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- Jun 5, 2007
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My poor crew has kinda been through the ringer with stress these last few weeks. Sprout's intros went amazingly well, considering we had to do the super-fast-forward process because Adam was residing in my only workable "isolation" room. After just a couple weeks now, though, Sprout is playing and grooming with the other kitties like he's been here all along.
Adam, on the other hand.... I decided to introduce him to the family this weekend, mostly at the prodding of my DH who was tired of being climbed all over by a lonely kitty every time DH went to bed or to the bathroom. Since Adam's been here for several weeks, all the kitties were aware of him and we've had plenty of opportunities to share scents, etc. Feliway diffusers had been running for several days. So I let him out of the bedroom and followed him around.
LOTS of hissing and growling!!! Adam has managed to make enemies with just about every cat in the house, even my very laid-back Raggie boys. (I think this is the first time I've actually seen Bastian hiss!) I expected Adam and Delilah to have a bit more hostility, since they probably know each other from the great outdoors, but those two mostly do a good job of keeping their distance.
However, Adam and Blue seem to completely HATE each other.
I've still been keeping him seperated at night when I can't supervise, but DH decided to let him out of the bathroom this morning when he left very early for work. I woke up to what sounded like MEGA CAT FIGHT under my bed! After much shouting on my part, Blue finally ran out and they both seem to be uninjured, thank God. I seperated Adam for the rest of the morning, and I just let him out again now to roam around a bit.
The biggest points of contention seem to be my bedroom and the cat tree. I think Adam maybe considers my bedroom to be "his", since he's never seen another cat back there in the weeks he's been locked in there. Blue, of course, disagrees, since my pillow was her bed every night of her life until Adam came along. The cat tree... Well, I just think we need to buy another cat tree or two!
So far, I have not noticed any spraying!!!
*knocks on wood* I have never had a cat that sprayed inside before. Is it something that I would definitely not miss because of the smell, or is it something that could go on for awhile without me knowing?
What do you think my next steps should be? Should I just keep seperating Adam when I can't supervise and hope they work things out, or should I back up a step and make him bedroom kitty again for awhile? I think I followed all the intro prep recommendations, except the vanilla trick - I have to go buy some vanilla!
Thanks for reading - sorry this was such a novel!
Adam, on the other hand.... I decided to introduce him to the family this weekend, mostly at the prodding of my DH who was tired of being climbed all over by a lonely kitty every time DH went to bed or to the bathroom. Since Adam's been here for several weeks, all the kitties were aware of him and we've had plenty of opportunities to share scents, etc. Feliway diffusers had been running for several days. So I let him out of the bedroom and followed him around.
LOTS of hissing and growling!!! Adam has managed to make enemies with just about every cat in the house, even my very laid-back Raggie boys. (I think this is the first time I've actually seen Bastian hiss!) I expected Adam and Delilah to have a bit more hostility, since they probably know each other from the great outdoors, but those two mostly do a good job of keeping their distance.
However, Adam and Blue seem to completely HATE each other.
The biggest points of contention seem to be my bedroom and the cat tree. I think Adam maybe considers my bedroom to be "his", since he's never seen another cat back there in the weeks he's been locked in there. Blue, of course, disagrees, since my pillow was her bed every night of her life until Adam came along. The cat tree... Well, I just think we need to buy another cat tree or two!
So far, I have not noticed any spraying!!!
What do you think my next steps should be? Should I just keep seperating Adam when I can't supervise and hope they work things out, or should I back up a step and make him bedroom kitty again for awhile? I think I followed all the intro prep recommendations, except the vanilla trick - I have to go buy some vanilla!
Thanks for reading - sorry this was such a novel!