Attn: MaryL, re>having trouble introducing a new cat

MaryL, I don't know if you saw my post about the horrible trouble we're
having introducing a new cat into our household. Somebody who responded to
that post said you had some first-hand experience with that, and if so we'd
appreciate any input you could give us.

As an update, we have Moses segregated on our side porch while we are
keeping Seymour in the house. We have a litter box out there for him ... and
he is using it ... a pillow for him to lie on and plenty of food and fresh
water. Moses seems to be very content there, is showing no real urge to get
inside, although when we checked on him as we did periodically throughout
the day he did stick his head out into the adjoining room for a few seconds
and looked around, then went back to the porch. He seemed to be doing a bit
better, had calmed down some, but we had a setback this evening when we went
out to check on him and didn't notice Seymour on our heels and he got onto
the porch and Moses, who had been out and about walking around most of the
day, immediately hid underneath something and he only came out a very few
minutes ago when I went out to top off his water dish and give him a little
more food.

We also tried the first thing on Phil's list of things to do when
introducing a new cat, the sock trick.

The thing I'm most looking for input on is when we do try again to introduce
these cats to each other, how can we make Moses engage Seymour? If he
continues rolling up in a ball and covering his head and I guess hoping
Seymour is going to go away, then I really don't know how we're going to get
past this. Moses is going to have to engage Seymour for them to ever come to
some kind of accomodation ... that's all we're hoping for right now, as I
said in my first post at this point we could care less if they end up being
friendly ... establish some kind of pecking order or whatever.

I think I mentioned that Seymour is front declawed, he came that way from
the humane society. Moses, on the other hand, has claws like falcons'
talons, we have to keep them clipped regularly, and while we by no means
want this to end up in a catfight with somebody getting hurt, one would
think that if Moses ever stops being paralyzed by fear and realizes that he
can do a lot more damage to Seymour than Seymour can do to him, it might
help him become more assertive in this situation at least to the point of
engaging Seymour, as I said, instead of hiding and hoping that he goes away.

I addressed this post to MaryL in particular because as I said, it was
mentioned that she'd had similar experiences, but if anyone else cares to
check out my first post and this one and respond, please feel free.

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
link.net...
MaryL, I don't know if you saw my post about the horrible trouble we're
having introducing a new cat into our household. Somebody who responded to
that post said you had some first-hand experience with that, and if so
we'd
appreciate any input you could give us.




No, I did not see your original message, but I went back and read it after I
saw this post. Unfortunately, you have unintentionally done a lot of damage
by trying to push the two cats together, and it is going to take some time
to reverse the damage - but it can be done. When I say "time," this does not
mean a week or two - this means a considerable amount of time. It took a
full six weeks when I went through the introduction process with Duffy and
Holly. By forcing Seymour on Moses (with the best of intentions) without
providing time for a proper introduction, you have actually creating an
environment of fear. Many of the problems you listed are fear-based - hiding
under the bed, inappropriate urination and defecation, curling up in ball,
etc. Now, you need to start the process all over again. This time, you
should proceed very slowly and carefully. Also, please be aware that you
cannot "force" your cats to develop closeness to each other. All you can do
is provide an environment that will be conducive to a good relationship.
I wrote a document some time ago that describes how I introduced Holly and
Duffy. I have previously posted most of it on this newsgroup, but I am going
to repeat it for you because it has been some time since I described the
process (and hope long-time readers will overlook this long post). Before
you start the introduction that I will describe below, you should completely
separate the cats for at least two weeks. Do not segregate your resident
cat. Instead, let him have the run of the house and get him back into his
normal routine. Reserve one room for Seymour, the new cat in the household.
Have a litter box, toys, food and water in that room. This does not mean
that Seymour should never come out. For example, pick a time when Moses
takes a nap, then close the door to the room he is in and let Seymour come
out for awhile (which will also permit their scents to mingle).

After a considerable amount of time has passed and you get to the point
where you will begin physical and visual interaction, it is very important
that any association the two cats have with each other must be very
positive. If anything should happen so that the cats get together and start
hissing, do *not* yell or scold. Instead, distract the cats with treats or
toys and gentle praise. If it looks like a fight could develop, remain calm
and gently pick up one cat to separate them before a fight can begin. Doing
anything negative will only reinforce fear or negative reactions by the two
cats. Again, let me emphasize that you need to take this very slow. Expect
the whole process to take several months because there is damage that needs
to be undone. Give both cats lots of attention during this time - and it
will be very much worthwhile in the end. It's better to take extra time and
let Moses develop curiosity about the cat on the other side of the door than
to try to force a new cat on him.

