First Encounter
Julie Cook
and Selena. Her two weeks of quarantine will be over on Thursday and
Saturday she has an appointment with TED for booster vacs and reworming.
So we decided it was time to let Hobbes and Selena meet her.
Taking a page from Karen's history with Pearl (as well as others of
you), I stopped by Home Depot after work and bought a large, aluminum
framed window screen. This screen is 3' wide by 7' high and completely
covers the doorway to Lacey's room. I secured the screen to the door
with lead weights on the bottom and duct tape around the edges and top
and then opened the door allowing Lacey her first look 'Out' in almost
two weeks.
Hobbes was in the family room asleep on the couch and Selena had hidden
under the bed when I brought the screen inside. Rusty went to Lacey's
door and began talking to her which caught Hobbes' attention. He went
down the hallway to see what his 'daddy' was doing and stopped dead in
his tracks. He sunk low to the ground and his tail started thrashing
back and forth. He began growling and hissing at Lacey, but didn't
attack the door. Lacey just watched him. Hobbes returned to the family
room and allowed Rusty to brush him and pet him some without too much
hissing then he went halfway down the hall and lay down for awhile,
carefully watching the Lacey end of the hallway. In over 1 1/2 hours
Hobbes went back and forth to Lacey's room, growling and hissing
although not overly aggressively. I think he was just posturing. For her
part, Lacey finally stretched out on the end table in her room, laid her
head on her paws and just watched Hobbes as he growled and hissed. She
would look at me as if saying "What is his problem?".
Throughout this 1 1/2 hours Selena never came out from under the bed. I
know she had to hear Hobbes but she decided to stay out of the way. I
wanted to get her reaction before I closed the door so I poured some
food in her food bowl and waited. She came out and walked halfway down
the hallway before Lacey began crying. Selena stopped, turned around and
crouched low, her tail low to the ground but not moving side to side.
She slowly made her way back to the screen doorway, her ears forward.
She sniffed, she watched a moment then she calmly turned around and went
back to the kitchen for food. On her way past Hobbes he hissed at her
but he didn't chase her.
All in all, I think this was a good encounter. Hobbes did hiss and growl
but by the end of the session his tail wasn't thrashing and most
important, he didn't take his aggression out on either of us or Selena.
There was a long time while Lacey's door was open that Hobbes just
curled up on the back of the couch and slept. He wasn't obsessed with
the idea of her being back there. After I closed the door, played with
Lacey awhile and came back out I sat on the couch to watch 30 minutes of
television before going to bed. Hobbes laid down on the foot of the
recliner beside my leg and slept. Selena came into the room and curled
up on the other end of the loveseat and slept. This is unusual. Selena
has never slept on the couch with me - in 3 1/2 years! (She will sleep
in bed with me, however) This may have something to do with Lacey but
I'd rather Selena sleep on the couch with me than cower under the bed in
fear of Lacey. Since both cats were sleeping on the couch with me I
ended up staying up a couple of hours later than I had originally
planned but I thought it was important to spend time with them.
Lacey seems to understand the word "NO". She has biting issues. She
gets enough petting and she'll turn her head to bite you. Although her
bite is slow and light, I'd rather she not use biting to make a point. I
especially don't want her biting Hobbes or Selena. She does seem to
understand when I say No and remove my hand from petting her. Sometimes
she'll just stare at me others she'll go behind her desk and hide for a
few minutes before coming back out to be petted again. I just hope we
can get past this problem. I keep telling her it is not attractive for
a lovely lady cat to bite. I think the look in her eyes could best be
described as scorn. (vbg)
I'll keep you informed.
Julie
Karen
room for Lacey which is nice. Hope to hear more updates soon!
Karen
Denise Van Dyke
Let me know if the "not attractive to bite" line works. Brenna is
rather vain, and maybe that would work with her. She still wants to
play with me like another cat, and just doesn't seem to grasp that I
don't have a protective layer of fur on my hands and arms. She realizes
that she's done something wrong, but doesn't seem to connect the
something wrong with the biting. <sigh> Even though she doesn't
usually break the skin (except when the hand/arm is moving, which isn't
her fault), I'd really like to break her of this.
