Cat Introduction .... Failure?

[calicosrspecial]

Well I didn't mean to post that one unfinished.

Our laundry bin was made out of some key kind of fabric and now it's ruined.
I'm really frustrated, because we played a lot. And I always go in to check on him and give him cuddles and treats and everything. And now he pees on my stuff again.
We switch Monty and Cosmo every night so Monty can sleep with us in the bedroom, I moved the clothes out of the room, but non the less he was not really happy for the first 30 minutes, because of that. Slowly walking, low walking as if someone is creeping up at him. I felt sorry for him

I am so sorry.

Cats go outside of the litter box for 2 reasons - Medical (pain, infection, etc) or Behavioral (territorally insecurity, stress, etc).

Cats want to cover their scent so there is a natural instinct to use a little box. When they don't it is usually to say "This is mine". Telling another animal to stay away. A territorially insecure act.

I am going to ask a few questions.

Cosmo peed in "his" territory, correct?

Did the clothes in the basket have any other animal scents on them? From dogs or other cats not in the house?

Where was the basket? Was it by a window or an outside wall?

Do you have any animals around your house? Or do you have any animals possibly inside the walls?

Was there any elevated stress by the humans before he went on the laundry? S was there any arguments or work stress etc?

Were there any workers or unknown people that cam in the house before he peed?

Were there any loud noises outside before he went?

You mention a few "shenanigans". What exactly happened before he went? Do you know when he went?

You mention he was walking slowly and low. That tells me that he seemed to fear another animal. Could he be he was somehow afraid of Monty? Was Monty a bit aggressive to Cosmo?

Is there anything that you could say was different than normal?

How often has he gone outside of the litter box before?

Make sure you clean up the pee with an ezymatic cleaner as cat pee is different and in order to remove the scent it is important to use the right cleaner.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine

Something was different. SO we need to be a detective and try to figure out the cause. Sometimes we never figure it out BUT building confidence and territorial security is helpful.

Let's stop site swapping for the moment. Step up play with Cosmo in "his" territory.

Please stay as calm and confident as possible around him. I know it is stressful and very frustrating but the more we feel it the more the cat does and the more stressed the cat gets and that can cause more peeing.

Answers to the questions above could be very helpful.

Don't worry, a cat's instinct is to use the litter box so this is very solvable.

It is Cosmo crying out that something is not right but we will solve it for him and for you. Any time a cat goes outside of the litter box I too feel sorry for the cat as it shows they feel insecure. Don't worry, we will figure it out.

 

[RocketPuppy97]

I am so sorry.

Cats go outside of the litter box for 2 reasons - Medical (pain, infection, etc) or Behavioral (territorally insecurity, stress, etc).

Cats want to cover their scent so there is a natural instinct to use a little box. When they don't it is usually to say "This is mine". Telling another animal to stay away. A territorially insecure act.

I am going to ask a few questions.

Cosmo peed in "his" territory, correct?

Did the clothes in the basket have any other animal scents on them? From dogs or other cats not in the house?

Where was the basket? Was it by a window or an outside wall?

Do you have any animals around your house? Or do you have any animals possibly inside the walls?

Was there any elevated stress by the humans before he went on the laundry? S was there any arguments or work stress etc?

Were there any workers or unknown people that cam in the house before he peed?

Were there any loud noises outside before he went?

You mention a few "shenanigans". What exactly happened before he went? Do you know when he went?

You mention he was walking slowly and low. That tells me that he seemed to fear another animal. Could he be he was somehow afraid of Monty? Was Monty a bit aggressive to Cosmo?

Is there anything that you could say was different than normal?

How often has he gone outside of the litter box before?

Make sure you clean up the pee with an ezymatic cleaner as cat pee is different and in order to remove the scent it is important to use the right cleaner.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-remove-cat-urine

Something was different. SO we need to be a detective and try to figure out the cause. Sometimes we never figure it out BUT building confidence and territorial security is helpful.

Let's stop site swapping for the moment. Step up play with Cosmo in "his" territory.

Please stay as calm and confident as possible around him. I know it is stressful and very frustrating but the more we feel it the more the cat does and the more stressed the cat gets and that can cause more peeing.

Answers to the questions above could be very helpful.

Don't worry, a cat's instinct is to use the litter box so this is very solvable.