Here is the original document that I mentioned:

This information is based on what I learned when I adopted Duffy and wanted
to bring Holly and Duffy together. Several people asked me to describe how I
introduced my two, and I hope some of this information may be helpful to
you.

Holly had been my "only child" for seven years and was used to being spoiled
and pampered. She also had shown a real dislike for other cats - so much so
that we called her the "black tornado" because she would immediately attack
any cat on sight. She became especially aggressive if another cat was
anywhere close to me. I did not plan on adopting another cat, so Holly only
came into contact with others when we visited my sister in another state.
Then I saw Duffy's picture on Petfinder. He is blind and his picture just
tore at my heart. He had been at the shelter for several months, and I knew
that he probably would not survive once kitten season arrives and the
shelter becomes overcrowded. So, I decided to adopt Duffy and do whatever I
could to bring the two cats together. My two cats now get along together
fine, but they were brought together very slowly and cautiously.

The first thing to be aware of is that it is important to take things very
slow and proceed with caution - do not try to "rush" anything. In my case,
this meant that it took a full 6 weeks from the day I adopted Duffy until
both cats had the full use of the house and were "together" throughout the
day. I set up a bedroom just for Duffy, partly to give him time to learn his
way around and partly to give Holly time to adjust. I arranged for the
adoption on a Tuesday and picked up Duffy two or three days later. In the
meantime, I set up three plug-in Feliway diffusers (one in the room that
would be "Duffy's room" for awhile, one in the hallway outside Duffy's room
where Holly would walk by the door to Duffy's room, and one in the living
area where Holly spends a large part of the day). If you don't have a
Feliway diffuser, it would be money well spent to get a couple of them.
Feliway is used for behavior modification and can be very useful in reducing
stress. Incidentally, I bought my Feliway from ValleyVet
(www.valleyvet.com). They have free shipping, which saves significantly on
the cost. I have also seen some good reports from people who order from
www.petguys.com. Do not get the one that says "with D.A.P." because that
formulation is for dogs.

Duffy learned his way around his new room very quickly. Holly did a bit of
hissing and growling outside his door, but it was pretty mild - none of the
"vicious" sounds she made in the past, and this was really pretty normal for
an "only child" who suddenly has a sibling in her home. I spent a great deal
of time with Duffy, and I alternated nights so that one night I would sleep
in my regular bed where Holly could join me and the next night I would sleep
in Duffy's room. I also left a radio in Duffy's room, tuned to a station
with classical or "soft" (soothing) music when he was left alone. I made
sure that Holly got lots and lots of love and attention through all of this.
Every time I left Duffy's room, I gave Holly an excessive amount of love and
attention. I wanted her to know that she was not going to be displaced in my
affections.

After a week, a friend located a damaged unfinished door. He cut a large
square out of the bottom of the door and covered it with metal mesh
(actually, the type of grill that is often mounted on the bottom of screen
doors to protect them from damage - sturdy and smooth, with no rough edges).
He temporarily replaced the bedroom door with the new screened door so that
Holly and Duffy could get up-close without any danger to either of them. He
removed the hardware (hinges and doorknob) from the permanent door and
mounted them on the temporary door, a process that was later reversed when
we replaced the permanent door. This worked well, but an inexpensive screen
door could be used for this same purpose. In fact, Megan has done this a
number of times, and she spends less than $20.00 by buying a very cheap
screen door and using the hardware from the permanent door for this purpose.

Duffy was eager to get together with Holly, but Holly wasn't at all sure
about the situation. She gradually began to show some interest and would
often rest outside the door; but she did not seem to be at all upset - very
different from previous attempts to introduce Holly to other cats. A couple
of days after the door was installed, I began to leave the door open for a
short time each evening, and gradually increased it to 2-3 hours each
evening. During this period, I kept Holly in a separate room - I still had
not brought them together in the same room. Duffy was quite adventuresome
and quickly learned his way around the house. This also distributed his
scent, which gave Holly time to become adjusted to the scent before I tried
to bring them together. Next, I placed tuna on two ends of a long platter
and slipped it under the door so the two cats could eat "together." The idea
was to place a plate with special-treat food under the door (with food on
each side of the door) so the cats would learn to associate something "good"
with being in close proximity when they ate the treats. Be sure to keep this
in mind when you install the screen door because you should cut enough off
the bottom (about 2 inches or a little more) so the platter can be slipped
underneath - and also so the two cat can eventually play "pawsies" together
under the door, as mine did.

