Need help with stray cat (kinda long)

I need some advice. I'm about to take in a stray cat that we found. She's
about 9-10 months old and probably has lived most of her life so far
outside. I've taken her to the vet and had her fixed, etc. For the past
week or so we've kept her in a dog cage at my husband's store where she gets
some attention. While my husband would like to keep her as a store cat, due
to several issues, this really won't work. We can handle her fairly easily
and pet her even though she does hiss and growl (we think it's because she
thinks she has to do that). But she is a bit timid. I've called a number
of rescue groups hoping someone could take her in as a foster but have had
no luck yet. I don't want to take her to a shelter because I really think
she needs some TLC that she won't get at a shelter. My husband and I have
now decided to take her in to our home and try to integrate her in with our
2 male cats (ages 2 and 4). My plan is to keep her in a large enclosure in
the basement until she seems more acclimated and then try to introduce her
to our other 2. Not sure how my boys are going to handle this. One is
fairly sensitive and may not like a new addition. Anyone have any advice to
help make this transition work? I really think this poor kitty who has
spent the brunt of this cold winter outside really deserves a chance.

Thanks in advance.

Sue
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---

I really feel if you give the introductory period a good chance, just
like you stated above, you will be okay. Give your boys lots of love
during this time. Just let them know that the new cat isn't going to
be a threat or competition for your attentions.

When I brought home Max the person I got him from told me he was a
dominant male. I thought this might be a problem because Butterball
has always been more aggressive and dominant with other cats. The
chief in our house is now Max and they keep getting along better and
better all the time.

I can honestly say that I think Butterball seems happier now with some
company. I tend to be of the opinion that, like people, cats need
social stimulation, too. I honestly sort of think about it like how I
would feel if I was stuck at home every day with my husband and never
got to go talk to other people. I would get tired of it pretty
quickly. It is workable, but not the best situation. I am happier
having a husband AND my friends.

What I mean to say is that cats probably benefit from more friends,
too. I think they are social creatures very similar to we people.

So I think, besides the posturing they will do in the beginning, they
could very well be happier in the long run.

Yes, slowly introducing her to the other cats is the key. You can keep her
in the enclosure and gradually let the other cats see her (inside the
enclosure). They will hiss initially and this is to be expected. I would
continue to expose them to her while she is inside. Gradually you can let
her out but always be there to supervise. You are wonderful to take her in!!
Gail
"blkcatgal" wrote in message
...
I need some advice. I'm about to take in a stray cat that we found. She's
about 9-10 months old and probably has lived most of her life so far
outside. I've taken her to the vet and had her fixed, etc. For the past
week or so we've kept her in a dog cage at my husband's store where she
gets some attention. While my husband would like to keep her as a store
cat, due to several issues, this really won't work. We can handle her
fairly easily and pet her even though she does hiss and growl (we think
it's because she thinks she has to do that). But she is a bit timid. I've
called a number of rescue groups hoping someone could take her in as a
foster but have had no luck yet. I don't want to take her to a shelter
because I really think she needs some TLC that she won't get at a shelter.
My husband and I have now decided to take her in to our home and try to
integrate her in with our 2 male cats (ages 2 and 4). My plan is to keep
her in a large enclosure in the basement until she seems more acclimated
and then try to introduce her to our other 2. Not sure how my boys are
going to handle this. One is fairly sensitive and may not like a new
addition. Anyone have any advice to help make this transition work? I
really think this poor kitty who has spent the brunt of this cold winter
outside really deserves a chance.

Thanks in advance.

Sue
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---

I agree with your approach and mc and gail; this is the approach that most
behaviourists recommend. However some behaviourists disagree and feel that
imprisoning the new cat is too frightening and confrontational. They
recommend the use of door screens instead.

