him, but heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the one with a sensitive stomach. One of my cats is a very pretty cat but she sheds, has a tendency toward dandruff, and gets bare patches on her ears in the winter. One of my cats is the cutest little thing but has a vocalization that sounds like a rusty spring. Nope. There is no such thing as a perfect cat. Or maybe perfection is in the eye of the beholder. But regardless of our catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] faults, they get loved anyway. Now that I think of it, this is yet another way cats are much like people.

A short journal entry for the day. Nothing really of great moment happening. Just more of the same, only a little further along in the process. I think maybe itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s getting to be about time for a little foot-to-foot and nose-to-nose interaction, so the crack in the door will be getting wider. Pretty soon the door will be open.

Monday, May 28

I really think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re making pretty good progress now upstairs. The little gray cat has been seen in full view being carried by me, with no adverse reaction from either Twinkie or Mellie. Twinkie and Mellie had no hesitation last night going for their treats when I tossed them right in front of the crack.

If thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a problem cat, I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going to be Rocket. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t trust that he wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t spray. I need to work with him more, reassociating his spray spots with something else that highly motivates him: food. And to remind him, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve put down food trays at those spots.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m also hoping to put up a partition wall in the basement to form a small cat-friendly room at the food of the stairs, and blocking access to the rest of the basement where all the bad, dirty and dangerous stuff is. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no way I can cat-proof a basement to my satisfaction. Framing the wall should be pretty easy. Sheathing the wall is going to be tough. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never worked with sheetrock. And the 4x8 pieces it comes in are too heavy for me, so Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to cut them into 4x4s if I go that route. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never hung a door, either. Hiring out the job would cost me an insane amount of money, and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d never get somebody to do it before the roofers come, anyway. But with a cat-flap in the basement door, I figure access to a small part of the basement would extend Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s range and give him some space. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d even be willing to put my recliner down there for him. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s getting kind of worn and I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mind replacing it, anyway.

Little gray got some extra time out in the main part of the house last night. She has fun exploring, but seems kind of nervous and a little fearful, although that doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t slow her down much at all. It didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t take her long at all to discover the kitchen countertops. The interesting part is that she seemed quite willing to go back to her room. I think she feels safe and secure there. Previously, she would try to shoot out every time I opened the door, and try to stay out when she needed to go back in. But now she follows me right in, and doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t try to get out when I start to close the door. My other theory of this change is that she now knows she can trust me to come and let her out. She knows sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not going to be stuck in there forever.

My best read of the situation now is that none of my cats are afraid of the new cat and that whatever curiosity they had about her has been satisfied. So I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s now time for a change in tactics. I could do more of the same, I suppose … open the crack wider. But based on what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen so far Mellie and Twinkie would still just sit there several feet away watching little gray waving her feet through the crack. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to force Mellie and Twinkie to get up close and interact with her. But I think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re about due for some interaction in order to proceed to the next level.

One idea is to work from little grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s side of the door and try to entice Mellie and Twinkie to come close. I have my doubts that will work. Perhaps itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time to try crate contact: putting the new cat in a crate or carrier and allowing the resident cats access to the room where the crate is. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll put the crate in the bedroom, which has been “common territory.†They can see the new cat, they can interact with the new cat, but the new cat canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t threaten them. If theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re uncomfortable with the situation, they can just leave the room.

Oh, joy!! Mellie eats most of her food this morning. Maybe it was moving her feeding station up off the ground to the second level of the cat rack. She probably feels more secure. Whether anxiety was the cause of her loss of appetite I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know. I just want to plump her up, now. Get some “meat on her bones.†The little gray cat eats anything and everything I put down for her. She licked her bowl clean this morning, got a second helping, and licked that clean. “Teenybopper†has been going through my head. Little gray squeals like a young teen-aged girl in the presence of her favorite pop star or film star.

Right after breakfast, Mellie runs right to the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s door. Mellie continues to surprise me as being the cat that appears to be most ready to meet the new cat. When I started this, I was sure that Mellie would be my main problem, based on two previous introductions. The two previous were male cats. This one is female. I wonder if thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s responsible for the difference. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sure Mellie is ready to proceed. Yet Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m ambivalent about doing that because my previous experience also tells me itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s better to proceed at the pace of the slowest cat. I think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to try the crate plan with one cat at a time and monitor their reactions. If it looks like itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going badly, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll cease and desist immediately and postpone until tomorrow.

Letâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s put the crate plan into action. Bring crate upstairs. Put crate in bedroom. Let little gray out of the bathroom. Little gray checks out the crate. Little gray goes in the crate. Put crate in grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s bathroom, facing out. Open the bedroom door. Mellie comes into the bedroom, sees gray, and stops. Mellie looks. Gray is strangely quiet for once. Mellie retreats to the office. She takes up a vantage point where she can see gray separated by a room and a hallway. Twinkie peers around the corner of the bedroom door. He sits there for a long time, looking at gray. Then he gets up and casually pads over to the patio door, where thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a patch of sunshine to claim for his nap.