Eventually, I began to give Duffy the run of the house along with Holly, but
only under close supervision. I gradually increased the amount of time the
two were together, and soon didn't need to supervise them. However, I did
not leave them alone in the house. I was careful to give Holly lots of extra
love and attention any time I had been playing with Duffy - I didn't want to
cause feelings of sibling rivalry.

After about five weeks into this process, I had a week of vacation. This was
the ideal time to let them really get to know each other. Throughout the
week, I gave them more and more time together - first all day, then both day
and night. By the time we approached the sixth week, both cats had the full
run of the house at all times, and then I began to leave the house for short
periods of time (first only an hour at a time, then would go back to check
on them). By the end of that week, they were together at all times. This
very slow, gradual transition has really paid off. My two furbabies are now
very comfortable together. They are usually both in the same room, they
frequently play together, and there is a real sense of companionship between
the two of them. They always eat together with no problems and sometimes
even share the same bowl. It took several months before they reached this
truly companionable stage, but they got along well enough for me to call it
a "success" after 6 or 8 weeks.

I hope this might give you a few ideas for your cats. Please let me
re-emphasize this point: take it very slow, and don't try to rush things.
Whenever you think it's time to move to the next step, you should probably
stop and wait it out for another week. It took about 6 weeks for us to work
through the entire process. I "thought" I going slow when I tried to
introduce Holly to my sister's cats some time ago (we took about two weeks),
but that was a disaster and led to the "black tornado" references. The
difference this time has been remarkable. Friends who knew how Holly had
reacted in the past really could hardly believe it. They were sure that it
was never going to be possible to place Holly with any other cat.

I have posted a "pictorial history"on a friend's web site showing our
progress, including pictures of the temporary door that helped so much. If
you would like to see it, go to this location: http://tinyurl.com/6amr.
There are also some later pictures in a second album that shows the progress
we have made: http://tinyurl.com/8y56. The two links I gave are the
"short" links created by tinyurl. If those links won't open, you might want
to try the longer versions:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1636692&uid=476350 and
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1916528&uid=476350.

I hope this helps! Please keep us updated, and don't hesitate to ask for
more help.

MaryL

MaryL wrote:

I wrote a document some time ago that describes how I introduced Holly and
Duffy. I have previously posted most of it on this newsgroup, but I am going
to repeat it for you because it has been some time since I described the
process

Dear MaryL,

Thanks very much for reposting this intro process. It comes in handy
for me especially since I am also going through the same situation as
the original poster with regards to a botched up intro process between
Vanessa (who arrived in May) and my other two cats Cleo and Enkidu.
(The problem is really with Cleo and not Enkidu, as Enkidu is a
particularly docile cat who really couldn't care less.)

With my situation it may take even longer since it involved bad cat
fights between Cleo and Vanessa. Now Vanessa has been separated in her
own room (once again) for the past few days and the stress levels in
the house have already been greatly reduced. Every so often I'll open
the door to let the two cats have a look at each other. Sometimes
there's hissing, sometimes not. All my cats are getting equal amounts
of attention and affection. No one is lacking and there is a definitive
improvement in the atmosphere.

As you had suggested, I'll keep Vanessa in that room for another couple
of weeks before I take the next step.

I have an old screen window that I'll get remodeled into a screen door
and when the time comes, I'll put that up on the door frame, and I'll
make sure the bottom is high enough to stick a long platter so that I
can feed both the cats treats at the same time. (That's such a
fantastic idea.)

Thanks once again.

Marcie

PS - Gregory, best of luck to you and to your cats Moses and Seymour. I
can really empathize.

Gregory Bailey wrote:


We also tried the first thing on Phil's list of things to do when
introducing a new cat, the sock trick.

Don't rush things, you just got them separated again, if I understood
correctly? Give them at least a few days or a week to stabilize and calm
down, maybe longer. You have to give them time to forget some of the
fearful and aggresive attitudes

The thing I'm most looking for input on is when we do try again to
introduce these cats to each other, how can we make Moses engage
Seymour?

