Rivel hardly eating after visual introduction to new cat :(

[Hoboforeternity]

Try sprinkling a little water in and mixing/mushing it up with a fork; sprinkling in a few pieces of dry is optional. Of course, this gets to be a PITA and a ritual as well, but it beats wasting food.

I already tried that :/

 

[pearl99]

The burying food thing is left over from being wild in the eons past, cats still have those instincts. In the wild they bury leftover food to hide the scent. A couple of my cats do that, last night one pulled a kitty pad she lays on over and covered the bowl. Another will just paw the bare floor to “bury.” It’s what some cats do.

 

[klunick]

I would still try the "tough love" option of putting the food down and walking away. If she hasn't eaten in 30 or so minutes, pick it up and don't hand feed her. Do it a few times to let her know that she isn't going to get catered to anymore. I really think that Rivel is punking you over Silver. She is a bratty older sister who was used to being spoiled and is now acting out over her new little sister. I honestly think that if you stop giving in, she will stop the behavior.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

The burying food thing is left over from being wild in the eons past, cats still have those instincts. In the wild they bury leftover food to hide the scent. A couple of my cats do that, last night one pulled a kitty pad she lays on over and covered the bowl. Another will just paw the bare floor to “bury.” It’s what some cats do.

i am confused she only do it to food she don't wanna eat. i thought she said "bah humbug" while burying it lol

I would still try the "tough love" option of putting the food down and walking away. If she hasn't eaten in 30 or so minutes, pick it up and don't hand feed her. Do it a few times to let her know that she isn't going to get catered to anymore. I really think that Rivel is punking you over Silver. She is a bratty older sister who was used to being spoiled and is now acting out over her new little sister. I honestly think that if you stop giving in, she will stop the behavior.

i'll try it tonight maybe.

 

[klunick]

i am confused she only do it to food she don't wanna eat. i thought she said "bah humbug" while burying it lol


i'll try it tonight maybe.

It seems that Gracie and Rivel have a lot of personality similarities. This works for Gracie (and Boone) when they suddenly decide that they don't want to eat. I used to give them a whole new can of something else but that was wasteful when I knew they liked what was given first normally. I would just leave what they had in their bowls and come back later to find the bowls were completely empty. Cats can be buttheads sometimes.

She might walk away at first but may come back a few minutes later when she sees that is all she is getting and will eat.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Progress update:

-More or less the same thing as yesterday happened. After that rivel got a case of zoomies and meowing loudly. Can stress cause zoomies? I played solo with rivel after that to calm her down.

-The frequency of hisses did decrease. Most of the chasing/hisses goes like this: silver is exploring, rivel is watching. If silver makes too much noise for example running around, rivel got up and started approachin the other. They got close then hissin started. Most of the time, it's from rivel to silver. Then silver ran and hid. Sometimes chase ensues. After a while ( 5 minutes or so), silver comes out again, and if she's being quiet, rivel usually doesn't mind. If silver is being noisy again, the whole thing started again, until hissing frequency increases and both looks frustrated (just started hissing on sight instead of distance based) i had to separate them again.


- Silver used Rivel's litterbox to pee instead of the one in the bathroom that's only hers. Is that good or bad thing?

Food:
I tried klunick method of leaving food, but rivel still won't eat. After an hour i ended up feeding it to her again. She did eat everything if i feed her but overall there's been no improvement. I will try leaving food when i go to sleep and see if it get eaten by morning.

 

[klunick]

Progress update:

-More or less the same thing as yesterday happened. After that rivel got a case of zoomies and meowing loudly. Can stress cause zoomies? I played solo with rivel after that to calm her down.

-The frequency of hisses did decrease. Most of the chasing/hisses goes like this: silver is exploring, rivel is watching. If silver makes too much noise for example running around, rivel got up and started approachin the other. They got close then hissin started. Most of the time, it's from rivel to silver. Then silver ran and hid. Sometimes chase ensues. After a while ( 5 minutes or so), silver comes out again, and if she's being quiet, rivel usually doesn't mind. If silver is being noisy again, the whole thing started again, until hissing frequency increases and both looks frustrated (just started hissing on sight instead of distance based) i had to separate them again.


- Silver used Rivel's litterbox to pee instead of the one in the bathroom that's only hers. Is that good or bad thing?

Food:
I tried klunick method of leaving food, but rivel still won't eat. After an hour i ended up feeding it to her again. She did eat everything if i feed her but overall there's been no improvement. I will try leaving food when i go to sleep and see if it get eaten by morning.

Sorry it didn't work. Rivel is one stubborn girlie!! This just cements the fact that I will always get siblings.

The whole introduction period is totally foreign to me as growing up it was not what my parents did. We got a new kitten after having a cat for a year or so. We just brought the kitten inside and the other cat just accepted it because she knew she didn't have a choice.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Well to be fair we don't know her previous history other than her sons that sadly neither survived.

