Picasso's Home! Intro questions..

[Draco]

Hi all,

Picasso's finally home. Yay!

Here's what happened so far:

Sandy (foster mom) brought him over in a carrier. She set the carrier down. Monet comes over to greet Sandy and sniffs the crate, then he realized there's a cat in there. So he hissed and backed up.

While Sandy and I talked, he sat a few feet away, staring at Picasso in the crate, occasional hiss. His reaction was positive, according to Sandy. Monet did not make an attempt to attack Picasso.

When Sandy left, he went under the bed for a few minutes while I showed Picasso the litter box and such (She went in right away).

Picasso was clearly tired, already curled up and falling asleep next to the couch.

I went to give Monet attention. Picked him up, he yowled, snarled and jumped out of my arms. I sat on the floor, and he sat a few feet from me, glaring at me and growling. I swear, I never, ever heard him growl before. I sat for a few minutes, talking to him while he growls at me.

Then I get some of his favorite treats and put it by his bowl. He came over, but when I tried to pet him, he hissed and took a few steps back from me.

Deciding to give him time to cool down, I shut the door to the bedroom where he's in to leave him alone for a while.

Any suggestions how I can approach this?

 

[stephanietx]

Did you read the introducing cats thread above? Lots of really great info. I'd definitely separate the 2 just so that Picasso can get comfy, then progress through the introduction steps.

 

[Draco]

Picasso is in the saferoom now, the bathroom. I moved her there when she was starting to fall asleep. I just opened the door to the bedroom. Monet would not let me close to him without him growling and hissing at me.

I know it takes time, lots of time. Just heart breaking to see Monet like this.

I read the introduction thread and other threads on intro advice. Im going to follow that.. I am sure Monet and Picasso will get along in due time.

Right now, I am concerned about his reaction to me

 

[stephanietx]

Okay, I missed that info. Monet is upset because there's an intruder in HIS home. This behavior is normal and to be expected. Just sit on the floor with him and talk softly to him and reassure him that he's still your main man and that you love him. Use wand toys to play with him and don't try to pick him up. He WILL calm down, but it's going to take awhile. Try not to stress over this as they will both pick up on your stress. (I know, easier said than done.) Also, give Money some treats and spend LOTS of time with him. I know you want to spend a lot of time with Picasso, but try to spend as little time with her as possible so Monet won't be jealous.

You might also want to invest in a Feliway diffuser or 2 to help cut down on the stress. Also, if you don't have a baby gate or 2, you might want to see if you can get some of those so that they can see each other yet not get to each other. You can stack a couple on top of each other in the doorway to keep either from jumping/climbing over.

 

[Draco]

Trying not to be stressed. Actually its almost comical. A newspaper that was in picassos crate is on the floor near Monet. He's just starring and growling at it.

I have the diffuser that I bought just in case. I should open it

 

[stephanietx]

Totally normal since Monet's smelling the intruder's scent.

 

[Draco]

I opened the door to check on Picasso. Monet sat at the doorway, growling and staring. But he made no attempts to get close or any signs of attacking. No back arches, no tail poofing or ruffled fur. He hissed when he realized Picasso was in there, but after was just growling. after a minute, he laid down across the threshold, but still growling. I left the door open for about 2 minutes before closing it again. A little at a time, few times a day.

Picasso just opened her eyes, glanced at Monet and went back to sleep. Given time, I am sure Monet will "Get over it" and become tolerable of Picasso.

 

[ldg]

Aw things are going well! Not the best (resident kitty is immediately OK with the other cat) - but really, pretty close to as good as it gets LOL!

Think of it like you have a 3 year old child that just found out he's going to have to share his room and toys and your affection with a niece. He's not having a tantrum, which is good, but he's DEFINITELY not being nice to the niece, and he's not happy with you for bringing the niece there. He's not in a particularly loving mood - and you may be able to distract him with some of his favorite play or treats. But he's not feeling lovely and snuggly - and may not for a few hours to a few days. But he WILL get over it, and love you as he always does.

When we brought Chumley in full time last year, Shelly stopped sleeping snuggled up under my arm for a few days. It makes the heart sink - but once a new routine is established, (you spending some time in the bathroom, but spending more time playing with Money or giving him more treats than usual), he'll come around.

In the meantime, definitely start the scent swapping. Put something that smells like Picasso under his food dish, and get him associating her scent with things he loves.

(Put a rag that you've rubbed all over him under her food dish too.

).

 

[Draco]

I spent majority of the day with Monet as picasso seemed to want to be left alone. Armed with picassos scent on me, Monet did growl and hiss at me whenever he caught her scent. I even let him take his anger out on my hand with him giving me hard hits and hisses. He even stopped short of biting. All day we stayed in the bed just a few feet apart. Now it's near bedtime, he actually crawled in my lap for our nightly 2 min snuggled. No growling!

I am sure he will growl again in the morning when he remembers Picasso is here

 

[ldg]

LOL, kitties are so funny! But I'm really glad he crawled into your lap for your nightly snuggling.