Put Twink and Mellie in the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room. Call Rocket up. Rocket heads straight for new cat territory. He sees gray and she sees him. She explodes in her most fearsome display of hissing, growling, and screaming. The vocal work accompanies an amazing repertoire of feline gymnastics, all performed within the confines of a medium-sized cat carrier. Why does she go this far with Rocket and not the other cats? Rocket approaches the crate. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s bolder than the other cats. He wants to investigate grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room. Grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s ferocious display, rising yet another octave, gives him caution. He turns around, exits the bedroom, and makes a circuit of the living room and kitchen. Then he heads back to the crate. This time he attempts to slink past the crate and into grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room. Her screaming rises to an even higher fever pitch I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think possible. This cat has quite a set of lungs. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m glad all the windows are closed or the police would be here. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what feline insults and feline curses sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s throwing at him, but Rocket doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t make it past the crate. He turns around and exits the bedroom. I give Rocket praise and scratchies and treats. If I had a medal to give him, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d pin it on his…..well, maybe not. I value my skin, too.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure what to make of this seeming disinterest on the part of Mellie and Twinkie in comparison to Rocket. And the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s dramatic performance. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s probably just defending her territory. If she puts on the same show for the other two when they get closer, they may not take it so calmly. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think it would be a good idea to force the two holdbacks. But I want to proceed with phase two of the crate plan: bring the crate out into the middle of the common room, where the cats have been sharing territory. If that goes well, the final phase of the crate plan will be to place the crate out in the main house, in the three catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] territory. Then, if that goes well, the introduction process should be pretty near its end.

After lunch I initiate phase two. Little gray and the crate are placed in the bedroom this time. Rocket is my first volunteer. I call him and he runs up. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s so funny to see a cat running up stairs. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been teaching him a few tricks – sit and roll over – so we practice those first for a little while. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got sit down pretty good, but he just started roll over. Then we head for the bedroom, where the little gray cat is waiting, and not too patiently, either, in her crate. Rocket goes right up to the grill and little gray breaks forth with menacing growls, hisses, and screams. Rocket doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to perturbed. He checks it out. I give him some treats. I give gray some treats, but sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s too much into her performance. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not quite so histrionic as when Rocket tried to enter her room earlier. (Maybe I made a small boo-boo there, allowing him access to her safe place?) Although Rocket looks pretty calm, he hisses once then turns aside and starts walking past the crate. Midway past he pauses, turns around, and leaves the room. After making one turn around the house he comes back, checks it out once more, and then I think theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve both had enough of each other for now and Rocket goes back down the basement.

Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s turn next. She just looks but wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t go in the room. When I let Twinkie out, he does the same. Look but not approach. They donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem particularly perturbed, but they just donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to have anything to do with her yet. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not going to force these two to go in there and get close to the new cat. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to do it themselves when theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re ready.

Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a holiday today. I think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll call it quits early. Weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve made some pretty good progess today. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be interesting to see if the little gray cat performs her drama queen bit when sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s out of the carrier and in the other catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] territory. And if she does, how they react to it. I can understand her wanting to carve out her niche in this space. But I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want her to do it at the expense of the quality of life of my other three cats. That is to say, if sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s aggressive with them, sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going to be looking for another place to live. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m hoping things fall into place and ideally, everybody has a place and theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re content and happy with their place.

Teeniebopper – kind of catchy, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking. I hope sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be around to wear some kind of a name I give her. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not a lock, yet.

I just got onto TCS... I had a long weekend without you guys It seems like your making progress with the little grey cat.... But your still looking for a name??? Hmmm.. Let me think about this one.. I'll get back to you

Tuesday, May 29

As I open my eyes this morning itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s with a certain amount of reluctance to begin the day. Despite the progress of the last few days, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s beginning to become very long and tiresome. At the end of the day I have about 15 minutes to read and then Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m so tired I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t keep my eyes open. When I check my message boards after breakfast I find out that someone has had a very tough weekend, ending up losing her kitten. And I missed the whole thing. I wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t there to offer her my support. I should kick myself. This introduction has got me so wrapped up in myself and my problems that everything else is passing me by. Maybe I should take some time off.

Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s five litter boxes in three locations, four feeding stations with three different food mixes, three playtimes with different toys, three treat times (at least they all like the same treats, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m running out of them,) doors to be opened and closed in certain sequences (and one doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t latch easily,) keeping track of where the cats are, Rocket to be watched every second heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s upstairs. This takes a lot of mental and physical energy, and especially lots of time. And the thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s this journal. Things arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t getting done. Like persistent computer problems I keep futzing with. Little gray will be fine in her room. Rocket will be fine downstairs. But no -- I must persevere. That plan will just drag it out even longer. I need to get these cats functioning as a group. Well, at least together as a group. Then it will all be much easier.

I wish there was something I could do to spark Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s and Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s curiosity. At this point they should be trading pokes through the crack in the door. But those two just sit there and look. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s some kind of an invisible wall located about three feet around the little gray cat. Whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s the deal? She have bad breath or something?

At least Mellie ate most of her food this morning. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s that glass again – is it half empty? Or half full? Mellie must like her feeding location up off the floor.