You can't "make" the cat do anything without the risk that you're also
going to make the cat more fearful. They have to decide when they're
ready to "engage". You *can* try to entice him out with food or play.

I haven't tried Feliway myself, but it sounds like it would be worth
trying with Moses, to get him feeling more calm and confident.

If he continues rolling up in a ball and covering his head
and I guess hoping Seymour is going to go away, then I really don't
know how we're going to get past this. Moses is going to have to
engage Seymour for them to ever come to some kind of accomodation ...
that's all we're hoping for right now, as I said in my first post at
this point we could care less if they end up being friendly ...
establish some kind of pecking order or whatever.

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:z2OWe.3010$P34.554@okepread07...

No, I did not see your original message, but I went back and read it
after I
saw this post. Unfortunately, you have unintentionally done a lot of
damage
by trying to push the two cats together, and it is going to take some time
to reverse the damage - but it can be done. When I say "time," this does
not
mean a week or two - this means a considerable amount of time.

This is absolutely true. In our defense, though, my wife has twice in the
past introduced a new cat into a household with another cat, and I've
introduced one new cat into a household with another cat, and we have never
experienced anything like this. The time I introduced a new cat, it was like
one sniff and they were bosom buddies. Of course, the problem there is (a.)
that apparently our past experiences were the exception rather than the rule
and (b.) we shouldn't have assumed that just because it happened that way in
the past doesn't mean it's going to happen that way now. Bottom line, we
made assumptions based on our past experiences that turned out to be wrong,
and we got totally blindsided by this. Plus the basically two weeks we lost
from the process when first one cat then the other were sick and we tried to
completely segregate them from any interaction to keep them from infecting
each other with the upper respiratory infection didn't help matters.

It took a
full six weeks when I went through the introduction process with Duffy and
Holly.

We are willing to give it that much time or longer.

By forcing Seymour on Moses (with the best of intentions) without
providing time for a proper introduction, you have actually creating an
environment of fear. Many of the problems you listed are fear-based -
hiding
under the bed, inappropriate urination and defecation, curling up in ball,
etc.

Moses has always been prone to urination and defecation in stressful
moments. I mentioned this before, and I say this with love for Moses and not
to put him down, because he is basically "my" cat ... or let me rephrase
that, I am "his" person; in other words he has bonded with me more than
anyone in the house over these 14 years and he absolutely worships the
ground I walk on and I kind of love him a pretty good bit as well ... Moses
is, for lack of a better term, crazy. Even though he's a loving cat, almost
to the extreme in a lot of ways (especially with me) and certain situations,
he also has, over 14 years, shown signs of what would be described in humans
as paranoia, neuroses, psychoses, the whole gamut. I promise you on a stack
of Bibles that I am not overstating this or being melodramatic. He is
extraordinarily fearful of EVERYTHING, always has been. It's always been a
joke with us ... "here comes our psychotic, neurotic, paranoid cat," but as
he's gotten older and had the health crisis that almost killed him earlier
this year and now this situation, it's not as humorous. Anything like this
connected with Moses is going to be a tough assignment, simply because of
his personality quirks. But we are not about to abandon him. He's a member
of the family.

Also, please be aware that you
cannot "force" your cats to develop closeness to each other. All you can
do
is provide an environment that will be conducive to a good relationship.

Again, at this point all we are looking for is tolerance and acceptance that
they (a.) both live here and (b.) neither one of them is going anywhere. It
would of course be desirable that they have friendly interaction, and we
hope and pray that at the end of this process they will, but more than
anything we want tolerance and acceptance of each other's existence from
them.


Before
you start the introduction that I will describe below, you should
completely
separate the cats for at least two weeks. Do not segregate your resident
cat. Instead, let him have the run of the house and get him back into his
normal routine.

The reason we segregated Moses is that his urination and defecation was
ruining things in the house. We're going to have to replace some curtains
and he also damaged some sheets, a pillow, some of the kids' toys and
various items of clothing, plus we're probably going to have to have some
carpet professionally cleaned. It would be a sensitive thing to say that
given the circumstances, those material things should not be a concern.
However, the cold, hard reality is that they are a major concern, and what
was going on was simply not acceptable. It may not have been the right thing
to do to help alleviate this situation or further the process of introducing
him and Seymour, but we simply had to get Moses out of the house until he
stopped defecating and urinating and sitting their lying in it because he
wouldn't go to the box..