 

[pearl99]

i am confused she only do it to food she don't wanna eat. i thought she said "bah humbug" while burying it lol

Haha. Mine will usually come back and "unbury" it from under the towel or kitty pad and eat later. I have had cats hardly eat in the daytime when doing an intro, then once the "newbie" is put back in the room resident will mostly eat during the night. That's a good idea to leave food when you go to bed. Hoping for you!

 

[calicosrspecial]

I already fees them in separated room and further from where the kitten is. She WILL eat them normally with freshly opened can, but with anything over than 8 hours, she won't eat unless i persuade her. (Aka hand feed)


One thing i noticed is if i give her the old food, she sniff around a bit, then makes burying movement like she does with litter. Does she think it's shit or what??? If you offer her new food, she sniff, lick then proceed to eat.

Absolute last resort is switching to something like fancy feast that is 85gr can instead of 160. That option is less economic because 160gr can cost around a dollar, and fancy feast is 85gr and cost around $ 0.80, which is half the size but not the price.

It wont bankrupt me, but it's still a significant increase in cost.

Would Rivel be willing to have a bigger serving of the freshy opened can? Though I know some cats have a small limit of what they eat in one sitting. And then Silver could finish off that can.

Some cats are just more picky.

Progress update:

"-More or less the same thing as yesterday happened. After that rivel got a case of zoomies and meowing loudly." - Ok.

"Can stress cause zoomies?" - I tend to think it is more excess energy. I don't really worry about zoomies. Other behavior would show any stress.

"I played solo with rivel after that to calm her down." - GREAT job!! The exact right thing to do.

"-The frequency of hisses did decrease." - great

" Most of the chasing/hisses goes like this: silver is exploring, rivel is watching. If silver makes too much noise for example running around, rivel got up and started approachin the other. They got close then hissin started. Most of the time, it's from rivel to silver." - Yes, that is normal and how it tends to happen. Feel free to reassure Rivel, try to get her to focus on you, etc. Try to make it as positive as possible.

"Then silver ran and hid. Sometimes chase ensues. " - Yes, normal. Silver hisses as well at times I assume.

"After a while ( 5 minutes or so), silver comes out again," - THAT is really good. What happens after tells us a lot about how the cats see the situation. 5 minutes is what I call a 'fast rebound". Very good.

"and if she's being quiet, rivel usually doesn't mind." - Excellent!! That shows that Rivel is probably teaching manners rather than trying to eliminate Silver.

"If silver is being noisy again, the whole thing started again, until hissing frequency increases and both looks frustrated (just started hissing on sight instead of distance based) i had to separate them again." - Ok, and feel free to reassure Rivel, distract. But it is normal, just part of the process.


"- Silver used Rivel's litterbox to pee instead of the one in the bathroom that's only hers. Is that good or bad thing?" - Awwwww. I think that is fine. It is good she uses a litter box and feels comfortable with Rivel's scent there. I don't think it is bad at all. How did Rivel react?

"Food:
I tried klunick klunick method of leaving food, but rivel still won't eat. After an hour i ended up feeding it to her again. She did eat everything if i feed her but overall there's been no improvement. I will try leaving food when i go to sleep and see if it get eaten by morning. " - I wouldn't leave wet food out too long.

They are doing just fine. Just keep reassuring Rivel when Silver is around, try distracting her if possible. Make their encounters as positive as possible.

On food, try to give a bit more when it is a fresh can and then feed the tough love and if it doesn't work give the rest to Silver. As long as Rivel is eating her wet food from the fresh can, and eating her dry/hard food and drinking and using her litter like normal I wouldn't worry about her eating.

I think everything is going as expected and well. It is a process and just sometimes takes a little time but it is very positive Rivel is accepting Silver.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Would Rivel be willing to have a bigger serving of the freshy opened can?

Not too much. If you give her too much, she left part of it uneaten. She will accept within reasonable margin, like maybe 10-20% but not double or more

I don't think it is bad at all. How did Rivel react?

I haven't seen rivel used that litterbox. She has 2 that she uses whenever she likes without rythm. One is in my room, the one silver used, one is in the living room. Tonight i saw rivel use the one in living room, but no particular interaction yet with the one in my room.

They are doing just fine. Just keep reassuring Rivel when Silver is around, try distracting her if possible. Make their encounters as positive as possible.

Yeah, but sometimes if i push too hard, she just hisses at me.

As long as Rivel is eating her wet food from the fresh can, and eating her dry/hard food and drinking and using her litter like normal I wouldn't worry about her eating.

Yeah, except for the food thing, her behavior has been mostly normal, beside some normal watchfulness when silver is around.

