New Cat (Pictures) -- Remind Me Of New Cat Syndrome, It's Been A While

See? Domino's the big guy, Butters is the gingercat, and Rosalita is, well, Rosalita.



I've been thinking for a while about adopting just one more. Someone put me in touch with a local animal shelter with the below girl. She was left at the shelter overnight, had some digestive issues, and was adopted out and returned. I knew it was a risk. But she was so beautiful, and I couldn't imagine another house in the area that would try as hard as we would to make this her furever home -- "returning her" was never an option, and I was so sad that she went through that.

So, after thinking long and hard about it, we decided our three would PROBABLY be ok with it if we went through the slow intro. We picked her up Saturday, and she was fine in the shelter, fine in the car, and we had to stop at my mom's (I get it, cat, the house smells of sadness and children's tears, I hate it, too), and she got CRAZY. She was SO terrified we had a hard time getting her back into the carrier. But we did, and she was fine again in the car (although talkative--telling us she would like out, please). We brought her into our house.

I had to set her down for a second (in the carrier), and our cats investigated. Butters didn't seem to care one way or the other, Rosalita hissed, and Domino just looked sad (seriously, those eyes.). But we went upstairs and set her up there (there's a den, bedroom, and bathroom, so plenty of room for her, and other three get the middle and lower levels, lots of room). The first night, she was terrified. She would hiss and growl when we were even near her. We knew better than to try to pet her.

Yesterday morning (first full day), she was still growling and hissing, but she did want to play a bit. From yesterday:




As the day went on, I went about my business at my desk (she wasn't hiding anymore by mid-day, but she would just watch from a perch) and later left her upstairs in the bedroom while my husband watched football. She would play with us and even hop on the bed to go after a feather on a stick. We still didn't try to pet her, but I kept holding out my hand so she could smell it. She would smell it and quickly run away, but she stopped growling and hissing.

Then last night happened. Oh lord. She wanted to play with ALL THE NOISY THINGS. She would bring us the string on a stick, hopping into bed. Then she would hop into bed and try to get our feet. I was SO happy that she was feeling comfortable with us, but we are both ZOMBIES right now. I had to skip my morning workout just to try to get some more sleep.

She's also started "talking" to us a lot. I guess this is the siamese in her? Domino is also talkative, so this will be fun.

Then this morning, I went to take a bath, and found this:


Well. Ok. That's frowned upon, but do what you want to feel comfortable.




I even got the TINIEST chin scratch. I didn't want to push it.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the other cats forgot about her.



SO. Does this seem like an ok progression? I'm so nervous to introduce her to the other cats. I'm thinking I won't until next week. She goes in to get spayed Thursday (the earliest they could get her in). So, why bother introducing them before she goes? Then, she'll need some time alone, I think, after the spay. So, maybe supervised visits in the evening next week while we are home?

She just seems so much more skiddish than the other two (Butters and Rosalita) did. They didn't seem to mind. And Domino seems to think they are his kittens. They got along so well right from the start, and they weren't skiddish with us at all during their quarantine phase. I want to get this right for her, and for us. It kills me to think that they won't get along, because the dynamic we have in our house is so wonderful. I was so nervous to ruin it. But we're in this for the long haul, so whatever you've got, I'll listen.

Facts:

I've got Feliway plugged in upstairs AND down, for all cats involved.

She really hasn't ventured down the steps to where the door is to do any investigating or door smelling yet.

SIDENOTE: (and I should make this another post--yes?)

She's got diarrhea. The shelter told me she has a clean bill of health and she was on special foods and medicine for her stomach issues (but she finished those Friday before we got her), but I've noticed she still has it. I have her on Blue (same as the other cats), but I can switch them all to the Blue Sensitive Stomach if that might work? She's not missing the litterbox or anything of the sort, and it's not smelly--it's just more liquid than I'd like for a stool sample.

It's also impossible to tell if she's drinking enough. She's eating just fine. I say it's impossible, because apparently, she enjoys playing in her water.

I bought some Bene Bac today as well as some more Feliway and pureed pumpkin, as I think this might take a month or longer to really get everyone on board. Any thoughts, or do you think this may be stress-related as well?

Before making introductions I would try some site swapping. Take your three amigos up to new girl's space and her down to their for an hour or so. Let her investigate all of their smells and they can do the same.

Remember this isn't a race. No need to force anything, it will happen, but going too fast can reset everything and you have to start over. My gut tells me to let her get completely comfortable with you and her space before even attempting an introduction.

For her diarrhea you could try a probiotic like FortaFlora (get from amazon it's cheaper than your vet) or you could even try a human grade one which is as good if not better.

By the way, she's a lovely kitty, I understand how you couldn't say no to her.

Sounds like things are progressing well.  I would wait to do any cat to cat intros until after her spay.   Here's a great introduction guide to try out while you all get accustomed to her being in your house:  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats   The important thing to remember is to let her set the pace for what you do.  Don't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do (except get in the carrier on spay day).  Let her come to you and continue doing what you're doing. Something else that I've found works well is to NOT leave dry food out for her.  When you come to visit, be the source of food so that she equates you with something good (food). 

She may need to be dewormed, but have the vet test her for parasites when she goes in for her spay surgery.  You can try adding a bit of plain canned pumpkin to wet food to see if that helps with the diarrhea.  It could also be caused by a rapid change in dry food, especially if she's eating something different than what she was eating at the shelter.  Also, plain yogurt can help firm up loose stools. 

Thanks guys! The site swapping's a good idea (next week, a few days after her spay). I did the rubbing on a towel the last time, but the full on site swapping might be a good idea, too.

I'm also thinking of the dry food thing. I could either feed her in the morning, or feed her at 6pm when I get home. Maybe 6pm. Then she can eat her dry food, and before we go to sleep at night, do the little bit of wet food mixed with pumpkin.

I'll keep everyone posted!