More about transitioning my new cat-- long, sorry.

Im not sure exactly which forum I should be posting this in, I hope this one is ok. I just need more feedback on what Im doing. I feel really bad that Jayce is by himself all day. I gave him the prime room in the house-- he has a large room, Im estimating 12x14 and then an 8x10 bathroom and a large walk in storage closet that has his litter pan. He has a choice of 2 nice chairs, a big rug, a cat tree, an open cat carrier etc. Hes comfy, and always has food and water, but I feel guilty that he is alone all day So Im trying, hoping anyway, that I can somehow speed this process up a little bit.

All 3 cats did really great with all cats at the shelter they were in, so I think thats a step in the right direction. Theyre used to being around new ones frequently too. Jayce is a wimp. Just really really laid back and I think will be the one most scared by the other 2. The hissing under the door stopped Sunday night sometime. Doesnt seem to happen now, they just seem curious about whats on the other side. Im also swapping the cats to make them smell eachother around the house. At night I havent let Jayce roam on his own yet... thats because I feel bad for locking Morgan and Abby up too.

How do you do this without compromising 1, time with the seperate cats and 2, without pinning any of them up for too long? I only have so many hours a day and having them seperate keeps me from the others and I feel bad.

So tonight I put Jayce in his carrier for a few minutes and brought him out where Morgan and Abby could see him. They were very timid about approaching his cage. One hiss from Jayce when Abby got too close. At that point I brought him back in his room and let him out.. total of about 2 or 3 minutes in his cage. I didnt want to stress him, but I thought it might help them face to face by still having a steel see through door between them. Do you think this is an ok approach? Maybe a few minutes here and there before just letting them all out and together?

Is it really for the best that I segregate them for a few weeks? I cant imagine poor Jayce being alone so long
Someone hold my hand through this

I feel for you! I have 2 quarantine areas plus the main house right now and struggle with that also. For allocating time between them, I actually set the alarm in the middle of the night and my husband or I will go from our bedroom (where most hang out) into the quarantine bedroom. OK, they don't get a lot of us when we are sleeping, but they get at least 4 hours of snuggle time each night. For the other room, it is the back porch off the kitchen with 2 windows to that room. When we don't get the time to sit and play with them (the new foster kittens), we talk to them thru the windows. My husband is a good man - he will go in their and sleep with them at night.

If you aren't concerned about a health quarantine, you might try getting multiple baby gates to block the door - I just stack them one on top of each other. They can get see each other and get used to each other a little easier (and perhaps quicker). I hate introductions in a carrier - the one in the carrier is usually stressed by being confined and the cats outside will have the upper hand.

Another thought for you - I figure we go off to work for hours each day, and go on vacations occassionally. The cats in the main house adjust to our absenses, and have each other for comfort. It takes away a little of the guilt when we spend time with the others that are locked away.

I hope this helps in some small way!

Hi Amy Yes it does help! I just wanna make sure that others who do this have been in the same shoes. I will definitely try the double baby gate thing. Im pretty sure I have 2 that will fit in the door. It would be better for them Im sure. I felt bad when Jayce got uncomfortable with Abby getting too close so I took him away. I dont want him to feel threatened while stuck in there.

The one good thing about this quarantine thing is that Im getting used to his personality better this way I think. The 1 on 1 thing works well. He will snuggle up as close to my face as he can and get rubbed like crazy and purring and then freak out and try to bite! So its probably good that we're getting used to eachother first before bringing more cats in to the picture.

I need to make myself be patient with this.

Patience is so hard to keep sometimes! LOL You want so much to be able to open the door and have everyone be friends!! I have great luck with kittens in my house but adults take a lot more patience.

I'm assuming you have been around here long enough to know of the Feliway plug ins and vanilla extract during introductions? I didn't repeat all that cause I figured you heard it all before.

Here's holding your hand until you get thru this!

Thanks Amy, youre always such a big help in stuff like this I look to all you with a million cats and tons of experience to help and you guys always do

Yeah I did know about the Feliway stuff and Vanilla extract. We've been doing that a lot in the last few days. My cats have little brown spots on them from where theyve been dabbed I havent done Feliway yet. I will try and buy one this week. They seem pricey... almost $40 for one and then extra for refills!

Well we're doing the baby gate thing So far so good. A little bit more hissing again, but not much. None of them are getting very close to the gate on their sides I figure a few days of that will speed the process up a little and possibly make it better? They seemed to like seeing eachother. Otherwise they were always divebombing eachothers paws when they would sneak under the door Jayce is lounging on my lap right now, so he must be doing ok.

Do you think I should leave the normal door closed during the night and day when Im not around? At least for a few more days? The gates leave about a 3 ft gap at the top of the door where Wonder Cat could sneak through I suppose. So I guess I should only have the gates up under supervision..?

Man, who knew this could be so complicated Again, thanks for your responses and even reading through my long winded stuff

I bought a third gate to put at the top of the door. I have seen the cats climb up over 2. Tough dilemna about closing the door. If you aren't really seeing signs of aggression, most likely the cats will stay on their sides of the gates. On the other hand, they might be waiting for you to leave. If you aren't a deep sleeper, suggest you leave the door open at night but close it during the day while you are completely away. The more open time the better for everyone.

I read that Hissy made a screened door for her introduction room. Someday I'll get hubby to help me make one of those for me!

We're having more baby gate time tonight. Seems to be going well. Minor hissing from Morgan when Jayce charged the gate trying to play with him. Both Morgan and Abby seem hesitant to get too close, while Jayce is very comfortable now. Abby wouldnt even eat good wet food very well with him on the other side eating his. She hissed once when she was trying to eat. Otherwise she stays pretty far away.

Im thinking a few more days of this, about 2 or 3 hours a night and maybe by the end of the weekend we might try letting them together in a room. We'll see how this goes. Thanks for the tip Somehow I feel better like maybe this is speeding things up, or at least the cat(s) in the computer room arent totally secluded, and I can feel more involved with my house too when Im in this room.