Bingo!! Up off the floor. Height? Is that whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going on between the little gray cat and my two reluctant cats? The vanity in the spare bathroom is flush with the wall right next to the door. The little gray cat can jump up there and look down on any cats on the other side of the crack. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got a height advantage!! Now I remember I had this problem with Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s intro. I need to put something on the vanity so sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be forced to be down on the floor at the same level as the cats on the other side of the crack. That little project takes over an hour and kills much of the morning. Now weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll se if it works.

While working on the project, I needed to go in and out of little grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room several times for measurements and fittings. One time she outsmarted me and squirted out into the hallway. Mellie was sitting right there. Fortunately little gray dashed into the room across the hall, I slammed the door, scooped her up, and deposited her back in her room. I think the thing happened too fast for Mellie to have a reaction.

Back from an errand I remember gray needs ointment on her bare spots. I carry her from her room to the bathroom in full view of Mellie. Gray briefly hisses at Mellie. Still no reaction from Mellie. The lack of reaction from Mellie and Twinkie baffles me. Mellie, and to a lesser degree Twinkie, were the ones I thought Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d have the most trouble with.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still flying by the seat of my pants. Any expectations and plans have long gone out the window. Nothing is working out the way I thought it would. My gut feel is that Mellie is ready. Twinkie Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m really unsure about. Yesterday I was carrying him and just “sort of by chance†wandered into the bedroom. He seemed relaxed. I stood there about six feet from the door, safely outside his invisible barrier, and he just calmly looked at the door. All of a sudden, with no warning, he began to struggle to be free of my hold, using his claws!! Twinkie is normally very good about keeping his claws sheathed around me. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s almost like some sort of wild animal spirit took control of him and in an instant he reverted to his ancestorsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] primeval non-domesticated state. I had to gracelessly toss him on the bed to avoid bloodshed. When we think we know our cats, they prove us wrong. Decisions made based on how we perceive our cats acting are unreliable. We can only stumble along, doing our best, and our cats only tell us how well we did after the fact.

Rocket may come up for a while. I put down food trays at all his marking spots. I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d want to spray where he eats. Rocket paces around for a while. He stops by the little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room and they get in some mutual hissing. Neither side sounds particularly convincing. Gray looks up at me with a question in her eyes. It looks like a “how did I do?†type of question. Not the question I want to hear, or to answer. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not going to get approval from me for hissing at my other cats. Rocket does some more pacing, then stops behind the recliner and raises his tail. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s standing right on a tray. I warn him off and send him back down to the basement. Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s problem concerns me the most. Neither his time in the basement nor my deterrents and reassociation are working.

Rocket gets fed where he backs up to the recliner. Mellie gets fed on the cat rack in the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room. Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s tray gets put down right in front of the gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s door. Gray gets fed in her own room. Rocket scarfs his down in about 60 seconds. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s much faster when I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t put ping-pong balls in his food. He goes back down to the basement and begins complaining. Twink has no problem eating in front of grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s door. I guess food dissolves the barrier. Mellie hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eaten a mouthful of hers. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll eat when Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m standing right there directing her attention toward her food dish and chanting, “Eat Mellie, eat. Please eat, Mellie.†I really canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do this every meal – spending 20 minutes willing Mellie to eat. I leave her to grab a quick microwaved Stoufferâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s entree. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m really not very hungry, either. Twink is finished and comes in the kitchen and gets in the way of cleanup. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m pretty short-tempered by now and poor little Twinkles gets yelled at. He responds by running into the living room to scratch vigorously at the carpet. He gets yelled at again.

I wonder if I should just give up, turn them all loose, set down cheap crappy dry food, and let them work it out. But I know what would happen. Rocket would turn into a furry sumo cat, Twinkie would get crystals and explode, Mellie would waste away to a small calico stole, and I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know about little gray, but I think sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d make out all right.

One of the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] food dishes is missing. I bought eight Corelle dishes, two each of four patterns. Each cat has their own pattern, so I know whose dish goes where. Whattheheck?!?! How can a food dish up and walk away? I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t find it anywhere. For cryinâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] out loud, this is turning into the Twilight Zone. Back to the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room. Mellie hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eaten any more since I was out. More chanting and finally we settle on her having eaten one-third of a small portion.

The dishes get washed. When theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re all in the drying rack, I count bowls. Eight bowls – two each of four different patterns. I suspect my brain is malfunctioning. I can visualize short circuits sparking up there.

I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know. This is getting depressing. I think I took on too much bringing in the little gray cat. Compared to now, things were going smooth as silky cat fur before she came here. Yet, when I go in her room and she softly rubs up against me, firmly head butts me, looks up at me with those big eyes, and gives me a damp nose-to-nose greeting (yes, sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a wonderful nose-bumper) – I just canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t visualize giving her up.

Wednesday, May 30

In the cool of a new morning, after a nightâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sleep, fortified with support and wise advice, I make a command decision: Rocket will stay in the basement until the little gray cat is in. By trying to solve two problems at once Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m solving neither. So Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to concentrate on grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s introduction, and then deal with Rocket. This requires some hardening of the heart, because it gets to me when I go down there and I can see heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not happy. And he hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t been getting his due share of my attention. But I hope that doing this will, if successful, get him back upstairs faster.

