Project Saving Gracie" - Intro Day 10 - The gate is coming down tonight!

carolina

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Yep, you heard it right! The gate is coming down tonight!

I did a little test, and I think everybody is as ready as they can be... Food has been transitioned, hisses diminished, boredom taken over Gracie...

So, today momentarily I took the gate off and started to play with Gracie with the Laser light - she got as close as 2 ft from the kitties, who were patiently laying down very curiously watching her - the three of them, in line
Kitty theater!
She continued to play, a few feet away from them, no gate, and there was only one hiss during the whole time.
No claws, no threats to jump, nothing like that - just a hiss (mean though).

The kitties did not move, they stayed put watching her; she then resumed to play with the light.

When the kitties moved, she ran back into the bathroom.

There was a bit of stress as Hope hissed at Bugsy, but he could care less... "are you talking to me?"

So....... I am off to Target to buy some Vanilla to put under everybody's chins and tails, and............. Wish me good luck Guys,I think this is it! The day has finally come! Our girl is graduating after 10 long days! yey!

I will try my best to record some interactions!
 
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carolina

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Okay dokay then.... That was short lived

So.... Here is how it went:
Short version: Mom goes to Target, gets Vanilla extract, puts under everyone's chins, and tries to lure Gracie out of the bathroom with the laser light. No go... didn't want to come out. Mom leaves door open and watches from the living room. Gracie is out to explore. Hiss hiss hiss. Lucky Follows her closely - 'round here Lucky is the owner, a sweet Alpha, but she definitely runs the household.
Hissssss.
Mom almost has a coronary

Gracie goes back into her safe zone (bathroom).
Gate is back up for tonight


Well well.... otto, will keep your wise words always in my mind: BABY STEPS, Carolina, BABY STEPS!


Here is the video of the whole Saga!
 

zoeysmom

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That was great!

I don't know much about cat intros, but that seemed like a good first step. Lucky was just putting Gracie in her place and letting her know he's the boss. I think she got the message!

I love how Gracie just decided "hmmm...I think I can live in the bathroom a little longer" and goes back "home."
 

3catsn1dog

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I have to laugh at your commentary Carolina...Its so cute.

Fingers crossed that all goes well. Sometimes the boss cat just needs to let the newbie know who is in charge...just in case they didnt get the memo the first time.
 

otto

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I, too, giggled at the commentary. Thanks for that video Carolina, it's going great!
 

libby74

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It's funny, but we've always just 'jumped in', so to speak when we introduce a new cat to the household. (the exception was a stray with a broken hip that we kept in our bedroom the first night) It may be different because I don't work outside the home, so I'm pretty much around to keep an eye on things.
I hope Gracie gets to make the big transition soon! (I love that name, BTW)
Good luck!
 

jcat

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Okay, so maybe I've just gotten used to Jamie's extreme aggression with other cats, but it looks to me like Gracie's first outing went really well. Lucky hissed and followed her, but she didn't make any attempt to attack her, and her body language was fairly relaxed.

A couple of more outings, and you'll probably be able to do without the baby gate.
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by zoeysmom

That was great!

I don't know much about cat intros, but that seemed like a good first step. Lucky was just putting Gracie in her place and letting her know he's the boss. I think she got the message!

I love how Gracie just decided "hmmm...I think I can live in the bathroom a little longer" and goes back "home."
OMG... This is my first long intro too... So overwhelming!
Of course with 2 Ragdolls, and one shy shy DLH (Hope)... I never really needed one... The longest intro here had been a couple of hours


Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

I have to laugh at your commentary Carolina...Its so cute.

Fingers crossed that all goes well. Sometimes the boss cat just needs to let the newbie know who is in charge...just in case they didnt get the memo the first time.
Thanks for laughing at me
You guys can not imagine how freaked out I was - I had to delete a couple of cursing comments towards the end
When Lucky started going after her, I thought I was going to faint - literally
I became light headed
OMG, I am SO not cut out to have kids! LOL

Originally Posted by Kailie

Yep, one step at a time!
I'm sure it'll all work out.
yep, will sure to keep that in mind, and keep a paper bag handy too


Originally Posted by otto

I, too, giggled at the commentary. Thanks for that video Carolina, it's going great!
make sure to come giggle at my funeral if I die of a coronary on her next outing tonight


Originally Posted by libby74

It's funny, but we've always just 'jumped in', so to speak when we introduce a new cat to the household. (the exception was a stray with a broken hip that we kept in our bedroom the first night) It may be different because I don't work outside the home, so I'm pretty much around to keep an eye on things.
I hope Gracie gets to make the big transition soon! (I love that name, BTW)
Good luck!
I also work in my home office, which helps, as I can go into the bathroom and give her lots of attention throughout the day... But I am not comfortable yet in letting her out on her own... Even with me here... I am stuck on my chair, and I want to be close in case something happens...

