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To Megan and Mary - O'Malley/Xena (long)
Dear Megan and Mary,
Many Thanks for taking so much of your time and your trouble to help me make my two cats friends for life. I really appreciate all your help. After reading your posts under "O'Malley-Hercules & Xena......." and Mary's email, I have done some thinking. First of all, even before that, I had no intention to allow any cat fights if could be at all avoided. What Dr Raoul has said, I take with a grain of salt, and I have my own modifications to his plan. I can see many similarities in my situation to Mary's, but there are also big differences. 1) O'Malley can't stay in an enclosed room much longer. No matter how big. This morning he was screaming & throwing himself at the door hoping to get out. The bathroom where he is now is a really large one, with two large windows, scratching post and all that he needs. He used to be let outside and this he must be missing, too. 2) Xena is the one who will probably keep distance from O'Malley at first. She does it with new humans as well. Two years ago she spent 3 days under my bed when my sister was visiting - she started making appearance on the third day. This is because I have been hiding her in a rental unit for over 3 years and pets were NOT ALLOWED. There was minimal contact with outside world for her. How do I know what to expect from her? This morning I have put O'Malley into Xena's cat carrier and opened the bathroom door. It didn't take long and Xena approached the box. She sniffed at him, gave a long quiet hiss; then again and again. Inside the box O'Malley was undisturbed - he has been with other cats before. Neither was aggressive. Xena sniffed for a little longer, then walked away. She returned twice to sniff some more - crawling and cautious. No more hissing. Then she disappeared. After I closed the bathroom door and released the 'prisoner' who was totally undisturbed and jumped onto the window to look out. I went to look for Xena and couldn't find her. Eventually I located her in my bed, under covers (her recent hiding spot). She stayed there for another 30 minutes until I left for work, and I believe she is still there now. Well, Xena is not outgoing enough to make initial contact, and I think she may just hiss or warn him off should he try to approach her at first. It may take her a few days to come out of hiding once she knows that he is no danger to her. I intend to keep O'Malley in his bathroom for two more days, until Saturday after work when I plan to release him. I will open his door a fraction tonight and secure it with a door stopper so that he stays inside - see what happens. I will repeat the exercise with O'Malley in the cat carrier a couple of times. May also put Xena in my bedroom (her safe haven) and let him run around the house first. Please let me know what you think about all this. I simply didn't detect any real aggression on either side while they 'met' this morning, and Xena's hissing was far less than what I expected. I think it is time to move forward, mainly because O'Malley really can't stay in the bathroom or any other room much longer, although Feliway does make him a bit calmer. Today I also obtained a treatment for him from a holistic vet, who matched it to his specific anxiety. I am looking forward to your replies, Many Thanks once again, Regards, Andr0 -- |
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