A buttload of pictures

[ancientgirl]

Ugh, I posted this and lost it the first time!

Okay, here we go again. Czarina out and about.





She's been sleeping on that orange chair on and off most of the morning. That pink thing Vlad is sitting on I just went out and got them. It's like a storage box, but it's fabric over a very sturdy metal frame. I wanted to replace the cardboard boxes they were using to play and hang out in with something sturdier and that would hold up a bit. This one and another one I got were cheap and they are quite popular here

[ancientgirl]

Vlad trying to get closer and Oksana trying out the box.



Getting hissed and swatted at for his trouble.



Everybody wants in on the box.

[ancientgirl]

Just a few more.

[Love4himies]

Great pictures, ancientgirl! It looks like Czarina is fitting in very well, you are doing a great job.

Vlad is trying to welcome Czarina, I bet they are going to be great friends like Jasper and Sweet Pea.

[Winston]

Awesome pics AG! Keep doing what your doing by giving her that safety in the kitchen and her ability to explore while your there! and you will win her over soon! This is HUGE!!!!!! PROGRESS!!!!! just let her keep going back and forth and she will learn that she can trust everyone!!

I am so happy for you!

Cindy

[ancientgirl]

Thanks guys. It is some pretty good progress. I decided to give them all a treat and let them have some tuna. I had to lure her back into the kitchen with her bowl. I want her, at least for now, to see the kitchen as her place to eat. Since I'm giving her the Prozac, I have to keep her separated while she eats. I will also have to bring her into the kitchen and keep her in there later this evening when I give them dinner. It will be hard to get hold of her when I go to bed and I don't want her to be loose during the night, plus I've got to keep her inside there while I'm at work. I'll let her out for a few hours when I come home from work next week. Hopefully I can soon have it so I can leave her out while I'm at work. I'm going to find some pill pockets to try those out for the pills. That way I don't have to worry about feeding her along with the others, since she seemed to want to hang out with them while they had their tuna.

[Winston]

pill pockets worked great for the first few days and then Tabitha realised what was in them! if the pill is small enough Czarina will probably not notice!! You are taking a great approach to this and it will work!! baby steps !! and they are working!

Cindy

[ancientgirl]

The pills are pretty small. I actually have to cut a regular pill in half, so what I wind up with I think might be small enough for her not to notice. Maybe I can put some cheese on there to make it extra appealing. I'll have to see if she likes cheese first though.

Right now she's eating out of the other bowls. She loves tuna, so that might be a good thing to use for her pill Hmm...

I do at least think things are going much better this time around. There's more progress. I'm also keeping my she doesn't start peeing all over the place like she did before. That would really suck big time.

[rainbow]

AMAZING progress AG ....you are doing a terrific job.

Czarina is so pretty and good for her using the cat scratcher already.

I love the pic of Vlad on the pink box peeking over the chair at her.

[ancientgirl]

Rainbow, she's doing really well. She's sleeping on the orange chair, with her back towards everything. I think that at least shows she feels comfortable enough to let her guard down while she's asleep.

I still don't feel comfortable leaving her to roam with the rest of the gang while I'm at work though. It's going to be hard getting her into the kitchen again. I'll have to try picking her up and sometimes she doesn't like that much.

Those boxes were a good deal. I like that they can lay on top of them and inside too.

[rainbow]

That is a great sign that she is sleeping with her back to everything.

It is still best to take baby steps though so you are doing the right thing by only letting her out under supervision. And neither of my cats (both semi-ferals) like to be picked up. They do tolerate it but will not stay on my lap for any length of time. However they do love to snuggle up next to me in bed or if I'm lying down on the couch. Everything has to be on their terms so that's the way I accept it.

[Dracko]

Holy crap that is so good that she wants to come out like that and is using the cat scratcher, etc.

It's so cute to see Vlad so curious about her trying to get as close as he can. Given she sat there at all while he sneaked up is a huge sign to me. If she was completely terrified she'd have either taken off immediately or attacked him.

[ancientgirl]

Rainbow - Yeah, when I set dinner out for them, I'll get her in the kitchen and leave her in there the rest of the evening. I feel her tense up when I pick her up so I'd rather avoid making her feel uncomfortable like that. She's actually been out with the rest of us since about 8:00 am so she's had a lot of time out here. I know she will probably want to spend more time out here, but I almost don't want to let her overdue it. I'm used to having one that you have to let things be done on their own terms. Oksana is sort of like that.

Dracko - She seems to be pretty tolerant of the others. As long as when she hisses they leave her alone, I think she's okay.

