The Megara Chronicles: Integration
Sep. 15th, 2024 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aAt this point, our main concern with the cats is integration. This is always tricky, but it's trickier than usual with Megara because she's still very skittish and doesn't want to be picked up and we don't want to damage her trust by doing so. So we can't do simple things like move her out of her room so that the cats an explore it without her presence. Or show the orangies that she's our baby by cuddling her.
Despite that, Elmer has done great. I'd thought he'd be the easier of the two. He might end up bullying her, but he doesn't have the fear/hate relationship with other cats that Mango seems to have developed due to late-night visitors.
Though Elmer is still very cautious every time he comes to explore Megara's room, he's increasingly fascinated and decreasingly afraid of her. He's booped noses with her a few times with no bad reactions from other of them. Increasingly, she goes and hides in her "lair" (the far side and bottom of the bed, which form a tunnel when the blanket falls over them to the ground) and Elmer sits staring at the blanket and even reacts pretty well when she strikes out at him (playfully). Today's visit ended with the two of them staring at each other, lying down on opposite sides of the room, and Elmer finally getting up and heading over to Megara. She got afraid and fled and he chased. We're pretty sure it was play on Elmer's part. He really seems fascinated with the little kit and wanting to play with her at this point.
Mango is the problem. He's been willing to stare at her from far away, but he ends up growling and yowling and hissing when he's in the same room. He went into Megara's room last night when Kimberly was supervising and was eventually removed because he was mouthing off. And then when Elmer got put out too he and Mango had a brief but loud spat. I figure Mango got confused and thought Megara had been put out. (But he's also attacked his brother more than once after seeing a cat outside. That's what we're really battling, I think, six or twelve months of cats mocking him at the front or back door due to irresponsible cat owners in the area.)
Kimberly and I have both read that letting them see each other from afar or through a barrier is a good option. So I decided after yesterday's spat that I would be the barrier and I would come bearing churus (squeezable treats for cats). So I sat between the cats in Megara's doorway tonight and passed around the tube. We'll keep doing this every night and hopefully it'll help Mango calm down by associating Megara with tasty treats. Though today he mainly refused to look at her while getting his treats. (I'm also going to pick up some more cat-calming pheromones when I'm in town tomorrow. We've had them in Megara's room from almost the start, but I'm going to install some in the living room with the hope that it'll calm Mango down overall.)
In a normal situation the cats might be integrated already for better or for worse, but Mango seems more agitated than any of our previous cats and Megara seems willing to hang out in her room, so we can try and improve the integration for a while more.
Despite that, Elmer has done great. I'd thought he'd be the easier of the two. He might end up bullying her, but he doesn't have the fear/hate relationship with other cats that Mango seems to have developed due to late-night visitors.
Though Elmer is still very cautious every time he comes to explore Megara's room, he's increasingly fascinated and decreasingly afraid of her. He's booped noses with her a few times with no bad reactions from other of them. Increasingly, she goes and hides in her "lair" (the far side and bottom of the bed, which form a tunnel when the blanket falls over them to the ground) and Elmer sits staring at the blanket and even reacts pretty well when she strikes out at him (playfully). Today's visit ended with the two of them staring at each other, lying down on opposite sides of the room, and Elmer finally getting up and heading over to Megara. She got afraid and fled and he chased. We're pretty sure it was play on Elmer's part. He really seems fascinated with the little kit and wanting to play with her at this point.
Mango is the problem. He's been willing to stare at her from far away, but he ends up growling and yowling and hissing when he's in the same room. He went into Megara's room last night when Kimberly was supervising and was eventually removed because he was mouthing off. And then when Elmer got put out too he and Mango had a brief but loud spat. I figure Mango got confused and thought Megara had been put out. (But he's also attacked his brother more than once after seeing a cat outside. That's what we're really battling, I think, six or twelve months of cats mocking him at the front or back door due to irresponsible cat owners in the area.)
Kimberly and I have both read that letting them see each other from afar or through a barrier is a good option. So I decided after yesterday's spat that I would be the barrier and I would come bearing churus (squeezable treats for cats). So I sat between the cats in Megara's doorway tonight and passed around the tube. We'll keep doing this every night and hopefully it'll help Mango calm down by associating Megara with tasty treats. Though today he mainly refused to look at her while getting his treats. (I'm also going to pick up some more cat-calming pheromones when I'm in town tomorrow. We've had them in Megara's room from almost the start, but I'm going to install some in the living room with the hope that it'll calm Mango down overall.)
In a normal situation the cats might be integrated already for better or for worse, but Mango seems more agitated than any of our previous cats and Megara seems willing to hang out in her room, so we can try and improve the integration for a while more.