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Czarina got out last night!

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 07:26 AM
Out as in, out of her screened area and into the apartment!:eek:

I'm going to have to work something out with that screen because I can't have that happen again, especially while I'm not home.

I have to say though, I'm guessing its a good sign I didn't hear any fighting.

Looking back, I found it odd that Vlad didn't sleep in his usual spot next to me. He sleeps in this little spot next to my pillow, and he rarely misses a night. He'll usually get down at some point but then come back and sleep a little more. I woke up several times and didn't see or feel him. He must have been downstairs watching her all night.

I did at one point hear Czarina's meow. Hers is a little deeper than the others.

Well, I got up for their feeding, and saw the bathroom door closed. I opened it and didn't see her. I freaked. I thought, OMG! Where could she be and I hope I find her before the others. It turns out she was inside this pyramid bed. Which is kind of odd, because that's full of Maks' scent since he's the one who's been using it the most.

I picked up the bed with her inside of it and took it back to her area.

I gave them all some food with some of the Rescue Remedy and added some drops in their water as well.

I'm going to have to figure something out for that area. That screen is the only thing between her and them, and I don't want to have her getting out until they are all ready.

I'm just thankful nothing happened.

SARAH
December 30th, 2007, 08:51 AM
PHEW !!!

When I saw the title of your new thread, I was scared she had gotten OUT out! Good thing it was just out of her area.

I'm wondering, since nothing happened last night, if you should let her be able to move around freely - when you are home - to see how they interact. Don't be tense, just observe and be ready to intervene if you need to (get some heavy-duty gardening gloves, lol).

IMO, for what it's worth, the deliberate separation might do more harm than good after the initial look/smell intro is over. Both Czarina and the others may see it as a sign that the other is a threat :shrug:

Have a few drops of Rescue under your own tongue, and remove the screen ...

chico2
December 30th, 2007, 09:05 AM
Oh,Oh,you scared me there for a minute:yell:
No major cat-fight,that's a good sign,but chances are they all kept their distance,waiting for one to make a move.
I don't want to give you any advice I'll regret,but maybe Sarah is right,who knows with these little guys,what goes on in their heads:confused:
You are a brave wonderful cat-person and I know you will not give up,soon I hope Czarina will realize how lucky she is:pray:

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 10:51 AM
Sarah, you may be on to something. I could allow her to go out and just watch everyone. I think they will most likely just keep their distance.

I think the two I have to watch the most are Vlad and Czarina. I've heard hissing mostly from him and her.

Chico, thanks for the vote of confidence.

I'll give this a try. and let you guys know how it goes.

Rottielover
December 30th, 2007, 11:09 AM
When I brought Mickey home I really thought tigger would have an issue. He normally does not like other cats. Well to my surprise he went to sniff the carrier. No hissing except from the new comer.
I kept harley in his crate. I let him out, he ran like the dickens, but tigger nothing other than confusion.
Do not get me wrong, they still have their little tiffs, but they are both young males, and was to be expected.
You have to let them work it out when you are home.
Just keep a spray bottle to separate them if needed.
Soon enough they will be ok together.
It only took Mickey 2 days to come around with tigger. Harley on the other hand can be a little overwhelming at times still, but only hisses, no claws.

krdahmer
December 30th, 2007, 11:11 AM
And another phew..... I thought also that she got OUT... yikes!!!:eek:

I think maybe it would be ok since you are home just to let her out a bit and see what happens. Maybe even just start at an hour or so today and then a little longer tomorrow and so on. Vlad and her will probably be vying for top spot as she is oldest and he is the first in the house, so that hissing may go on for quite some time.

14+kitties
December 30th, 2007, 11:12 AM
I was going to say the same. Let her out and just watch. Keeping her separated for too long is just saying to them that there MAY be issues which means when they do get together there WILL be issues.
Whenever I put new kitties in with the other ones I watched for a while to make sure there wasn't anything major besides the hissing. Normally there was hissing and a little growling and a few smacks on the heads from the older ones but I found the less interfering from me, the better it went. It never took more than a few days for the newest addition(s) to settle in and be accepted by the others. Now they are one big happy group.
I'm thinking that will be the way it goes with your guys too. :thumbs up

Frenchy
December 30th, 2007, 11:19 AM
No major cat-fight,that's a good sign,

That's what I was thinking too. Maybe it's good that she came out , she put her scent in your appartement :thumbs up

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 11:56 AM
I have the screen open. Vlad is sitting there near the opening. Kiska got a little close to Czarina and Czarina hissed and swatted at her. I've got to be very watchful with Kiska. I don't want her to get hurt. Of all of them, she's the smallest and the one I see as the most fragile. Especially now after her surgery.

I put the bed she's been sleeping in out in their little living area. She seems to like that pyramid bed. It's comfortable and enclosed, so I imagine right now that's making her feel safe.

I don't want to force her to come out. I want her to feel comfortable to come out in her own time, but I'm wondering if in a little while, I should bring her out a little more into the open. I'll leave her in the pyramid bed, but maybe if I place her right where I'm sitting I can watch everyone and she might feel safer.

rainbow
December 30th, 2007, 02:54 PM
I think that's the best thing to do. Let her have a safe place to hide if she wants to. With time, they will all work things out amongst themselves.

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 03:00 PM
Vlad has gotten close a couple of times, and she's hissed and swatted at him. He and Oksana have attempted to get the closest to her.

I tried giving her a little treat but she didn't seem interested. She might just be feeling the stress. She hasn't eaten much today.

