"Project Saving Gracie" - Intro Day 5

Originally Posted by otto

It's been two days! We need an update! (please

)

Click to expand...

Sorry my dear!
She is doing good, but I am seeing that her time in there is about to expire... She needs to come out... She is spending too long laying down on bed, not walking around, and I am afraid of her getting depressed...
She is hissing less and less, but is not, IMO ready to come out yet... So I am trying to figure out the right balance of when it is better to bring her out against the harm of leaving her in there.
On the other hand, I am not sure if she will ever be calmer/better than this...
Ai ai ai...

Yayy she looks soo calm, she knows she is in good hands!! I'm so excited both for you and for her

What a great update! It almost makes me want to become a cat groomer to be able to make such a difference in someone's life!

I was afraid of her being getting depressed by being stuck in the bathroom for so long, but today she woke up happy and chatty chatty again - guess she just had a bad day yesterday...
My goal is to let her out at least when she is 100% transitioned on the food, as I measure free feed Z/D for the kitties here in the house. She came in eating Meow Mix
To transition her, I add one tablespoon of Z/D into her food a day, and one less of MM, she is almost there - poop is excellent, she is taking it like a champ! Can you believe she eats a CUP a DAY?! PLUS 2 meals of wet food? The girl is an eating machine!
Today I served her the first Z/D wet meal - I was afraid she wouldn't eat.... well.... she licked her plate clean!
I will add some space for her today, moving the baby gate out to the corridor a bit, so she can see out in the house... just need to figure out what to do with the litter boxes so the kitties are not afraid of using it - maybe will have to move it to the living room temporarily. Will see...
I really really don't want to mess this up... For her, and for the kitties... I just want for all to be happy
Please keep vibes coming in...
I am so stressed out with this... I hope I am doing the best thing for her... and for my babies... They are all doing good, and no longer stressed out with her presence... on the other hand, she still hisses a lot whenever she sees them on the other side of the baby gate. She doesn't approach them, but they do get very close to the gate, and just watch her like a little kitty movie... It is very cute
Any advice on when to let her out would be much, much appreciated... I have never dealt with a difficult introduction before... With 2 very mellow Ragdolls, and one sweet as honey DLH, I did not go through this...
Thanks!

Don't worry too much about the hissing. Some cats just like to swear a lot, especially kitties who have had to fend for themselves outside.

Jennie hisses and swears all the time, the other cats pay not the slightest bit of attention.

I'd go ahead and start supervised introductions.

You are such a good meowmy, Carolina!! I do hope everything goes well. Your wonderful deed deserves to be rewarded with happy, purry kitties!! I'm glad Gracie is eating ssoooo much--poor thing. You and your babies are treasures in this world.

Originally Posted by Carolina

They are all doing good, and no longer stressed out with her presence... on the other hand, she still hisses a lot whenever she sees them on the other side of the baby gate.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry too much about the hissing (although only a few weeks ago the good folks here were saying the same to me. ). I've learned since then that Freya is a hissy-cat and that there are different types of hiss. There's "hiss" as part of the conversation and then actual angry hiss and the two sound very different. Keep an eye on the rest of her body language and it might help you figure out what type of hiss you're getting. For Freya, flicking ears and a crouch is just a hiss, but an angry hiss has fullblown flattened ears, puffed fur, flying spittle and a swat.

Sybil (and Cotton before her) just ignore the hiss, but they'll react to angry hiss. If your babies aren't reacting to her whne she does it, I think that's a pretty good sign.

Originally Posted by Ms. Freya

I wouldn't worry too much about the hissing (although only a few weeks ago the good folks here were saying the same to me.

). I've learned since then that Freya is a hissy-cat and that there are different types of hiss. There's "hiss" as part of the conversation and then actual angry hiss and the two sound very different. Keep an eye on the rest of her body language and it might help you figure out what type of hiss you're getting. For Freya, flicking ears and a crouch is just a hiss, but an angry hiss has fullblown flattened ears, puffed fur, flying spittle and a swat.

Sybil (and Cotton before her) just ignore the hiss, but they'll react to angry hiss. If your babies aren't reacting to her whne she does it, I think that's a pretty good sign.

Click to expand...

Definitely angry hiss here! Not a chatty part of the conversation
Alright, this is going to take a while! I brought the baby gate out to the corridor, and she RAN out the door, thinking she was going out in the house... poor thing... just to find out not quite yet
she has now a view of the corridor, a bit of the living room, and a lot more contact with the kitties.
It's been a hiss fest! The kitties are freaked out! There is no way she is coming out just yet! It was actually a very good move to bring the baby gate out a bit... Unfortunately it's as far as it will go, as it is resting on my bedroom door... I moved the litter boxes in the living room, and the kitties are a acclimated to it already.
Sounds like Gracie needs some more time on the other side of the gate - she is being very, very threatening to the kitties - there is not a minute that goes by without a hiss.
Ohhhhhhh boy

Good move Carolina. baby steps baby steps......

Can you put the other three in your bedroom for an hour or two for the next few days, and let her explore the living room while they're in there? That would spread her scent and allow her to really get used to theirs without direct encounters. Then you could put her in the bedroom, again for an hour or so to explore, while the others are in the living room.

Originally Posted by jcat

Can you put the other three in your bedroom for an hour or two for the next few days, and let her explore the living room while they're in there? That would spread her scent and allow her to really get used to theirs without direct encounters. Then you could put her in the bedroom, again for an hour or so to explore, while the others are in the living room.

Click to expand...

That is definitely a good idea, one that I will put some thought into... except that my fear is not being capable of bringing her back into the bathroom again... there is just no way to pick her up, the only time I tried she got extremely stressed, and even peed on me. She can not be carried... I will see how these next two days go with the extended baby gate, and will consider this option before letting her out...

Thank You for caring about her so much. She is a pretty cat.