We currently have a 6-cat household in a rural setting. The first two are blood brothers named Declan and Keefe that we rescued as motherless 5-week olds 2-1/2 years ago.
Then we rescued a homeless girl named Lily, also around 2 yrs old, who moved onto our property the following year.
Next came another feral named Donovan 6 months later, who also moved onto our property, that we took in; he's a 2-yr-old boy who's been living here about 9 months.
Finally, this past fall 2 other strays showed up on our property -- a small, unusual male cat (it turned out was a 1 yr old polydactyl) and a bigger boy who showed up at the same time, who's around 2-1/2. We trapped them both and took them in before the winter snows came. The little one, whose name is Finnegan, integrated very quickly. He loves everyone and they love him. We've really been able to make a peaceful, loving family out of the crew.
The other bigger boy, whose name is Desmond, has been much slower to come out of his shell, but he's made huge leaps strides since he's been here. We did with him what we did with all the others: separate room, slow introduction, etc. He graduated from one room to another, and then got the freedom to explore the entire 2-floor house. The problem is that our first 2 boys, Declan and Keefe, chase him back into the big bedroom that's his home base virtually every time he comes out. After about 2-1/2 months here, he's eager to spend time exploring other places, but they will just chase him at full speed if they see him. We've tried keeping Declan and Keefe behind the closed doors of another room while Desmond explores, but that's not a permanent solution, obviously.
Desmond has bonded somewhat with Donovan, and Finnegan plays with him, as does Lily a bit. But it's still an issue with our first two. There's no bad, vicious fighting, so it's not extreme in that sense. They just chase him back under the bed in that home-base room, and as the newcomer, he's not standing his ground with them. We feel so bad because he must so bored at this point. We want him fully integrated with everyone so that he has more places to go and interactions with others to have. When I have the time, I get them all in a room together with toys and treats, and that seems to help quite a bit, although Desmond is always a little hidey and hesitant, while Declan will sometimes take a lunge and a swat at him.
Does anyone have any suggestions about this situation? Many thanks!
Then we rescued a homeless girl named Lily, also around 2 yrs old, who moved onto our property the following year.
Next came another feral named Donovan 6 months later, who also moved onto our property, that we took in; he's a 2-yr-old boy who's been living here about 9 months.
Finally, this past fall 2 other strays showed up on our property -- a small, unusual male cat (it turned out was a 1 yr old polydactyl) and a bigger boy who showed up at the same time, who's around 2-1/2. We trapped them both and took them in before the winter snows came. The little one, whose name is Finnegan, integrated very quickly. He loves everyone and they love him. We've really been able to make a peaceful, loving family out of the crew.
The other bigger boy, whose name is Desmond, has been much slower to come out of his shell, but he's made huge leaps strides since he's been here. We did with him what we did with all the others: separate room, slow introduction, etc. He graduated from one room to another, and then got the freedom to explore the entire 2-floor house. The problem is that our first 2 boys, Declan and Keefe, chase him back into the big bedroom that's his home base virtually every time he comes out. After about 2-1/2 months here, he's eager to spend time exploring other places, but they will just chase him at full speed if they see him. We've tried keeping Declan and Keefe behind the closed doors of another room while Desmond explores, but that's not a permanent solution, obviously.
Desmond has bonded somewhat with Donovan, and Finnegan plays with him, as does Lily a bit. But it's still an issue with our first two. There's no bad, vicious fighting, so it's not extreme in that sense. They just chase him back under the bed in that home-base room, and as the newcomer, he's not standing his ground with them. We feel so bad because he must so bored at this point. We want him fully integrated with everyone so that he has more places to go and interactions with others to have. When I have the time, I get them all in a room together with toys and treats, and that seems to help quite a bit, although Desmond is always a little hidey and hesitant, while Declan will sometimes take a lunge and a swat at him.
Does anyone have any suggestions about this situation? Many thanks!
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