# Hello Everyone !



## mimi-ann (Sep 12, 2014)

Hello ! I am so excited to be here ! I was never a cat person, I was always a dog person, till 5 years ago when we adopted our little girl Meka from a friend of mine. My husband is a cat lover , so i thought it would be nice for him to have a cat , but quickly i fell madly in love with her , and i tell everyone she changed my life! We adopted a 2nd cat from the local shelter (here is Calgary Alberta Canada) at the end of June this year. He is a beautiful, friendly, playful, affectionate 2 year old male kitty, but i just can't get the two cats to get along  I am hoping i can get some advice from the other cat lovers here on this forum ! I also have a 16 1/2 year old blind Pug dog , and my new cat seems to have some issues with him too. I look forward to reading all the interesting threads, and hopefully learn some tips and tricks !


----------



## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Welcome Mimi-ann! Hope we can give you some pointers on proper introductions! 
And some pictures please!


----------



## Sylvie'smom (Sep 9, 2013)

Welcome to the forum! Glad you saw the light and became a "cat person"!


----------



## mimi-ann (Sep 12, 2014)

Here are my two babies , Meka with the blue eyes , and Sully the green eyed tabby  I am glad i saw the light too !!


----------



## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

Welcome. Coming from a house that had a small old dog, my only point is to protect the dog


----------



## mimi-ann (Sep 12, 2014)

yes , you are right , and I have been . My little pug is over 16yrs old , and he is blind and deaf . For the most part Sully ignores him , but every now and then he tries to jump on him ..... i think he is trying to play , but i stop him in his tracks haha ! He has , on occasion gotten territorial with him , when my little dog walks into the living room , this Sully thinks is his room , and my dog rarely goes in there . It's not that i don't trust Sully with Brodie ( my pug) but i guess i just feel bad that Brodie has to contend with this crazy kitty at this stage in his life . I just wish Sully and Meka could get along  There was another incident this morning when i was swapping the cats rooms . They caught a glimpse of one another , and before i could put one cat down and pick up the other the fight was on . I don't know how much longer i can go on like this  I love my new cat Sully , but i am absolutely exhausted keeping them separated . I think it is safe to say i have tried every solution there is from "calming" food to flower essence drops , playing with his wanded toys to tire him out , brushing both of them and rubbing socks on them to swap each other's scent, we did a slow introduction , now we are doing a even slower "re-introduction"..... honestly , it goes on and on . Now i think i have to find a new home for him , and that breaks my heart . But i am at my wits end .


----------



## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Introductions are almost always stressful with cats very few go like a txt book. You have had Sully for about 12 weeks? I know you said you tried everything but maybe if you can put it in order that helps, so how long was he in a safe room, when did you try cracking the door, using food, baby gates etc. Then maybe we can give you some other ideas or steps to try again. Also are they full on fights or a bit of chasing and hissing?
Having said that sometimes the mix is not right and the cats can't get a relationship of any sort that they and you can live with. It is horrible to have to give one up when you were thinking you were giving that forever home. But if it's not working then it's better for both cats to have homes they are happy in. I have experienced this but Felix, the cat I had to rehome is so happy and loves his new home and my girl Lulu is happy too.


----------



## mimi-ann (Sep 12, 2014)

We had Sully in his safe room for about 10days( he had Feliway , a litter box , posts , toys , water etc ) , we had them eating their meals outside the door from one another after day 5, then we cracked the door and let them see each other after about day 7 . That didn't go well , Meka was hissing , growling and yowling at him the whole time . We let him out of his room to explore about day 8 ( with Meka locked down in the basement)with Feliway diffusers in everyroom ! . Then we let them see each other about day 10 . They were always supervised . Meka was a little territorial at first , and that made sense to us .And there was a lot of hissing and swatting from Meka , but never a reaction from Sully , he would just stand there and look at her non aggressively . But what Sully started doing was hiding on her and then ambushing out at her , which i thought was playing at first , but slowly started to turn more aggressive.

