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#1
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I Think I Made A Mistake
Let me introduce the Players:
Bender - 5 year old spayed female (we have been together since she was 5 weeks old) Callie Y - 5 year old spaye female Litter mate of Bender (been with me since she was 10 months old - different story) Bailey- 4 month old female- not yet spayed have had 1 week. Adopted from Animal Control. We have begun introducing Bailey to the "dymantic duo". First through glass french doors, now with time out of the room- About 15 to 20 minutes each time. For the most part Callie Y has set Bailey in her place (she young so sometimes she forgets) Bender on the other had has no spine. She will not set Bailey straight on whats what. She runs and hides from Bailey. After of course a full blown yelling match. Bender is a 'special needs cat' and now I am afraid that getting a kitten so young and vibrate will stress Bender out so much that she will again start losing her hair. I am at a lose at what to do. I have made a commitment to Bailey but shouldn't my first concern be Bender? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kris |
#2
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"Kris Croft" wrote in message link.net... Let me introduce the Players: Bender - 5 year old spayed female (we have been together since she was 5 weeks old) Callie Y - 5 year old spaye female Litter mate of Bender (been with me since she was 10 months old - different story) Bailey- 4 month old female- not yet spayed have had 1 week. Adopted from Animal Control. We have begun introducing Bailey to the "dymantic duo". First through glass french doors, now with time out of the room- About 15 to 20 minutes each time. For the most part Callie Y has set Bailey in her place (she young so sometimes she forgets) Bender on the other had has no spine. She will not set Bailey straight on whats what. She runs and hides from Bailey. After of course a full blown yelling match. Bender is a 'special needs cat' and now I am afraid that getting a kitten so young and vibrate will stress Bender out so much that she will again start losing her hair. I am at a lose at what to do. I have made a commitment to Bailey but shouldn't my first concern be Bender? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kris I think your biggest mistake is that you have tried to move much too fast. You need to have a lot of patience and make the introductions much more slowly. Here are some sites that provide information on bringing a new cat into the household. http://www.catcaresociety.org/intro.htm http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/catintro.htm http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/catcat.html http://www.methuen-mspca.org/petcare/htm/catintro.htm http://operationnoblefoster.org/catsanddog.htm http://www.catsinternational.org/ (library of articles) I have also prepared a fairly lengthy description of how I introduced Holly (who previously was very aggressive toward any other cat) and Duffy. Send private email to me if you would like to receive a copy. MaryL |
#3
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Kris Croft wrote:
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Get a Feliway diffuser (available on pet stores or over the internet) and give them time. -- Victor Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam he Email me he |
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#5
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"Karen Chuplis" wrote in message ... Take MaryL up on her offer. She did a tremendously successful job. Kakren Thanks! That makes me feel great. MaryL |
#6
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I have no ideas unfortunately, but I do hope the kitties will learn to
accept each other soon. Best wishes and purrs, -- Polonca & Soncek "Kris Croft" wrote in message link.net... Let me introduce the Players: Bender - 5 year old spayed female (we have been together since she was 5 weeks old) Callie Y - 5 year old spaye female Litter mate of Bender (been with me since she was 10 months old - different story) Bailey- 4 month old female- not yet spayed have had 1 week. Adopted from Animal Control. We have begun introducing Bailey to the "dymantic duo". First through glass french doors, now with time out of the room- About 15 to 20 minutes each time. For the most part Callie Y has set Bailey in her place (she young so sometimes she forgets) Bender on the other had has no spine. She will not set Bailey straight on whats what. She runs and hides from Bailey. After of course a full blown yelling match. Bender is a 'special needs cat' and now I am afraid that getting a kitten so young and vibrate will stress Bender out so much that she will again start losing her hair. I am at a lose at what to do. I have made a commitment to Bailey but shouldn't my first concern be Bender? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kris |
#7
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"Kris Croft" wrote in message link.net... Bender on the other had has no spine. She will not set Bailey straight on whats what. She runs and hides from Bailey. After of course a full blown yelling match. Bender is a 'special needs cat' and now I am afraid that getting a kitten so young and vibrate will stress Bender out so much that she will again start losing her hair. I am at a lose at what to do. I have made a commitment to Bailey but shouldn't my first concern be Bender? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Kris Kris, I tried to send the document you requested by email. I did receive your request that I resend because your spam blocker did not recognize my address. I resent and again received an automated reply that my message had been redirected to the "suspect mail" box. I was asked to fill in some information if I wanted you to determine whether to receive the mail. I complied but used a phony last name because I do not include my real name in newsgroups. If you did not receive the message, please try again. Incidentally, you said that Bender is a "special needs" cat. In what way? That term includes a wide variety of needs. MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o' http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly) http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in") |
#8
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Incidentally, you said that Bender is a "special needs" cat. In what way? That term includes a wide variety of needs. MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Mary, Bender is emotionally needy. That is the best way for me to describe her. I got her very young (5 weeks old) she had been separated from her feral mother. I loved her from the moment I saw her. She has had anal gland problems, liver problems (low grade hepatitis), she has spring time allergies, loses her fur when distressed (not yet this year) she is very possive of me (she could care less about DH). She does not know how to 'fight'. Her idea of fighting is sitting real still and acting invisible. Kris |
#9
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"Kris Croft" wrote in message link.net... Incidentally, you said that Bender is a "special needs" cat. In what way? That term includes a wide variety of needs. MaryL (take out the litter to reply) Mary, Bender is emotionally needy. That is the best way for me to describe her. I got her very young (5 weeks old) she had been separated from her feral mother. I loved her from the moment I saw her. She has had anal gland problems, liver problems (low grade hepatitis), she has spring time allergies, loses her fur when distressed (not yet this year) she is very possive of me (she could care less about DH). She does not know how to 'fight'. Her idea of fighting is sitting real still and acting invisible. Kris Ah, I see. I have a blind cat, and I was thinking of that as special needs. Your cat actually has multiple health problems and is also needy. This means that you should be especially careful to take things "slow and cautious" in your introductions. However, I think the *first* thing you need to do is to have Bailey spayed. Don't even try to bring the cats together until this is done. Many cats go into heat by the 4th or 5th month. If that happens, tom cats are going to suddenly show up, and then Bender will *really* be stressed -- especially if she is used to going outside (and I presume from your email that she does). I would suggest that you make an appointment *immediately* to get Baily spayed and don't even try to introduce the cats. After she is spayed, wait a considerable period of time to let everything "settle down" before you start through the process again. When you do re-start the introductions, don't give Baily an opportunity to attack Bender. Have something (such as a wand with feathers or rawhide shoestrings) handy, and use that to redirect her attention if she starts to attack. In other words, do *not* discipline her, but get her attention focused on something else that is *fun* for her. Bender may eventually also become interested in playing with whatever you use. You mentioned that you got a Feliway diffuser. That's good, but I think you need at least 3. Place them in the areas where Baily spends the most time. One should be in "her" room. Good luck. I hope this helps. Please keep us updated and let us know if we can answer any other questions as they arise. MaryL |
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Poor baby! I do hope everything turns out well for her.
Hugs for you for taking such good care of her, -- Polonca & Soncek "Kris Croft" wrote in message link.net... snipShe does not know how to 'fight'. Her idea of fighting is sitting real still and acting invisible. Kris |
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