Tayla's Visit

We let Tayla out for a supervised visit with all the rest of the Crews'
crew, but first we once again clipped all 18 claws on all 6 cats so that
weapons were blunted for the confrontation.

Of course there had to be an establishing of the pecking order. First Tayla
challenged Sammy - there was yowling and Tayla chased Sammy under the dining
room table (no blows were exchanged), then Tayla was satisfied that she was
above Sammy in the pecking order.

Then Tayla challenged Jessie by jumping up on the dining room chair next to
the chair Jessie was sitting on, but Jessie wouldn't back down, so there was
a stand off of yowling and hissing, but again, no blows were exchanged and
eventually Tayl jumped down.

Then Tayla challenged Demi - there was yowling and Tayla chased Demi down
the stairs to the landing (no blows were exchanged), then Tayla was
satisfied that she was above Demi in the pecking order.

Then Tayla once again challenged Jessie, there was yowling and this time
Jessie gave way and Tayla chased Jessie across the living room (no blows
were exchanged), then Tayla was satisfied that she was above Jessie in the
pecking order.

Once all this had been settled there was an armed truce with everyone laying
around warily eying everyone else (with the kittens romping about
obliviously).

I kind of figured something like this would happen since Tayla is a very
assertive cat (and the most talented/experienced fighter since she survived
on her own and took care of her kittens on the mean streets of Houston).
Also, Bandit was the alpha cat of our clowder and her death left the
position open with Jessie only tentatively taking the lead until Tayla
arrived.

After a few hours we put Tayla back into Ben's office for the night so that
everyone could have a stress-free sleep. We'll continue to let Tayla out
for longer and longer supervised visits until everyone is comfortable with
the arrangement and Tayla can peacefully join the clowder.

--
Hugs,

CatNipped

See all my masters he http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/

on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:46:48 GMT, "CatNipped"
wrote:

After a few hours we put Tayla back into Ben's office for the night so
that everyone could have a stress-free sleep. We'll continue to let
Tayla out for longer and longer supervised visits until everyone is
comfortable with the arrangement and Tayla can peacefully join the
clowder.

Catnipped, I have been reading some of your posts about your new crew and I
want to thank you for the smiles. Your descriptions are hilarious, and it
sounds like you are doing a great job with everyone.

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message
. 97.142...
on Fri, 20 Jul 2007 13:46:48 GMT, "CatNipped"
wrote:

After a few hours we put Tayla back into Ben's office for the night so
that everyone could have a stress-free sleep. We'll continue to let
Tayla out for longer and longer supervised visits until everyone is
comfortable with the arrangement and Tayla can peacefully join the
clowder.

Catnipped, I have been reading some of your posts about your new crew and
I
want to thank you for the smiles. Your descriptions are hilarious, and it
sounds like you are doing a great job with everyone.

--
Lynne

Thanks! I'm still worried about Tayla's aggressiveness though. Every time
we let her out she chases Sammy under the bed and that's where Sammy tries
to stay if I let her. Her visits are still supervised, but I end up having
to put her back in her room when she doesn't let up on Sammy.

I'm open to any suggestions you have to calm Tayla down (I was going to get
Felliway, but DAMN it's expensive and we've just spent almost $2000 on
cats - if it doesn't work DH would kill me)!

Hugs,

CatNipped

"CatNipped" wrote
Thanks! I'm still worried about Tayla's aggressiveness though. Every
time we let her out she chases Sammy under the bed and that's where Sammy
tries to stay if I let her. Her visits are still supervised, but I end up
having to put her back in her room when she doesn't let up on Sammy.

I'm open to any suggestions you have to calm Tayla down (I was going to
get Felliway, but DAMN it's expensive and we've just spent almost $2000 on
cats - if it doesn't work DH would kill me)!


My first thought is, where did I get these majorly wussy cats?

Boo charges Gracie like a bull, Gracie leaps over her and clears
her by a mile, and the few times they have taken swipes at one
another it looks like little girls halfheartedly slapping at one
another with their faces turned away!

My second thought is probably not helpful, but what my reflex
would be. I would want to chase down Tayla and yell at her
when she begins to chase Sammy, then get Sammy and love
on her. Or at least yell Tayla's name really loudly. Cats hate
loud noises. On the other hand, she is new and I know you
don't want to spook her. Though, she does seem to be a
confident girl, and to know that you love her. Wish I could be of
more help.

"cybercat" wrote in message
...

"CatNipped" wrote
Thanks! I'm still worried about Tayla's aggressiveness though. Every
time we let her out she chases Sammy under the bed and that's where Sammy
tries to stay if I let her. Her visits are still supervised, but I end
up having to put her back in her room when she doesn't let up on Sammy.

I'm open to any suggestions you have to calm Tayla down (I was going to
get Felliway, but DAMN it's expensive and we've just spent almost $2000
on cats - if it doesn't work DH would kill me)!


My first thought is, where did I get these majorly wussy cats?

Boo charges Gracie like a bull, Gracie leaps over her and clears
her by a mile, and the few times they have taken swipes at one
another it looks like little girls halfheartedly slapping at one
another with their faces turned away!

