We decided to slow down the intros so for the past week or so, we have allowed Frankie to spend time in the house on his own (the other kitties spent time in his room while he is up and about).  He gets all worked up when he is free in the house and I am guessing that he has a lot of anxiety about it.  We hope that if he spends longer periods of time in the house on his own, this anxiey will subside and when he gets to be around the other babies, things will go smoother.  It's all a lot of guessing and waiting at this point...He is for sure interested in dominance, we just pray that they will eventually work things up.

What is interesting is the fact that Frankie, Tubi and Leo can eat together with no problems; we take the baby gates down, Frankie comes out in the hallway and waits for me to come up the steps with the food bowls followed by Tubi and Leo.  So, food brings them together...It's the meeting "outside" eating time that has been a problem...

I am also hoping that time and patience will pay off, the same way they did when we worked with Sweet Pea.

We managed to trim Frankie's nails, YAAAAY!!!  Both Joe and I went into his room. Joe picked him up and I wrapped him in a towel.  Joe held his paw and pressed on the toe to extend claw, while I petted Frankie's head with my left hand and trimmed the claws with my right hand.  We will have to do this every two weeks for him since he is young and his nails grow very fast.

The introduction process is slow, but we continue to work diligently at it.  So far he has met everybody except Leo face to face.  Frankie is definitely a dominant kitty and I am a bit concerned because he overwhelms everybody with dominance poses and behavior.  Chloe, Peatsie and Tubi are all uneasy around him and don't know what to make of his manners.  Tonight we will have a longer intor session and see how it goes.  Frankie is very rambunctious and full of energy, definitely behaves like a trouble maker.  What happens is that he walks to the other kitties, body all tall, looking down at them with the "I am in power look" and jumps on them; I know this is common in kitties, but it's the way and the frequency that he does it, that are of concern.  He is a completley different kitty in his room behind the baby gates compared to when he is in the house with the other kitties.  I pray that all will work out...

Kitties and a rainy day

It has been a dark, rainy day, reminescent of November.  The kitties are sleeping all scattered through the house.  They seem to come eat and then they just go take naps.  Life is pretty exhausting, right?

We have to figure out how to trim Frankie's nails, he has got some weapons of mass destruction.  He doe not like being held, so that is out and we really need his nails trimmed before he starts meeting everybody face to face.  So, I am thinking to wrap him in a towel, and trim his nails while my husband holds him.  The trick is how to wrap him so that we leave his paws exposed.  Probably best to do it this one morning weekend so that I can see his nails; some of them have a dark pigment and I have to be careful with the quick.  He is snoozing right now in his doughnut bed:)

I will buy Bach Essence for them, perhaps this time will work and will keep them all calm and relaxed as we go through the intros.  Two years ago we tried quite a few herbal remedies when we introduced Sweet Pea to the household, but I am not convinced they helped.

Middle name is "Spoiled"

I have come to the conclusion a long time ago that all cats have a "I am spoiled gene".  Here is a perfect example.

We buy our cat food at a local health food store.  The owner of the store rescues and raises kitties in her store, which by the way is kept immaculate.  She is a major cat lady:)  Back in 2010 she agreed to allow a local cat rescue group to place two kitties for adoption in the store.  The kitties live in large condo crates during the day and are let out free in the grooming room at night.  The rescue group has adopted out four kitties from the store.

In Dec 2010 they brought in for adoption two wonderful unrelated boys, a black long hair Puma and a gray shorthair Malroy.  Puma is a happy go lucky kind of kitty, always happy, just happy.  Malroy on the other hand became depressed in his condo.  So, one Saturday when we went to pick up food we saw how sad he was and decided to sponsor some good wet food for them to brighten up their days.  The owner of the store started them on Solid Gold Tuna.  They loved it and ate it happily until last week when they said "NO MORE".

When I called this past Sunday to buy more Solid Gold for them I was told they do not like it anymore....Now they are eating Merrick Cowboy Cookout.  And of course we are sponsoring it for them...

I guess all kitties have a "spoiled" gene and that is OK.  Enjoy your yummies Puma and Malroy, I pray everyday that you will get happy homes soon!!!

We are working day in and day out at establishing a calming happy routine for the four resident kitties to assocaite with the newcomer Frankie.  All play sessions happen in the spaces adjacent to the baby gates, Frankie inside of the room and the other four kitties outside in the hallway.  They get as many meals as possible at the gates also, and they get rewarded with treats at the gates.  So, it's all about "Party Time" at the gates with Frankie.  I ended up plugging the Feliway difusers and when necessary I also use the Feliway spray.

Chloe is still hiding as soon as she hears the contractor pulling in the driveway.  And she stays hidden until he leaves, no matter how hungry she is.  Last night after they left, she came out (always cautiously) and she was so hungry that she had a look of desperation on her face...Poor little baby girl!  We will have a week of vacation from the noise and work since the contractor leaves for vacation this evening...I am sure our little darling Chloe will be very happy:)

Wheather got very hot here and I am worried about the feral and stray kitties out there, the hard life they have to face.  It just breaks my heart! 

Roofing work!

We have been having roof work done for the past three days.  Tubi, Leo, Sweatsie and Frankie have figured out that noise is just noise and is not going to hurt them but Chloe is hiding even today.  The moment she hears the crew outside she runs under the bed in the small bedroom and I don't see her until the men leave.  Poor little girl, when she comes out she is hungry, thirsty and must use the litterbox.  The thing is the bedrooms are on the third lever of our house, right under the roof, where the noise is the loudest.  I guess she is trading this for the safe spot under the bed...

We have done a few room exchanges with the babies.  Frankie has checked out the rest of the house and the other kitties checked out his room, but we are no where near having Frankie free in the house.  Not only that Leo needs time to accept him, but Sweatsie is a little worried about him.  Tubi, well Tubi is worried about his status and started some dominance moves on Chloe and Sweatsie.  I can't plug in the Feliways because we do air out the house a lot when it's not too hot outside and this would completely defeat the purpose of the Feliway.

I keep asking the kitties, why must you be soooooo complicated?

Gates are up!

The baby gates have been up for five days.  Tubi, Chloe and Sweetsie are fine and Leo is exercising his topcat position as we expected.  He is hissing and vocalizing and ocasionally doing a charge on the gate just like he did with Sweetsie.  When both Joe and I are home at meal time, we feed Frankie, Tubi and Leo at the gate.  Chloe and Sweetsie want to eat at their regular spots in the kitchen, they will not come up to the gate.

I also give them treats at the gates so that they associate good things with each other.

On Sunday we did a room exchange, we let Frankie explore the house and allowed Leo to explore Frankie's room.  Frankie was soooo happy to be out and about and now he is crying to come out but Leo is not ready.  So, tonight we will do another room exchange and tomorrow evening we will try a play session with the bird at the gate; I will be with Frankie in his room and Joe will be in the hallway on the other side of the gate with the other babies.