The Hooper and Ollie Show

[Twylasmom]

I haven't read the whole thread from the start, just the beginning and the last few posts. It's exhausting, often, introducing adult cats! I've done a few and am in the process of another.
Just some thoughts, maybe helpful, maybe not.
It sounds great that Ollie is respectful of Hooper's hisses and growls. Also, Hooper going in to Ollie's room to investigate.
I don't know if you've tried any of these things, not having read the whole thread, but:
I've found using a big towel to throw over the chasing cat works great. Of course you have to be right there watching closely, so there's that.
With my cats yelling "Stop!!" works well. I don't do it all the time, the shock value is what does it. And the volume.
My cat Ziggy, who is 18 years old, loves to chase Mooshoo. It has calmed down over the last 4 years, and now is only for 5 or 6 feet, but still happens- it's fun, or territory related, or something for Ziggy- maybe Ollie will get some bored with it and do less. My partner's cat, who I am introducing now to my other, is a chaser, too, and the towel thrown over him works really well. And "Stop!!!"
Elwood, my partner's cat, isn't here all the time, so it's slowed things down some, but there is still progress. Same with you going back to work, it may slow progress but nothing to be done about that.
I've let Elwood be out longer periods of time, to get more hissing and growling by the others cemented in to him, now that I know he's not going to harm them and will back off with the hiss/growl. But always am close by still. It's progressing.

I hope things get better with time for both of us!!

Me, too! I also use a blanket on Ollie sometimes or throw a toy to distract him as he is very play oriented. Ollie is slowly learning what the growling means, several times he has walked past Hooper at close range without incident. And Hooper is curious, but wants to set boundaries.

 

[pearl99]

Ollie is slowly learning what the growling means, several times he has walked past Hooper at close range without incident. And Hooper is curious, but wants to set boundaries.

Darn good progress!

 

[Twylasmom]

A couple of photos showing how things are going. In the stairs picture Hooper let Ollie pass him with no growling on the way up, but did offer a warning growl when he came back down. Ollie passed without incident both times. In the second picture, they both just observed until Ollie jumped down on the far side of the bed, and Hooper jumped up a few seconds later. So….progress! They are good for about half an hour of supervised time twice a day. After that, Ollie starts to get manic so I give him some one-on-one play time and put him back upstairs. Hooper chills in the bedroom during those times. We are done with gates. They were helpful for initial introductions but then really stalled any progress. In the evenings I spending some one-on-one time with Ollie. He will crawl in my lap, make some biscuits and either bathe or sit for a few minutes. This is also progress. Biting behavior is lessening also.

 

[Margot Lane]

Wow, Ollie’s fur has gotten lusher since the first photo!

 

[Twylasmom]

Wow, Ollie’s fur has gotten lusher since the first photo!

He has become a handsome boy.

 

[Twylasmom]

Today, for the first time, they engaged in what I can only describe as play! Hooper was not too happy when I let Ollie out, being pretty hissy and growly. Ollie has been really good about heeding those warnings and knows to not get too close at those times. After about 15 minutes of supervised time I then fed them some dry food near each other. Hooper went rogue and started running around, so it wasn’t possible for me to run interference. Then they started chasing each other up and down the stairs and taking turns hiding under the guest bed! In each case the other cat respected the other one’s territory and didn’t go after the other one under the bed. I ended at about 30 minutes since they were pretty hyped up. Hooper went looking for Ollie and crying out for him. There was no fighting or caterwauling.

I couldn’t believe it! I am being really consistent about 30 minutes twice a day, and if things continue to improve (meaning I don’t have to monitor their every move) I hope to be able to extend the evening sessions (mornings are dictated by work).

 

[pearl99]

 

[Twylasmom]

As expected, some days are better than others. Hooper is still growling at Ollie, but only when he gets too close, and Ollie mostly respects it. Hooper always wants to keep tabs on Ollie, so will follow him around. It is taking a long time for him to feel comfortable with Ollie.

 

[Twylasmom]

Continuing to make painfully slow progress. Ollie is very slow to learn boundaries and will still chase, though not as often. Hooper will growl and sometimes swat in turn, in which case Ollie will back off. Hooper likes to find a high spot and watch Ollie, and will sometimes follow him around.

Yesterday, Hooper was hanging out on the bed and Ollie came into the room. I sat on the bed and Ollie bathed on the floor. Then he jumped onto the bed on the other side from Hooper and we all peacefully hung out for a couple of minutes. We are up to about 45 minutes per session.

 

[Twylasmom]

Some small improvements are happening. This morning they touched noses for the first time! Hooper hissed and Ollie took the hint and moved on. They also ate treats facing each other about a foot apart and I have been able to feed kibble with Hooper on the counter and Ollie on the floor several times. If Hooper is snuggled in on the couch with me he will tolerate Ollie jumping up on the other side of me (as long as he behaves). Hooper still offers a hiss or growl when Ollie gets to close and Ollie will still chase sometimes, which generally ends with a hiss and a swat. Still a long way from unsupervised time together, though I don’t have to hover quite as close.