It is Cosmo crying out that something is not right but we will solve it for him and for you. Any time a cat goes outside of the litter box I too feel sorry for the cat as it shows they feel insecure. Don't worry, we will figure it out.

Yes, he peed in his territory.

I don't think there where other sents on the clothes, we came back yesterday after visiting my parents and they have dogs, but he didn't pee on that.

The basket is near the gate.

We have one dog living under us, but she was there before both cats came here and doesn't make much noise. And I don't think we have animals in our walls, if I'm not mistaken behind the dry wall would be bricks.

I don't think there was more stress as any other day from our side. We were in a pretty good mood, especially regarding the cats. Nothing out of the ordinary except that we stayed awake longer.

Workers, no. And unfamiliar people is almost daily except on weekends (where the peeing happend) because we have a doctor on the floor under us.

We can't say for sure when it happend but we headed nothing loud or crazy that night.

What they do from time to time, climbing the gate, Cosmo meows alot, because he's very vocal naturally. Pawing under the door, jumping at the door. We would like for them to not do that, but we can't monitor them the whole day, and we had very good play sessions that day so in theory they should have been tired.

Cosmo was walking perfectly normal, Monty was walking low as he entered the room where Cosmo peed, because of that.

Except that we stayed up longer than usual, I can't think of anything. We know that he peed before, because dinner wasn't served on time. So I think, because he was meowing for attention, that he got frustrated and peed because of that.

Tricky question. Like 4 or 5 times since we got him? And it wasn't in a row or anything like that. There isn't a distinct pattern he follows.

Yesterday went like any other day. No behaviour changes. Cosmo was acting normal and Monty to. We swapped sides (I didn't read your message until now) and everything was fine. Cosmo was very relaxed and Monty was fine again too, even being in the bedroom. We were away for 8 hours or so, visiting my parents in a nearby town. We feared Cosmo would pee again, because we were away and dinner was late, but we came home to both cats happily greating us with meows, nothing broken, no pee. Just two hungry cats

 

[RocketPuppy97]

Today I got a huge package, full of cat stuff. Monty loves his new Kong Kickeroo

and I also got some new wand toys for them. I had a good playsession with each of them. As I was playing with Cosmo, Monty was laying in front of the door on his side just watching, no meowing, no tail waving, nothing. Just laying there. I think that's a very good sign. Afterwards I fed them some treats to calm them down after all that playing and after a few little door interactions (see the following video) they both went on with their day.
We didn't try the treat feeding in the same room thing, as we wanted the tension from the peeing accident completly gone, but we'll try that next weekend I think.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Today I got a huge package, full of cat stuff. Monty loves his new Kong Kickeroo

and I also got some new wand toys for them. I had a good playsession with each of them. As I was playing with Cosmo, Monty was laying in front of the door on his side just watching, no meowing, no tail waving, nothing. Just laying there. I think that's a very good sign. Afterwards I fed them some treats to calm them down after all that playing and after a few little door interactions (see the following video) they both went on with their day.
We didn't try the treat feeding in the same room thing, as we wanted the tension from the peeing accident completly gone, but we'll try that next weekend I think.

Great, love the toys.

I don't want you to feed in the same room yet. Feed in their own territories then with the door open move the food dishes closer each day by maybe 6 inches and see how they do. After they finish distract them so they don;t go after each other making it positive. If they don't eat and focus on each other distract as needed. I am guessing they will eat pretty nice though but be prepared to distract if needed to keep it positive. I would like them to get 2 feet away or so (with the dishes still in their own respective territories) before we try to feed in one room.

On the video. Was it Cosmo that charged the door? I didn't like that BUT I like how Monty responded. Like it was nothing WHICH then caused Cosmo to actually lay on his side with Monty right there. So it ended up as a positive. But I would like to not see charging at the gate. :/

 

[calicosrspecial]

Yes, he peed in his territory.

I don't think there where other sents on the clothes, we came back yesterday after visiting my parents and they have dogs, but he didn't pee on that.

The basket is near the gate.

We have one dog living under us, but she was there before both cats came here and doesn't make much noise. And I don't think we have animals in our walls, if I'm not mistaken behind the dry wall would be bricks.

I don't think there was more stress as any other day from our side. We were in a pretty good mood, especially regarding the cats. Nothing out of the ordinary except that we stayed awake longer.

