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

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ladytimedramon

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Thanks. Fancy still has a ways to go. I can still feel her spine and ribs but she feels a little heavier when I pick her up. In some spots her fur needs more time to grow.

There was still some hissing. After the two were napping for about a half hour Delilah started looking over the side at Fancy.

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Then Delilah climbed to the main level, hissed at Fancy, then ran to her "hiding place" under the dining chairs.

I want to have a bit more contact this weekend. Would it be a better idea to do it in just a room... or just a "zone" like the small area for Fancy? I want to do it off leash with Fancy but there are a lot of hiding places in the apartment and with my back, knee, and hip problems trying to get at them is a no go.
 

rubysmama

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I'd say go with whichever is easiest for you to get them closer together. Really, they seem to be doing really well. A bit of hissing is to be expected.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Looks like we're going to have to hold intros for a week. Fancy had some really bad coughing fits. Not like ones I've seen Delilah have. Since she had a cold when I got her, I wasn't taking chances. The vet had a Saturday appointment. I got her in. He thinks the cough is allergy but she DOES have an ear infection. I got an antihistamine, antibiotic, and ear wash. So the intro is being put off a week.
 
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ladytimedramon

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I'm now officially stumped.

I brought Fancy home from the vet, put her on her side of the gate, and ran out to get a few things.

At least I THOUGHT I put Fancy on her side of the gate.

I walked in to the kitchen from the garage. Delilah occasionally meets me there. But this time... in walks FANCY! After a "What the..." moment I scooped her up. Delilah is staring at me from the couch.

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The gate was fastened and the cardboard in place. I could only guess that Fancy slipped between my legs when I was closing the gate. Thankfully nothing major happened (that I know of).
 

Mamanyt1953

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Nah, if anything MAJOR had happened, you'd know it. Fancy seems to be a little Houdini, but there were no major cat fights over it! This is actually progress!
 
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ladytimedramon

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If I didn't already name her Fancy, Trixie would be a good name for her.

Since she's been trying to get out I let her out some today. Delilah is in the top of the cat tree just watching. Fancy is just exploring. No real interaction.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Last night we had one direct interaction before I put Fancy back in her area.

Both girls were on the ground. Delilah was near my recliner and Fancy started walking up. Delilah hissed. Fancy crouched down and looked up at her, then walked back the way she came. I'm guessing Delilah was claiming her position as top cat, so to speak. She's also been stealing my recliner again.

Fancy has been on the antihistamine for a couple of days and it's helping. She's been crawling into every little behind space and getting loaded with dust (yes, that is my winter break project - getting the apartment cleaned and organized). The vet suggested that I get a humidifier and I'll probably dig out my air purifier. Delilah is a little sniffly now. I tried slipping some antihistamine into her food - she wasn't having it. Fancy doesn't even seem to notice it in her food.

Since there hasn't been any major incidents right now, I'll give Fancy an hour of time in the main apartment when I get home from work tonight.
 

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Sounds like Delilah hissed "back up, missy" and Fancy said "yes, ma'am", and all was well.

Glad the antihistamine is helping Fancy. Fingers crossed it's just the dust bothering Delilah.
 
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ladytimedramon

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The apartment is a dust bowl and dealing with a bad hip and knee is compounding things for me. I REALLY need Winter Break.

When the vet was examining Fancy he said it could be allergies and gave her the generic chlortrimeton, and said it could also be the weather changes or the apartment being too dry. Delilah is sniffling and sneezing. The problem is she won't take the antihistamine in her food like Fancy does, so I'll have to do what the vet suggested and put it in a slurry in a syringe and squirt it.
 

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Have you ever ogled one of those roombas? I have heard they’ve gone down in price tho I’ve never tried one. Might save your hip. Really enjoying this particular saga…I should get popcorn or something.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Have you ever ogled one of those roombas? I have heard they’ve gone down in price tho I’ve never tried one. Might save your hip. Really enjoying this particular saga…I should get popcorn or something.
Thanks. I've wanted one, but I have a lot of clutter to get through first.
 
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Last night was CRAZY. It started with Little Miss Fancy trying to steal Delilah's plate. I put it too close to the gate and she tried to pull it over to get at it herself. I see food will probably be a future issue with her.

Speaking of issues, I saw she might be licking her neck a bit too much so I took off the collar. She has a bit of a raw spot on her neck that wasn't there when I put on the collar.

I gave Delilah her plate back in her cat tree and she scarfed it down. Then I let Fancy out for some exploration. Delilah occasionally hissed but they were ok sharing a lickable treat. Fancy got a little too close afterwards and got a little growling from Delilah.

My back was hurting so I decided to move to my bedroom. I left the gate open so both cats could come in. Fancy came in, cuddled on the bed, jumped off. She was near the doorway when Delilah walked in. There was a hiss, a growl, and for the first time, a swat at Fancy, who ran into the bathroom. Delilah took her place on the bed. About 15 min later Fancy came back. She saw Delilah on the bed and went to the cat tree instead. All was quiet between kitties for about a half hour.

