Assimilating a stray

Hi all,

New member here. Hoping you can give me some guidance.

Two weeks ago, I rescued a stray who's been living on my property for 11 years (Little One) from a coyote. It was very close. She has a broken tail & a hernia but I got there before he could get her in his mouth. I brought her inside and she's been living in my guest bathroom ever since (ventured out to spend her first whole day in the guest bedroom today, yay!)

She's very sweet and she trusts me - even gives me her tummy for rubs. But she's lived outdoors for years and I have an indoor cat (Molly) so I'm looking for tips about how to assimilate them. So far, I haven't put them in contact. Little One's been recovering and hasn't been up to undue excitment. Molly knows there's a kitty in the guest room and she's curious. No hissing or howling. She just visits outside the door regularly and sometimes sleeps at the foot of the bed, like she's waiting to be introduced But I don't want to rush it and I don't want either kitty to be freaked. Molly's been my only kitty for the same eleven years Little One's been my favorite stray. So they sort of know each other from inside and outside doors. And I take their scents back and forth.

I know about the carrier thing - put one in a carrier and let the other roam freely. Is that effective, or do some of you have other thoughts? I can sure use any help you can offer.

Thanks,
Michele

Good work Michele!

Keep them separated til the experts here advise you otherwise. You'll learn everything you need to know here. I did.

Good luck. I'll be following your progress.

Thank you for rescuing this kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So...... she's already been to the vet? Did you have her vaccinated, and has she been treated for fleas/worms - any antibiotics she needs? Did the vet say her tail will heal? Has she already been spayed? (They can usually tell by shaving the belly).

Scent swapping is a great way to start! I'd keep that up for an isolation period of several weeks to make sure nothing "blooms" (any kind of illness). Distemper usually requires another vaccine after three weeks - so I'd probably wait at least that long.

When you're comfortable the actual introductions are ready, I'd crack the door a bit, let them see each other - and just guage how it goes. If there's no hissing and just interest, I'd do it by allowing Molly into Little One's room, and have a treat session - whatever is their favorite. Or if they both like to play, maybe a play session. Just see how it goes and trust your senses about it!

But I would definitely make sure Little One doesn't have anything she can transmit to Molly first.

Hi, Gary's Girl & diggerled,

Yes, I had Little One fixed years ago when I realized she wasn't going anywhere. And she has a clean bill of health from the vet - who said both the tail & hernia should heal on their own, but I should keep an eye on the tail and assess movement because if it didn't heal, it should probably be amputed. (the break is at the middle, so half her tail flops but the top half seems to move normally so I have high hopes for self-healing).

Thanks so much for the advice. Sounds like a good plan.

Is the cat vaccinated for everything. We have a calico who came up on the porch three years ago. I kept her in a large cage on the porch. The other two cats would come on the porch and they got to know each other by sniffing through the cage. She had already been fixed so she was a stray from somewhere and she has made a good pet. It took a while because she didn't trust us. We handled her with gloves to begin with until we could trust her.

That's a great question, blueyedgirl. I think she is - I told the vet to make her house-ready so I know she's had bloodwork and such. I'll find out for sure about the vaccinations. I'm not going to rush the meeting of the kitties so there's plenty of time.

God Bless you for saving her! I am sure things will work out. It just takes time and the willingness to be patient.

Thank you krz. She's always been so special to me and when I heard her screaming I didn't even think about it. Just ran outside in my robe and bare feet, yelling my head off. Fortunately, I scared the coyote away just in time.

Originally Posted by orpheygene

That's a great question, blueyedgirl. I think she is - I told the vet to make her house-ready so I know she's had bloodwork and such. I'll find out for sure about the vaccinations. I'm not going to rush the meeting of the kitties so there's plenty of time.

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Since you are going to ask the vet, make sure to ask if she tested negative for Leukemia and FIV... I know you said clean bill of health, but just to be sure... Especially Leukemia.

Originally Posted by orpheygene

Thank you krz. She's always been so special to me and when I heard her screaming I didn't even think about it. Just ran outside in my robe and bare feet, yelling my head off. Fortunately, I scared the coyote away just in time.

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Oh my goodness! Lucky girl you were around!

Coyotes hunting just outside the house cant feel comfortable....

