Well, the integration process continues. It's not gonna be easy. Anyone who can give us advice on getting two strange (ranger) cats to live together in a state short of war, drop us a comment. Maddie know there is an interloper in the sitting room, and has been keeping sharp watch under the door:
We're trying to reassure Maddie as much as we can, and we do our best to give her lots of loving, and treats, and we do our best to play with her a lot. She's not being destructive, and she's not shunning us, but she's rather on edge.
Ivy, on the other hand, seems to be making out like a bandit. She's going through at least two 3-oz bags of gooshy food and a big chunk of the dry we put out for her snacks. And I always give her some treats when I come in to flea-comb her. She's getting used to us now, and she doesn't hide under the TV stand any more. She's got a purr like doves cooing, and she likes head pats. Here's a shot of her in one of Maddie's favorite places (gulp):
You can tell that she's been in a real bad way recently. The scarey thing is that, even with that big raw patch on her side (and the one like it on the other) she's in far better condition than when we found her.
Many thanks to a nice lady named Marion, who called about the cat, thinking her ex-hubby had just plain left the cat out too long. Ivy's not her cat, but I'm happy that she called. Thanks also to one of Lady Ranger's coworkers who donated to the Rescue Ivy fund. The money's going to a new cat bed, just for Ivy.
And a Great Big Shout-Out for Agnes, who sent us a great e-mail with lots of usefule links. Agnes, you are great!
Once again, let me know of any tips for cat-harmony.
There will be noise at first, but as long as there are places to run and hide little damage will be done. You just have to wait until the old cat realizes the new one isnt going away and isnt costing her any food or attention.
You might try bribery. Open the door and sit in the doorway and feed treats to either side and let them his back and forth a while.
In my experience cats go to toleration mode in a pretty short time, like a few weeks. Before that they tend to avoid each other which reduces friction. Female cats especially seem to divide houses into my room and her room and neutral ground. Male cats tend to wander from room to room more randomly.
An older cat may like a haven to go to when a young cat is too physical even when they are used to each other. I had a new kitten and a 17 year old so when the little guy got big could be too rough even when playing.
So get some treats, open the door, get the first spits and growls over with and get them used to each other.
Posted by: Chris Smith | May 16, 2006 at 11:55 PM