One good thing i notice is, at night rivel always try to wake me up at midnight, between 1-3 am(exactly what i am doing right now) sometimes she ask for pets for 10 minutes, then go back to whatever she's doing ( she would wait ln the floor in front of the sofa, if i sit on it, rivel would lay down on my foot, using it as pillow and lay there while i rub her head). I usually don't mind becauae i usuallt need to go to the bathroom around that time anyway. Last week it kinda stopped because she's probably too busy being suspicious. I even woke up late one day because i have been using rivel as alarm in the morning, but she stopped too. Recently she's starting to do it again, which means she's slipping back to our regular thing slowly.




Recently

 

[calicosrspecial]

Not too much. If you give her too much, she left part of it uneaten. She will accept within reasonable margin, like maybe 10-20% but not double or more






I haven't seen rivel used that litterbox. She has 2 that she uses whenever she likes without rythm. One is in my room, the one silver used, one is in the living room. Tonight i saw rivel use the one in living room, but no particular interaction yet with the one in my room.



Yeah, but sometimes if i push too hard, she just hisses at me.



Yeah, except for the food thing, her behavior has been mostly normal, beside some normal watchfulness when silver is around.

One good thing i notice is, at night rivel always try to wake me up at midnight, between 1-3 am(exactly what i am doing right now) sometimes she ask for pets for 10 minutes, then go back to whatever she's doing ( she would wait ln the floor in front of the sofa, if i sit on it, rivel would lay down on my foot, using it as pillow and lay there while i rub her head). I usually don't mind becauae i usuallt need to go to the bathroom around that time anyway. Last week it kinda stopped because she's probably too busy being suspicious. I even woke up late one day because i have been using rivel as alarm in the morning, but she stopped too. Recently she's starting to do it again, which means she's slipping back to our regular thing slowly.




Recently

"Not too much. If you give her too much, she left part of it uneaten. She will accept within reasonable margin, like maybe 10-20% but not double or more" - Ok, just give her the amount she will eat.

"I haven't seen rivel used that litterbox. She has 2 that she uses whenever she likes without rythm. One is in my room, the one silver used, one is in the living room. Tonight i saw rivel use the one in living room, but no particular interaction yet with the one in my room." - OK.

"Yeah, but sometimes if i push too hard, she just hisses at me." - Ok, we don't want her hissing at you so please don't push her too hard. You will find the right way to do it.

"Yeah, except for the food thing, her behavior has been mostly normal, beside some normal watchfulness when silver is around." - But it really is only the wet food after it has been open. Which is understandable.

"One good thing i notice is, at night rivel always try to wake me up at midnight, between 1-3 am(exactly what i am doing right now) sometimes she ask for pets for 10 minutes, then go back to whatever she's doing ( she would wait ln the floor in front of the sofa, if i sit on it, rivel would lay down on my foot, using it as pillow and lay there while i rub her head). I usually don't mind becauae i usuallt need to go to the bathroom around that time anyway. " - Awwwww, she wants some love. That is really good.

"Last week it kinda stopped because she's probably too busy being suspicious. I even woke up late one day because i have been using rivel as alarm in the morning, but she stopped too." - Yes, that will happen.

' Recently she's starting to do it again, which means she's slipping back to our regular thing slowly. " - Great, another great sign she is accepting.

Cats love routines so it is good to see her back to her routine.

Keep up the great work!!

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Another mid-day update. So i am on christmas break so i can watch over them longer now.

Today is the same mostly.

Positive things:
- rivel and silver starting to share scratching post. Well not in each other's presence, but silver started using Rivel's cat tree and scratched on the column. After that, Rivel's doing it, so even if they don't know it, scents are starting to get mingled.

- i get them to eat somewhat together! Silver is hiding under the dinner table, on the chair, rivel is on the floor. I picked some kibble, put half on my left hand, half on the other and offered to each at the same time and they ate!

Negative thing:
-i don't know if it's silver starting to learn boundaries, but it feels to me silver is getting scared of rivel. She always hides when rivel is hissing, with that, she also run from me trying to comfort her. If i try to comfort rivel, rivel hiss toward me. I know it's probably normal, as it never devolved into a full fight, but my heart just ache all the same seing either one is uncomfortable or disturbed.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

We reached a big milestone! I let silver out after lunch, rivel was about to go to sleep and she did ignore the noises because silver was doing zoomies and running around like crazy chasing ghosts probably. Rivel wakes up several times if it's too loud, but she doesn't try to shoo, and silver understand to keep her distance and not invade Rivel's personal space.

After running around like crazy for 2 hours, silver finally got tired and slept. I am pretty happy at this point. The work isn't done yet, but we're starting to see results.

The real Stage is when both are awake.

 

[Hoboforeternity]

OMG guys. We have a christmas miracle!!

After 3 of us slept together this afternoon, it seems like the cats realized they aren't gonna get attacked in their sleep and they warmed up to each other!!