Delilah decided she wanted to move on so she went back to the living room. It was getting late so I decided it was time for Fancy to stay on her side of the gate while I went into the kitchen. I closed the gate behind me. I'm in the middle of getting their bedtime meals ready when I hear a loud growl and hiss from Delilah.

Fancy dislodged the cardboard and slipped out. Delilah was hissing, growling, and swatting at Fancy, who was still a couple of feet away. I think Delilah had decided she was done with Fancy for the day. I scooped up Fancy and put her in the bathroom while I repaired the escape spot (this time with staples and zip ties).

So... wild night last night. I'll still let Fancy loose with supervision tonight and hopefully Delilah isn't too annoyed with her.
 

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That really wasn't all that bad, at all. Just a couple of heated discussions. They're getting there.
 
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ladytimedramon

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The gate seems to be a moot point right now.

I came home and little Miss Fancy wanders in to meet me. And I'm going HOW?!?

I put her back on her side of the gate and go to start plating their dinner. I hear a noise and in strolls Fancy. I'm guessing she's maybe pushing at the corner of the gate and squeezing through. I decide to see how they eat, put Delilah's in her tree and Fancy's on the floor. Delilah finishes in a minute then goes on the floor. When she realizes Fancy's plate is pate she walks away. Then Fancy climbs the tree and starts licking Delilah's bowl. At that point I put her and her plate on the other side of the gate while I make my dinner.

Suddenly I hear a crash. I get there to see Fancy CLIMBING THE CARDBOARD to get to a gap just big enough for her to squeeze through. She knocked over a decorative glass bottle in the process. So I put her and her dinner in the bathroom until I clean up the glass and block the hole she's been using to escape.

Though at this point I wonder if I should just skip it the gate. I don't see any damage (beyond the bottle). I really don't know how long she was out.
 

rubysmama

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Except for the broken bottle, I LOL'd through your entire post. :lol:

Seriously, I think you probably can skip the gate, as if anything major had happened while you were gone, there should be some sign, like clumps of fur, or Delilah seeming stressed. But all sounded well. They may not be besties yet, but they seem to not be enemies either, which is really good. :catrub:
 
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ladytimedramon

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I did fix the gate by zip tying some styrofoam over the gaps. I'd rather have them together for a full day for the first time when I'm home, so Saturday. Which will work out because going in and out of the gate while cleaning is a pain in the tush. ;)

My main concern now I think is going to be food. Fancy is now at 6 pounds again. She still needs to gain a little, but not too quickly. Plus I think Delilah has put on a bit more weight as I've been food adjusting. I've done the recalculating based on that I'm now feeding both Fancy Feast, and I want to get both of them off of kibble, and no more free feed on the kibble for Fancy. On Black Friday I ordered both of them separate timed feeders that will work for wet food lunch and midnight snack (I'll leave the dry drop feeder for emergencies). I can put pate in Fancy's feeder and know Delilah won't touch it, but that doesn't keep Fancy out of Delilah's food. I had the girls sharing another treat and put the wrapper on my chair. I didn't see it fall off. A few minutes later I saw Fancy walking off with the wrapper (and I'd thoroughly squeezed it out). I also caught her dragging an old bag of treats that must have fallen under the sofa. :(
 

rubysmama

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Hopefully once Fancy realizes that she won't go hungry again, and gets over her food obsession, she'll learn to graze, and not want to eat everything in sight.

When I first adopted my Ruby, she was food obsessed, having been a stray for a bit. It took about 6 months, but finally she stopped eating everything I gave her without taking a break, and started leaving some in her dish for later.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Hopefully once Fancy realizes that she won't go hungry again, and gets over her food obsession, she'll learn to graze, and not want to eat everything in sight.

When I first adopted my Ruby, she was food obsessed, having been a stray for a bit. It took about 6 months, but finally she stopped eating everything I gave her without taking a break, and started leaving some in her dish for later.
I wish I understood her more. From what I understand the rescue got her from a shelter pretty quickly. The people who gave her up described her as a calico (there is a slightly brownish area on one leg which looks more like the color of Fancy's chin fur where she can't reach to wash adequately). On the papers the people said their son moved out leaving them with too many cats. They relinquished 3. I have no idea how many cats they had total.

When I adopted her, the rescue was feeding her exclusively Authority dry food, which she really wasn't touching. I'm guessing that she weighed in at 6 pounds when she was relinquished, wasn't eating much of the dry, and went down to 4.5 pounds by the time I adopted her. At the last vet appointment she was back up to 6. Shes eating the wet food (Fancy Feast) and the dry (Fromm).

At this point I haven't figured out her "perfect toy" yet. She DOES seem to like a kicker toy and a couple of stuffies but nothing is "the toy" the way Delilah loves springs and pipe cleaners.
 
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ladytimedramon

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Ok... I give up!

Fancy managed to move the Styrofoam enough to squeeze out and get into the main room. She has a little scratch on the top of her head which looks more like it came from trying to escape than from any kind of fight.

There's probably no way I'll keep her out short of putting her in the bathroom.

It looks more like Delilah is avoiding when possible.
 
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