- Denise
Marina
"Julie Cook" <jco...@emory.edu> wrote
> Last night was designated for the first encounter between Lacey, Hobbes
> and Selena. Her two weeks of quarantine will be over on Thursday and
> Saturday she has an appointment with TED for booster vacs and reworming.
> So we decided it was time to let Hobbes and Selena meet her.
This seems pretty promising. I hope they all learn to get along soon. How
nice about Selena sleeping by you!
--
Marina
Julie Cook
enough by now to know that she's my timid baby. The last thing I want is
to send her back under the bed for a year or even worse, have her
experience any misdirected aggression from Hobbes. So, when everyone
seems comfortable - whenever that may be - we'll take the next step.
Until then, everyone seems happy enough with the arrangements, although
Lacey would like to have us sit in her room 24/7 and watch her groom and
sleep. Oh, have I mentioned she's a social eater? <sigh>
Julie
Takayuki
>We're not in any hurry. Our primary concern is Selena. You know her well
>enough by now to know that she's my timid baby. The last thing I want is
>to send her back under the bed for a year or even worse, have her
>experience any misdirected aggression from Hobbes. So, when everyone
>seems comfortable - whenever that may be - we'll take the next step.
>Until then, everyone seems happy enough with the arrangements, although
>Lacey would like to have us sit in her room 24/7 and watch her groom and
>sleep. Oh, have I mentioned she's a social eater? <sigh>
Everything sounds very good! I don't know Selena as well as you do,
of course, but I didn't think that she would have a problem with it,
as I've had the impression that Selena was even more comfortable with
cats than with humans. Remember how she chased Hobbes out of "her"
room when they first met?
Julie Cook
Takayuki wrote:
>
> Everything sounds very good! I don't know Selena as well as you do, of course, but I didn't think that she would have a problem with it, as I've had the impression that Selena was even more comfortable with cats than with humans. Remember how she chased Hobbes out of "her" room when they first met?
You are right, of course. I always see Selena as the underd...umm
undercat. But when her back is against the wall she will come out
spitting and hissing. I think it must have to do with those huge blue
eyes. lol! Thanks for reminding me.
Julie
polonca12000
Continued purrs and best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek
"Julie Cook" <jco...@emory.edu> wrote in message
news:3E789E1F...@emory.edu...
> Last night was designated for the first encounter between Lacey, Hobbes
> and Selena. <snip>
Stacey
outlet for Hobbes' agression, leaving her free of it for a time! Like my
kitties say "sh*t rolls downhill and better another kitty be at the bottom
than me!". :)
Stacey
"Julie Cook" <jco...@emory.edu> wrote in message
news:3E789E1F...@emory.edu...
Stacey
doesn't care <grin>.
Stacey :)
"Denise Van Dyke" <dmv...@open.org> wrote in message
news:3E78ADA8...@open.org...
Byron & Christine Burel
Christine
zuz...@webtv.net
>She gets enough petting and she'll turn
>her head to bite you. Although her bite is
>slow and light, I'd rather she not use biting
>to make a point.
There are some cats that get overstimulated from petting and the biting
is done to make it stop. Allowing the cat to reach that point is a
common mistake many cat owners make. You need to learn to watch Lacey's
body language and stop petting her *before* she reaches the breaking
point. The biting is not her fault and she communicates that she wants
you to stop before the biting happens, it's just that you haven't been
recognizing the signs.
Generally, signs that she has "had enough" would be ears twitching and
the tail starting to whip back and forth, or other signs of
restlessness. If you learn to recognize these signals and immediately
stop petting, the biting will cease.
Megan
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."
-Edmund Burke
Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com
Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22
CATherine
wrote:
>Last night was designated for the first encounter between Lacey, Hobbes
>and Selena. Her two weeks of quarantine will be over on Thursday and
>Saturday she has an appointment with TED for booster vacs and reworming.
>So we decided it was time to let Hobbes and Selena meet her.
>
This does sound promising. Have you got Feliway to help with Hobbes'
aggression? Is it territorial or proprietal?
CATherine
LOL
> and Selena. Her two weeks of quarantine will be over on Thursday and
> Saturday she has an appointment with TED for booster vacs and reworming.
> So we decided it was time to let Hobbes and Selena meet her.
>
> I'll keep you informed.
> Julie
This sounds really promising, Julie; we are continuing to send
good-luck purrs your way.