We are willing to change the arrangement if necessary, but I fear that we've
gotten ourselves in a pickle in another way because Seymour has now been in
the house for four weeks, so he's got a claim on things too, although
certainly not 14 years worth. He's the new cat compared to Moses, and in
Moses' mind, but the reality is that now he's not really "new" anymore. This
is his home. Plus the family, especially the kids which is not surprising
since Seymour is a young cat who likes to play and Moses is rather long in
the tooth, has bonded really heavily with Seymour. Plus Seymour has bonded
really heavily with us, and his personality is that he's a people cat, he
wants to be where his people are. So if we segregate Seymour, are we not
inviting problems with him and him thinking that we're punishing him or
don't love him anymore or whatever? I mean, it's like we've messed up so
badly that now we're in a situation of darned if we do or don't.

After a considerable amount of time has passed and you get to the point
where you will begin physical and visual interaction, it is very important
that any association the two cats have with each other must be very
positive. If anything should happen so that the cats get together and
start
hissing, do *not* yell or scold. Instead, distract the cats with treats or
toys and gentle praise. If it looks like a fight could develop, remain
calm
and gently pick up one cat to separate them before a fight can begin.
Doing
anything negative will only reinforce fear or negative reactions by the
two
cats. Again, let me emphasize that you need to take this very slow. Expect
the whole process to take several months because there is damage that
needs
to be undone. Give both cats lots of attention during this time - and it
will be very much worthwhile in the end. It's better to take extra time
and
let Moses develop curiosity about the cat on the other side of the door
than
to try to force a new cat on him.


We have tried to remain positive with them and will continue trying to do
that. And we're not so much resigned, but committed to the fact that this is
not going to solve itself overnight. It's not going to be like the three
other non-stressful, non-problematic new cat introductions that my wife and
I have personally gone through. We realize that now. Basically, we're going
to take all we've learned from you and other folks here and try to come up
with a game plan for what we need to do. Whatever that game plan is, rest
assured we're in it for the long haul.

Thanks!

"Gregory Bailey" wrote in message
link.net...
MaryL, I don't know if you saw my post about the horrible trouble we're
having introducing a new cat into our household. Somebody who responded to
that post said you had some first-hand experience with that, and if so
we'd
appreciate any input you could give us.

As an update, we have Moses segregated on our side porch while we are
keeping Seymour in the house. We have a litter box out there for him ...
and
he is using it ... a pillow for him to lie on and plenty of food and fresh
water. Moses seems to be very content there, is showing no real urge to
get
inside, although when we checked on him as we did periodically throughout
the day he did stick his head out into the adjoining room for a few
seconds
and looked around, then went back to the porch. He seemed to be doing a
bit
better, had calmed down some, but we had a setback this evening when we
went
out to check on him and didn't notice Seymour on our heels and he got onto
the porch and Moses, who had been out and about walking around most of the
day, immediately hid underneath something and he only came out a very few
minutes ago when I went out to top off his water dish and give him a
little
more food.

We also tried the first thing on Phil's list of things to do when
introducing a new cat, the sock trick.

The thing I'm most looking for input on is when we do try again to
introduce
these cats to each other, how can we make Moses engage Seymour? If he
continues rolling up in a ball and covering his head and I guess hoping
Seymour is going to go away, then I really don't know how we're going to
get
past this. Moses is going to have to engage Seymour for them to ever come
to
some kind of accomodation ... that's all we're hoping for right now, as I
said in my first post at this point we could care less if they end up
being
friendly ... establish some kind of pecking order or whatever.

I think I mentioned that Seymour is front declawed, he came that way from
the humane society. Moses, on the other hand, has claws like falcons'
talons, we have to keep them clipped regularly, and while we by no means
want this to end up in a catfight with somebody getting hurt, one would
think that if Moses ever stops being paralyzed by fear and realizes that
he
can do a lot more damage to Seymour than Seymour can do to him, it might
help him become more assertive in this situation at least to the point of
engaging Seymour, as I said, instead of hiding and hoping that he goes
away.

I addressed this post to MaryL in particular because as I said, it was
mentioned that she'd had similar experiences, but if anyone else cares to
check out my first post and this one and respond, please feel free.


