Cat Introduction Woes

micknsnicks2mom · Oct 27, 2014

awww.........the little sweetheart. do you think tempest fully understands that she now has a real home? i guess it may take them time (years?) to truly come to know for certain that they have a permanent home now.

now i'm wondering how jasper will react, what he'll be thinking when i take him for his annual physical and shots next june.

losna · Oct 27, 2014

@mickNsnicks2mom I don't know. I think it will be a long time before they are both completely comfortable, they both seem to have real abandonment issues. Sinbad still hides from new people - he loves people, he's just afraid they're going to take him away. Once he's certain they aren't catnappers, he comes out to play and say hello.

As to Tempest though, she definitely seems to have made real progress this weekend, but I won't call her fully understanding it's her home until she's comfortable exploring the entire house. Right now she's only lounging on the landing and going about halfway down the stairs. She does peek out through the railing though so maybe it won't be long before she makes a break for it.

The tricky part remains Sinbad. Every time she does gather her courage and move further down, he tries to snuggle her which sends her racing back into her room. We just cannot get him to understand that he's scary. He hasn't realized yet that he's not a tiny kitten anymore. You can see that in his movements too, he thinks he's much smaller than he is so he isn't very graceful.

smokem · Oct 28, 2014

It is a privilege to try and help them.I would let them out and devil take the hindmost..

but that is just me..you seem to have infinite patience..

micknsnicks2mom · Oct 29, 2014

@Losna -- i'm sure that with time, and the wonderful love and care you and your dh have for sinbad, he'll become confident and totally comfortable in your home.

it does sound like tempest has made definite progress!

smokem · Nov 1, 2014

Do you have a pic of Sinbad??

losna · Nov 2, 2014

Halloween was a trial, but it somehow seems to have improved their relationship a little! The constant ringing of the doorbell, people coming and going, and shrieking children terrified both Tempest and Sinbad. Sinbad ran to hide under the bed and was just curled up shaking, and Tempest vanished under the overstuffed chair that's in her room. I wanted to turn off the porch light so no more kids would come because they were so terrified they wouldn't even come out for treats!

But then, about an hour into the trick or treating, Sinbad seemed to realize that he wasn't the only scared one. It was amazing to watch. He was literally shaking with fear, but he slowly crept out from under the bed. Every noise caused him to jump and start to instinctively flee, but he would stop himself and take trembling step after trembling step. He made his way out of the bedroom, up the stairs, and sat in front of Tempest's room. It was so touching, seeing him sitting there, literally trembling and twitching every time the doorbell rang or there was a loud noise, but determined to protect Tempest. He stayed there the entire evening, a terrified little guardian, conquering his fear to protect Tempest.

And I think she knew he was there. Now she tries to interact with him. She'll stare at him from atop her perch, then jump down and creep to the gate to look at him and cautiously hold out a paw. He of course ruins it by getting excited and charging around until she retreats again. But she has continued to keep trying. I remain hopeful, things seem to be improving at a noticeable rate now.

@smokem Yup! I have tons!

Here he is snuggling his post:

10682262_563584780413043_3595767783602524472_o.jpg

losna
Nov 2, 2014

Here he is guarding Tempest:

10580660_555139971257524_3742608338380373605_o.jpg

losna
Sep 15, 2014

And here is Tempest, pressing her little nose curiously against my camera:

10636897_574431762661678_2593941346926433557_o.jpg

losna
Nov 2, 2014

mani · Nov 3, 2014

What absolutely gorgeous cats!

And I love the story of Sinbad the brave guardian. It does sound like things will work out.

losna · Nov 3, 2014

Mani said:
What absolutely gorgeous cats!

And I love the story of Sinbad the brave guardian. It does sound like things will work out.

They are sweethearts!

But yeah, I remain just amazed by his little journey to Tempest. He was literally shaking like the proverbial leaf on the wind, so the amount of bravery it had to have taken for him to leave his hiding place must have been phenomenal. I was paying close attention to him (I was watching both of them but Tempest had hidden herself out of sight so I was just watching her doorway more than anything else) because I was really worried given how panicked he was so I saw the entire thing. That had to have been the longest 50 feet of his life. It was clear that he was absolutely terrified, but even so, I could see the determination to reach Tempest stamped across his little face.

He's gone to comfort/protect her before when she's been afraid - every time it storms he camps outside her door, for example, that picture above that I labeled as guardian Sinbad was taken during a storm - but it's never been as impressive as this because he's not afraid of storms.