The only thing I'd add is that you may find Feliway a help - use both the
spray and infuser as the infuser can take up to a month to work.

http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/introducing/index.php
http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/spr...natherapy.html

blkcatgal wrote:
I need some advice. I'm about to take in a stray cat that we found. She's
about 9-10 months old and probably has lived most of her life so far
outside. I've taken her to the vet and had her fixed, etc. For the past
week or so we've kept her in a dog cage at my husband's store where she gets
some attention. While my husband would like to keep her as a store cat, due
to several issues, this really won't work. We can handle her fairly easily
and pet her even though she does hiss and growl (we think it's because she
thinks she has to do that). But she is a bit timid. I've called a number
of rescue groups hoping someone could take her in as a foster but have had
no luck yet. I don't want to take her to a shelter because I really think
she needs some TLC that she won't get at a shelter. My husband and I have
now decided to take her in to our home and try to integrate her in with our
2 male cats (ages 2 and 4). My plan is to keep her in a large enclosure in
the basement until she seems more acclimated and then try to introduce her
to our other 2. Not sure how my boys are going to handle this. One is
fairly sensitive and may not like a new addition. Anyone have any advice to
help make this transition work? I really think this poor kitty who has
spent the brunt of this cold winter outside really deserves a chance.

Thanks in advance.

Sue

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

On Feb 28, 12:52*pm, "Catlover Medway via CatKB.com" u15343@uwe
wrote:
I agree with your approach and mc and gail; this is the approach that most
behaviourists recommend. However some behaviourists disagree and feel that
imprisoning the new cat is too frightening and confrontational. They
recommend the use of door screens instead.

The only thing I'd add is that you may find Feliway a help - use both the
spray and infuser as the infuser can take up to a month to work.

http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/int...natherapy.html





blkcatgal wrote:
I need some advice. *I'm about to take in a stray cat that we found. *She's
about 9-10 months old and probably has lived most of her life so far
outside. *I've taken her to the vet and had her fixed, etc. *For the past
week or so we've kept her in a dog cage at my husband's store where she gets
some attention. *While my husband would like to keep her as a store cat, due
to several issues, this really won't work. *We can handle her fairly easily
and pet her even though she does hiss and growl (we think it's because she
thinks she has to do that). *But she is a bit timid. *I've called a number
of rescue groups hoping someone could take her in as a foster but have had
no luck yet. *I don't want to take her to a shelter because I really think
she needs some TLC that she won't get at a shelter. *My husband and I have
now decided to take her in to our home and try to integrate her in with our
2 male cats (ages 2 and 4). *My plan is to keep her in a large enclosure in
the basement until she seems more acclimated and then try to introduce her
to our other 2. *Not sure how my boys are going to handle this. *One is
fairly sensitive and may not like a new addition. *Anyone have any advice to
help make this transition work? *I really think this poor kitty who has
spent the brunt of this cold winter outside really deserves a chance.

Thanks in advance.

Sue

--
Message posted viahttp://www.catkb.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks for comments. We'll be keeping her in a 6'x6' enclosure in the
basement. When we are with her, we will let her out and have free run
of the basement (it's a finished basement). I have Feliway, both
spray and diffusers -- have been using them off and on since we added
our second cat to the mix about 2 years ago. But I am concerned about
how the new cat will react to my 2 cats....being a stray, I'm not sure
if she has ever come in contact with other cats before. Do strays
take to other cats easily? I mean, I'm sure there's going to be some
hissing and growling but I don't want World War III. I'm also
concerned about the amount of time that we can spend with her. Both
my husband and I work full time and are gone most of the day. The
only time we can spend with her are the few hours in the evening and
then weekends.....plus we have to still spend time with our current
cats. Balancing all of this is going to be a challenge.

We're bringing the new cat home tomorrow. Wish me luck!!!

S.
**visit me and my cats at www.island-cats.com**

Hi Sue,

It is so nice that you are doing this. Don't worry about a stray cat
not being used to other cats. One summer I was trying to live trap
raccoons and instead of catching raccoons I was catching cats almost
every night with it. We see a fair number of cats around here, but the
cats I caught were ones I had never seen. Apparently, there are a lot
of cats around here that I am not aware of because we just don't see
them during the day.

I guess what I mean to say is that stray cats do run into other
cats... far more than we probably witness.

Our very special cat Tramp had been a stray and she was extremely shy
when we brought her in from the "wild". She warmed up to us pretty
quickly. The first year she never slept on the bed with us. The second
year she started to, but was uncomfortable if our legs moved under the
covers. The longer she stayed with us the more things we got to see as
she came out of her shell. She was the best cat we had ever had. I
truly mean that. She was just so special to us.

