Using a camping tent to isolate a new kitty in my household?

Thanks ShadowsRescue! I really appreciate having a visual reference. Since my new kitty room is also my office, and I work at home, I'll need something like this that I can pass through multiple times per day.

these are terrible pictures. I don't have enough light in the office right now and Emmaline is blinking in the camera flash. And she keeps doing "donuts".  She's happy to be inside since it's pouring rain tonight. I think there are some water drops on her pillow.

OH she is just so sweet!  How fortunate she got inside and out of the rain.  Fingers crossed all goes well at the vet.  I hope she isn't pregnant.  Take the intros really slowly.  Once she is home from her spay, she will not feel too good for a day or so and will need a quiet place to recoup.  Keep us updated.

Oh, I love the one where she's winking! She knows a secret.

Just checking in to see how things are going.  Did you get Emmaline to the vet?  I hope all is well. 

Hi ShadowsRescue! 

We just got back from the vet this morning. She has ear mites, fleas,  a few abscessed teeth and probably ring worm. She's negative for FIV and Leukemia. We got all of her vaccines up to date & got her micro-chipped. I'm treating her ear mites, fleas etc and proactively treating the resident varmint--this will go on for the next 3 months. I also got some stuff to wash out her teeth to ease the inflammation; the vet said it will improve with a continued good diet.

Not a perfect prognosis, but not bad at all either. Best of all, she is already spayed! She has that little tattoo that you mentioned. What a relief. 

I had her recovery kennel all set up, but I'll keep it set up since I think it will be useful during the eventual kitty integration, if she needs somewhere to be alone for awhile.

Thanks so much for all of your good advice. 

It was a stressful morning so she had some breakfast and is now having a nap. I think I'll have a nap too.

Best,

angela

angelaD said:

 
Hi ShadowsRescue! 

We just got back from the vet this morning. She has ear mites, fleas,  a few abscessed teeth and probably ring worm. She's negative for FIV and Leukemia. We got all of her vaccines up to date & got her micro-chipped. I'm treating her ear mites, fleas etc and proactively treating the resident varmint--this will go on for the next 3 months. I also got some stuff to wash out her teeth to ease the inflammation; the vet said it will improve with a continued good diet.

Not a perfect prognosis, but not bad at all either. Best of all, she is already spayed! She has that little tattoo that you mentioned. What a relief. 

I had her recovery kennel all set up, but I'll keep it set up since I think it will be useful during the eventual kitty integration, if she needs somewhere to be alone for awhile.

Thanks so much for all of your good advice. 

It was a stressful morning so she had some breakfast and is now having a nap. I think I'll have a nap too.

Best,

angela

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Such good news that she is spayed and no need to worry about being pregnant!!!  Fleas and ear mites are very easy to treat.  The ring worm a bit more tricky.  Just wash your hands a lot. 

So somebody once cared enough to spay her.  Any idea how old she might be?  Thank goodness she found you.  Give her big hugs and kisses for being such a brave girl. 

Looking forward to more updates.

The vet said she couldn't really tell how old she was since her teeth were bad. She thought maybe 1.5 to 2 years old. Hopefully the teeth will improve. 

She is beautiful and looks so content on her comfy looking blanket.  Look forward to following your journey with the sweet addition to your household.

Did the vet do a scrapping for the ringworm? If not, I would advise it. Sometimes cats have flea allergies and the hair lose has been mistaken for ringworm. No sense treating her if she doesn't have it. And if she does, she needs treatment quickly. Wash your hands every time you handle her and use shoe covers in her room if you can. If it is ringworm, it spreads easily.

Glad things are going well.

Just checking in to see how things are progressing?

Thanks for checking in!

It's going ok, I guess. I made my own screen out of some wire shelving I had lying around, some zip ties and a couple of tension rods. It does the job. So they can see each other and watch each other eat.  My resident kitty is getting used to having Emma around. 

I thought that today I might put her in her carrier in the "safe room", (my office), and then let my resident cat in for a few minutes. That way they would still be separated, but can get a bit closer.

My resident cat really wants to come into the office. If Emma is outside, sometimes I close the patio door and let the resident come into the office to sniff around and hang out with me for a bit.

I'm cautiously optimistic that it will go ok.  Wish us luck!

Ondine, I'm sorry that I missed your earlier post regarding ringworm. The vet put the light over her and didn't see anything, and I can't remember if she treated for it anyway. I'm not seeing any signs of it myself. I am treating both kitties for ear mites, fleas etc. with that topical Revolution stuff; each got a treatment last week, and we have 2 monthly treatments left to go.

Best,

Angela

Revolution is a good product. I find it isn't as harsh as some yet it does the job well. Glad the ringworm is less of a concern. Remember, though, that we bring the fungus in on our feet everyday. Only cats with compromised immune systems, and kittens who haven't fully developed an immune defense, will be affected.

