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Cat Introductions
My boyfriend is moving in with me and is bringing over his 2 cats this
weekend. I've got a 9-year old declawed male who is not very social. He's got a very sociable 2-year old male and an unsocial 9-year old declawed female. All cats have been fixed. His 2 cats do not get along with each other. I used to have another cat before my divorce and so while my cat has lived with another (younger) cat, he has never liked sharing his domain. My house is fairly big, and has enough rooms for the cats to have their independence though my cat is used to being king of the roost right now. We are planning on putting each of his cats in their own bedroom and having mine sniff them through the doors. We will eventually switch one of the cats with mine, so his cat can wander the house while mine can sniff the room he was in, then we'll do the same with the other cat. We are prepared for this process to take time. Any general advice would be greatly appreciated, as would any help with these questions: - His cats are used to getting up on counters in his kitchen. My cat does not do this, and I don't want any cats on my kitchen surfaces. I work from home and can monitor behavior. What is the best way to dissuade the cats from getting on the kitchen counters? - His cats have free reign to their food dishes and are of a healthy weight. My cat is obese and gets fed twice a day, 1/4 cup of weight management food per feeding. Unless we can come up with a better plan, my cat will have to have free reign to their food as well (not weight management food). Thanks! CG |
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Cat Introductions
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Cat Introductions
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Cat Introductions
CG wrote:
... My house is fairly big, and has enough rooms for the cats to have their independence though my cat is used to being king of the roost right now. We are planning on putting each of his cats in their own bedroom and having mine sniff them through the doors. We will eventually switch one of the cats with mine, so his cat can wander the house while mine can sniff the room he was in, then we'll do the same with the other cat. We are prepared for this process to take time. Any general advice would be greatly appreciated... --Get a couple of baby gates at a thrift, and block off a doorway with them (one high, one low) so that the inmate and visitor can do more than just sniff. --With a double-wide feeding dish, serve a joint dinner. No one can fight while eating. --Catnip. --Laser pointer, paper bag --At least one litter box per critter --I like my "Tattletale" noisemaker (high-pitched squeal motion detector) for tabletop training. (You'll have to leave the house or use the bathroom or go to the mailbox eventually.) Good luck (on all counts) --Karen D. |
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Cat Introductions
our youngest started jumping up on the counters so we laid out sheets of
aluminum foil. It's working quite well. -- ie ride fast, take chances. "Veloise" wrote in message ups.com... CG wrote: ... My house is fairly big, and has enough rooms for the cats to have their independence though my cat is used to being king of the roost right now. We are planning on putting each of his cats in their own bedroom and having mine sniff them through the doors. We will eventually switch one of the cats with mine, so his cat can wander the house while mine can sniff the room he was in, then we'll do the same with the other cat. We are prepared for this process to take time. Any general advice would be greatly appreciated... --Get a couple of baby gates at a thrift, and block off a doorway with them (one high, one low) so that the inmate and visitor can do more than just sniff. --With a double-wide feeding dish, serve a joint dinner. No one can fight while eating. --Catnip. --Laser pointer, paper bag --At least one litter box per critter --I like my "Tattletale" noisemaker (high-pitched squeal motion detector) for tabletop training. (You'll have to leave the house or use the bathroom or go to the mailbox eventually.) Good luck (on all counts) --Karen D. |
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Cat Introductions
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. So far, the cats have been in
the house for 2 days and no major scream fests. There's only one small issue we're stuck on. One of his cats (the 2- year old male) is reluctant to come out of his room. Every time we go in to visit him he's hiding behind the futon but comes out to greet us. I had him out for 10 minutes today (with my cat in his room), when I heard him crying loudly outside his room's door, obviously wanting back in. I switched cats back right away, not wanting his cat to be too stressed out. I think it would be good for his cat to have the opportunity to get out, even if only for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. Maybe even to the point of carrying him out of his room (if he doesn't struggle) and putting him down in another area of the house, letting him wander or go back to his room if he wants (while my cat is in another room). My bf thinks we shouldn't try to let his cat out of the room until his cat starts crying to get out, or shows interest in leaving the room. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! On Mar 1, 10:16 am, wrote: My boyfriend is moving in with me and is bringing over his 2 cats this weekend. I've got a 9-year old declawed male who is not very social. He's got a very sociable 2-year old male and an unsocial 9-year old declawed female. All cats have been fixed. His 2 cats do not get along with each other. I used to have another cat before my divorce and so while my cat has lived with another (younger) cat, he has never liked sharing his domain. My house is fairly big, and has enough rooms for the cats to have their independence though my cat is used to being king of the roost right now. We are planning on putting each of his cats in their own bedroom and having mine sniff them through the doors. We will eventually switch one of the cats with mine, so his cat can wander the house while mine can sniff the room he was in, then we'll do the same with the other cat. We are prepared for this process to take time. Any general advice would be greatly appreciated, as would any help with these questions: - His cats are used to getting up on counters in his kitchen. My cat does not do this, and I don't want any cats on my kitchen surfaces. I work from home and can monitor behavior. What is the best way to dissuade the cats from getting on the kitchen counters? - His cats have free reign to their food dishes and are of a healthy weight. My cat is obese and gets fed twice a day, 1/4 cup of weight management food per feeding. Unless we can come up with a better plan, my cat will have to have free reign to their food as well (not weight management food). Thanks! CG |
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cabriog...wrote:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. So far, the cats have been in the house for 2 days and no major scream fests. There's only one small issue we're stuck on. One of his cats (the 2- year old male) is reluctant to come out of his room. Every time we go in to visit him he's hiding behind the futon but comes out to greet us. I had him out for 10 minutes today (with my cat in his room), when I heard him crying loudly outside his room's door, obviously wanting back in. I switched cats back right away, not wanting his cat to be too stressed out. I think it would be good for his cat to have the opportunity to get out, even if only for 5-10 minutes once or twice a day. Maybe even to the point of carrying him out of his room (if he doesn't struggle) and putting him down in another area of the house, letting him wander or go back to his room if he wants (while my cat is in another room). My bf thinks we shouldn't try to let his cat out of the room until his cat starts crying to get out, or shows interest in leaving the room. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! --Take an empty plastic laundry basket and invert it over one of the cats while visiting another one in whatever room is convenient. They can see, sniff, and comunicate, but no wars. --Catnip for everyone! HTH --Karen D. |
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