The veterinarian will want to check her for feline aids... and I am
guessing you have done that already. The reason for this, though, is
simply because stray cats ARE exposed to more cats normally.

I hate to say this, too, but cats are pretty good about being left
alone. That might actually help your introductions. I have read in
behavioral books on cats that introductions are usually more
successful if there is not too much human interference.

I would keep an eye on them at first -- with the first intros... Just
watch... for the first night or two. You will get a good feel for how
they are responding with one another. At some point, when you feel
they are ready, you might be able to leave that basement open during
the day so that the cats can get to know one another better without
human interference. Of course, leave the new cat in the cage while
this is going on unsupervised...

Hope that helps. I think you do know best what needs to be done. I
wish you much luck and joy with your new family member ;-)

wrote in message
...
blkcatgal wrote:
I need some advice. I'm about to take in a stray cat that we found. She's
about 9-10 months old and probably has lived most of her life so far
outside. I've taken her to the vet and had her fixed, etc. For the past
week or so we've kept her in a dog cage at my husband's store where she
gets
some attention. While my husband would like to keep her as a store cat,
due
to several issues, this really won't work. We can handle her fairly
easily
and pet her even though she does hiss and growl (we think it's because
she
thinks she has to do that). But she is a bit timid. I've called a number
of rescue groups hoping someone could take her in as a foster but have
had
no luck yet. I don't want to take her to a shelter because I really think
she needs some TLC that she won't get at a shelter. My husband and I have
now decided to take her in to our home and try to integrate her in with
our
2 male cats (ages 2 and 4). My plan is to keep her in a large enclosure
in
the basement until she seems more acclimated and then try to introduce
her
to our other 2. Not sure how my boys are going to handle this. One is
fairly sensitive and may not like a new addition. Anyone have any advice
to
help make this transition work? I really think this poor kitty who has
spent the brunt of this cold winter outside really deserves a chance.

Thanks in advance.

Sue

Hi Sue,

The best way to introduce new cats to resident cats is 'one sense at a
time'. Before you bring her home, set up a 'sanctuary' room for her with
food & water bowls, litterbox, scratching post and a few hiding places
(cardboard boxes, paper shopping bags). When you bring her home, put her in
her room in the carrier, open the carrier door, leave the room and close the
door. Let her come out of the carrier when she's ready. Give the new cat a
few days to settle in and become accustomed to her new environment and the
scent of your other cats. Let the cats smell each other's presence under
the door- but don't let them see each other. This method will also give your
cats time to adjust to the presence of a new cat without feeling their
territory has been invaded.

After a few days, they'll be ready for the next step. Get a pair of socks,
put one your hand and pet the new cat- especially around the face where most
of the scent glands are. Use the other sock to do the same with your
resident cats. Put the sock with your resident cats' scent in the room with
the new cat. Put the other sock with the new cat's scent in the living
room- or wherever your residents hang out. This will give them a good dose
of each other's scent. You can also pet each cat with the sock you used on
the other cat. This will make the scents of the new and resident cats seem
familiar to each other.

After several days you can open the sanctuary door and replace it with a
screen door. Lowes sells 32", 34" and 36" nice-looking wood frame screen
doors for $19.99 that you can slide in and out of the doorway with no
trouble or hardware. The screen door will allow the cats to see each other
without feeling threatened. Put your new cat's bowls as far from the screen
door as possible. On the other side of the door, put your resident cats'
bowls the same distance from the door. Every day, gradually move both cats'
bowls closer to the screen door. When all the cats can eat peacefully with
the bowls touching both sides of the screen door- they're ready for the
'close encounter of the third kind'.

I know all this seems like a lot of trouble- but its worth it. Rushing an
introduction can lead to a fight that could permanently damage the cats'
relationship. Once a cat is a victim of a fight, she could take a defensive
posture, whenever she sees the attacker, which can prompt the attacker into
another attack even he had no intentions of the attacking. Most of the cats
we get back are returned because they had fights with resident cats...
because there we no introductions or the introductions were rushed or
because they weren't done in steps.

Check out my site for some more ideas:

http://maxshouse.com/introducing_cats.htm


I really hope all goes well!

Good luck.

Phil