Workers, no. And unfamiliar people is almost daily except on weekends (where the peeing happend) because we have a doctor on the floor under us.

We can't say for sure when it happend but we headed nothing loud or crazy that night.

What they do from time to time, climbing the gate, Cosmo meows alot, because he's very vocal naturally. Pawing under the door, jumping at the door. We would like for them to not do that, but we can't monitor them the whole day, and we had very good play sessions that day so in theory they should have been tired.

Cosmo was walking perfectly normal, Monty was walking low as he entered the room where Cosmo peed, because of that.

Except that we stayed up longer than usual, I can't think of anything. We know that he peed before, because dinner wasn't served on time. So I think, because he was meowing for attention, that he got frustrated and peed because of that.

Tricky question. Like 4 or 5 times since we got him? And it wasn't in a row or anything like that. There isn't a distinct pattern he follows.

Yesterday went like any other day. No behaviour changes. Cosmo was acting normal and Monty to. We swapped sides (I didn't read your message until now) and everything was fine. Cosmo was very relaxed and Monty was fine again too, even being in the bedroom. We were away for 8 hours or so, visiting my parents in a nearby town. We feared Cosmo would pee again, because we were away and dinner was late, but we came home to both cats happily greating us with meows, nothing broken, no pee. Just two hungry cats

Did Cosmo pee after you came back from visiting with the dogs?

General scents can cause peeing. For example, a cat can pee in a house even though they smell feral cat pee outside of the house.

The basket was near the gate. It could be that there was an incident at the gate when you were gone. Clothes tend to feel like litter or dirt so soft surfaces (like clothes) are places that a cat could choose to go in even if it is a far away from the place of insecurity. But I am wondering if something happened near the gate that caused Cosmo to feel insecure. Are you able to block off sight and access to the door when you are gone? I am not sure exactly what you could use but if you can think of anything.

You mentioned that they do climb the screen door. I am wondering if Cosmo climber the screen and Monty charged him causing some fear and insecurity.

Do you have a motion activated camera that you can turn on when you are gone to see what exactly is happening?

It doesn't sound like anything else was obviously a cause but that doesn't mean something did happen when you were gone. Like the dog barking downstairs or even the dog peeing downstairs.

What is really confusing is Cosmo was walking normal after. Yes, Monty would not like the peeing so I can see why he walked low OR it could be something in that room happened or maybe Monty was afraid if Cosmo did climb the screen door and Monty was scared so it remained when he entered Cosmo's territories.

Typically cat don't pee out of frustration of eating late or not getting attention. They may act up a little but not pee. That is more stress or territorial insecurity.

4 or 5 times is 4 or 5 too many BUT it tells me he isn't fundamentally having issues. It is more something that happens that causes him stress or insecurity. In other words, it is solvable.

Then yesterday no issues. So I am guessing it was a 1 time thing that causes Cosmo stress. Maybe Cosmo was meowing a lot, climbing the gate and Monty charged them and had a negative exchange at the gate. Typically I like to have a sold door to close between them BUT it is hard to have that set up. That is why I am wondering if something can be placed there to block access to the screen.

The good news is Cosmo seems to have bounced back quickly. Whatever happened didn't seem to linger with him. And I have to give you a lot of credit for handling it well as you didn't cause him additional stress.

Definitely step up play with Cosmo and try to make their encounters near the gate as positive as possible.

Let's not rush things. Just do the feeding slowly moving the dishes closer each day with the door open as long as they do well (eat not go after the other one).

I don't get a sense either wants to hurt the other so that is great. I get a sense Cosmo wants to play with Monty but Monty doesn't trust him yet which cause Cosmo not to trust him yet either. We just need to build that trust with confidence building and positive associations (eating) and positive encounters (no charging, chasing, aggressive pawing, etc).

 

[RocketPuppy97]

Did Cosmo pee after you came back from visiting with the dogs?

General scents can cause peeing. For example, a cat can pee in a house even though they smell feral cat pee outside of the house.

The basket was near the gate. It could be that there was an incident at the gate when you were gone. Clothes tend to feel like litter or dirt so soft surfaces (like clothes) are places that a cat could choose to go in even if it is a far away from the place of insecurity. But I am wondering if something happened near the gate that caused Cosmo to feel insecure. Are you able to block off sight and access to the door when you are gone? I am not sure exactly what you could use but if you can think of anything.