My second thought is probably not helpful, but what my reflex
would be. I would want to chase down Tayla and yell at her
when she begins to chase Sammy, then get Sammy and love
on her. Or at least yell Tayla's name really loudly. Cats hate
loud noises.

That's my instinct too, but that's not really the best thing to do. What I
want to do is take away some tension from the atmosphere, not add some.
I've now got them as close as 2 feet away from each other while I pet each,
but Sammy is still uneasy and slowly inches away until she is right next to
my bed ready to run underneath at an instant's notice.

On the other hand, she is new and I know you
don't want to spook her. Though, she does seem to be a
confident girl, and to know that you love her. Wish I could be of
more help.

See, I don't know if this is confidence or fear. I've always said I'd
rather be in a fight with someone who is angry than with someone who is
afraid. When you're afraid you are going to fight with everything you have
and you're going to try to kill or disable your opponent to eliminate the
threat. Fear is the most common motivation for agression in all animals.

I want Tayla to feel like there isn't any need to be agressive, there is
enough food and enough love to go around without having to fight for it like
she had to do on the street. I want her to feel at ease in her new home
without the need to demonstrate her ability to fight for her life.

The other thing that's worrying me, although not as immediately problematic,
is that as soon as I let Tayla out of her room this morning she went around
and ate everyone else's food. They still have their dry food, but they're
all browsers except for Tayla and they won't have their wet food available
to them throughout the morning like they're used to. This means Sammy,
Jessie, and Demi won't get their normal allotment of food and Tayla is
getting way too much (the vet told us to cut *DOWN* her intake by one
third).

Sigh, well I need to stop bitching about this, I knew what I was getting
into when I brought home *THREE* more cats, and I know from experience that
things will probably work out all right in the end (it's just these new
beginnings that are stressful on everybody)!

Hugs,

CatNipped

on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:42:17 GMT, "CatNipped"
wrote:

Sigh, well I need to stop bitching about this, I knew what I was
getting into when I brought home *THREE* more cats, and I know from
experience that things will probably work out all right in the end
(it's just these new beginnings that are stressful on everybody)!

I don't have any experience with any of this, but it seems to me you are
doing a damn good job working out these problems. You are very clearly
committed and I think your kitties are all very lucky. I hope everything
calms down for Tayla soon.

Levi is afraid of the new puppy, but he just runs from him. We are
training the pup not to chase him, and it's going well. Levi is starting
to calm down, but it's going to take more time. I think Levi would pass
out from fear before he attacked the pup, but I think he's an unusual case
(the cat version of Peter Pan). In my situation, and yours, I think
patience and dilligence are all we can have.

--
Lynne

"Lynne" wrote in message
7.142...
on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:42:17 GMT, "CatNipped"
wrote:

Sigh, well I need to stop bitching about this, I knew what I was
getting into when I brought home *THREE* more cats, and I know from
experience that things will probably work out all right in the end
(it's just these new beginnings that are stressful on everybody)!

I don't have any experience with any of this, but it seems to me you are
doing a damn good job working out these problems. You are very clearly
committed and I think your kitties are all very lucky. I hope everything
calms down for Tayla soon.

Levi is afraid of the new puppy, but he just runs from him. We are
training the pup not to chase him, and it's going well. Levi is starting
to calm down, but it's going to take more time. I think Levi would pass
out from fear before he attacked the pup, but I think he's an unusual case
(the cat version of Peter Pan). In my situation, and yours, I think
patience and dilligence are all we can have.

--
Lynne

Yep. This is actually new to me - I've only ever adopted stray kittens
before and kittens are easy to integrate, they're too stupid to be
intimidated, they're too small to be intimidating, and they immediately
acquiesce when challenged and accept their bottom spot in the pecking order.
Even dogs are easier to integrate than an adult cat because the are by far
much easier to train.

MaryL and a few others have been a very valuable resource to me in this
saga. Their advice has been spot on and that's the only reason this
integration has gone as well as it has (the current problem is only really a
glitch and it's only my impatience that's causing me stress, I think).

Anyway, there's not a cat in the world as stubborn as I am and I'm
determined to make this work, so there!!! ;

Hugs,

CatNipped

on Sat, 21 Jul 2007 16:44:53 GMT, "CatNipped"
wrote:

Yep. This is actually new to me - I've only ever adopted stray
kittens before and kittens are easy to integrate, they're too stupid
to be intimidated, they're too small to be intimidating, and they
immediately acquiesce when challenged and accept their bottom spot in
the pecking order. Even dogs are easier to integrate than an adult cat
because the are by far much easier to train.

I have only ever adopted kittens. Even a 4 month old feral was relatively
easy, since we had no adult cats at that time. I have met sooooo many
adult cats at the shelter that I want to take home, but I'm not willing 1)
to have more than 2 cats at a time or 2) to take that chance. My hat is
off to you!

MaryL and a few others have been a very valuable resource to me in
this saga. Their advice has been spot on and that's the only reason
this integration has gone as well as it has (the current problem is
only really a glitch and it's only my impatience that's causing me
stress, I think).

Anyway, there's not a cat in the world as stubborn as I am and I'm
determined to make this work, so there!!! ;

Then I know it will work out!!

--
Lynne