Quaratining Integrating stray with three other cats???

How do you get the photo collages at the bottom of posts? I want to put my babies on there so you can see them and the new addition Oreo!

They are called signatures and they are oh so fun to have. I posted the link regarding Signatures and the rules. You have to get a photobucket account and post pictures there first and then they can be copied and resized according to the kind of siggy you want.

You can also post pictures on the Fur Pictures Forum of your kitties. Would love to see some pictures. We love


http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=47

Well today is the first day of letting Oreo out of his room to have the run of the house..and boy was he ready..I woke up at 5:30 am and heard him meowing his head off in his room. I went in there for awhile to soothe him and went back to bed. I woke up again and fed him and then opened the door discreetly as not to make a big deal of it. He went right out and started exploring..meowing loudly which my cats are not used to...didn't bother Frank, but my girl Rams and my baby 3 yr old Tigger were unnerved by it and Tigger avoided and hissed at him. Oreo's overwhelmed but I know that passes. What concerns me is that he's a rescued tomcat and all he's known is the freedom of outside and I know all the bad things about it...but when I fed him for months and months, outside of the injuries from fighting, I got the vibe from him that he enjoyed it...he would roll in the dirt in my backyard, eat the food, love on me some, and when he was ready..he'd leave and go off about the neighborhood.
He's been doing a lot of looking out the bedroom window...I think longingly...and letting him into the whole house today seemed to make it worse. He goes to the long thin side window by the front door and the sliding door to the back yard and stares out of them, and I KNOW he recognizes what he sees...and I feel bad...

He sort of purr meows VERY loudly all the time whenever he moves, or gets up, or goes to the bathroom, anything.... even though Rams is uptight and hisses at everybody, I love Tiggers playful rambunctious cute ways and he's SO intimidated by Oreos massive size and the noise he makes...

I feel uneasy about this...I know I just let him out today but I wonder if Oreo will ever be truly HAPPY here or will he just feel defeated like a zoo animal and lay around and accept his fate...I don't want to feel like I'm keeping him against his will even though I know the dangers even in an out of the way very quiet neighborhood. I worry about disrupting the harmony of the house and the dynamic never being the same again and Tigger never being the cute playful Tigger that steals my heart everyday. Of course I hope everything will settle down and even if Oreo doesn't actively play with or join in with the other cats, that he's happy in this house which he's having a hard time getting comfortable with and that my other cats maintain their personalities and quality of life........sigh......\t

He'll be fine. All cats look out windows, they do it because they like to look out windows.

Many rescued strays never want to go outside again, ever. So don't borrow trouble!

Do you have feliway plug ins going?

His loud guttural meowing is the main problem...he is doing that SO much...it puts off and scares the other cats so they are anxious and afraid of him since he is so big and loud...he's such a gentle cat though..but that noise from him is making it impossible for the other cats to befriend him it especially gets bad at dusk...when his internal timer goes off that it's time to prowl....he goes ALL OVER the house meowing and bellowing and it's really bad...my other cats just try to stay out of the way...I feel bad for them and for him...does this meowing and low loud meowing stop?? Will he stop going crazy when night falls?? I don't know what feliway plug ins are ...what are they and where would I get them? Thanks.

It's only been a couple of weeks, and it takes time for the hormones to leave him.

Even if he keeps it up once he's hormone free, the intensity of it may fade, plus the other cats will get used to it.

My Jennie girl has terrible street language, hissing, growling and swearing as if she's going in for a kill. The other cats were quite shocked at first, but they've gotten used to it now, and realize it's nothing but air. In fact Tolly will tease her purely for the sake of making her swear.

Here is a link explaining feliway plug in diffusers. I use this link because it gives good info but you will find them much cheaper at amazon.com

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=8906

The feliway plug ins will help everyone adjust, not just Oreo.

There's always Rescue Remedy, too.

Originally Posted by otto

It's only been a couple of weeks, and it takes time for the hormones to leave him.

Even if he keeps it up once he's hormone free, the intensity of it may fade, plus the other cats will get used to it.

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Yes, right. The bellows "meows" of toms, and especially grown up toms, is much stronger than when they are neutered. It usually fades away quite a bit after awhile. How fast is individually.

Good luck!