You mentioned that they do climb the screen door. I am wondering if Cosmo climber the screen and Monty charged him causing some fear and insecurity.

Do you have a motion activated camera that you can turn on when you are gone to see what exactly is happening?

It doesn't sound like anything else was obviously a cause but that doesn't mean something did happen when you were gone. Like the dog barking downstairs or even the dog peeing downstairs.

What is really confusing is Cosmo was walking normal after. Yes, Monty would not like the peeing so I can see why he walked low OR it could be something in that room happened or maybe Monty was afraid if Cosmo did climb the screen door and Monty was scared so it remained when he entered Cosmo's territories.

Typically cat don't pee out of frustration of eating late or not getting attention. They may act up a little but not pee. That is more stress or territorial insecurity.

4 or 5 times is 4 or 5 too many BUT it tells me he isn't fundamentally having issues. It is more something that happens that causes him stress or insecurity. In other words, it is solvable.

Then yesterday no issues. So I am guessing it was a 1 time thing that causes Cosmo stress. Maybe Cosmo was meowing a lot, climbing the gate and Monty charged them and had a negative exchange at the gate. Typically I like to have a sold door to close between them BUT it is hard to have that set up. That is why I am wondering if something can be placed there to block access to the screen.

The good news is Cosmo seems to have bounced back quickly. Whatever happened didn't seem to linger with him. And I have to give you a lot of credit for handling it well as you didn't cause him additional stress.

Definitely step up play with Cosmo and try to make their encounters near the gate as positive as possible.

Let's not rush things. Just do the feeding slowly moving the dishes closer each day with the door open as long as they do well (eat not go after the other one).

I don't get a sense either wants to hurt the other so that is great. I get a sense Cosmo wants to play with Monty but Monty doesn't trust him yet which cause Cosmo not to trust him yet either. We just need to build that trust with confidence building and positive associations (eating) and positive encounters (no charging, chasing, aggressive pawing, etc).

He peed while we were at home. Everything was fine after we came back from my parents. We were just in the other room, only the hallway between of us.

They normally don't do much when we are gone.

They both climb the door, and the other one will usually jump up on the gate and climb aswell. It doesn't matter who his in the bedroom. Sometimes Monty starts, sometimes Cosmo.
I think Monty was uncomfortable, because of the pee. After I cleaned it up ~ 10-15 minutes later he was more or less acting the same as always.

I think we had 1 incident where we were gone and he peed, normally he pees when we are at home. I nerver caught him while doing it.

We had a good playsession yesterday, we even set up our new Catit Duper Circuit infront of the door on each side so they can play with that, instead of each others paws when the are bored

I'll keep you updated if something new/different and/or prositive happens

 

[calicosrspecial]

Do you think you got dog scent on your clothes when you were over there? Did you pet the dogs and/or did they jump on you or did you just sit on things the dogs may have been on?

Did you put any clothes in the basket that had any dog scent on them? It could just even be a shirt that may not even have been touched directly by the dog.

It is possible Monty did something at the gate that scared Cosmo. But I am guessing it has something to do with the dogs. Your answers to the above questions could help.

Yes, I agreed Monty did not like Cosmo peeing and having his scent that strong. It is a territory thing that makes other cats not happy.

Do you remember what might have happened before he peed the other times? Did you visit a place with dogs or other animals? Was it after a negative encounter with Monty? Etc.

Great on the play and the new toy. That will give them a more positive encounter between them.

Please feel free to post anytime. I am happy to try to help.

 

[RocketPuppy97]

I think I didn't find the right words to describe the situation, as English is not my first language, I'm sorry
We visited my family with the dogs after the peeing incident. So I think it was something with Monty.
I'm one or two times the week at my parents house, cuddling the dogs and everything and it never triggered him like that before.

I assume that the other incidents are results of a negative Encounter with Monty as well, bit I can't say for sure what it was.
I would just like to know what Monty to to cause this reaction
I never caught him peeing there either so it's difficult to tell.

But nothing happened since then and I visited the dogs twice. And Monty seems to become his cuddly old self again. He demanded much affection before Cosmo moved in and the last two days he was laying on top of me, cuddling with me and my boyfriend all the time.

That's how close we are able to feed them. Monty was eating quite fast the first time but slowed down after a minute or two and now he looks over to Cosmo a few times but nothing more.