Last night I saw one of those surprising changes in group dynamics. I wish I could have gotten a picture. I saw Mellie and Twinkie sitting side-by-side at the open patio door looking into the night like a pair of old friends. To understand my surprise, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s necessary to know that Mellie has disliked Twink since he arrived here. Over time sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s come to accept him, with just an occasional hiss or a growl and an angry swat to remind him whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s boss. But she would never share intimate personal space with him like I saw last night. So it seems the arrival of the new cat is causing a rapproachment between Mellie and the Twinkster. This makes me happy.

Little gray certainly has a good appetite. She gets a second helping again this morning. In fact, I swear sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s looking a little plumper. I want to weigh her. Out comes the scale, and gray gets carried to the scale in full view (intentionally) of Mellie and Twinkie. In fact, since Twinkie is always the first one at the scale, heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s already there, has to be shooed aside, and gray gets placed on the scale right in front of him. Little gray is putting on her fearsome cat act, but itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s only a shadow of yesterdayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s performance. Twinkie extends his nose toward gray, thinks better of it, and then hisses briefly. This hissing doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem convincing. It looks to me like posturing. On both sides. But I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t push it. Little gray is there only long enough to get a weight. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s up two ounces since Saturday.

This is a good chance to weigh Mellie, too. Twinkie is back on the scale when I get back with Mellie. Apparently little grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s scent on his spot doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t put him off. Mellie is down another two ounces since Saturday. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been trying to stimulate her appetite with Fancy Feast. I ran out yesterday. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to get some more today. If she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat tonight, sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll go to the vet tomorrow.

Mellie and gray are eyeballing each through the crack and trading hisses and growls. Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s body posture looks pretty tensed up. But she stands her ground. Even though Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s anxious, her willingness to engage is a good sign. Apparently her invisible wall has come down. After yesterday, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m willing to call this some kind of a turning point.

Noontime and plans for Mellie change. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m uncomfortable with the way sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s acting. She just doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem right. “Sluggish†might be the operative word, though itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hard to pin down. I do a pinch test on Mellie and on surprised Twinkie, waking him from a sound sleep. Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s skin doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bounce back quite as fast as Twinkâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s. That, coupled with her weight measurement earlier, prompts a call to my vet. All it takes is mention of the weight and she says Mellie should come in. So…..vet appointment at 2:00, which is going to cost me $100 plus. On one hand Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to be pissed for having to spend the money if nothingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s wrong, and on the other hand, if nothingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s wrong Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to be happy that nothingâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s wrong. The other hand is the hand that I want.

Bumped back to 3:30 by an emergency – my first bump – Mellie needs to be removed from the carrier by taking the top off, as usual. She forms a big red, white and black ball in my cradled arms, with her head tucked firmly into my armpit. My poor girl is shivering. The weight check confirms the weight loss. The physical exam and history find nothing to be alarmed about, other than the weight loss, and no diagnostic tests are ordered. The doctor says the pinch test is normal and the snap-back normally varies from one cat to another. The doctorâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s conclusion is that this is just one very hungry cat whoâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s holding out for -- DRY FOOD!! Ack!! It took me a year to get her off. She was eating wet food just fine for quite a while. Why does she decide now to starve herself in order to get me to put her back on dry food? It doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t quite make sense to me, but if it will get her to eat, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m willing to do it. Tonight weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll tempt her with Fancy Feast first. If she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to eat that, then Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to pick up a bag of dry food. But first Fancy Feast. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s eaten that before and I think thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s better than dry food. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d like to feed her, but I need to get this catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s weight back up. I need to “plump her up.†It sounds like Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m fattening a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.

We have a short discussion about Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s spraying. I learn that cats who begin spraying are unlikely to stop. The doctor tells me that some cats can be trained to spray at a “spraying station.†Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve never heard of such a thing so Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to research that. If heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll just spray at a spraying station, and if itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in the basement, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a problem with that.

While Mellie and Twinkie are eating in their rooms, I let gray out to roam the rest of the house. I get Mellie from her room and carry her out to the living room. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s that little gray cat sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been getting glimpses of. Despite Mellie having the height advantage, gray vigorously defends her right to be there, and Mellie responds in kind. Mellie goes back in her room, gray goes back in her room. Just testing the waters here. No harm done, I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think, but theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re not ready yet to share the same space. I wonder if by letting them loose to have a hissing contest that it would get it out of their systems. It might, but with Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s previous history, I can wait another day.

Thursday, May 31

Last night I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t wait. Driven by an insane desire to see what would go wrong next, I initiated phase three of the crate plan: put the carrier with the little gray cat inside in the middle of the living room. In other words, in Mellie and Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s territory. Initially, the bedroom was a “common†room. Territory both sets of cats used, but didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t cross paths. The last few days itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been becoming more and more the gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s territory as she spends more time in there. Mellie and Twinkie seem reluctant to go into that space. They give the gray cat a buffer zone. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s like they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to have anything to do with her. They know sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s here. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re heard her and smelled her since the beginning; the last few days theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen her. But even though sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s left her scent in their territory, theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve only seen her there very briefly. They need to get used to the idea of sharing their territory with her.

So I put gray in the carrier and put it down in the middle of the living room. Mellie was at the open patio door and Twink was up on top of the fridge. Gray started up with her jittering and jabbering. A larger, heavier cat would have made the crate dance. Mellie and Twinkles just watched. No incentive to get any closer.

Then I had a brainstorm. My brainstorms usually arenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t planned in advance, certainly seldom thought through. They seem so inspired and obvious at the time I just go right ahead. The brainstorm last night was to let little gray out of the carrier and keep her occupied with playtime: a leather shoelace that she canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t resist. My purpose was to get her out in the open in the other catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] territory, without her going after them and confronting them. So I got the leather shoelace and opened the carrier. Hereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s where my plan failed. I forgot that what gray does when she gets ahold of the shoelace is to run with it. So thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s exactly what she did: she grabbed the shoelace firmly with her teeth and ran with it back into her bedroom!!

Well, as long as the toy was out, I began to play with her in the bedroom, and I left the door open. The shoelace just happens to also be a fave toy of the Twinkster-cat and so eventually he came and watched from the open door. He edged into the room. Twink wanted a go at the leather. That looked promising. But then the little gray cat noticed he was there, and poofed up her tail in response. Well, we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t need any of that, so I immediately picked her up, chucked her into the bathroom (her inner sanctum) and closed the door on her. To keep the mood light, I then played with the other two cats for a little while. So much for brainstorms. Sometimes theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re disasters, sometimes theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re duds. Once in a while, when Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m lucky, something good happens. Last night was only a dud.

This morning Mellie eats most of her Fancy Feast and Twinkie spends some time peering through the crack in the door, so Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m cheered. A day that starts out on two positives. Then I pause and think, “Where is it more likely to go from here? Up or down?†I think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been influenced by events of the last….oh my, almost three weeks now.

After lunch I notice Twinkie is relaxed and resting in his spot on the couch, Mellie is relaxed and resting in her spot on my office chair; so I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a good time to repeat last nightâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s exercise. But only with one cat, so Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s door gets closed. I lure the little gray cat out into the living room with the leather shoelace, and we play with it for a time right in front of the couch, and Twinker doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t bat an eyelash. This goes on until gray starts tiring of the game and begins to notice Twinkie watching her. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time to lure her back into the bedroom. There she plays with the leather while I fold laundry. The door is open and after a little bit I notice Twink sitting just outside the open door, watching intently. But he makes no move to come in. When the gray cat notices him, I decide not to push it any further and so I leave the room, put the jig back in place, and close the door. Twinkie noses up to the crack and receives the usual growl and a couple hisses. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s had enough for right now and wanders off. My gut feel tells me if sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d just tone it down a bit those two would be OK together right now.

Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s making some real progress today, too. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been taking my opportunities when I see them to gauge the mood of the cats and their readiness to approach each other. Mellie has been spending quite a bit of time at the crack in the door today, so I see another opportunity for a one-on-one. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see the little gray cat on the other side, so I cautiously open the door a little ways, just wide enough for a small cat to squeeze through. Gray comes to the door. I have one hand on her and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m ready to grab her to stop her escape or to shove her back in the room if things turn ugly. Mellie and the gray cat look at each other. Gray looks at me as if asking me what she should do. She seems to realize itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time to play it cool, and she does. Both Mellie and gray hiss softly at each other but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see any extreme emotion in their eyes or their body postures. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t watch both catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] eyes, but I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think Mellie ever dropped eye contact with gray, while gray looked away and up at me a couple times. I think Mellieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s establishing herself above gray in the local cat group hierarchy. This is good; thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d like to see. So, I think at this point their hissing is merely a formality. Because things are looking so good, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m hoping I can get a nose-to-nose. But right at that point Twinkles wanders up to see whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going on. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t control the situation (“control†is used in a very loose meaning where cats are involved) with three cats, so the little gray cat goes back in her room and the door is closed.

My gut is telling me good things again. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s feeling better than itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s felt for some time. I think things are just about ready to come together between these three cats. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s good because Rocket is getting really ornery in the basement. As I would if I were stuck down there all day.

Things are going so well with the cats today I just know thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no way I can get through the whole day without some minor disaster to ruin it, and it comes in the form of a pretty good slash to the side of my palm while working on that stupid wall in the basement. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s way too big for a simple bandaid and in a very inconvenient location – I just know itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going to get infected and be painful for the next couple of weeks. You donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t heal as fast when you get old. Quite a few choice swear words are floating through my mind, but I shanâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t put them down.

I deserve a break today. I'm off to McDonalds.

Well, it seems as though you are making progress. In my own experience of introducing cats... usually they didn't take so long to get acquainted. I guess every cat is different though. Your doing a great job, don't give up!

Friday, June 1

I do love clouds. I especially love cumulonimbus clouds. Cumulonimbus clouds remind me of many fond memories. We donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t often get to see decent cumulonimbus clouds in Wisconsin. It isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t that we donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get them. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s that the air is usually too hazy with humidity to be able to see them. Not like out west, where in summer the air is clear enough to see over a hundred miles, and the cumulonimbii grow daily, punctually like clockwork, on the Front Range, and gather their ranks to march out over the high plains, trailing feathery rainshafts that mostly evaporate before reaching the ground. Yesterday evening while returning from Walgreenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s to purchase first-aid supplies, the air was clear enough to see some gorgeous cumulonimbus thunderheads on the western horizon, building toward the stratosphere, their taughtly billowing and radiant edges illuminated from behind by the low-angle sun, but containing within them a dark, murky and ominous core. Cumulonimbus clouds are a portent of something to come – perhaps something beneficial in the form of rain – perhaps something harmful in the way of severe weather – perhaps a change in weather due to the passing of a front. And so I felt like a front was approaching – an end to this long and exhausting process – success as refreshing as rain . Or could it be severe weather on the way? No, last night I chose not to think it possible of anything dark coming from such a beautiful scene.

Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a new day. Looking out the window I see fog and I feel humidity. The front hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t passed. The Bulwer-Lyttonesque prose inspired by visions last night gives way to the realities of the current situation: the little gray cat needs to get introduced before the roofers come next week so they can all stay together in the basement; the partition wall needs to be finished so they can stay down there; Rocket needs to be reintroduced upstairs without spraying or a suitable alternative to urinating on my furnishings needs to be found; Mellie needs to eat more and put on some weight; Twinkie needs to take all this in stride; and I have to do all this before running out of money, time and sanity. Today, fog still obscures the outcome. Yes, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just another new day in the life of coasterâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s little family.

Late afternoon and nothing much has happened yet. Twinkie and Mellie spell each other on crack watch duty. But when gray squeals or paws through the crack, all they do is watch disapprovingly. I think itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time to move things along. I open the door to let little gray out. Twinkie is in the middle of the hallway, telling the new cat this space is his. Gray throws a few squeals at Twink but heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s impassive. She slowly slinks along the periphery, sampling the scents deposited there as she goes. Twink turns his back to gray and begins grooming himself. Gray begins making a thorough investigation of the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room, slowly working her way around, sniffing carefully as she goes. New cat in the inner sanctum. But Twink is unconcerned. Eventually he strolls into the room, his room, to watch, and perhaps to claim the exit. Gray carefully and gingerly climbs into the litterboxes. But she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t use them. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve noticed that sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s investigating the room, but she didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t leave any urine in the litterboxes, and she hasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t rubbed up against any place, so as to not leave too much of her scent, either. Bye and bye Mellie wanders into the room, and sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got her unhappy face on. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want Mellie to be unhappy, so I pick up the little gray cat to return her to the bedroom. And gray is unhappy now as well, and shows it with growling and hissing. I bop her on the head when she does that, hoping that she takes that as correction, much as a momma cat would correct her kittens. This is as far as I want to push it right now; I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want any of them to be angry or unhappy and associate those emotions with the other cats.

On the one hand Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m disappointed thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no overt interaction going on between these cats. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d hoped to at least see some footsie being played by now, if not sooner. Gray plays footsie with me. (And sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a great paw-patter, too, which Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m happy to find out. None of my other cats are.)

On the other hand, nobody seems to be afraid of anybody; there doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t appear to be any overt aggression developing; Mellie and Twinkie have accepted the fact of another cat in the house.

Despite the lack of interaction, the rest of what Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen leads me to hope these three cats are ready to be together. And we do need to get on with that because I got confirmation today that the roofers plan to start my job on Monday, and I want to be able to put the cats in the basement, to be further away from the noise and vibration. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m putting up a partition to keep them out of the non-cat-friendly parts of the basement. But theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll all have to be together there for a couple days.

The checker at the grocery store today has a cute name – Teonie – but she couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t tell me what it meants, and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not on behindthename.com either.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve been getting the little gray cat used to being handled for caretaking duties by taking her into the bathroom each evening and spending some time with her handling her and showing her it can be pleasurable and she can trust me. Yesterday I noticed that while the hair is growing back like crazy in the bald spot on top, itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s still falling out of the one on the side and itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s getting bigger. The culture at the vet is still negative. (I wonder if Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m setting up my vet to be a wax farmer with all these cultures. Fungal growth medium reminds me of these little cakes of wax in a plastic box that accountants, bankers and bookkeepers use to make their fingers sticky for handling paper. Maybe they donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t need to use those any more in the computer age.)

So yesterday I put the paper e-collar on her to prevent her from scratching that spot. That didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t work out too good. She somehow got one leg inside the neck loop and when I took it off, she thought it looked like a great play toy, pulled out the string, and pretty much destroyed it. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s no way I could get that string back in. Ever try pushing on a string? So tonight I put the plastic e-collar on her. I wonder if that will get in the way of the intro process.

So, not much happened today. This wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t the climactic day of final success I was hoping for. I guess itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s like traffic – you just have to go with the flow. Leave early, take it easy, enjoy the trip, and eventually youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll get to your destination.

Saturday, June 2

Today is THREE weeks!!

Last night after finishing up my journal for the day I had to go in the bedroom and change for my shower. I wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t quite fast enough at the door and cone and all little gray scooted past me out into the hall. Mellie was on crack duty across the way in the doorway to my office. When gray saw Mellie, she stopped and started making her squeaky little threat noises (noises that would make any self-respecting alpha cat go into convulsions with laughter.) Mellie crouched with semi-flattened ears and a dilated-pupil glare, then gave a low growl and an emphatic hiss. Little gray turned around and scooted right back into the shelter of her bedroom. Wonderful!! The little gray cat is learning, and better yet, accepting her place in the local group. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t wait to see how she and the two boys work out their relationships. I hope she doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t try to push Twinkus down to the bottom of the pile. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a sweet cat basically, but can get kind of prickly, and if she annoys him too much, trying to gain status over him, he might not take it kindly. Now Rocket….I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think he cares too much about his status so long as it doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t interfere with his food supply.