Originally Posted by LDG

Thank you for rescuing this kitty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So...... she's already been to the vet? Did you have her vaccinated, and has she been treated for fleas/worms - any antibiotics she needs? Did the vet say her tail will heal? Has she already been spayed? (They can usually tell by shaving the belly).

Scent swapping is a great way to start! I'd keep that up for an isolation period of several weeks to make sure nothing "blooms" (any kind of illness). Distemper usually requires another vaccine after three weeks - so I'd probably wait at least that long.

When you're comfortable the actual introductions are ready, I'd crack the door a bit, let them see each other - and just guage how it goes. If there's no hissing and just interest, I'd do it by allowing Molly into Little One's room, and have a treat session - whatever is their favorite. Or if they both like to play, maybe a play session. Just see how it goes and trust your senses about it!

But I would definitely make sure Little One doesn't have anything she can transmit to Molly first.

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Yes, she was vaccinated, flea treated, and after the attack was put on iv antiobiotics. I had her fixed years ago when she first started hanging out here. She's good to go and settling in very well.

The last couple of days I've let the two kitties look at each other. Picked Molly up, opened the door and held her while Little One was out and about. Each time, they just stared at each other. No hissing, no growling, no attitude - just looked. So I'm taking that as a good sign. In no rush to bring about a face to face - Little One's life has changed dramatically in the last two weeks. She's got a lot to assimilate and we've all got time, but so far, so good.

Originally Posted by StefanZ

Coyotes hunting just outside the house cant feel comfortable....

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Nope. Don't like it at all. But they come down from the hills where development is encroaching - a lot more now than they used to. Creepy.

Perhaps you knowledgeable peeps can weigh in on this one:

Someone who rescues strays suggested when I feel the time is right - to just open the door to the room where Little One is staying and let her come out, meet Molly in the course of exploration and let them work it out. Any thoughts on this method of assimilation?

Well, if there are any problems, you'll hear it!

Really, there are no "right" ways of doing things. We live in an RV - we've never had the space to isolate any rescues, so everyone pretty much always just got thrown into the mix. Newbies got a few hours in the bedroom alone with us (whether they wanted it or not) - after that, we just watched over everything, really.

You can certainly give it a try - and if there's a problem, separate them again and do slower introductions.

I will say that we have always had more trouble with our female-female introductions. Of our three females, only one never had a problem with new cats. The other two take a looooong time to accept another (especially female) kitty. One takes a full six months to stop hissing/swatting/growling, and a full year to be friendly with the "new" female.

Originally Posted by orpheygene

Thank you krz. She's always been so special to me and when I heard her screaming I didn't even think about it. Just ran outside in my robe and bare feet, yelling my head off. Fortunately, I scared the coyote away just in time.

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That made me smile. I'd be the same way with any of my outdoor kitties. You should see how quick I run to window if I think I hear a dog barking out there!

Today when I opened the door to Little One's room, Molly took charge and just went in! Little One was on the bed. She just watched as Molly completely ignored her and went sniffing around all her stuff, scratching on one of the surfaces, looking out the window. Like she owned the place (which she does). No hissing or growling from either cat. I let it go on for a few minutes, then I got nervous and took Molly out. Good progress, yes? I'm thinking I should encourage this without forcing it. Any insights?

Well, I was going to post about what happened today with the two kitties and see what the thoughts were, but I don't feel like anyone's really interested. Which surprises me, because I thought this was a good place to come to get insights and interaction. Maybe I did something wrong, or didn't post right, or follow etiquette rules I don't know about. But I see other threads with lots of responses and this one gets hardly any. I really can use the help, so I guess I'll look for it elsewhere. Thanks to those of you who've offered your thoughts and experience. It's been much appreciated.

I am so sorry that you feel that way... It isn't intentional, and you haven't done anything wrong. It's just that threads like this get buried fast, after people reply to other threads, some thread get forced to the bottom where they are not likely to be seen. Nothing personal.

I am very interested in what happened today, I hope it was something good!

Sometimes people may not be able to read your post and give help right away. I read your post but I didn't want to give advice as I'm really a newbie at this and don't want to give misguided advice. People are busy and may not be able to reply for a while, but please don't give up just because your thread wasn't responded to within 30 hours. I hope you stick around.

Originally Posted by orpheygene

Good progress, yes? I'm thinking I should encourage this without forcing it. Any insights?

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Right! This is certainly a way to go. Even a good way.


Keep on!