 

[calicosrspecial]

Your English is excellent. No need to apologize.

Yes, it doesn't sound like the dogs are causing any negatives so that is great. That shows that Cosmo is pretty confident.

I am guessing maybe Monty got a little aggressive when Cosmo maybe climbed the gate or played under the door. BUT it could have been something outside as well. I say that because of how well Monty and Cosmo do usually.

Often a cat pees as a "barrier" or in between them and the area where the negative thing is. So if it was by the gate it makes sense it may have been a negative encounter with Monty. It may have just been elevated stress with Monty. We don't know. BUT the way we solve it is to build confidence and make positive associations and positive encounters and minimize any negative encounters.

Awwwwwww, that is so nice. Love is a big part of building confidence in my opinion. So getting Monty to feel comfortable and loved and content and happy is really a good thing. And that builds a positive association with Cosmo.

This picture is fantastic and tells me a lot. Each day maybe move the bowls about 6 inches closer and see how they do.

Monty looking over tells me that Monty still doesn't totally trust Cosmo. Which is VERY NORMAL. It is Monty's territory being "invaded". But as you mentioned, Monty looked over at Cosmo a few times and then realized it was fine and ate better. SUCCESS!! POSITIVE ENCOUNTER. Trust building. This is exactly what we work to achieve.

GREAT WORK!!

Keep up the great work and let me know how things are going. You are doing great. Just don't rush them, keep building positive encounters and building confidence.

Also, if I ever use a word or words that don't exactly make sense please ask me to clarify them. Your English is excellent but I know I do use words that are not always understandable. I will try to be more careful in my word selection.

 

[RocketPuppy97]

The last two or three days have been very good. I've got a video up of tonights feedingsession. Monty started to walk over to Cosmo, but I distracted him and he minded his own business after that.
(sorry for the music, but my boyfriend was talking the whole time xD)
I also started feeding both of them treats with the gate open sitting in the doorframe. They were both pretty happy after all those treats it's a good method to distract them from their door shenanigans.
I think we are slowly getting somewhere!
Now it's just a matter of time and patient

 

[calicosrspecial]

This video is FANTASTIC!! Exactly what our goal is.

I would have loved to have seen what happened after the video ended.

If you notice, Monty walked over calmly and Cosmo didn't seem to mind.

Cosmo looked over at Monty and then went right back to eating.

This is exactly what we are looking for. Eating near each other (enjoying something positive) and they are just into the food and one cat may look over but there is no threat so they go back to eating (and it builds just a little more trust!) FANTASTIC!!!

There is no question in my mind they will get along. The question may be when but they are doing great and I see success in the future.

You are doing an amazing job.

Tomorrow move the bowls about 6 inches closer. Distract as needed. Make it as positive for them as possible. After they (or one of them) finishes just distract them as needed so the other can finish and it is a positive encounter.

Keep up the great work!!

 

[RocketPuppy97]

This video is FANTASTIC!! Exactly what our goal is.

I would have loved to have seen what happened after the video ended.

If you notice, Monty walked over calmly and Cosmo didn't seem to mind.

Cosmo looked over at Monty and then went right back to eating.

This is exactly what we are looking for. Eating near each other (enjoying something positive) and they are just into the food and one cat may look over but there is no threat so they go back to eating (and it builds just a little more trust!) FANTASTIC!!!

There is no question in my mind they will get along. The question may be when but they are doing great and I see success in the future.

You are doing an amazing job.

Tomorrow move the bowls about 6 inches closer. Distract as needed. Make it as positive for them as possible. After they (or one of them) finishes just distract them as needed so the other can finish and it is a positive encounter.

Keep up the great work!!

After the video had ended I threw a treat for Monty and closed the door without making a huge deal out of it.

And I got another good one.

Excuse the bad quality, it was a little difficult taking a picture and throwing treats for both cats.
They both wait more or less patiently for the next round of treats and no-one tries to steal from the other when I'm grabbing new ones

 

[calicosrspecial]

GREAT!!!

The more they are near each other doing something positive (eating, sitting looking at something other than each other) and nothing negative happens builds that trust and confidence between them.

It is really about maximizing positives and minimizing negatives.

Great job!! Keep up the great work.