I've been giving all of them the Rescue Remedy, and I've been spraying Feliway, but it's all still very tense.

LOL, I guess I'm just thinking I'll give them those things and they will all miraculously be best buddies.

*sigh* I just have to prepare for a long introduction.

SARAH
December 30th, 2007, 03:08 PM
Maybe not. Suddenly, one will hit it off with her and the others won't want to be left out, and it'll snowball.

Not quite the same situation here of course, bringing a kitten to 2 dogs and one cat, but Dani was the one who accepted Spoutnik first, within a few hours. She barked at him a few times, growled a little (mostly to give herself courrage I think :D ) and that was it. Then she sniffed him, got slapped :D and started pushing him with her nose.

Sheba was more menacing towrds him, until she got a whiff of his bum :D baby smell! AHA, vulnerable! Now she's his "mom" when Dani plays a little too rough!

Misti on the other hand ... took her a week to stop hissing, growling or plum running away! She'd get up on something and watch him from above, scowling. Not a happy kitty. What was this intruder doing in HER house!?

Now though, she'll play with him and even calls him from downstairs if he's not there when she's ready to play. Just don't think she'll cuddle with him! Not yet anyway ...

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 03:12 PM
I'll say it will be a day of celebration when the hissing stops. I'm hoping she comes out of her little safe spot and allows at least one of the others to get close enough without her hissing or swatting.

They're all napping right now which is good because I've got to go downstairs to get something from my dad in a few minutes.

I can't wait to be able to post pictures of all of them playing.

rainbow
December 30th, 2007, 03:27 PM
It's just going to take a little longer than normal. It's always harder to introduce an older cat to younger ones, especially one who has been living outside for who knows how long.

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 03:32 PM
I wish I had another week off. Actually, I wish I could have done this at the beginning of my vacation. Now when I go back to work, I'll have to put her in the screened area while I'm at work.

The biggest factor here is the time she's been outside. I don't know how social she was with the other cats. Actually, I think one of the maintenence guys told me she was trying to play with another kitty the other day, a black one that lives in the office, but he swatted at her and she ran from him.

I'll have to ask him tomorrow how social she was with the other's outside.

ancientgirl
December 30th, 2007, 10:48 PM
Oh boy, I just spent the last hour trying to get Czarina out from under the bed.

I thought I got the screen enclosure situation worked out, but as I was up in bed with the gang all around ready to sleep, I saw Czarina coming up the stairs.

Yikes! She immediately hissed and swatted at Maks, who was the first to jump down from the bed.

I would have left her under the bed, but I don't think we're to that point yet.

I'm mainly afraid for the little ones. Kiska is just too small, and Maks is as well. She out weighs them quite a bit, and she's on defense mode now, no matter if any of them approach her meaning to play.

Oksana, she's smaller too, but not by much, and while I think she could defend herself, she shouldn't have to.

Vlad would be the one I believe could defend himself from her the most, but again, why should he have to.

I can't have her running around, especially under the bed at night. I'll let her roam around during the day, while I'm here and awake.

I was finally able to get her out by squirting some water under the bed. I was able to pick her up and put her back in the pyramid bed and got her back downstairs.

I THINK I've secured the enclosure at the spot I believe she's squeezing out from. Tomorrow I'm really going to have to do something about that. The last thing I need to worry about at work, is if she's gotten out and what's going on here while I'm gone.

StumpsMom
December 31st, 2007, 12:34 AM
I too thought she'd gotten outside!:yell: Very relieved to hear that she didn't though and also glad that she didn't get into any trouble with the others when she got out of her room (phew!)

chico2
December 31st, 2007, 08:37 AM
Ancientgirl good morning:cat:
Just the fact there is"only"hissing and swatting and she lets you pick her up,without any frenzy from the others,is actually a good sign.
My cats hiss to each other on a regular basis,especially Chico,but none of them are too interested in fighting.
I think Czarina is checking your kitties out,as weird as it sounds,to see what kind of reaction she'll get.
Very few cats will fight a kitten,but that's not fool-proof,you can never be sure..
How's Kiska doing,does she have stiches???

ancientgirl
December 31st, 2007, 09:00 AM
The vet said Kiska is doing well. I'm just very frightened for her. She can't defend herself against an adult cat. They closed her back up again, but no major damage. She does have a couple of scratches, but they aren't bad.

I'm going to pick her up later and bring her home.

I've got her out here in the open. She's in her pyramid bed. She seems to feel the safest there.

I can tell Vlad is receptive to her. I mean, he's approached her several times and yesterday even sat next to the pyramid bed for a few minutes. But she's incredibly fearful and doesn't seem to trust another cat.

Winston
December 31st, 2007, 09:06 AM
I wonder if Czarina could smell the incision on Kiska? and maybe thats why she was near her? Glad to hear Kiska is doing well...and she will adjust fine when she comes home! she has her big brother Maks and she will remember that! they have that bond you know..

Cindy

ancientgirl
December 31st, 2007, 09:09 AM
They do haev such a beautiful bond. He misses her terribly. When she came home they were glued to each other.

Jim Hall
December 31st, 2007, 10:47 AM
I THINK I've secured the enclosure at the spot I believe she's squeezing out from. Tomorrow I'm really going to have to do something about that. The last thing I need to worry about at work, is if she's gotten out and what's going on here while I'm gone.


lol well you got an escape artist At least cz isnt going after any one today Of course all witrh russian names measn ther is gonna be a lot of conspiracy floating around the house