I just gave her some cheese to see if she liked it. Just so I can maybe try to hide her pill with some cheese. Boy, did she ever like it. She was eating and growling/grunting. She grunts a lot while she eats. So, I think what I can do is get the pill pockets and stuff some with cheese, then stuff another with cheese and her pill. Maybe that will fool her. That will make it easier than separating her when I feed her in the mornings once I feel more comfortable to leave her out. I don't want the others to get into her food, so giving her the pill incognito will help.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Cute shot of Czarina in the chair w/Vlad peeking @ her & Oksana in the box

I also like the Maks & Kiska in the other box very cute


Remember not to get lulled into thinking she'll be fine w/out supervision right now. She has made great progress this time around but I think she still needs atleast a couple more incident-free months before she can be trusted with everyone. A couple hours per day is good to get her used to being w/the others but will still make it easy to confine her to the kitchen when needed. Kitten steps will get her there eventually

[angeldogs]

Nice pics.Czarina looks comfy in the chair.the rest look like they had with the box

[Toonces]

All of your kitties are just stunning...your place looks like kitty heaven to me...better not show Emma and Toonces these pics or they might just hightail it over to your place

[14+kitties]

Got nothin' to add except Wow!! Give yourself a ! Fantastic!!!

[Winston]

Growler! and yes she has done an awesome job in saving Czarina!!

[ancientgirl]

Growler, I'm keeping her in the kitchen for the most part for a while longer yet. I really don't trust leaving her out with the rest of the gang unless I'm home. The problem is also, I was thinking of letting her out a few hours a night, but I just had a hell of a time getting her back into the kitchen. It's clear she wants to have a little more room and she wants to explore. But she's not letting the others approach her without getting really aggressive. This morning she was okay, but as the day has worn on she's sort of getting more irritated. I'm still giving her the Prozac and she's been on it straight for 2 weeks. I'm supposed to begin to see results at 3 or 4 weeks. I'm not bothered too much by hissing. Oksana hisses at Vlad and Maks regularly, it's the lunging that I need to see stop before I trust her enough to let her fully free from the kitchen.

Angeldogs, those little boxes were inexpensive and they are enjoying them quite a bit.

Toonces, they sort of have their own living room. That entire area where the orange chairs are is theirs. They have stuff to play with and they have places to sit and lay and look out the window to their hearts content. There's a huge palm tree outside the window and now and then we get lucky and there's a squirrel or bird! Emma and Toonces are welcome. There's plenty of beds!

14+k, I've got a ways to go with her, but we're moving forward slowly but surely.

Thanks Winston. I've gotten some great support when I've needed from everyone here, and that's helped a great deal.

[wdawson]

i like the first one.......mom what channel is animal planet

[ancientgirl]

LOL, you know, the big TV junkie here is Maks. He loooooves watching TV.

[growler~GateKeeper]

Ancientgirl - I am in no way critizing you or how you've done with her so far. I just don't want you thinking that she's good to go now with the others on her own. I would hate to see a setback with all the progress so far.

Perhaps save a little tuna treat time for night when she needs to be back in the kitchen, tempt her with the dish to follow you back in on her own - that way you are not always picking her up to put her in the kitchen. She'll see it is a good thing to head back in there @ night.

Sometimes you need a special treat they get only at certain times to be really effective that way it's not something they will leave & walk away from cuz they get it all the time.

Maybe on the days when you are home you can have her out for a couple of hours, then put her back in the kitchen for a break from the rest, later in the evening let her out again. Break up the together time alittle so she doesn't get annoyed as easily.

[ancientgirl]

Originally Posted by growler

Ancientgirl - I am in no way critizing you or how you've done with her so far. I just don't want you thinking that she's good to go now with the others on her own. I would hate to see a setback with all the progress so far.

Perhaps save a little tuna treat time for night when she needs to be back in the kitchen, tempt her with the dish to follow you back in on her own - that way you are not always picking her up to put her in the kitchen. She'll see it is a good thing to head back in there @ night.

Sometimes you need a special treat they get only at certain times to be really effective that way it's not something they will leave & walk away from cuz they get it all the time.

Maybe on the days when you are home you can have her out for a couple of hours, then put her back in the kitchen for a break from the rest, later in the evening let her out again. Break up the together time alittle so she doesn't get annoyed as easily.

Growler, please I in no way think you are criticizing me. I hope I didn't sound defensive, I didn't mean for my comment to sound that way. I value the opinion of everyone here that has given me so much support and advice and you are one of those people.

I hadn't wanted to pick her up when I got her in the kitchen, because she tenses up and gets angry, but I had to do it to get her in there.

She loves tuna, and cheese. The problem is, so do the others. I'd have to fight them off to keep them from following us. I could always give it a try. I can get some cheese and tuna tomorrow and try that.

I want to give her a chance to keep getting out, but I don't want to stress her out by chasing her around trying to get her back in the kitchen.

[growler~GateKeeper]

It's all good

Maybe if you dish out to the four first & tempted her away while they are munching?

[ancientgirl]

Oh no, that won't work. Because then they will want what I'm holding out for her. They're like little kids. They all have the same toy, but they will want the one you are offering another kid

[krdahmer]

I think it is absolutely amazing that she is even sitting that close to the others! That is great progress!

And thanks for sharing that cute pile of pics!!!

[ancientgirl]

She did really well in the morning. As the day wore on, she started to get a little irritated. LOL. She really wants to be out though. She's gotten a taste of the rest of the place and she wants to spend some time out of the kitchen. I feel bad now keeping her in there, but she's got to learn to play nice a little better. She started lunging at the others so I had to pick her up and put her back in the kitchen.