But this time, he was just as scared. And not only that, but it's now been months of Tempest rejecting his friendly advances, and yet he was still caring about her enough to battle his fear and come out of hiding for her. That's really what makes it so amazing to me. It's not like they are friends or companions yet. She became more receptive to him after the vet visit a week or two ago, but she was still rejecting him, and hissing at him now and again. He's a 10 pound cat, and she's 7 pounds, so he scares her when he is so excited and eager to snuggle. But he is earnestly trying so hard to be her friend even after all of her continued rejections.

So I am really happy that she seems to have been aware that he was out there for her.

smokem · Nov 4, 2014

You are an amazing and observant cat momma.

He is so beautiful,and totally sincere in his intentions .

I am glad you didnt give up on them,we humans ,we rush things.

Yes we are all praying that Tempest comes around.

If you think about it,its like a romantic comedy,waiting ,waiting...

losna · Nov 8, 2014

They are still not really friends yet, but Sinbad managed to get into her room yesterday. It went a LOT better than I would have expected! I happened to be in her room at the time (I was cleaning her litter box) so I saw it.

He jumped in, but rather than charging her at top speed the way he always has before, he slowly and carefully approached. She hissed and ran away, he slowly advanced, she hissed and ran away. They both stopped interacting and looked at me when I said Heeey, be nice. And Sinbad let me pick him up and dump him outside without struggle or complaint. Always before he has struggled when we removed him from her presence.

It went very well! I just wish it hadn't been in her room. I want to keep it being her room so I didn't want to let him stay in there, otherwise I would have let them continue interacting to see how it would have resolved. But it does seem like they might soon be able to interact directly.

losna · Dec 4, 2014

Well a problem has appeared so I am once again asking to see if anyone has any advice...

They were on their way to beginning to build a friendship.

But then Sinbad became a skilled enough climber to scale the gates to her room. We've had 2 cat fights in the past 2 days because he's invading her territory in his attempts to get Tempest snuggles. Needless to say, this is not helping his cause in the slightest, and she has started hiding again. My husband is able to lure her out with treats, but this has put a rather large damper on the path towards Sinbad-Tempest relations.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we might do now?

I'm not sure how to judge their fighting though. It was fierce enough that Tempest lost a claw, it actually stuck in Sinbad's head. But they don't make those horrible cat fighting growly sounds, and shouting causes them to disengage. And even though he had a claw stuck in his scalp, Sinbad still doesn't seem to have realized that they were fighting. I feel so badly for both of them.

smokem · Dec 4, 2014

I am no expert,I just guess.Always wanted to be a behavioral therapist.

Can you let her out in the environment now?Is this separation becoming the issue?

Would a larger space make her feel less cornered??I dont know,my male cat is

incorigible at times,drives me nuts.The female loves him,leads him on,wants him to clean her ears,then hisses at him.

Mine are old cats,sometimes acting like kids.

di and bob · Dec 4, 2014

The 'claw' you saw is actually a sheath that covers the claws, I am always amazed when I find one, they are so perfect! I hate to tell you this but I have never owned a female that got along and actually played with the males. They usually hiss, run and reign over all from a high perch. I always adored them for it too! I settled the problem by getting another neutered male. The 'boys' would play and chase each other and the 'princess' would have another subject to boss around.

I don't know if this is possible for you, but it would solve your problems! For now, make sure Tempest has a high spot to go to to feel comfortable, my Chrissy stayed in a bed on top of the refrigerator. Good luck and keep us posted!

micknsnicks2mom · Dec 4, 2014

Losna said:
Well a problem has appeared so I am once again asking to see if anyone has any advice...

They were on their way to beginning to build a friendship.

But then Sinbad became a skilled enough climber to scale the gates to her room. We've had 2 cat fights in the past 2 days because he's invading her territory in his attempts to get Tempest snuggles. Needless to say, this is not helping his cause in the slightest, and she has started hiding again. My husband is able to lure her out with treats, but this has put a rather large damper on the path towards Sinbad-Tempest relations.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we might do now?

I'm not sure how to judge their fighting though. It was fierce enough that Tempest lost a claw, it actually stuck in Sinbad's head. But they don't make those horrible cat fighting growly sounds, and shouting causes them to disengage. And even though he had a claw stuck in his scalp, Sinbad still doesn't seem to have realized that they were fighting. I feel so badly for both of them.

may i ask -- does tempest's room have an actual door at it's entry? some homes are more "open concept", is why i ask. if there's a door -- would it be possible to replace the door with a screen door? i did that with the door between my kitchen and the stairs to upstairs in my home, specifically to aid in snick and jasper's integration. a screen door would prevent sinbad from scaling the gates to tempest's room, and then he and tempest could visit with the screen door between them

losna · Dec 4, 2014

@smokem @mickNsnicks2mom Right now, Tempest is in a spare bedroom at the very top of the house. We have a tri-level split, so her room is on its own mini-landing at the highest point. We have to go up 5 half flights of stairs to get to it!

150571700.15Xs32eq.pano1.jpg

losna
Dec 4, 2014

Thanks for the replies everyone!

losna · Dec 29, 2014

It's funny that I just posted a link to this thread in another one ... but we just had an awesome moment between Tempest and Sinbad so I wanted to share.

We give them treats twice a day, I do it in the morning, and my husband does in the evening before bed. Part of the treat ritual is giving them a few minutes to "earn" more by doing something to get along with each other. Usually they just stare at each other, considering, but don't do anything. Sometimes they'll interact - we can tell that they know they can earn more treats, but that they're still not ready to really do so.

But this morning ... my husband is still on vacation so he was up with me while I was handing out treats. After I'd handed out all the treats and was giving them their few minutes to get along, my husband happened to catch Sinbad's attention, which caused Sinbad to turn around and start pawing at him.

And then Tempest did the funniest thing. She looked up at me to make sure I was watching, crept forward and pounced Sinbad's tail which was pressed up against the gate. He didn't notice at all, so she cocked her head to the side, looked up at me again to make sure I was still watching, then batted and even nibbled on his tail!!

He never even noticed at all. Hahahaha. But I would say her being willing to take that risk is a good sign.

To encourage and reward her, I gave them more treats. Sinbad was thoroughly confused that he was suddenly getting more treats, not that he complained.

micknsnicks2mom · Dec 29, 2014

@Losna -- oh my goodness! that sounds like a very big step forward for tempest! i really like your idea of giving sinbad and tempest a few minutes to earn more treats -- that sounds like great incentive to work on becoming comfortable with each other.

losna · Dec 29, 2014

mickNsnicks2mom said:
It's totally like, "Mommy - are you watching? Make sure you see!!"

Tempest's treat progression is actually an interesting correlation to her comfort in our house. For quite a while, she didn't want treats at all. She spent all her time hiding, and only slunk out to eat her food when no one was around. Then as she came to trust my husband she would come out of hiding, but still didn't want treats. Then the next stage, she would accept treats from him, but not from me, and only when no one else was around. Then she took treats from me, but I had to toss them into her room because she wouldn't come to the gate.

Now she jumps up onto her fence when treat time is due and does her COME HERE!! screech if I'm late. lol Both she and Sinbad have learned out to gently nibble little treats from my fingers.

But we figured associating treats - good things - with Sinbad's company was the way to get her comfortable with him. It seems to be working, she definitely knows she can get them by interacting with him. But she has never done anything like this before, I'm all excited now. We've picked out a giant 5 level cat condo, once she's out of her room freely we're going to buy it for them. We pondered it for Christmas, but we want to give it to both of them at the same time to avoid any possible scuffles if one cat "claims" the tree because they encountered it before the other.

mservant · Dec 29, 2014

Awesome progresse @Losna . I am made up for you that Tempest made this brave play move and touched Sinbad! They are both adorable and I really hope they find a way to co-exist happily. Your Tempest shelves are brilliant, she is one very lucky cat to be given such a network of high spaces to survey her land. It says a lot for Sinbad that he is not cowering in a corner by now.

micknsnicks2mom · Dec 29, 2014

Losna said:
It's totally like, "Mommy - are you watching? Make sure you see!!"

Tempest's treat progression is actually an interesting correlation to her comfort in our house. For quite a while, she didn't want treats at all. She spent all her time hiding, and only slunk out to eat her food when no one was around. Then as she came to trust my husband she would come out of hiding, but still didn't want treats. Then the next stage, she would accept treats from him, but not from me, and only when no one else was around. Then she took treats from me, but I had to toss them into her room because she wouldn't come to the gate.

Now she jumps up onto her fence when treat time is due and does her COME HERE!! screech if I'm late. lol Both she and Sinbad have learned out to gently nibble little treats from my fingers.

But we figured associating treats - good things - with Sinbad's company was the way to get her comfortable with him. It seems to be working, she definitely knows she can get them by interacting with him. But she has never done anything like this before, I'm all excited now. We've picked out a giant 5 level cat condo, once she's out of her room freely we're going to buy it for them. We pondered it for Christmas, but we want to give it to both of them at the same time to avoid any possible scuffles if one cat "claims" the tree because they encountered it before the other.

tempest really is a beautiful girl! she and sinbad almost look like they're siblings.

oh, wow! i'm sure sinbad and tempest will love the giant 5 level cat condo!

Cat Introduction Woes

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

Moderator and fervent feline fan

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

Thread starter

TCS Member

TCS Member

Thread starter

The Mouse servant

TCS Member