Sounds like things are going pretty well. Consider putting the resident cat in the carrier and letting the newcomer have free use of the office, alternating. It will lessen the possibility that the newcomer will be the only one feeling trapped. It will also give you an opportunity to assess the newcomer's personality. Laid back, hyper, etc. That will help you throughout the intros.

Thanks for the update!

It does sound like things are going well.  I used to use a dog cage to help with introductions.  I would allow the cats to take turns being inside the crate.  I always had something yummy on hand to reward good behavior and for the cats to have something to associate each other with.  I usually used plain cooked chicken or canned tuna.  It really helped to focus their attention on the food and not each other.  Also when I first started, I covered the crate on 3 sides with a sheet.  This helped the cat inside the carrier to feel less vulnerable.  Keep the sessions short and build up the time as they tolerate.  I only had one cat that would cooperate and go inside the crate.  It was my resident cat.  He loved being inside it.  The new cat absolutely freaked out so I didn't bother putting him inside.  I also used a shoe string for play.  I would put part of it inside the crate and slowly pull it out.  Both cats would usually be interested.

Thanks for the update.

I've reconsidered putting her in the carrier for the first introduction. She's pretty trusting and sociable, and she isn't terribly afraid of my resident cat, despite his hissing and growling, but I'm thinking it might feel like an ambush to her; I don't want to damage that trust.

For an adopted stray, she's pretty easy. I think I mentioned earlier that, prior to my bringing her indoors, she sneaked in through the back door and into the kitchen at least twice to use my cat's litter box. So it's pretty clear that she's spent a significant part of her life as a house cat.

It's my resident varmint who is the problem.

I'm afraid we've had something of a setback last week. Maybe I tried to advance things too quickly.

I left the homemade pet gate open since I was going between the office and the kitchen & living area as I was arranging some things, since I've only recently moved into this Brooklyn apartment a few months ago.  In fact, I'm still unpacking. I figured it might be a good time to let them be in their separate areas and get used to the gate being open -- under supervision. My resident cat was fairly well-behaved for some time, until I turned my back for a few short moments. Then all of a sudden the kitchen was a mess, everything was all over the floor and Emma had fled out the back door.

And she would not come back inside until almost 6 hours later, when it was clear that was the only place she would be getting her supper. Prior to that, she was mostly unafraid of his hissing, spitting and growling. 

In fact, the picture here is of her waiting patiently for him to regain his composure as he was holding her at bay at the back door. That picture was taken the day prior to his attack on her. Now she's visibly scared of the possibility that he might be somewhere near

I leave the back door open for Emma much of the day and into the late evening in order to 1) relieve the claustrophobia of her being cooped up in my office, 2) allow her an escape route, in case my resident cat goes after her, and 3) the backyards around here are what she's known heretofore, and she seems most comfortable knowing she can go outside, if she wishes.

My older cat can get through/over the gate if he really wants to, so I don't leave the office door open with only the gate separating them unless I'm able to supervise. And Emma knows the ins and outs of the backyard and the fences much better than he does. Plus she's a good 14 years younger than he.

This back door policy has been especially difficult during the very cold, blustery weather we've had over the past few days, but it really inspired me to unpack all of my extra heavy, fleecy, thermal winter clothing so that I can work in my office with that back door open for her. brrrrr.

Since that incident last week, she's been especially anxious when she's indoors and the door to outside is closed--even if the office door to the rest of my apartment, where my resident cat might be, is closed too. On two cold stormy days, she preferred to stay outdoors than to come inside. She knows where she can shelter in the neighborhood, yes, but I would prefer that she would want to be indoors with us.

I'm feeling defeated.

They've been mostly separated for the past week, of course.

I'm making moves to re-home her, which is something I really don't want to do. But I feel like I have a short window now, with winter approaching. 

I'm just now getting the guts to start in again with Composure for my resident cat, and maybe re-approach the introduction. My resident cat started to regurgitate the Composure last week, so I had to stop with that for a bit.

Thanks for reading.

Best,

angela

Oh boy.  This is one of those "one step forward, two back" things that happens.  I missed the description of the homemade gate but have you tried a regular wooden screen door?  It will prevent the resident from getting into the office and may make the visitor a little more comfortable.

Do you have to use the door she uses for access to outside?  In other words, it it the only way in and out of the apartment?  If not, maybe you can place an old wooden door with a cat door cut out of it in the outside door frame?  It will allow her access without freezing you out.  You can't leave the outside door open all winter!

I see nothing wrong with giving her the office as her territory.  We have a cat that has her own room because she can't stand other cats.  We visit her often but she's basically happy on her own.  Living in a small room is way better than being outside in the cold.