Greg,

I think the best thing to do is begin the introduction process all over
again. The second time might take longer. I think the 'gate method' that I
described on my site will help a great deal. With the gates, the cats can
adjust to being close to each other without any fear or danger. The gates
will also help make Moses feel that Seymour isn't taking over his territory.

http://www.maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm


Best of luck.

Phil

"Phil P." wrote in message
...


Greg,

I think the best thing to do is begin the introduction process all over
again. The second time might take longer. I think the 'gate method' that
I
described on my site will help a great deal. With the gates, the cats can
adjust to being close to each other without any fear or danger. The gates
will also help make Moses feel that Seymour isn't taking over his
territory.

http://www.maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm


Best of luck.

Phil




Phil,

The gate method you described is similar to the door I used (which was an
unfinished door with a cut-out and metal mesh mounted over the hole, or a
very inexpensive screen door). In fact, my sister has used the gate method.
However, I found the doors I used to be much easier to use over a period of
time because they can easily be opened and closed, just as any other door
(pictures can be seen in Duffy's album). My sister's gated door was more
awkward to use. We used the same hardware from the permanent door -- we
removed the hinges and door knobs from the permanent door and mounted them
on the temporary screened door. Later, we reversed the process, and I
stored the temporary door in my attic for possible future use. You might
want to take a look at the pictures because this door worked beautifully --
and had the added advantage for me of retaining the guest room that I used
for Duffy as a bedroom with some privacy, just in case I needed it during
that time (as I did, except that I slept in the guest bedroom with Duffy and
turned my bedroom over to my brother when he visited).

MaryL

Pictorial history of Duffy's introduction to Holly
The introduction:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...6350&members=1
Later progress:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...528&uid=476350

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
news:WV%We.3054$P34.800@okepread07...

"Phil P." wrote in message
...


Greg,

I think the best thing to do is begin the introduction process all over
again. The second time might take longer. I think the 'gate method'
that
I
described on my site will help a great deal. With the gates, the cats
can
adjust to being close to each other without any fear or danger. The
gates
will also help make Moses feel that Seymour isn't taking over his
territory.

http://www.maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm


Best of luck.

Phil




Phil,

The gate method you described is similar to the door I used (which was an
unfinished door with a cut-out and metal mesh mounted over the hole, or a
very inexpensive screen door). In fact, my sister has used the gate
method.
However, I found the doors I used to be much easier to use over a period
of
time because they can easily be opened and closed, just as any other door
(pictures can be seen in Duffy's album). My sister's gated door was more
awkward to use. We used the same hardware from the permanent door -- we
removed the hinges and door knobs from the permanent door and mounted them
on the temporary screened door. Later, we reversed the process, and I
stored the temporary door in my attic for possible future use. You might
want to take a look at the pictures because this door worked
beautifully --
and had the added advantage for me of retaining the guest room that I used
for Duffy as a bedroom with some privacy, just in case I needed it during
that time (as I did, except that I slept in the guest bedroom with Duffy
and
turned my bedroom over to my brother when he visited).

MaryL

Pictorial history of Duffy's introduction to Holly
The introduction:

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...6350&members=1
Later progress:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/...528&uid=476350


Actually, the gates are very simple to use. A lot easier than hanging a
door for many people. Only the top gate must be tightly in place- the
bottom two gates easily slide open and closed for feeding and entering the
room.

Phil

On Sat, 17 Sep 2005 19:27:32 GMT, "Gregory Bailey"
wrote:

snip

Just to echo what's been said - with cats, patience is a virtue. Dogs
learn things the first few times you show them. Cats take forever. We
spoiled an introduction by letting the new cat too close too soon, and
Megan pointed out that we'd need a regimented, nearly round-the-clock
regime to fix things - which we could not do because of our hellish
schedules. This was a good outcome, luckily, because Megan intervened.

With our current introduction, things are complicated because the new
cat is neurotic to begin with. It may be because of the declawing, or
the long trip, but we are taking things VERY slowly. We've just
started peeling the cardboard away from the screen-door, and had quite
pleasant interactions while the new cat's owner (son's girlfriend who
recently moved in) pets her and gives her treats, and we sit on the
other side petting and treating our own cats.

The major point to remember is that if the cats get into a scuffle,
you've lost more than the time currently invested in the introduction
- you have to go back even earlier.

BLink