Now that I know what happens in a face-to-face confrontation between the little gray cat and Mellie, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m reasonably confident I could leave those two alone together without anything traumatic happening to permanently damage their relationship. I need to get a sense of the same between gray and Twinkie. And then I need to do the same between gray and Rocket. Since they all need to be together in the same space on Monday, if I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do all that before Sunday evening, and be feeling confident about it, then gray will have to go out for boarding Monday morning. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want to do that because itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll be almost like a reintroduction when she comes back Tuesday evening. The upshot is that I pretty much need to do Twink today and Rocket tomorrow, at the latest. So Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll need to either be in the right place at the right time with gray and Twinkers, or else Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll have to cleverly stage manage the situation I want. And Twinkus is not easily stage managed. No, not at all. And Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not particularly clever. No, not at all. So, despite recent progress, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still feeling pressure to get this over with. And just getting it over with and not also getting it right is not an acceptable option. I havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t put in three weeks of my life to see it go down the toilet because some mistake I made caused permanent enmity between two cats in my household.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m in the bedroom changing out of my sweats when the opportunity of the day appears ready to make its first tease. Twinkie is nosing at the door, apparently wanting in. I give the little gray cat a pep talk and then open the door. Twinkie sidles on it, glancing around and then at the gray cat. So far sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s refraining from any hissing. Then Twinkers gives us one of his trademark Hrrrrrrrrmmmphs and she canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t restrain herself any longer. Even though the hiss she directs toward Twink is modest by previous daysâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] comparison, and even though it mostly sails over his head, he decides he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t need any of this. Nonchalantly and in full control of his dignity, he pads slowly out of the room. This opportunity slipped away unfulfilled, a bad habit that opportunities have not just for cats, but people as well.

While doing my stretches I see Twinkie casually relaxing on the top of the couch. Peeking through the crack (yes, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m a crack-watcher, too.) I see gray is casually relaxing on my bed. I think this might be a good time for a manufactured opportunity. I shut the door on Mellie in the catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] room, and to limit the field of action, also shut the doors on the bathroom and the office. Then grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s bedroom door gets opened. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s ready to come out and explore, cone and all. Gray trots around while Twink observes. He seems semi-bored. Gray looks like she wants to jump up on the counter, but thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s foil up there. Finally she jumps anyway and doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like what she finds. I retrieve her and put her back down. Now she goes over to the couch, looking up at Twinkie, and making those little big cat noises. Twink observes, but has no reaction. She starts to climb up, thinks better of it, retreats from the couch, and continues her rounds.

Pretty soon Twinkey comes on down. Little gray is in the kitchen. Twinkâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in the living room. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want him to block her escape route, so I pick her up and put her in the living room on the other side of Twink. This emboldens her. Maybe I shouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have been so manipulative because now she approaches the Twinkster and hisses at him. He turns and trots away. Not so fast as to give the impression that heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s intimidated, but away nonetheless. And she thinks sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s got him on the run, so she follows, hisses preceding. And now heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s starting to look uncomfortable. Why doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t he stick up for himself? A good solid hiss would send her scurrying. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t like this turn of events, so I pick Twinkie up, give him some encouragement, then put him down on the table to give him the height advantage. He seems more comfortable up here and the height allows him to ignore grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s hisses. Finally, I get tired of her pushy attitude and pick her up and take her back to her bedroom. I actually get the feeling sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s glad to be back there. More relaxed and comfortable. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s in her own space now. Bluffing takes so much emotional energy.

Twink comes around the corner, and slowly and carefully enters the bedroom. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s on her turf, now. She lets him know by poofing up her tail. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want that kind of confrontation, so she immediately gets scooped up and shut in her inner room.

So there are pluses and minuses to creating opportunities in cat land. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t pretend to know everything thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s going on, everything thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s being communicated between two cats, so my efforts are pretty much a gamble as to whether theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll accomplish what I want them to accomplish. And I still donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know if and what I accomplished. After all that time and effort.

Now many would say that this is just getting to be way too much. These cats are ready to get together and theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll work out their minor differences. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t disagree with that. But, I think that by giving them brief and supervised exposure to each other, one-on-one with each cat taking turns, and with time off in between to relax and decompress in their own safe and secure places, working out their relationships and their minor differences will actually, in the end, consume less time. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s my theory and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sticking with it.