Everytime he would see her enter a room he would do this ....Hide, get down low , huge pupils ,then the butt wiggle , and then dart out at her . She of course would hiss , and sometimes swat at him . I tired to distract him everytime i saw him doing this , but nothing seemed to work. Meka was so stressed and not herself , and this broke my heart . Then i thought , maybe i need to play with him more and tire him out , so we would play with his Da Bird toy about 4 times a day till he was worn out .

Then on advise from the author of The Cat Whisperer ( $250 phone consultation ) she told me to separate them for 2 weeks then do a re-introduction . So that is what we did . After the 2 weeks we set up a see-thru barrier and would play with each cat , or feed them something yummy , or have them rolling in cat nip ...and then as soon as either of them started to show signs of aggression we would quickly close off the barrier . This was exhausting on it's own , because i had to wait for my husband to come home from work around 7pm so the two of us could do this . We did this for 5 days in a row and it went ok as long as each of them were stimulated with the toys or treats . Eventually we thought we could remove the barrier and have them eat their meals together with out the barrier up for the first time , Sully instantly stalked her and went to hide behind sometime to jump out at her .Of course i instantly picked him up. These re-introduction sessions can go on for months , but frankly my husband and i will end up divorced over it ! 

The fights normally would start with hissing , yowling , then a swat , but then went to chasing and fur flying and scratching each other . We took poor Sully to the vets the other day and she suggested to try some meds . I really don't think on his own he needs this , but i thought maybe it would take the edge off until they got used to each other . This morning i was swapping them floors again , and usually i can bring one downstairs and put them down with out the other seeing , then quickly grab the other and bring them up . But this morning Sully was faster then me and saw Meka and instantly went to sneak around a piece of furniture to pounce on her , she saw him and hissed at him ( big arches back and everything ) and then swatted at him . He didn't back down and swatted back then when she raced up the stairs he followed right behind her.

Of course this whole "re-introduction" thing is not as easy as it sounds. My house isn't set up so i can block off a room , but yet still have them see each other during the process . And Sully can jump over almost any size of baby gate or barrier . I have a kitty play-pen too , but neither of them like going in it . Sully is such a great kitty on his own , not aggressive at all and has a great personality . Meka is a little shy , and not so outgoing , and i am learning does NOT want to share her home with another cat . Meka is used to having the run of the house , so she hates not being able to go to whatever floor she chooses , and constanly is scratching at a door (especially if she hears me playing with sully behind the door) . 

And another thing ...Sully is a food gobbler ! And Meka is a slow grazer , so in order for Meka to have her food i have to keep moving it along with her when i trade them floors !!! When i forget , he gobbles down everything in her dish as fast as he can . I bought a feeder for Meka that only opens up for her when she is near it , but she HATES to wear the collar with the fob on it .... I can't win haha ! Plus the fob is so huge, it is as big as her head .

I think if I could get him to stop his "predatory" type stalking of her , and running out at her , then i could get a hold of the situation. She was fine with him in the same room as her as long as he ignored her , but he just can't seem to leave her alone ! No matter what he is doing , if she walks into the room ....BAM , his eyes get huge and he goes down low and the stalking begins ! My husband insists that he is still playing , but i beg to differ. And even if he is playing , Meka hates it and the fight is on every time he does it .

Sorry for such a long post ! But that is basically the low-down !


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Please post issues in the appropriate forum (Health & Nutrition, Behavior, etc.).


----------



## mimi-ann (Sep 12, 2014)

Hi , sorry Marie73 .... i was thinking that after i posted that is should be moved to the other forum


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

No worries, you'll get better and faster answers. :grin:


----------



## Jenny bf (Jul 13, 2013)

Sorry! Entirely my fault as I forgot to say put in a new thread.


----------



## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

You're right. Everyone - say goodbye to Jenny. 

:grin:


----------

