And so it begins... new kitty comes home and her highness is not amused

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ladytimedramon

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Poor little kitty. Glad she's with you now.
Thanks. Delilah is not so happy.

There is still hissing at the door. I started scent switching. The bathroom is already saturated in Delilah's scent - the litterbox, the bath mats, the hamper, the scratching box.

When I brought Fancy home, they sent her bed with her. Since she seems to like the new bed I bought, I put the old one in the living room. I also did the thing with the socks rubbing them down. Delilah has been sniffing the bed. I decided to put the new carrier I used for Fancy in the living room - she was in it for a while yesterday and the pad should be scent saturated.

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I'm trying to make more scented items with Fancy.

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Delilah is being a cranky pants. She comes up to me, jumps on the recliner, then realizes "I'm mad at you" and jumps off. She rarely climbs on the fireplace mantle and was looking at me like "what are you going to do about it?"

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Tomorrow I may put Fancy in my bedroom and let Delilah back into the bathroom for an hour or so.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Slow and easy. We've seen them take weeks, even months, and turn out well in the end. Two females will take, generally, longer than a mixed pair, or two males. There's that "protect territory for my coming family" instinct that spaying does not remove. Hang in there.
 

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Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 is right, you need to go "slow and easy", rather than trying to speed things up, and then needing to start back at the beginning again.

She rarely climbs on the fireplace mantle and was looking at me like "what are you going to do about it?"
That made me laugh. :lol:
Do try to keep Delilah's routine as normal as possible. And keep telling her Fancy isn't replacing her, and that you can love both of them.

I noticed when I enlarged the pic of Fancy, her eyes look reddish. Does she have a kitty cold? If so, did the vet prescribe antibiotic drops? Also, if she does have an URI, does she need to be kept separate from Delilah till it's gone. From what I've read, kitty colds are pretty contagious.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Mamanyt1953 Mamanyt1953 is right, you need to go "slow and easy", rather than trying to speed things up, and then needing to start back at the beginning again.
I know. Part of it is guilt feelings because Monday school is back in session. Fancy is cooped up in the bathroom while I'm at work

Do try to keep Delilah's routine as normal as possible. And keep telling her Fancy isn't replacing her, and that you can love both of them.
I'm trying but it's one of the reasons I hate the idea of banning her from the bedroom.


I noticed when I enlarged the pic of Fancy, her eyes look reddish. Does she have a kitty cold? If so, did the vet prescribe antibiotic drops? Also, if she does have an URI, does she need to be kept separate from Delilah till it's gone. From what I've read, kitty colds are pretty contagious.
She's been isolated since Monday and the vet cleared her Wednesday.

Tummy upset has been the main problem. She had a miss the litterbox moment and I noticed a lot of the wet food was undigested. I'm going to stick with pate for a bit. And maybe the senior food I have will be gentle on her tummy.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Well, Fancy is now under the bed while Delilah has access to the bathroom.

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I'm trying to figure out a way to make a hall gate that I can get in and out of easily (my knee is in bad shape and I can't climb). If I can figure something out then I can allow one or the other access between the bathroom and bedroom with the other in the rest of the apartment (I hate the open concept).

But Fancy definitely isn't getting roaming privileges until I get a collar and bell on her.
 
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ladytimedramon

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And here's another member invention: If Your Cat Jumps Up Over Gates...
This one looks do-able for me. Delilah isn't a high jumper (as proven by one previous cat tree attempt - it was too tall and steep and I returned it) and I don't think Fancy is either (floor to toilet seat to bathroom counter).

Fancy has located the cubby in the base of the bedroom cat tree (where Delilah doesn't go) and has taken possession of it and Delilah is ignoring the open bathroom in favor of the sofa.

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Fancy has been ignoring kibble (any variety) unless super hungry - she even ignored a temptations treat. She seems to be tolerating the fancy feast kitten pate I had accidentally purchased previously and the senior pate. I just have to make it small amounts more frequently. For next week I may take the petsafe 5 meal timed feeder back out so she can have smaller frequent meals while I'm at work. I have a feeling if I did leave a large portion she would scarf and barf.
 

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There are a host of feeders on the market designed to slow a cat's eating down. While most of them are specifically designed for kibbles, there are those that work on wet foods. And with pates, you can actually smear them across a flat plate, which forces the cat to lick it up rather than scarf it down. That may help.
 