He was just neutered on May 16th, right? Just under two weeks ago, and he is was a full grown tomcat. So it will take at least a full month before the hormones are diminished and a bit longer for any lingering habitual tomcat tendencies. Do not despair about this. Oreo WILL adjust but this is just too soon for everything to just be perfect. Make sure you keep him in his room, at night. And remember, his urine will still have that strong tomcat smell and might be intimidating to your other cats as well, as far as using the same litterbox at the moment. I would just allow him the freedom of the house for a few hours during the day when you are home. His low gutteral moans could be bothering your other cats too. It is true that some outside strays just have a hard time adjusting to indoor life, yes. But, MOST of them do adjust and are happy to live out their lives in the comfort of a warm/loving home such as yours. It will be a few more weeks and I would keep Oreo in his room more often than not for the next two weeks with short outings supervised. That will keep the peace and Oreo can count on a regular daily schedule which will help him feel safe too. All will be just fine

Yes he was just neutered two weeks and two days ago. He is doing better and last night even laid on a couch and couple of chairs downstairs which is the part of the house he is afraid of due to t.v. even though I have it on every day and I know he heard it during quarantine before neuter and in his room after neuter, but actually seeing the screen freaks him out, but he's gradually getting better

He loves to play now NEVER would play before when I was on back porch with him when he would visit the last few months. I LOVE playing with toys with him...but he loves shoestrings the most lol... it's a joy to see him transform into an ordinary fun loving cat in little spurts here and there. I know it will take some time for him to fully settle down and I feel bad for him with the urges and instincts he has, but am also so encouraged by the purring, playing, sleeping, and things that he never got a chance to do out on the streets. My other 3 kitties of course have been used to him meowing outside and are getting more used to his noise in the house although it did unnerve them at first, but they are a resilient bunch

Oreos pee is not very strong at all now. My other cats were used to his scent from him spraying everything out back for the last few months, but he squirted a little on a couch corner the other day and there was hardly any odor at all. It's just the time that it will take to get used to this life and for the urges to roam and the bellowing to subside and then all will settle down with all my kitties. I hope they can be friends and not just tolerate each other, but really all Rams and Tigger do is semi tolerate and mostly aggravate (Tigger aggravates Rams, but she(Rams) hisses at all of us) so oh well

Now that Oreo's gettin more comfortable/bolder, today he noticed the sliding porch door where I spent so many nights opening and feeding he and Midnight...he saw the backyard and his house I had made for him and I think that hit him pretty good. He sat there meowing looking out. I felt so bad. I know he wants to be out, but I can't let that happen. My other cats don't understand why I'm not letting them out as often but it's because I can't do it in front of Oreo..I try to do it when he is napping... I'll close the door to that room and then let my others out for awhile, but it's not enough for them, so now they are meowing and complaining too...geesh

Well hope my signature shows up so you can see my gang of 4

P.s. I think things are progressing ok so I'm gonna hold off on the feliway for now.

Originally Posted by EY5150

He loves to play now

NEVER would play before when I was on back porch with him when he would visit the last few months. I LOVE playing with toys with him...but he loves shoestrings the most lol... it's a joy to see him transform into an ordinary fun loving cat in little spurts here and there. I know it will take some time for him to fully settle down and I feel bad for him with the urges and instincts he has, but am also so encouraged by the purring, playing, sleeping, and things that he never got a chance to do out on the streets.

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As you surely know, this is typical for semiferales caming inside and beginning to adjust. The fostering beginning to work.
BUT it is also typical for studs and toms who at last got spayed.
The tension of being a macho male, forced to always be ready and on their watch do leaves them, and for the first time they can again take it easy, afford to be almost like kittens, to play again...

Whichever explanation, you and Orea are apparently on good way.


Good luck!

Clean up that couch corner with a good strong enzymatic cleaner right away, or you may have trouble with repeat spraying on that spot, not just from Oreo but the other three too.

Your signature is wonderful, what a gorgeous bunch of cats!

The feliway will help him adjust to staying inside. It won't hurt the other cats to be inside either. Safer for them.

WOW!!!! Love you siggy and all of your cats are gorgeous. I love OREO, what a cute face he has. Everything is going quite well it seems . I am going to agree with Otto too, you MUST clean that couch with an good product, enzyme urine cleaner that will kill the smell and bacteria. Otherwise, there will be more marking in that same spot. It is such a rewarding feeling to see these cats come around and make progress day by day. This is going very well IMO .

Things are beginning to go wrong. Oreos timidness and apprehension started giving way to being comfortable which made me happy, but now that he is more comfortable he's being more agressive, and the Tom is coming out in him. He follows me everywhere meowing and if I start to give any of my other cats attention, he starts meowing loudly and walks fast towards us, making them hiss and go away...I can't do any of the things I normally do with my other cats because he bullies in even when Ive just given him treats if I go to pour one my other cats some treats he meows loud and bullies in to eat them making my kitties go away :/:/ It ticks me off. When they do anything more than walk, if they trot or run up the stairs, he makes his noise and goes after them, making them hiss and scared. No one is comfortable in the house now.....we are all on eggshells as to how he's going act. Ever since I let him out if his room into the house, he hates being put in there at all....he still has low guttural meowing and his neutering was on May 16th. Just now I walked him to his room and went to pour him some treats and he went after my leg..just with his paws not biting, but it startled me. He has had to live a street life and I don't know how social he can be or if this will work with my other cats...they are starting to behave differently and more aggressive with each other and I am very upset at how it is changing them...I never wanted anything to change my babies....I loved how we were and everything is different now....
.
I just don't know what to do.....I can't have things like this and the life we had changed for the worse like this....can every Tomcat be domesticated with lifelong housecats?????