One-on-ones with Mellie and Twinkey have worked well enough; itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s time to see what happens with Rocket. So the two gray cat veterans get shut in their rooms and I call the gray cat newbie, Rocket, upstairs while gray is rambling about the house. I hold the door open just a crack. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s good to be cautious. Rocket and gray approach the crack from opposite sides, leading with the noses. A nose bump occurs!! This is a good start. So I open the door and Rocket starts his rounds, casting sideways glances at a little gray cat wearing a cone thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s following him. Rocket seems mostly annoyed by the gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s forwardness. Eventually he casts a hiss in her direction, but heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not convincing and sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not deterred. After having made the rounds and back in the kitchen, the gray cat ups the volume of her catcalls. Now Rocketâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s getting really annoyed. He seems about ready to flee. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not what I want Rocket to do. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d rather have him give the gray cat a decent hiss and send her fleeing. Since he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t do that, I decide to intervene. I give the little gray cat MY best and loudest hiss. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s ever had a human do that before. She streaks back to her own room faster than the eye can follow. I can hear the scrabbling of cat claws, and sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s gone. Rocket is also gone. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s up on top of the kitchen cabinet faster than I can follow. All is quiet for a time.

I go in the bedroom. Rocket follows. He checks out grayâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s room. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m hoping heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll squat in one of her litterboxes and give a little squirt to let her know he was there. But he just climbs in and out, giving the boxes and the room a thorough sniff-over. I think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve accomplished enough by now with Rocket, so he gets a few treats and a lot of praise and gets sent down the basement. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a reward?

I think weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re getting very close here. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen how the cats interact with gray individually. Of course, that doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t mean thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s how theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll always interact. Or how theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll interact as a group. Cat social group dynamics are always fluid. Things change. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what role gray will play in the group. All Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m looking for, and hoping for right now, are signs that none of the cats are intractably afraid of another, and that none of the cats are irremediable hostile to another. Signs that itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s possible for the good life as my cats knew it pre-little-gray-cat will not be replaced with any significant deterioration in the quality of that life. Everything Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve seen so far points to meeting all those criteria.

And so even though Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]d hoped that today might be the climactic day I could call this introduction complete, it still has a little more time to run. A little more work to do. But whatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s another day or two, a few more hours of effort, when Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m hoping for a happy, stable cat family that might very well be with me for the next fifteen years or more?

Sunday, June 3

More fun and games last night. I did some one-on-one with the little gray cat and Twinkee. He still doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know what to make of this foul-mouthed little cat. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s like the baddest girl in the sixth grade class. So far sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s all bark and no bite, and I think he knows that, so heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not afraid of her. But he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t go quite so far as to give it back to her. I had some playtime with the two of them and the shoelace. She wanted to monopolize it, and got really peeved when it was Twinkieâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s turn. At that point to try to emphasize I wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t stand for that kind of behavior toward my other cats, I put her back in the bedroom and closed the door. The greatest punishment for a cat is to be left out.

Next was treat time. I put some treats in two treat boxes, and then let Mellie and gray out of their respective rooms. I just wanted to see what would happen with three cats and two boxes. Gray monopolized one of the boxes, and Twink and Mellie shared the other, casting reproachful glances toward the other box and its cat. Since gray kept making vengeful noises toward the other two cats even though she was monopolizing one box, she got sent back to her room.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m pretty confident now Mellie and Twinkie are fine with the little gray cat. Theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll tolerate her and theyâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll probably just steer clear of her. Things can change with time. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve noticed that when gray is so nasty toward my cats, she keeps looking questionly at me, as if looking for my approval. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m willing to bet that much of her nasty behavior is because of her insecurity and anxiety. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s really a very sweet cat to me. Once she settles down and begins to feel secure in her new home, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m hoping this behavior will cease. I havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t experienced this with my previous introductions, so I really donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have any assurance that will be the case. But I do know that catsâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji] true personalities take a long time to emerge in a new home, and that even so their personalities change as they age.

The little gray catâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s weight yesterday was seven pounds, twelve ounces. Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s up six ounces already from when I first weighed her. She eats everything that I feed her. I think she already looks bigger than when I adopted her. And not just bigger around the middle – I swear this cat is growing right before my eyes.

The seat belt sign has been turned off and the little gray cat is free to move about the cabin. She has supervised access to the full main floor of the house. This morning, Twinkie was snoozing on top of the cabinets, so he wasnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t in the picture. Mellie was stationed by the patio door. The little gray cat was considerably quieter than yesterday and last night. I hope this is a good sign sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not another Rocket. Gray and Mellie spent quite a long time just looking at each other. When Mellie was the first to get up and move away, I didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t know whether that was a tactical retreat, or whether Mellie was just bored, but just in case, gray went back to her room.

While in her room, I saw through the crack that gray was sleeping on some of my clothes I had tossed on the bed. The thought that came to my mind was: sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s making herself at home. Sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s starting to behave like one of the house cats.

Name selection is down to two choices. Gray likes both. I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t decide. I think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll write a little computer program to decide for me.

When I got back from a quick run to the store, I was surprised to see a cone-headed little gray blur dashing from my office to my bedroom. Was she out when I left the house? I canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t remember. But itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s funny to see her running around wearing a cone. It doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t seem to slow her down much. While I was gone a wastebasket got tipped over. Mellie and Twinkie seem to be doing just fine coping with this little gray cat tornado. I think I might as well consider her introduced. At least as far as Mellie and Twinkie are concerned. Thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s really not much more I can do for these two besides monitor their interactions with gray. So all that remains is Rocket.