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ladytimedramon

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There are a host of feeders on the market designed to slow a cat's eating down. While most of them are specifically designed for kibbles, there are those that work on wet foods. And with pates, you can actually smear them across a flat plate, which forces the cat to lick it up rather than scarf it down. That may help.
That's pretty much what I've been doing. It's less of how fast she's eating and more of how much at 1 shot, at least for the first few weeks. With smaller, more frequent portions she seems to be holding it better than a couple of big portions and unlike Delilah, she's showing little to no interest in kibble. Delilah is being a bit of a spoiled brat food wise. That box of senior Fancy Feast is coming into good use. Fancy is eating the pate (which she is digesting better for now) but Delilah is rejecting the minced so I'll give it to Fancy as her tummy adjusts. I could use the dry for her when I'm at work and give her wet when I get home.

I'm probably overthinking all this. I'm a teacher and I've been off all week. 3 weeks of "trying to hold it down" then 2 weeks off for Winter Break.
 

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When we brought Austin home, Cricket had her tail in a major twist. We decided to let Austin in our bedroom and put a baby gate in the doorway so they could see each other, then at night put Austin in the bathroom and open the bedroom for Cricket. There was a lot of Austin pretty much said hi I'm Austin! Want to play?! Cricket said I don't give a $#% who you are, get out of my house! It took a couple weeks, i'm not sure really how long, but now they are good friends, and love to play and wrestle. Unless Delilah is one of those cats who hate other cats, I would just give it time. It sounds like little Fancy has found a wonderful new home, and hopefully Delilah will come around.
 
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ladytimedramon

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That pretty much is whats happening now. I'm doing a short site swap while I run out (Fancy in the bedroom, Delilah in the bathroom) for that baby gate and more cat food. I think Delilah is going to be pissed at me when I get home.

Fancy's collar came late yesterday. 20211127_090046.jpg
 
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ladytimedramon

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Oh that little stinker!

My bathroom doorknob hasn't been latching right (the little metal piece isn't coming out of the doorknob to latch it to the frame). I put Delilah in there for a site swap (Fancy is in the bedroom) while I went for cat food and a gate. Delilah was pretty po'd. I really made it fast because I knew Delilah was throwing a hissy fit.

I wish I had my camera out. I came into the apartment and I'm putting my groceries down when her royal highness walks into the kitchen with a smug look on her face. She must have figured out how to get the door open!

Now I need to get that gate up in case Fancy figures it out too....
 
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ladytimedramon

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Gate is up. I do need to block a couple of spots that I think Fancy is small enough to wriggle through.
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I was going to use those boards but I don't have any way of attaching them. I can staple some cardboard. A couple of 2x6 boards helped keep it from needing to leave too big a space.

Delilah has been supervising the work from a distance while Fancy is in the bathroom (I fixed the lock).

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But now, do I leave it where they can see each other, or do I cover the grate and block sight for longer?
 

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See how they react. If there is a boxing match at the gate, cover it. If it is just a heated disagreement, let them see each other.
 
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ladytimedramon

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We have first visual contact. Excuse the mess. I try cleaning and keep getting sidetracked.

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So, Delilah was by my recliner when Fancy came up to the gate.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Ugh... hit wrong button and posted instead of attach.

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From the safety of my recliner, Delilah growled and hissed.

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Fancy just watched, then explored the new area. She seems unconcerned and once again claimed something Delilah generally ignored.

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Meanwhile Delilah retreated under the coffee table for a while. She's roaming around the rest of the apartment.

I guess this wasn't too bad.

Can I leave it like this when I'm at work? Or should I cover the gate? Or keep Fancy in either the bedroom or bath?
 
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ladytimedramon

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I just fed them in vision distance. Delilah ate in her cat tree then got down to watch Fancy. Fancy ate right at the gate, looked up a few times, and then just ate.
 

rubysmama

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Sounds pretty positive, so far.

Can I leave it like this when I'm at work? Or should I cover the gate? Or keep Fancy in either the bedroom or bath?
When's work? Today or tomorrow? If tomorrow, wait and see how today goes. Though unless they really appear to be hitting it off, I'd probably at the very least cover the gate when you're not there to observe.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Work is tomorrow... then 3 weeks before Winter break. I'm a teacher. Pray I survive that long. :crazy:

Right now Delilah is in her spot on the sofa while Fancy is curled up on the cat bed in the bathroom. I put a couple more cat beds in the area between the gate and front door in case she wants to sit there later because the floor is colder.

I'm still trying to figure out Fancy's feeding logistics and reassessing Delilah's. Fancy needs to gain weight; Delilah needs to lose it.
 

rubysmama

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So you've got the rest of today to see how their interactions go. Though it seems if they're both curled up in different rooms, there's no major issues between them. I think, if it were me, I'd still keep Fancy in another closed off room when you're at work, so you don't have to worry about what's going on with the "kids" at home, while you're with the kids at school. You could look into setting up a camera so you could see how things are going at home, once you leave them together with only the gate separating them.

About feeding them, here's a few threads that might have some tips for you.
Search Results for Query: feeding 2 cats
 
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