Originally Posted by EY5150

Oreos timidness and apprehension started giving way to being comfortable which made me happy, but now that he is more comfortable he's being more agressive,....and he went after my leg..just with his paws not biting, but it startled me.

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What did he do, did he clawed you, or did he smacked you with soft paw, like they do when "teaching" their friends, or even playing?

Some of what you describe was probably waited. Ie when they begin to feel comfortable, they also want to step up the ladder some.

But he seems to overdo it... Not contend to be an equal among equals, but wants to be the master cat...
A problem very common with dogs, but luckily not so pronounced with cats.

How is it, do you use Feliway diffuser? This time, it is not he who shall have this Feliway in first hand, but your residents....

Second, I think you must begin to work with his unwished dominancy. Easiest by establishing YOUR being the alpha in the house.
You can look at some dog site or dog book for ideas, because - this problem isnt very common with cats... although it does happen now and then

We ourselves curbed our friendly studs and residents, simply by forbidding them to walk on the kitchen table. If a NO wasnt not enough, we hissing vigorously and even pushing them down with the arm... Our boys were always friendly and usually well behaving, so this was more than enough.
He will probly need more...

But I think that is the way. You establish firmly your Alpha position. When it is done, you can easily be the police, him accepting this.

During this time, the Feliway diffuser. In first hand, where your residents are, but not wrong he also has some...

Such are my thoughts as now.


(Lesson for me as advisor? If they toms arent verry friendly and cat sociale, dont let them out and meet residents before at least 2 weeks after neutering. If they are dominant - no one day less than 4 weeks, prob longer)

Good luck!


ps. Another hypothesis may be, he living in essence a solitary cat, being a tom, isnt good at the social connections with cats. He cant the rules of normal behaviour. This is entirely possible. But I think my recipe will work anyway - you being his educator. A mom usually is in the cat world.

Thank you for the advice. I will try. I will get some feliway. It seems to come from his wanting my attention and being starved for love more than dominance. He has not raised a paw to any of my kitties....he's even passive when they swat him in the head He has been without love his whole life and craves it. The humane society person I talk to says if he grabbed my leg it means he knew I was going to close the door and leave and he didnt want me to go and he was stimulated so he grabbed my ankle. He did it without claws

I do need to flex my dominance a little and be firm to reinforce good behaviors and curb bad ones....I think once Oreo has gotten enough attention/love from me he will start to relax and loosen his grip on me a little He loves to play and hopefully his loud short bursts of "purr meow"..... don't know how else to describe it.....will subside because it startles me and my other babies sometimes

I just need to not overreact to things and know this is the progression and be calm and have patience.....thank you all SO much for your help and guidance.

Re: You have received a Gift from otto
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto
The User otto has just sent you a Gift of medalofhonor.

Reason: For rescuing Oreo


Thank you SO much Otto. It is very rewarding. I think my cats deserve the medal more than I. Oreo especially for surviving out there for so long.

Oh dear, he is definitely taking charge of the household and it must be very upsetting to the other cats and you as well. It definitely is not fair to your other cats. It is hard to say whether Oreo will be able to adjust to your home and sharing you with other cats. We had a black/white tomcat at a horse barn where I worked and I got him neutered/shots. My girlfriend loved him and named him Charley. Well, she took Charley home (she has two other cats) and kept him in a room for a whole month with little interaction with the other cats until after that time. Charley was very demanding of my friend's time, and did the same thing Oreo is doing, chasing the other cats away from her. She tried for a couple of months but things just went from bad to worse and her own two cats were not the same anymore. So, she brought him back to the barn and there was another older lady who had NO other cats and decided to try Charley. That was two years ago, and he couldn't be happier with his new mommy all to himself. Some cats just need to be the only cat. Not saying Oreo is this way, but it is possible. It might just take more time, but that is only if you are willing and it takes alot of patience on your part. Sometimes the adjustment could take many months before things calm down and order is set in the home. Oreo has not had the greatest life before you and probably is in heaven and just wants you all to himself. In time he could learn to relax and accept the other cats. For right now, if you are petting one of your other cats and he starts his bulleying behavior, pick him up and put him in his room until you are done giving your resident cats their attention. It is extra work, but when we bring in another adult cat into our home with an already established "clowder", there is bound to be some problems/issues to overcome. Usually in time things do work themselves out and a peaceful order just comes about naturally. Much luck and I am sorry you are going through this as I can tell you really like Oreo

Oreo and Frank relaxing and "Chillin out"

Well, that's look pretty darn good to me and you say he does take being batted by your resident cats too. I really have a good feeling about this situation, he just NEEDS more time. He is still adjusting and figuring out the rules/regulations in the home and just needs you to tell him. He really does love you lots . I am praying that this works itself out