------
Krista
P.S. Notice how I am just sending luckpurrs and NOT hinting for more
pictures. Not in this post. Not at all. :)
P.P.S.: The not hinting for pictures certainly doesn't apply to Bev,
either. Nope.
MaryL
> and Selena. Her two weeks of quarantine will be over on Thursday and
> Saturday she has an appointment with TED for booster vacs and reworming.
> So we decided it was time to let Hobbes and Selena meet her.
>
>
> know she had to hear Hobbes but she decided to stay out of the way. I
> wanted to get her reaction before I closed the door so I poured some
> food in her food bowl and waited. She came out and walked halfway down
> the hallway before Lacey began crying. Selena stopped, turned around and
> crouched low, her tail low to the ground but not moving side to side.
> She slowly made her way back to the screen doorway, her ears forward.
> She sniffed, she watched a moment then she calmly turned around and went
> back to the kitchen for food. On her way past Hobbes he hissed at her
> but he didn't chase her.
>
>
> Julie
Julie,
I saw your message about introducing your cats and thought you might be
interested in my own (very recent) experience. Holly had been my "only
child" for seven years and was used to being spoiled and pampered. She also
had shown a real dislike for other cats - so much so that we called her the
"black tornado" because she would immediately attack any cat on sight. I did
not plan on adopting another cat, so Holly only came into contact with
others when we visited my sister in another state. Then I saw Duffy's
picture on Petfinders. He is blind and his picture just tore at my heart. He
had been at the shelter for several months, and I knew that he probably
would not survive once kitten season arrives and the shelter becomes
overcrowded. So, I decided to adopt Duffy and do whatever I could to
gradually bring the two cats together.
The first thing to be aware of is that it is important to take things very
slow and cautious - do not try to "rush" anything. In my case, this meant
that it took a full 6 weeks from the day I adopted Duffy until both cats had
the full use of the house and were "together" throughout the day. I set up a
bedroom just for Duffy, partly to give him time to learn his way around and
partly to give Holly time to adjust. I arranged for the adoption on a
Tuesday and picked up Duffy two or three days later. In the meantime, I set
up three Feliway diffusers (one in the room that would be "Duffy's room" for
awhile, one in the hallway outside Duffy's room where Holly would walk by
the door to Duffy's room, and one in the living area where Holly spends a
large part of the day). If you don't have a Feliway diffuser, it would be
money well spent to get a couple. Duffy learned his way around his new room
very quickly. Holly did a bit of hissing and growling, but it was pretty
mild - none of the "vicious" sounds she made in the past, and this was
really pretty normal for an "only child" who suddenly has a sibling in her
home. I made sure that Holly gets lots and lots of love and attention
through all of this.
After a week, a friend who does handyman work for me located a damaged
unfinished door. He cut a large square out of the bottom of the door and
covered it with wire mesh (smooth, no rough edges). He temporarily replaced
the bedroom door with the new screened door so that Holly and Duffy could
get up-close without any danger to either of them. He removed the hardware
(hinges and handle) from the permanent door and mounted them on the
temporary door, a process that will be reversed when we replace the door.
Again, this worked well and is the same principle as the screen door you
described. Duffy was eager to get together with Holly, but Holly wasn't at
all sure about the situation. She gradually began to show some interest and
would often rest outside the door; but she did not seem to be at all upset.
A couple of days after the door was installed, I began to leave the door
open for a short time each evening (with Holly safely in the computer room),
and gradually increased it to 2-3 hours each evening. Duffy was quite
adventuresome and quickly learned his way around the house. This also
distributed his scent, which gave Holly time to become adjusted to that
before I tried to bring them together. Next, I placed tuna on two ends of a
long platter and slipped it under the door so the two cats could eat
"together." Duffy attacked his with gusto, Holly hung back, and then Duffy
stretched his paw under the door and stole Holly's food, too! My next step
was to put the tuna on separate plates but each dish close to the door so
Duffy couldn't get Holly's food. That worked. Eventually, I began to give
Duffy the run of the house along with Holly, under close supervision, then
gradually stretched the amount of time out, and soon didn't need to
supervise them (but was always in the house with them). I was careful to
give Holly lots of extra love and attention any time I had been playing with
Duffy because I didn't want to cause feelings of sibling rivalry.