Hissing still happens from rivel to silver if the younger cat approach paw distance, but most of the time they are now more curious about each other instead of being wary.

Here's them checking an ice cube together

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Well i am going to bed and i am letting silver out with rivel for the first time without direct supervision. Wish us luck!

 

[calicosrspecial]

OMG guys. We have a christmas miracle!!View attachment 363460

After 3 of us slept together this afternoon, it seems like the cats realized they aren't gonna get attacked in their sleep and they warmed up to each other!!

Hissing still happens from rivel to silver if the younger cat approach paw distance, but most of the time they are now more curious about each other instead of being wary.

Here's them checking an ice cube together

View attachment 363461

OH MY!!! THEY ARE SO GORGEOUS!!!!

And once I get over how gorgeous they are, look at how amazing they are doing!!! Rivel's body language is fantastic!!

I think it might be too late but I would probably not have Silver out without supervision yet.

Let's address some of the posts.

"Another mid-day update. So i am on christmas break so i can watch over them longer now." - Great

"Today is the same mostly." - Great

"Positive things:
- rivel and silver starting to share scratching post." - Perfect. They are sharing scents which is great.

" Well not in each other's presence, but silver started using Rivel's cat tree and scratched on the column. After that, Rivel's doing it, so even if they don't know it, scents are starting to get mingled." - Yes, this is great. And scent is ownership so it will help their territorial security and confidence.

"- i get them to eat somewhat together! Silver is hiding under the dinner table, on the chair, rivel is on the floor. I picked some kibble, put half on my left hand, half on the other and offered to each at the same time and they ate!" - Perfect, positive association and positive encoutner.

"Negative thing:
-i don't know if it's silver starting to learn boundaries, but it feels to me silver is getting scared of rivel." - OK, we will see.

" She always hides when rivel is hissing" - That is normal and she is showing Rivel she does not mean harm.

"with that, she also run from me trying to comfort her." - Yes, just let let Silver handle it. And reassure - use calm and confident and loving words to reassure both cats'

"If i try to comfort rivel, rivel hiss toward me." - Yes, just use words or slow eye kisses. Don't force attention or comfort (touching, etc).

" I know it's probably normal, as it never devolved into a full fight, but my heart just ache all the same seeing either one is uncomfortable or disturbed." - It is normal and part of the process. They are doing fine.

"We reached a big milestone! I let silver out after lunch, rivel was about to go to sleep and she did ignore the noises because silver was doing zoomies and running around like crazy chasing ghosts probably." Perfect. I am so proud of Rivel for being so good!!

"Rivel wakes up several times if it's too loud, but she doesn't try to shoo, and silver understand to keep her distance and not invade Rivel's personal space." - Great. Good job Silver for being so good!!

"After running around like crazy for 2 hours, silver finally got tired and slept. I am pretty happy at this point." - Perfect!!

" The work isn't done yet, but we're starting to see results." - Agreed, more work needs to be done but they are going to be fine.

"The real Stage is when both are awake. " - Yes

"OMG guys. We have a christmas miracle!!" - These pictures are AMAZING!!!

"After 3 of us slept together this afternoon, it seems like the cats realized they aren't gonna get attacked in their sleep and they warmed up to each other!!" - Yes, they are building trust!!! GREAT JOB!!!

My goodness, they are SO GORGEOUS!!!

"Hissing still happens from rivel to silver if the younger cat approach paw distance, but most of the time they are now more curious about each other instead of being wary." - Yes, hissing is communication so what happens after tells us a lot. It is being respected and that is why they are doing so well. Trust is being built.

"Here's them checking an ice cube together " - I LOVE this!!

"Well i am going to bed and i am letting silver out with rivel for the first time without direct supervision. Wish us luck! " - I would just keep them under supervision and reinforce the positives for a little bit longer.

GREAT JOB!!!

I LOVE Rivel and Silver!!!

 

[klunick]

Well i am going to bed and i am letting silver out with rivel for the first time without direct supervision. Wish us luck!

They know Santa is coming soon and don't want to be on the naughty list.

 

[pearl99]

Awwww, these updates are a Christmas gift to you. An end of a year of craziness, with some joy. It feels so good, doesn't it?

 

[Hoboforeternity]

Awwww, these updates are a Christmas gift to you. An end of a year of craziness, with some joy. It feels so good, doesn't it?

Very

I am trying to sleep but silver has been doing zoomies for almost 2 hours now. It's either she's finally able to let off steam or this is her normal energy level.


But yeah. Thank you everyone. Truly. Without each and everyone of you, especially C calicosrspecial

I couldn't have done it without all these support. Honestly i have been sleeping less that's also the part why i am kinda stressed. Sometimes rivel wakes me up in the middle of the night, sometimes silver cries in the bathroom so i sat there and pet her for 10 - 15 minutes and i am the kind of person who doesn't fall asleep easily once i wake up.