So November 2017 was when we brought Olive in. It’s been a long and stressful introduction to Gohan and Trin (RIP). Gohan chased her for the first couple months and was very territorial. Then he somewhat sequestered himself upstairs to avoid her. Over time they could be in the same room but we moved 3 months ago and he were still suspicious of Olive and they couldn’t be relaxed around each other. Every time they interacted it was instant breadcat until one slunk away.
Until now.
About a month after the move, Olive started chasing Gohan playfully (at least on her end). He seemed annoyed but he would come back into the same room so we let it continue. After a few relentless days of him being chased all over the house, he chased her back and cornered her by a bookshelf. Then he proceeded to berate her by meow-shouting in her face for at least 30 seconds. She was properly cowed and we cheered him on. Since then he’s done that again, and again she slinks away properly chagrined.
Even with this, they started sharing window seats together and having a cautious truce. In fact the playing/fighting/chasing seems to have made them a little closer. Maybe this is them learning boundaries and reducing the unknown fears and tension.
But just the other day I came downstairs to discover them both in the window, completely relaxed and lying down. This is HUGE for Gohan, who is always a bit distrustful.
When we first hit introduction snags, our best hope was they could be in one room together without worrying there would be a chase or fight. After that happened (it took 6 months) we were just looking forward to them being able to ignore each other and not be so hyper vigilant.
No we wonder if they might actually cuddle in a few years. So if you are having introduction issues, know that it can work out! It’s stressful and it takes a lot of human work but ultimately rewarding.
Until now.
About a month after the move, Olive started chasing Gohan playfully (at least on her end). He seemed annoyed but he would come back into the same room so we let it continue. After a few relentless days of him being chased all over the house, he chased her back and cornered her by a bookshelf. Then he proceeded to berate her by meow-shouting in her face for at least 30 seconds. She was properly cowed and we cheered him on. Since then he’s done that again, and again she slinks away properly chagrined.
Even with this, they started sharing window seats together and having a cautious truce. In fact the playing/fighting/chasing seems to have made them a little closer. Maybe this is them learning boundaries and reducing the unknown fears and tension.
But just the other day I came downstairs to discover them both in the window, completely relaxed and lying down. This is HUGE for Gohan, who is always a bit distrustful.
When we first hit introduction snags, our best hope was they could be in one room together without worrying there would be a chase or fight. After that happened (it took 6 months) we were just looking forward to them being able to ignore each other and not be so hyper vigilant.
No we wonder if they might actually cuddle in a few years. So if you are having introduction issues, know that it can work out! It’s stressful and it takes a lot of human work but ultimately rewarding.
They really may become best buds yet. 
