Project Saving Gracie" - Intro Day 14 - The gate is Down, Gracie is in the house!

Now it is for Real! The gate is finally down, Gracie is in the house!
Today marks the 4th day of Gracie coming down to explore the house and I finally feel secure enough to let her out for good...
Day one and two she came out for only about 10 minutes each time, and the reaction was pretty much what you saw on the video (for those who didn't see it, here is the thread http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=223516).
Day three, yesterday, the gate was down for about 3-4hours. She came out a couple of times, explored the house, hissed a few times and went back to the bathroom on her own.
Today the gate was down the whole day. She came out a few times, but this time she hung out in the living room for a while. She did hiss a few times, but also laid down in there with all of us for about 30 minutes just relaxing "watching TV"... She did this twice! All kitties were in the room, everybody relaxed, just laying in there... They were not playing or running around, but didn't flee the room either. She did hiss a few times whenever one of them approached her, but there were no threats, no claws showing, no movement towards them, no back arching, nothing that would indicate a fight...
After a while she just got up, stretched and went back to her bed in the bathroom, where she is now.
I think I am finally where I want to be to let the gate down.
On the health front, she is doing wonderful!
She is gaining weight, I can feel much less of her spine bones now! She seems much much happier now and soooo much sweeter! Sometimes I go in there to give her love and she just meows meows and melts in my hands It is sad to realize that she might never had this kind of love and care before
Even though she came infested, covered with fleas, there are no fleas to be found on her now - she must be feeling much much better withouth those pesters on her too
Anyway, just wanted to update you all! It seems we are on track here... Wish us good luck!

Yes, they are.... But things are not perfect, by any means... There is still a lot of hissing, and a lot of distance kept in between them. Actually, the only interaction they have is hissing. I am fortunate there are no fights, but I took things very slowly...

Yeah... Gracie doesn't come out often either, she spends most of the time in the bathroom... Hope things get better for you guys soon!

It went well overnight, she slept in the bathroom and all respected each other's spaces.
During the day however, there were some homeric hisses
In one instance she got cornered - Lucky in one side, Hope in the other and Bugsy in the other - They formed a triangle around her and laid down - wouldn't move... Boy, she freaked! They were about 3ft away from her each.... OMG she did this thing where she threw a very very looooooong hiss and ran passed Lucky, all the while hissing and growling "just in case", she might have thought
She has been hanging out more but she is extremely stressed around the house, unless she is in the bathroom. I guess with time she will become more and more comfortable...
Bugsy.... poor kiddo.... He is so sweet Tries to make friends allthe time.... Hisssss Hisssss she says
She was sleeping today under my desk, and mind you, she hisses atme when she is around the house , and Bugsy got really really close to her, like 1/2 ft away from her, and just laid in there... looking at here and softly wagging his tail... left and right.... HISSSSSSSSS.... He looked at me with his "what's wrong mommy?" cutest look.... I feel so bad for my sweet boy at times...

I would love to be able to put some treats in front of them.... But this is a no treats house.... Bugsy has IBD, Hope IBS, the only treats they can eat is ZD and they grew tired of it ... The only treat Lucky likes is Pill Pockets but the others can not eat... And gracie... Well... she is a junkie, but I am afraid if I put treats in front of her only the welcome wagon would close in even more

For a few seconds I got to pet Lucky with one hand and Gracie with the other, at the same time... at that moment I whispered to myself... yeah... I think we are going to be alright here
Gracie is doing wonderful! She is doing better than I could expect! Her fur is getting shinny again, she is eating good food, and eating well - 2 wet meals and grazing on dry during the day, using the box faithfully, exploring the whole house, playing with the toys, and hissing less and less.
She goes bananas with the laser light! LOVES it!
She is also turning into quite a sweetheart... She approaches me with her head down, stops right in front of me and gives me this sweet little meow... Know what she means? Mom, I want love
And love she has... The best thing is, if a kitty approaches while I am petting her, she doesn't seem to mind... I can pet both of them. Same thing while she is playing - she could care less.
She is barely spending any time in her safe place now (bathroom) - she is always somewhere in the house - typically under my desk
The comedy moment of the day was watching her trying to figure out the water fountain - she took a bath! She tried from the top, from under th stream, from the sides... didn't quite get the hang of it... didn't give up though!
She is looking so much healthier! I think she probably gained a pound already! I can barely feel her spine anymore Poor thing was skin, bones and fleas when she got here! she is turning into a beautiful lady with no fleas fluffly shiny fur and some meat into her!
Doesn't like Pill pockets anymore, but it is ok, because Purina Whisker Lickin's works better for pilling anyways - they love it and it is so easy to mold around the pill... it works great!
Anyways, just wanted to update that I think we will get there... slowly but surely... She is not 100% yet, but I think she will be happy and loved here. I really do think now that we (me and the kitties) are doing the best thing for this little lovely old lady
Yeah.... She is ours!
Oh, and the kitties are doing great - nobody is stressed, and everybody is respecting her... Everybody wants to make friends, but are following her cues. I hope they keep trying and one they she gets to trust them... they are wonderful little kitties