Advice & purrs needed

We have a new inmate in the asylum: Lucifer, a black Maine Coon about 8
years old. His owners posted on the Maine Coon Rescue list that they
had to surrender him, because despite their best efforts to work with
him, he didn't get along with their new baby (to the extent of peeing on
the baby's clothes, etc.). So... as of late last night, he's living
with us. The poor guy is obviously terrified by the sudden change, the
four resident cats, the dog (his previous owner said he gets along with
both cats and dogs, but that was probably on his own turf!), the new
routine and surroundings, new people, etc.

He stayed in the little-house part of the cat tree all night, and after
a couple of moves this morning he seems to have taken up residence under
the washstand that the microwave sits on. He doesn't hiss and growl at
me any more, or at the dog, but he refuses to come out or eat, and we're
pretty sure he hasn't used the litterbox yet (we showed him where it
was). Haven't heard him hissing at the cats lately, either; they're
very curious but generally accepting. (The kitten's nose is so far out
of joint that he sits and glares in Lucy's general direction and growls
under his breath, swatting at anyone who gets near him -- but he's
eating, so we're not worried about him!)

What should we be doing about Lucifer? Leave him alone to adjust? Drag
him out and pet him? Try to force food on him? Keep talking to him
when we pass by his hidey-hole? Be patient? For how long?

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

Help!! Are we doing the right thing?

Nina in Texas, enslaved by:
Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB), Rusty (RB), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and
Cajun -- and Lucifer
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

I'd say give him a big pet taxi or cage to call his own for a while. He will
feel safe in there and can get acquainted with the other pets at a safe
distance. Bring the carrier/cage into the bathroom several times a day and
let him out in your presence to do his business, and pet him if you can.


"Nina K Pettis" wrote in message
ink.net...
We have a new inmate in the asylum: Lucifer, a black Maine Coon about 8
years old. His owners posted on the Maine Coon Rescue list that they
had to surrender him, because despite their best efforts to work with
him, he didn't get along with their new baby (to the extent of peeing on
the baby's clothes, etc.). So... as of late last night, he's living
with us. The poor guy is obviously terrified by the sudden change, the
four resident cats, the dog (his previous owner said he gets along with
both cats and dogs, but that was probably on his own turf!), the new
routine and surroundings, new people, etc.

He stayed in the little-house part of the cat tree all night, and after
a couple of moves this morning he seems to have taken up residence under
the washstand that the microwave sits on. He doesn't hiss and growl at
me any more, or at the dog, but he refuses to come out or eat, and we're
pretty sure he hasn't used the litterbox yet (we showed him where it
was). Haven't heard him hissing at the cats lately, either; they're
very curious but generally accepting. (The kitten's nose is so far out
of joint that he sits and glares in Lucy's general direction and growls
under his breath, swatting at anyone who gets near him -- but he's
eating, so we're not worried about him!)

What should we be doing about Lucifer? Leave him alone to adjust? Drag
him out and pet him? Try to force food on him? Keep talking to him
when we pass by his hidey-hole? Be patient? For how long?

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

Help!! Are we doing the right thing?

Nina in Texas, enslaved by:
Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB), Rusty (RB), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and
Cajun -- and Lucifer
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

If you don't have a room he can be in, I would sure consider purchasing one
of those big cages to give him his own space with litter box food and some
toys while he adapts. It seems much too overwhelming for him to have to
integrate suddenly. Don't you have a bedroom that can be "his" for now and
then you can do a gradual intro? In my experience, that is MUCH more
successful.


"Nina K Pettis" wrote in message
ink.net...
We have a new inmate in the asylum: Lucifer, a black Maine Coon about 8
years old. His owners posted on the Maine Coon Rescue list that they
had to surrender him, because despite their best efforts to work with
him, he didn't get along with their new baby (to the extent of peeing on
the baby's clothes, etc.). So... as of late last night, he's living
with us. The poor guy is obviously terrified by the sudden change, the
four resident cats, the dog (his previous owner said he gets along with
both cats and dogs, but that was probably on his own turf!), the new
routine and surroundings, new people, etc.