This really is a normal progression of cat to cat intros.  It's just a set back.  I would suggest that you start keeping the door closed.  She needs to adjust to inside living.  If you are going to rehome here, she will need to be an inside cat.  If someone does allow her access to the outside, if she has not acclimated to her new area she will just try to find her way back to you.  It's a cats nature.  So in her new home, she will need to be kept inside for 3-4 weeks.  So I really would stop allowing her time outside.  Instead try a cat tree by the door/window and possibly get a bird feeder so you will have some entertainment.  You also could build an enclosure for her if you wanted.  There are so many great ideas. You could get a cat door and then build something so that she is safe outside.

I do not think the cats are ready for time together yet.  Just back up.  As far as the gate between the spaces, you can look for a gate that has a door you open.  .  I like this one as it's extra tall and much harder for a cat to jump over.  It's also easy for you to get in and out with the door.  If the cats do jump the gate, you might need to stack two on top of each other for a bit.  Remember this is only temporary. 

Thanks ShadowsRescue and Ondine! And everyone else who has given me such great advice. Every post in this thread has made a such difference for us.

It's been a busy few weeks so I've not had time to post an update.

Since that last rushed misstep, I've been keeping them separated. It's hard to keep her inside, since her room is so small. But winter approaches and outside won't be an option soon.

My resident critter had attacked Ema, so she was terrified of him and I was trying to re-home her, thinking it might never work out.  My resident cat is almost 17 years old, and he's in no mood to change his lifestyle. He finally got so upset with the situation 2 weeks ago that he stopped eating for a day. I had to take him to the local animal hospital for a checkup and some quick hydration. I got my own hydration rig set up in case it happens again.

He's ok now. Since I use my office for Ema's safe room, AND I work from home, he was getting isolated. So I make sure that I go find him every hour to pet him and give him some attention.  That seems to be helping a lot.

I've been trying to feed them meals and afternoon treats facing each other on either side of my homemade pet gate, with varying results. Ema is all for it. My resident cat, Teega, was trying his best to turn around and put his butt toward her whilst he had his meal or treat ... or stalking away hoping she won't be there the next time. 

Lately, it's gotten better though. Our local HISSING INDEX (HI) is moving down precipitously.  Teega still hisses, but sometimes it's followed by one of those big toothy cat yawns now. Like it's perfunctory. I think he's getting used to the idea that Ema is here to stay. They mostly posture around each other now, with much less aggression. Over the past few weeks, one or the other has been trying to get through the pet gate to the other side dozens of times per day.

I've been leaving the pet gate open again for the past few days. Tonight I'm going to leave it open all night.

If no issues occur overnight, I might try to feed them breakfast in the kitchen together. We'll see.

It's not perfect, but I think it can work out. Eventually.

Thanks so much to everyone here for the great advice, and for setting my expectations appropriately. \

I would have given up so many weeks ago without your excellent advice. 

best,

angela

Thank you for the updates.  It will take time for the adjustment.  Remember my two took one solid year.  Now they are buddies.  Just keep working with them.  Eventually they will learn to coexist. 

Do you have any vertical spaces for one of the cats.  Often there will be one cat that is happy being up high like in a cat tree/condo.  Or you can put shelving on your walls with a non slip surface.  Take a look at Jackson Galaxy's Catification ideas.  He has so many great ideas for creating unique spaces for cats. 

One of my boys liked to be up high and the other preferred the ground.  This really helped. 

I also recommend Composure liquid max.  It helps to take the edge off for both cats, especially your older boy.  It is easier to administer than the treats as you can mix it into wet food. 

Keep the updates coming.  I hope that it will all work out and you can keep Em.

Thanks ShadowsRescue! At this juncture I'm thinking that if it takes only a year for them to become friends, we'll all be fine around here.

Good news this morning: I left the pet gate open all night and everybody was pretty calm this morning. There was a bit of my old cat Teega hissing and jumping at Ema at breakfast, but it was mostly ok. Teega didn't seem to mind that she's been using one of the main litter boxes either.

I was thinking that maybe they could both have breakfast in the kitchen, but Ema wasn't comfortable with that, so I moved her breakfast just inside the office/safe room door a few feet away.

Something else very encouraging is happening too. Ema has been eating like a horse, consistently ravenous. And she often begs for more food after she's finished her sizable breakfast or supper. I've been feeding her more than she really needs, thinking maybe she still had some parasites. If I left the pet gate open for a minute, she'd slip into the kitchen and gobble down whatever was left of Teega's food too. Teega--my resident cat-- is a grazer, so he usually just takes a few bites and leaves most of his food for later. I had Ema's poop checked again last week and they found no parasites.

But since I've had the pet gate open during the daytime over the past few days, giving Ema an opportunity to roam the house, she's eating normally! I was really worried that her eating habits, and increasing girth, would become a problem when she was fully-integrated into the household, but it looks like that's working itself out too. I guess it's because she's feeling more secure. What a relief.

Thanks so much to everyone! I think it's all going to work out fine.

best,

a