Poor Picasso... with everything those poor kitties have been through, sometimes they just need a few days just to sleep. Chumley did nothing much but sleep for a few weeks (but we rescued him from being outside, and he'd been attacked by a cat, hit by some type of vehicle and god knows what else....).

 

[Draco]

Originally Posted by LDG

LOL, kitties are so funny! But I'm really glad he crawled into your lap for your nightly snuggling.

Poor Picasso... with everything those poor kitties have been through, sometimes they just need a few days just to sleep. Chumley did nothing much but sleep for a few weeks (but we rescued him from being outside, and he'd been attacked by a cat, hit by some type of vehicle and god knows what else....).

That was going to be my next question... Is it common for new kitties to seem "depressed" for lack of a better word. She hasn't eaten anything either.

Something is also up with her foot. She's not putting weight on it. When I checked for litter or her nails she did cry out. Her foster mom will check in tomorrow in regards. She thinks Picasso might have hurt herself in the shelter cage.

 

[ldg]

Well, we've never adopted anything but a rescue cat. So our experience is that they've never been inside before, so they're either terrified out of their wits - or they were so sick, they had to be at the vet for a while, and they're so relieved to be out of there, they're exhausted.

So in our experience, it's completely normal for them to seem depressed - though I'd classify it as exhausted.

If Picasso was in a foster home, and then a shelter, sounds to me like it's been a rather traumatic series of events, and I'd expect her to be either scared or really tired.

And if she hurt her paw in the cage at the shelter, she may also be in pain.

If this were me, I'd take her to my vet ASAP. Unfortunately it's now Saturday night... so probably has to wait until Monday. But Chumley had broken his leg (most likely in a vehicle collision), and it healed on its own. He jumped wrong on it, and was clearly limping. We took him back to the vet, and she gave him an injection of something for the pain - and though he was still tired, it was clearly a relief.

Did you check with his foster mom about her having been wormed and such? Was she treated with Revolution or Advantage Plus or Drontal or what? And was the treatment repeated after three weeks to a month? (Drontal is for tapes, and only needs to be given once. Other dewormers need to be given at LEAST twice, and preferably three times, three weeks apart).

And what food was she eating? Are you feeding her the same thing she was getting? She may get an upset tummy if you switch her food without doing it slowly. They often get diarrhea if you just chage what they're eating.

I assume she's spayed, and has had her rabies and distemper (and distemper follow-up - given three weeks after the initial distemper vac) shots? Those are the only vaccines we give initially, and then we only do the rabies (and we use the Purevax, even though it's required every year, not every three years).

If her foster mom is going to call tomorrow, you might want to get those questions answered... and a vet visit may be in order.

But sounds to me like she needs some rest - and quite a bit of it.

 

[ldg]

Oh - about the eating. I wouldn't worry about it for now. If she hasn't eaten by tomorrow, I'd worry.

 

[ldg]

I know you bought feliway - did you buy the diffuser? You may want to plug it in in the bathroom.

 

[Draco]

I have the diffuser in the bedroom with Monet. Felt he needed it more.

Picasso has had all her shots minus the final distemper in which she will recieve next weekend. I have all her records. She was also dewormed. I have to look at the Paper again but I recall seeing something about advantix for fleas I think.

She's currently on science diet. I will be switching her food slowly once she gets settled in more.

She is spayed, which it's still healing as I can see the scar.

I will be calling the foster mom tomorrow afternoon if I don't hear from her. Maybe she knows Of an emergency vet on call.. Being with a shelter and all.

 

[stephanietx]

She looks so very content! Sorry to hear about her paw though. That's disconcerting.

It's very common for newbies not to eat or use the box for the first day or so. If/When they do, it's usually overnight. They're so nervous and in a strange new environment with new sounds, new smells, new people, and often, new animals that it takes them a bit to get used to everything.

As for the paw, you might call your regular vet and either leave a message or listen to see what information they give for after hours needs.

 

[Draco]

thanks Steph. I want to see what the foster parent says first. I will be calling her in about an hour (if she can get Picasso in to the vet, it's free for me. If anything should happen within 2 weeks and they use their vet, they pay for it)

Morning update:

Monet hissed once at me during the night when he picked up Picasso's scent when I checked up on her, but otherwise, it's the same "Cannot let meowmy move her legs an inch all night!" snuggles. He even woke me up a few times for midnight hugs, in which I gladly gave.

Picasso ate a few bites of her food. Her leg still bothers her, but she did get up on her own after a few moments hesitation to greet me. I placed her in the litter box, figuring she might not be able to climb to get in there.. soon as she's in, she laid down. I want to get the foot taken care of, I don't want her to start associating the litter box as pain.

Update: Picasso has a 3:00 appointment with the vet. Hope all goes well!

 

[stephanietx]

I'm glad she's getting to the vet today. Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[Draco]

quickest vet visit ever.

The vet thinks her brother bit her in the leg. It's swollen, and she had a 104 fever. The vet's going to keep her over night to do what they need to do and let me know in the morning. My poor 'Cassie.

 

[stephanietx]

Awwww, poor thing! Glad you got her to the vet and she's getting treatment. Please keep us posted!