He stayed in the little-house part of the cat tree all night, and after
a couple of moves this morning he seems to have taken up residence under
the washstand that the microwave sits on. He doesn't hiss and growl at
me any more, or at the dog, but he refuses to come out or eat, and we're
pretty sure he hasn't used the litterbox yet (we showed him where it
was). Haven't heard him hissing at the cats lately, either; they're
very curious but generally accepting. (The kitten's nose is so far out
of joint that he sits and glares in Lucy's general direction and growls
under his breath, swatting at anyone who gets near him -- but he's
eating, so we're not worried about him!)

What should we be doing about Lucifer? Leave him alone to adjust? Drag
him out and pet him? Try to force food on him? Keep talking to him
when we pass by his hidey-hole? Be patient? For how long?

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

Help!! Are we doing the right thing?

Nina in Texas, enslaved by:
Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB), Rusty (RB), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and
Cajun -- and Lucifer
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

Karen wrote:

If you don't have a room he can be in, I would sure consider purchasing one
of those big cages to give him his own space with litter box food and some
toys while he adapts. It seems much too overwhelming for him to have to
integrate suddenly. Don't you have a bedroom that can be "his" for now and
then you can do a gradual intro? In my experience, that is MUCH more
successful.

Nope; as I mentioned, there are two things against that -- we have no
room that can be closed off (except my office -- NOT an option!), and we
already know that he hates being closed in. And, with all due respect,
we have always had excellent results with introducing new kids into the
general population immediately.

Nina


"Nina K Pettis" wrote in message
ink.net...

We have a new inmate in the asylum: Lucifer, a black Maine Coon about 8
years old. His owners posted on the Maine Coon Rescue list that they
had to surrender him, because despite their best efforts to work with
him, he didn't get along with their new baby (to the extent of peeing on
the baby's clothes, etc.). So... as of late last night, he's living
with us. The poor guy is obviously terrified by the sudden change, the
four resident cats, the dog (his previous owner said he gets along with
both cats and dogs, but that was probably on his own turf!), the new
routine and surroundings, new people, etc.

He stayed in the little-house part of the cat tree all night, and after
a couple of moves this morning he seems to have taken up residence under
the washstand that the microwave sits on. He doesn't hiss and growl at
me any more, or at the dog, but he refuses to come out or eat, and we're
pretty sure he hasn't used the litterbox yet (we showed him where it
was). Haven't heard him hissing at the cats lately, either; they're
very curious but generally accepting. (The kitten's nose is so far out
of joint that he sits and glares in Lucy's general direction and growls
under his breath, swatting at anyone who gets near him -- but he's
eating, so we're not worried about him!)

What should we be doing about Lucifer? Leave him alone to adjust? Drag
him out and pet him? Try to force food on him? Keep talking to him
when we pass by his hidey-hole? Be patient? For how long?

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

Help!! Are we doing the right thing?

Nina in Texas, enslaved by:
Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB), Rusty (RB), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and
Cajun -- and Lucifer
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com






--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

Nope; as I mentioned, there are two things against that -- we have no
room that can be closed off (except my office -- NOT an option!), and we
already know that he hates being closed in. And, with all due respect,
we have always had excellent results with introducing new kids into the
general population immediately.

Nina


Ah, didn't mean to step on your toes. I've just never had that work. Hope it
does in this case. I was just giving what advice my experience dictated.
Personally, I'd set the office up for him so he didn't have to start life
with the family out scared, but that is just me.

Karen wrote:
Nope; as I mentioned, there are two things against that -- we have no
room that can be closed off (except my office -- NOT an option!), and we
already know that he hates being closed in. And, with all due respect,

we have always had excellent results with introducing new kids into the
general population immediately.

Ah, didn't mean to step on your toes. I've just never had that work. Hope it
does in this case. I was just giving what advice my experience dictated.

And I appreciate it!

Personally, I'd set the office up for him so he didn't have to start life
with the family out scared, but that is just me.