 

[RocketPuppy97]

Here, have some very blurry pictures of me feeding them treats. They come as close as one hand width between them, it's insane. No negativity, no jealousy and no food stealing. They are just sitting there and eating. I was probably sitting there for 5 to 10 minutes.

We had one peeing incident, but I think it was because Cosmo did something bad and our mood was pretty tense the whole evening and my boyfriend and I fought aswell.
I don't think Monty did something to trigger it.
But it's no problem anymore, we have something to clean it up and remove the smell.

Sooo how long do I do this? Is there a certain thing to tell when they are ready or something? I don't want to move to fast so I'm asking

 

[calicosrspecial]

FANTASTIC!!! Keep moving the food bowls closer each day as well. Positive encounters with no negativity leads to more confidence and trust. If you sense any potential negativity distract in a positive way and stay calm and confident when distracting. REALLY WELL DONE!!

What exactly happened before the peeing incident? Where did it happen?

Yes, make sure it is an ezymatic cleaner. Here are some links:

How To Remove Cat Urine

How to remove cat urine - the complete guide

So for how long. We want them to be so trusting that when they get together they are like"this is no big deal, that cat is cool, they wont hurt me". I would do what you are doing for another week and let's evaluate. I am a little bothered by the peeing which may suggest (depending on your answers) that something is still unsettling to Cosmo.

Being slower actually tends to save time relative to rushing and having setbacks. BUT we don't want to go too slow so there is a balance.

After doing this on their sides then we'll do some feeding with both of them in each others territory (together). So one day we'll feed treats a few feet into Cosmo's territory and then the next day a few treats in Monty's territory. And see how it goes. Then we'll be getting them together to "hang out" in the same way. All this starting off with a few minutes and building on that. Always trying to keep it as positive as possible and avoiding any negativity. Distracting as needed.

You are really close. It is hard to know but I would say about another month. The only issue is I have to be gone for 3 weeks starting Aug 31 and will not have access to the internet. So I would probably like to take it a bit slower until I get back. But every indication is you are really close and you are doing a great job. It is not a question of IF they will get together but WHEN.

SO HOW WILL WE KNOW? - We will know a lot more when we don't have food involved and see if they just ignore each other or look away from each other etc. Not chase etc. When a cat is relaxed with good body language when the other cat is there and they are focusing on other things we'll know we have success. There are always ups and downs and some issues but watching how they react and how fast they recover tells us a lot. But all I see is really positives (other than the peeing).

I am not worried, you are going to succeed.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you need any clarification or have any questions. You really are doing a great job!!

 

[RocketPuppy97]

Okay I'll keep that in mind when you are gone. I think I'll be posting short updates if something interesting happens while you are away.

Fed them both in Monty's territory today, just two feet away from the gate. I was sitting there with them for 15 minutes without any incident. Monty was a little bit sceptical at first, not really sitting down more like squatting and his tail not relaxed flat on the ground, just above it hovering in the air.
After 5 minutes or so he started to be more relaxed. Sitting properly, tail laying on the ground.
He look over to Cosmo everytime I gave him new treats, just to be sure he doesn't get the better ones, but continued eating right away.

 

[calicosrspecial]

I will be around for another 12 days so we have time. My goal is to give you all the information so you can handle anything. I am not worried, you will do great when I am gone.

But please feel free to post anything when I am gone and I can catch up when I can.

FANTASTIC!! How far were the bowls away from each other? 15 minutes is a really long time for them so that is a great sign. It is VERY NORMAL for Monty to act that way. He still needs to build that trust with Cosmo and the more times they are together with no incident the more trust will be built. Keep doing this.

Keep feeding each side of the gate moving their bowls a touch closer each day. Watch them so it stays positive. Distract as needed.

Watch their body language as you did so well today with Monty. How relaxed they are, their tails etc. Stay calm and confident and reassuring with the cats to help them stay calm and confident.

You are doing great.

I wanted to ask you about the peeing incident. What happened before Cosmo peed? And where did he pee? Are you sure it wasn't Monty that caused it? Sometimes cats do things differently when we are not near them.

Keep up the great work, just keep reinforcing those positive encounters while minimizing any negative encounters. If you see tension distract as need with treats, toy, voice, etc. If you get the cats to look away that is success. Watch their body language so you can see if there is any tension and try to reduce it.

Overall, you are doing great and well on your way to success. Keep doing site swapping as well (doing something positive in the other's territory) and keep feeding moving closer each day as long as it is positive for them.

You are well on your way to success. Keep up the great work!!

 

[RocketPuppy97]

I will be around for another 12 days so we have time. My goal is to give you all the information so you can handle anything. I am not worried, you will do great when I am gone.

But please feel free to post anything when I am gone and I can catch up when I can.

FANTASTIC!! How far were the bowls away from each other? 15 minutes is a really long time for them so that is a great sign. It is VERY NORMAL for Monty to act that way. He still needs to build that trust with Cosmo and the more times they are together with no incident the more trust will be built. Keep doing this.

Keep feeding each side of the gate moving their bowls a touch closer each day. Watch them so it stays positive. Distract as needed.

Watch their body language as you did so well today with Monty. How relaxed they are, their tails etc. Stay calm and confident and reassuring with the cats to help them stay calm and confident.

You are doing great.

I wanted to ask you about the peeing incident. What happened before Cosmo peed? And where did he pee? Are you sure it wasn't Monty that caused it? Sometimes cats do things differently when we are not near them.

Keep up the great work, just keep reinforcing those positive encounters while minimizing any negative encounters. If you see tension distract as need with treats, toy, voice, etc. If you get the cats to look away that is success. Watch their body language so you can see if there is any tension and try to reduce it.

Overall, you are doing great and well on your way to success. Keep doing site swapping as well (doing something positive in the other's territory) and keep feeding moving closer each day as long as it is positive for them.

You are well on your way to success. Keep up the great work!!

The bowls were like two feet away yesterday evening I think. As I was handfeeding them treats at lunchtime they were really close one feet or less I would say.

Cosmo peed on a t-shirt that was laying on top of a small box in our bedroom. I don't think Monty caused it in this case, because they were acting pretty well that day. The only thing was, I had plastic box in the bedroom with my pet Madagascar hissing cockroaches ( I know, very weird pets) in them. They vet almost a perfect fit for this shelf

And he watched them but until that day he didn't do anything else. Well that day he threw them from the shelf, I don't know how he did it, it was a huge box next to the books where the blue bottle is.
I was furious. They had a lid, so it's not like they were all over the place, but some died because of the fall and the boxes where a mess too.
I didn't want to take my anger out on him so I stayed out of the room, because he's just a cat. But I know he could sense that I was angry with him.
On top of that I had a fight with my bf and he seems to be quite sensitive to that as well.


But it's all fine now. I moved them out of the room and Cosmo is acting normal again

 

[calicosrspecial]

Great. Just keep moving the bowls a few inches closer each day then when you get to 1 foot just keep them at that distance. Make sure they stay positive, no negativity. Distract if needed. Then when they are finished make sure they just go about their ways. Again, no negativity (staring, etc).

Yes. That could do it. Another unknown animal (predator threat potentially in his mind) can cause territorial insecurity. Do they actually make a hissing sound?

Well, we are all human and of course when something like that happens it is normal to be upset/angry. The more confident and secure we get him the less he should be affected.

You are so right, cats can pick up on our emotions so well. Even if we try to hide them they can just sense them. And they can see our body language. It is really amazing. And when we get stressed they get stressed. And stress can cause marking/peeing. But as he gt more confident and secure it should be less of an issue.

So, I am so proud of you that you analyzed the situation correctly. You are really understand cat!! Well done.

Just keep what you are doing, making positive associations with food and feeding. Try to make every encounter as positive as possible. Keep playing with them. And play with Cosmo in the area he peed. Feed treats after.

Keep up the great work. You are doing great!!

 

[RocketPuppy97]

After good work yesterday and the day before

We had a pretty rough morning today. One of them managed to get the door open, I don't know if it was not closer proberly or if one of them jumped on the door handle, but suddenly we had a thrown down Cosmo next to us in the hallway. It was really fast. I grabbed Monty and my bf grabbed Cosmo and brought him back in his room.
Being hungry is not the best time to meet another cat. Monty woke us up around 5:45 and they don't get food until 6:30 ( we don't want to be awake even earlier) and while we were in the bathroom one of them managed to get this fricking door open.
I'm pretty sad about it. Cosmo seems normal, he's watching my cockroaches in their tank

Monty is making more shenanigans at the door but does seem normal otherwise