Cat Integration
So here is the story on the cats:
The first night that B and I got here, we kept Opal and Serena shut in the bedroom with us. That lasted abot two days, which is how long it took to round up CC and Nugget and get them closed in the back room. Once CC and Nugget were closed up, we let Serena and Opal back out. They toured the house and concluded that it was, in fact, the same house that they left 2.5 years ago. They relaxed and were happy.
My goal was for Opal and Serena to regain their sense of ownership of the house, so they could feel confident and safe and relaxed before directly encountering the other two cats. Serena and Opal needed to feel confident and safe, and CC and Nugget needed to also feel safe, but maybe a little less confident, so that they could see Opal and Serena as having dominance over them.
They quickly became aware that there were cats in the back room, but did not seem very concerned. As the week wore on, we let them catch glimpses of Nugget and CC through the door. Serena hissed and hit Nugget on the head. Opal was unconcerned. CC hissed a lot- she hisses a lot in general, whenever she is startled or scared. Nugget was curious.
The other day R accidentally left the door open, and Opal strolled into the green room and laid down on the floor. She was aware of the other cats but completely unconcerned. I was so proud! Serena has been curious but not aggressive since that one smack.
Last night we opened the door to the green room, so Nugget and CC could come in and out at will. Serena and Opal have not been interested in going in there, but the two newer cats have come out. Nugget came out to the living room, where Serena was very interested in her, and not remotely aggressive. Nugget, on the other hand, hissed and growled at Serena. She is clearly scared of Serena. Serena did get a puffy tail a few times, but she didn't aggress at all.
Serena encountered CC in the kitchen. CC growled threateningly, and Serena responded by jumping forward to smack CC a few times. CC ran back to the green room. Serena chased her til she was out of the kitchen, then did not follow (which is good: if she was being aggressive, she would have followed CC and continued to fight her.) CC stayed in the green room the rest of the night. Immediately afterward, both of them had enormously puffy tails and their mohawks were up. CC's 'hawk looked like a baby's, like it had been combed toward the middle, it was hilarious.
This morning CC has been venturing out. She walked up very close to Serena, but behind her, and when Serena found that CC was there, she yowled at CC and smacked her around again. CC has on a few occasions yowled or hissed at Serena. Nugget keeps wandering the house and occasionally making eye contact with Serena and hissing. Serena is completely unconcerned by that at the moment.
Serena seems mostly unconcerned, but sometimes a little puzzled or alarmed by Nugget's hissing. This morning Serena came running into the kitchen to greet me, not knowing Nugget was in there; Nugget freaked out and hissed, and both cats were scared, hah.
Opal is completely unconcerned by the hissing and etc. She has the confidence of a Top Cat.
It took Opal about 10-12 days to stop hissing at Serena when we first brought Serena home. So I think we will give Nugget about a month to get over things, and if it just doesn't work, we will find her a new home. CC is already up for adoption and we would like her to go soon.
The first night that B and I got here, we kept Opal and Serena shut in the bedroom with us. That lasted abot two days, which is how long it took to round up CC and Nugget and get them closed in the back room. Once CC and Nugget were closed up, we let Serena and Opal back out. They toured the house and concluded that it was, in fact, the same house that they left 2.5 years ago. They relaxed and were happy.
My goal was for Opal and Serena to regain their sense of ownership of the house, so they could feel confident and safe and relaxed before directly encountering the other two cats. Serena and Opal needed to feel confident and safe, and CC and Nugget needed to also feel safe, but maybe a little less confident, so that they could see Opal and Serena as having dominance over them.
They quickly became aware that there were cats in the back room, but did not seem very concerned. As the week wore on, we let them catch glimpses of Nugget and CC through the door. Serena hissed and hit Nugget on the head. Opal was unconcerned. CC hissed a lot- she hisses a lot in general, whenever she is startled or scared. Nugget was curious.
The other day R accidentally left the door open, and Opal strolled into the green room and laid down on the floor. She was aware of the other cats but completely unconcerned. I was so proud! Serena has been curious but not aggressive since that one smack.
Last night we opened the door to the green room, so Nugget and CC could come in and out at will. Serena and Opal have not been interested in going in there, but the two newer cats have come out. Nugget came out to the living room, where Serena was very interested in her, and not remotely aggressive. Nugget, on the other hand, hissed and growled at Serena. She is clearly scared of Serena. Serena did get a puffy tail a few times, but she didn't aggress at all.
Serena encountered CC in the kitchen. CC growled threateningly, and Serena responded by jumping forward to smack CC a few times. CC ran back to the green room. Serena chased her til she was out of the kitchen, then did not follow (which is good: if she was being aggressive, she would have followed CC and continued to fight her.) CC stayed in the green room the rest of the night. Immediately afterward, both of them had enormously puffy tails and their mohawks were up. CC's 'hawk looked like a baby's, like it had been combed toward the middle, it was hilarious.
This morning CC has been venturing out. She walked up very close to Serena, but behind her, and when Serena found that CC was there, she yowled at CC and smacked her around again. CC has on a few occasions yowled or hissed at Serena. Nugget keeps wandering the house and occasionally making eye contact with Serena and hissing. Serena is completely unconcerned by that at the moment.
Serena seems mostly unconcerned, but sometimes a little puzzled or alarmed by Nugget's hissing. This morning Serena came running into the kitchen to greet me, not knowing Nugget was in there; Nugget freaked out and hissed, and both cats were scared, hah.
Opal is completely unconcerned by the hissing and etc. She has the confidence of a Top Cat.
It took Opal about 10-12 days to stop hissing at Serena when we first brought Serena home. So I think we will give Nugget about a month to get over things, and if it just doesn't work, we will find her a new home. CC is already up for adoption and we would like her to go soon.