Thanks for the input, Karen; if there was room in my office and he
didn't hate to be closed in, I would try that. But that's why it's not
an option.

Nina
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

On Fri, 17 Dec 2004 19:57:58 GMT, Nina K Pettis
wrote:

He stayed in the little-house part of the cat tree all night, and after
a couple of moves this morning he seems to have taken up residence under
the washstand that the microwave sits on. He doesn't hiss and growl at
me any more, or at the dog, but he refuses to come out or eat, and we're
pretty sure he hasn't used the litterbox yet (we showed him where it
was). Haven't heard him hissing at the cats lately, either; they're
very curious but generally accepting. (The kitten's nose is so far out
of joint that he sits and glares in Lucy's general direction and growls
under his breath, swatting at anyone who gets near him -- but he's
eating, so we're not worried about him!)

What should we be doing about Lucifer? Leave him alone to adjust? Drag
him out and pet him? Try to force food on him? Keep talking to him
when we pass by his hidey-hole? Be patient? For how long?

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

It sounds like he's very scared of his new environment and his new
housemates and he really wants a safe place to hide for awhile. Like
the others, I'd suggest a large cat cage - you don't have to lock the
door even... just put his food and litterbox in there and let him into
it and he'll come out when he's good and ready. I wouldn't try to
force affection on him - right now he's not sure what's going on,
because he was displaced by the baby and now he's lost his home as
well.

Our wonderful friendly affectionate kittens hid under the bed for 24
hours after we brought them home from the shelter, so they could
adjust to the new environment at their own pace...

Another idea - if you don't want to buy a cage, can you get a really
large box from somewhere and put his food and litter pan in it? He
might feel safer if he has a cardboard wall between him and the other
animals for awhile...

Nina K Pettis wrote:
Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.

Poor baby. How long has he been like this? It can take up to a week or
even more for him to settle in. I think you should just give him and the
other cats lots of attention and show them no-one is going to be ousted
for the others. Lots of luck and purrs for the integration.


--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Marina wrote:
Nina K Pettis wrote:

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't have
one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his previous
owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last month or so.


Poor baby. How long has he been like this? It can take up to a week or
even more for him to settle in. I think you should just give him and the
other cats lots of attention and show them no-one is going to be ousted
for the others. Lots of luck and purrs for the integration.

He's been here since Thursday night around 9; last night he actually
left his hiding place and sat in a chair on the other side of the room
(near us!). By the end of the evening, his eyes were almost normal
(down from fully dilated with panic). This morning he ate a little of
his food, but now he's tucked into a corner where nobody can get to him
(well, I can, but I'm not going to drag him out while he feels safe
there). He doesn't seem ready for petting yet, but we talk to him a lot
and give PLENTY of attention to the others.

I guess all in all, things are going pretty well?

Nina in Texas, enslaved by:
Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB), Rusty (RB), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and
Cajun -- and Lucifer
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

Nina K Pettis wrote:

Marina wrote:

Nina K Pettis wrote:

Putting him in another room for a while isn't an option; we don't
have one, and he hates being closed up anyway, according to his
previous owners -- they kept him in a room by himself for the last
month or so.



Poor baby. How long has he been like this? It can take up to a week or
even more for him to settle in. I think you should just give him and
the other cats lots of attention and show them no-one is going to be
ousted for the others. Lots of luck and purrs for the integration.


He's been here since Thursday night around 9; last night he actually
left his hiding place and sat in a chair on the other side of the room
(near us!). By the end of the evening, his eyes were almost normal
(down from fully dilated with panic). This morning he ate a little of
his food, but now he's tucked into a corner where nobody can get to him
(well, I can, but I'm not going to drag him out while he feels safe
there). He doesn't seem ready for petting yet, but we talk to him a lot
and give PLENTY of attention to the others.

I guess all in all, things are going pretty well?

I think that sounds like good progress in a very short time. Give him
time, let him come to you on his own terms. Purrs for continued improvement.

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki