Horatio - 1 month update

After bugging everybody on this forum several times a day for 2 straight weeks, I thought I'd give you guys a little break from our relatively minor cat issues:-) But today is a landmark, so it deserves an update. It's been a month now since I brought Horatio in and I'm happy to report that he is still very happy to be here. Over the last two weeks, he's been slowly making the adjustment from being in the basement full time to moving upstairs. When my husband and I are here, he's pretty much upstairs all the time. He started eating out of Katie and Bianca's food dish and drinking water from their glasses (yes, the girls gave up drinking water from a bowl a few years back, so they have highball glasses of water around the house!) and stays close to one or two of us constantly. He has acquired the names "love bug" and "foot glue" since his favorite thing to do is to take naps on someone's foot. He does not seem to want to go outside, at least not fervently. No crying at the front door or scratching at windows. Occasionally he will look outside and meow, but not sadly...
So, that's all the good news. The girls, Katie and Bianca, on the other hand, have not made much progress. Bianca, the alpha sister, generally ignores him. Katie still hisses at him every time he's within 3 feet of her. He's very submissive to them, he backs up immediately and sits down to tell them he means no harm, but occasionally they have chased him. One time Bianca took a couple of swats at him resulting at a couple of good chunks of his fur flying in the air. When this happens he retreats to the basement and will give them a while to calm down and reemerges shortly. I imagine if they do that to him while we are at work, he might stay down there the whole time. I have tried utilizing play time as an icebreaker, but Horatio is afraid of most toys, oddly. I guess I need to find Da Bird that you guys speak so highly of.
I have looked at some behavior forums for advice also, but at this point I am not worried about hurrying the socialization. They don't seem to hurt him, just a cautionary, "We've had enough, go away for a little." I guess the question is is that the right approach? Just wait them out and see if they will warm up to him over time? How long should we expect? Months? Any suggestions on toys & getting Horatio accustomed to playing would also be appreciated.
Thanks for all the advice, I think our transition has been so smooth because of all the good tips you have shared with us!

Can you see the grin on my face all the way to your house?!?!?!?

There are people on this site (myself included) that swear those big fluffy red cats make the best love bugs around. It is so good to hear that Horatio has become your foot warmer!!

Petsmart carries Da Bird if you are looking for one. Don't know about the store in your town, but the one in my town has them (about a 45 minute drive for you).

Toys may scare him for a while and I wouldn't push them on him. My Lucky took a long time to play with toys, and he now plays with mostly catnip filled toys, and mostly when he doesn't think I'm watching him.

If you aren't seeing serious conflicts between the girls and Horatio, then I would just give them time. They may never be close friends, but they will find their territories and co-exist in peace.

And you didn't bother us at all. We all love to see success stories and are always glad to help!!

He looks soooooooooo comfy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a great update!

Our Billy is the same way - very submissive. He backs up and sits down too. I think it's great there's so little open aggression. Sometime - I don't know when - you'll catch one of the girls giving him a lick on the head and you'll wonder where the time went.

Awww, I was just wondering earlier how Horatio was doing!! Thanks for the update and it's a WONDERFUL update!!! Things are going fantastic!!!

I think the girls just need time. It doesn't sound like there are issues at all! I mean, you're not dealing with depressed kitties or litter box issues or any mean aggression. I really think things are going fantastic!!!! And what a lucky (and so handsome) boy.

Keep on updating!!

SUCH a great update! You might want to try the laser, my kitties LOVE it!

I had been wondering how Horatio was doing! I missed hearing about him. But I am so happy for his progress! You are doing a great job with him and with your girls.

A little hissing and chasing is normal and I agree with Laurie, one day you may come home and find them curled up together.

A feral that I took in a few years ago had no idea what to do with a cat toy. But you should see her now with Da Bird. She used to sit and just watch the others but now when I get it out to play, she is the first one ready!


Horatio is so beautiful and I am so happy for you that everything is working out!

I wish I had the camera handy last night during din-din time. I was feeding Katie and Bianca on the kitchen counter, when Horatio jumped up to the cat feeding station next to it to see what was going on. For the first time, all three cats ate together, from three separate dishes, but they were all lined in a row:-) Occasionally Bianca would look over her shoulder to Horatio with the "I can't believe this is happening" look on her face, but did not chase him away, which I am hoping is a good sign. In the last week, Horatio started becoming more forward with them. If he's sleeping in the living room and one of the girls is walking through the dining room, he runs at them. This terrified my husband at first, who thinks he's attacking them, but I haven't observed Horatio hissing or raising his paw at the girls. He seems to run to them like "Hey, hey, nice to see you, whatcha doin'" but of course, they are none too pleased with it. Usually wherever the other sister is, she runs to the other's help. They hiss and yell at him, which usually ends with him backing away. I have seen him do this several times in a row in the same day. He either doesn't learn, or is dead set at being friends with them whether they like it or not.
He is soo loving, though, it's amazing. I knew males were more loving than females, but Horatio is above and beyond what I have seen in other male cats. He wants love and attention all the time from humans and other cats!
I still haven't made it out to Pet Smart for Da Bird (our Petco doesn't have it), but that's on my list of things to do. He seems to be getting more playful by the day.
The only times he's skittish at all anymore are when guests come to the house. He retreats to the basement and does not come back out until the stranger's voice is gone. I do hope that he will warm up to other humans someday, too.

Our older feral rescue Billy is exactly this way. Lazlo has tried to chase him down for over a year now (not so actively recently) and Billy just won't give up - he always tries to approach Lazlo - and the minute Lazlo moves, Billy backs up hunched down in a VERY submissive position.

We know Billy was a VERY cat-friendly cat.

I think this is your Horatio - he just wants to be friends - and I don't think he'll give up until they give in! Billy's got 5 other cats in this house grooming him now. We have even seen Lazlo give him a lick on the head once or twice - I wouldn't exactly call it "grooming" Billy - but it's a definite sign that he's beginning to cave on his "I want this guy outta here" position.

It sounds as if things are going great!

Don't worry too much about his shyness. One of my cats used to be very shy around strangers (to be honest, he didn't really like us much in the beginning either). Three years later, he's very different. He's still a little skittish when someone first comes into the house, but he eventually emerges to check things out.