Originally Posted by jcat

Okay, so maybe I've just gotten used to Jamie's extreme aggression with other cats, but it looks to me like Gracie's first outing went really well. Lucky hissed and followed her, but she didn't make any attempt to attack her, and her body language was fairly relaxed.

A couple of more outings, and you'll probably be able to do without the baby gate.
Oh no, that was not Lucky hissing, that was Gracie... Even though she was across the room, you can still hear - the girl has a powerful and scary hiss... Lucky is definitely an Alpha, but she is still a Ragdoll, I have never seen her hissing.... She does slap Bugsy on the face from time to time


I like that Gracie is setting the pace and she went back to her safe zone after a little while - that made things a whole lot easier on me!

I will let you know how things go tonight... I just want them all happy...

With Bugsy's tons of immune problems and stress related possible flares, I need to be extremely careful here and take things extra slow. I will take as long as it takes to make this work.
I have feliway running in every room of the house, and they are all doing better by the day.
At least the fleas are completely gone, they haven't spread out, she has transitioned to their food with no tummy problems, is taking her meds like a champ, and seems to be happy...
Lets hope she will be happy here!
 

Winchester

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Some intros take longer than others, but you're doing a great job! Love the commentary!!
 

nurseangel

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I must have missed something...this is the first I've heard of Gracie! Congratulations on your new addition.
 

mrsgreenjeens

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For a first outing, that didn't seem too bad at all to me. We integrated Darko and Stinkpot into the household at the same time...that was a trial! They were 4 1/2 months old at the time and the resident cats were both seniors. Callie growled for months and months and even attacked the saferoom door on several occasions. I was in tears many times thinking it was never going to work, but it did
. Just keep on with the "baby steps", and especially giving positive reinforcements (treats when all goes well, maybe feed them all in the same room, but not next to each other...maybe have Gracie's bowl way across the room from the others, so they will all associate good things with each other, then slowly move her bowl closer to theirs (an inch or 2 each day)
 

natalie_ca

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I think it went ok. There was some growling and hissing...to be expected. But no one attacked anyone, and Lucky was just following, more like she was curious than anything.
 

Ms. Freya

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Originally Posted by mrsgreenjeens

For a first outing, that didn't seem too bad at all to me.
Me neither. Considering Freya's reaction every time a new cat shows up, I think your guys did very well.
 
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carolina

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So.... Day 2 of exploring the pretty much the same exact thing happened... except that I did not freak out as much (well, I was better prepared I guess, as I had a towel handy in case I had to break out a fight
).
She is back in the bathroom, but for the last 3 or so hours the gate has been down... She is there by choice, very relaxed laying on her bed, and the kitties are going on their lives as normal. It is cool to watch them respecting that as her space - they do not cross the door line - not sure if by respect of if by fear, but they do not seem to be afraid... they just watch...
I will put the gate up when I go to bed just for safety measures, but I feel better now... Tomorrow it will be all day gate down!
 

otto

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I'm so happy for all of you. You will need a new siggy!
 

tavia'smom

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Okay I didn't even know you had a Gracie. Shows I missed something. Welcome to the family Gracie the intros get better soon
 
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carolina

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Originally Posted by otto

I'm so happy for all of you. You will need a new siggy!
LOL, so here I am, thinking it's all good, when all of the sudden I hear all these LOUD hisses coming from the bathroom... Get there Sweet Bugsy is inside the bathroom, about 1/2 feet away from Gracie, almost touching noses and she is hissing her head off
funny thing is, he only ran away when he saw me

Boy likes living in danger I guess
 

otto

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Aww...he just wanted to say hello. Don't worry about the hissing too much. Jennie hisses at everyone (cats I mean) all the time day in and day out. No one pays the slightest attention to it.

If they were engaging in physical fighting, you might have something to worry about, but I see no sign of that there. All will be well, and you are doing beautifully, Carolina.
 
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