About five weeks into this process, I had a week of vacation. This was the
ideal time to let them really get to know each other. Throughout the week, I
gave them more and more time together - first all day, then both day and
night. By the time we approached the sixth week, both cats had the full run
of the house at all times, and then I began to leave the house for short
periods of time (first only an hour at a time, then would go back to check
on them). They are now together at all times, and this very slow, gradual
transition has really paid off. There is no sign of the "black tornado" that
used to attack other cats. They are not yet buddies, but they are clearly
interested in each other; and they are usually both in the same room. They
eat together with no problems, and I often find both of them on the bed when
I wake up in the morning.
I hope this might give you a few ideas for your cats. I relied very heavily
on Megan's advice throughout this time, and it was excellent. Please let me
re-emphasize this point: take it very slow, and don't try to rush things.
Whenever you think it's time to move to the next step, you should probably
stop and wait it out for another week. It took about 6 weeks for us to work
through the entire process. I "thought" I going slow when I tried to
introduce Holly to my sister's cats some time ago (we took about two weeks),
but that was a disaster and led to the "black tornado" references. The
difference this time has been remarkable. Friends who knew how Holly had
reacted in the past really couldn't believe it. They were sure that it was
never going to be possible to place Holly with any other cat.
I have posted a "pictorial history"on a friend's web site showing our
progress, including pictures of the temporary door that helped so much. If
you would like to see it, it is at this location: <http://tinyurl.com/6amr>.
Hope this helps!
MaryL
Yowie
news:26583-3E...@storefull-2132.public.lawson.webtv.net...
> Julie Cook wrote:
> >She gets enough petting and she'll turn
> >her head to bite you. Although her bite is
> >slow and light, I'd rather she not use biting
> >to make a point.
>
> There are some cats that get overstimulated from petting and the biting
> is done to make it stop. Allowing the cat to reach that point is a
> common mistake many cat owners make. You need to learn to watch Lacey's
> body language and stop petting her *before* she reaches the breaking
> point. The biting is not her fault and she communicates that she wants
> you to stop before the biting happens, it's just that you haven't been
> recognizing the signs.
>
> Generally, signs that she has "had enough" would be ears twitching and
> the tail starting to whip back and forth, or other signs of
> restlessness. If you learn to recognize these signals and immediately
> stop petting, the biting will cease.
Shmogg is one of those over stimulated biters. I havel earnt both how to pet
him: slowly, lightly and rhythmically, not when he's grooming (he may start
grooming in the middle of a petting session!), stay on the head & neck, and
for gawdsakes don't touch the belly no matter how tempting unless I'm
willing to pay the price. I also know his agression signals and stop petting
immediatly. If he does bite the hand that was petting him, I make a fist if
possible so he can't get a good grip, but the trick is to stay still and not
continue to move around and stimulate him more. Once he's in that 'mood' it
will take him a while to calm down, so petting is *definately* over. But
mostly he realises what he's done, and bolts. Joel gets bitten alot more
than me in this respect because Joel's petting technique is alot quicker and
harder - which Shmogg *loves* at the start, but it very quickly hypes him up
rather than soothes him into slow-blink bliss. I pet Shmogg in much the same
way (speed, pressure & degree of relative movement) as I like having my back
rubbed or my hair brushed. Joel still hasn't managed to "get" exactly how I
like it (he tries,t hough, which counts). I think it also has something to
do with the state of mind of the petter - I know if I calm myself and "send"
calm, loving, serene thoughts (one could call this "centering" myself)
Shmogg will happily be petted & scritched for hours on end without so much
as a twitchy tail. Bu tif I'm not in that mindset, I'll get bitten after
just a few minutes of good scritchings or pettings. I know it sounds a bit
airy fairy new agey, but I'm sure cats can pick up on our mood even better
than we can ourselves. And we aren't ready to do some serious "deep and
meaningful" affection, it won't work so well or be so rewarding for the cat,
or the human for that matter.
Yowie
Takayuki
>I have posted a "pictorial history"on a friend's web site showing our
>progress, including pictures of the temporary door that helped so much. If
>you would like to see it, it is at this location: <http://tinyurl.com/6amr>.
What great pictures! You have some nice things (definitely not a
house for Bonnie and Clyde!) Replacing a door with a specially built
one sounds like a lot of work, but definitely sounds like a great
technique.