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"Hello!! Knock on wood, the cats seem to be good! " - GreatHello!! Knock on wood, the cats seem to be good! The incident seems to have had no effect on Hawthorne - he's as half spicy/half uninterested as ever. He seems exactly the same.
Florie is doing a bit more growling, especially when I throw the treats for both of them and he starts running/chasing the treats. She is very suspicious of him then. But I could still get them to do bedtime treat pastes about a foot apart (through the bars of the gate - I have one paste for her in one hand and one paste for him through the gate in the other hand) and that was fine before she started growling when I threw the greenies treats.
So basically all as was before, with her occasionally growling at something he is doing that she might have not growled at before. I presume she is just warning him - 'don't try anything, I see you there, back off'. Sometimes he doesn't appear to be doing anything, so I'm not entirely clear on her rubric for deciding when to growl.
But on the whole, all good. She's using her litterbox no problem, eating and drinking.
So despite the serious nature of the fear pooping, we seem to be ok! I will pick up face-to-face intros in a week maybe - I start my new job on Monday, so the cats will first have to adjust to being alone for the better part of the day.
Also, yesterday morning Florie found the mouse back that she lost - it was in the roller thing at the top of the blinds!! I could see it's little tail sticking out. *Shudder*. My partner carried it outside. Anyways, I am guessing that's why she jumped back in through the gates on that day - she wanted to find the mouse again.
Also, last comment - I noticed Hawthorne's nails are a bit long, so I'll trim them. But it's additional confirmation that he could have seriously hurt her and didn't. So I'm keeping the faith that we can still get them to get along, or at least, just leave each other alone.
Thanks for checking in!!! Hope you have/are having a lovely weekend!
"The incident seems to have had no effect on Hawthorne - he's as half spicy/half uninterested as ever. He seems exactly the same." - PERFECT!!!! THAT tells me he is accepting her and doesn't view her as a threat and THAT is REALLY important for the resident cat since it is "their" territory being "invaded"/threatened. FANTASTIC news!!!
"Florie is doing a bit more growling," - Ok, not surprising but as long as nothing negative is happening it is fine.
" especially when I throw the treats for both of them and he starts running/chasing the treats. She is very suspicious of him then." - Yes but if he is behaving it shows her that he is not a threat and her fears are greater than the reality.
"But I could still get them to do bedtime treat pastes about a foot apart (through the bars of the gate - I have one paste for her in one hand and one paste for him through the gate in the other hand) and that was fine before she started growling when I threw the greenies treats." - Perfect!!! They are fine.
So far so good!!!
"So basically all as was before, with her occasionally growling at something he is doing that she might have not growled at before." - Terrific. And as long as he is behaving it is fine. As lng as it stays positive and her fears re not realized it will give her trust and confidence.
I am SO PROUD of Hawthorne!!!!
"I presume she is just warning him - 'don't try anything, I see you there, back off'. Sometimes he doesn't appear to be doing anything, so I'm not entirely clear on her rubric for deciding when to growl." - Exactly!!! Just fear. We don;t know what her history is so there might be trauma from the past. BUT he is behaving and being REALLY GREAT!!!
"But on the whole, all good. She's using her litterbox no problem, eating and drinking." - Great
I actually wonder if that was a "watershed" moment in their relationship.
"So despite the serious nature of the fear pooping, we seem to be ok!" - YES!!! AGREED!!!
" I will pick up face-to-face intros in a week maybe" - Ok, let's see. IF you have time I think you could do face to face today.
" - I start my new job on Monday, so the cats will first have to adjust to being alone for the better part of the day." - Ok. That will be a big change. So maybe we just watch them, let's see how they do and we'll figure out when it best based on how they are acting.
Good luck on the new job!! Hope you love it!!
"Also, yesterday morning Florie found the mouse back that she lost - it was in the roller thing at the top of the blinds!! I could see it's little tail sticking out. *Shudder*. My partner carried it outside. Anyways, I am guessing that's why she jumped back in through the gates on that day - she wanted to find the mouse again." - Ahhhhh, yep.
"Also, last comment - I noticed Hawthorne's nails are a bit long, so I'll trim them. But it's additional confirmation that he could have seriously hurt her and didn't." - Totally agree. He did not want to hurt her because he easily could have if he wanted to (long nails or not).
"So I'm keeping the faith that we can still get them to get along, or at least, just leave each other alone. " - I am even more confident now they are going to be just fine, intro'd successfully. There is a lot more acceptance and trust than you may realize.
"Thanks for checking in!!! Hope you have/are having a lovely weekend! " - You are welcome. You too!!