KPassa
Member Since 2012
Previous Condo.
Mikey's AMPS was almost an hour late because he was much more interested in the stare-down with the new kitty (still haven't figured out a name for him yet). He didn't drop very low last night, but with his AMPS so low, I think today might be a good day for us. I'm working from the office today and have a doctor's appointment at noon, so I can't run home and check on everyone, but my roommate is there all day and said he'd keep an eye on things.
And who is/was Tarragon? Someone must share a link for me!
The Two Kittens' Integration Project:
(Long, so you can skip over if you want.)
Possible names for Mr. Tuxedo: A friend on fb said she liked his original "Merlin" name and I retorted that if I were ever going to name a cat after an Arthurian Character, it would be The Fisher King. She said she likes "Fisher" even better and I think I kinda like it, too! Then, there's Maximilliano, or "Max," which I was trying out on him last night for a bit solely because it was the one name he responded to when I started reciting a long list of random names at him. Or Leo, as I facetiously suggested, to keep the theme of Famous Italian Artists (or TMNTs; take your pick). My sister suggested "Virgil" after the poet, but that sounds like a name a kitten would get beat up for. My brother suggested "Willow" after the Val Kilmer movie, but all I keep thinking of is "Willow" from Buffy instead.
Mr. T is night-and-day from Mikey. I hate to say it, but I can now clearly see where my brother is coming from about how he keeps saying, "all the other cats I meet are NICE and Michelangelo isn't!" Mr. T is a complete sweetheart and was wrapping himself all over my legs this morning as I stood in the kitchen preparing their food and Mikey's insulin shot. He even snuggled in my lap for about a half hour last night and again this morning. He just purrs nonstop and he hasn't swiped at me or nipped at me AT ALL and when he rolls onto his back, exposing his belly for me to scratch, if I go to scratch it, he DOESN'T attack my hand! Hopefully he'll be able to teach Mikey some good manners. :roll: I think my brother is going to fall in love with this cat and it looks like he might be already.
I've decided to segregate Mikey in my room until Mr. Tuxedo gets more familiar and comfortable with his settings. Since Mikey considers my room his "safe place," I figured it would be unfair to kick him out of it for a few days, especially because that would just make him more stressed and possibly even resentful of the new kitten. On top of it, he'd be crying and scratching at my bedroom door, trying to get in at night. Since Mr. T has never known of my room, he won't be bothered not being allowed in it. So, Mikey gets my room and Mr. T gets the rest of the house.
When my brother came home last night, he felt bad for Mr. T being all alone so he took Mr. T up to his room for a couple of hours...until Mr. T started to poop under his bed and not in the litter box. Turns out at four months old, Mr. T has already been strictly clay litter trained and doesn't know what to do with the equine pine I use. Mikey, on the other hand, had never been litter trained and the very first time I put him in the litter box, he went to the bathroom without any problems and never had any accidents up until the week prior to his diabetes diagnosis (it was one of the reasons I took him in to the vet). Mr. T remained constipated (probably from stress combined with not knowing where to go) for most of the night, so he had to spend his first night all alone in my living room. :cry: This morning, when I came downstairs, he had used his litter box for urine and one of the cat beds for Number 2. I tossed it from the cat bed into the litter box and hopefully Mr. T gets the hint. If not, I'm stopping for some clay litter on my way home today to mix with the pine. But, boy! How quickly I've forgotten how STINKY dry cat food smells coming out the other end. I expect that should clear up in the next day or two with Mr. T's new wet food diet. :razz:
Last night, for the hour or so my brother had Mr. T in his room, I let Mikey run free downstairs so he could get used to Mr. T's smell in the house. My brother then brought Mr. T down after the under-the-bed almost-bathroom incident to see if he could get him to go in the litter box downstairs (he didn't end up going until well after I went to bed around 3 am this morning). Mikey was up in my room and I had just assumed my brother had closed the door to my room to lock Mikey in. He hadn't. So, Mikey comes sauntering downstairs and sees me sitting on the floor over by the cat (hasn't noticed Mr. T yet). He walks over to me to see what's up and then spots Mr. T. Over the next two hours, they kept eyeballing each other, maintaining a good 1-to-2 foot distance, growling a bit every now and again, and eating from their food dishes I set about a foot apart.
So far, including another half-hour introduction this morning, they have not made any physical contact, but at least they're not hating each other to death. Mikey definitely looks to be the Alpha Male, but Mr. T isn't a cowering, simpering Omega or anything. He's holding his own fairly well and enforcing his own space while not encroaching into Michelangelo's proxemics (except to steal the ignored treats I've been setting down in front of Mikey). When Mikey does try to get into Mr. T's face, so far, Mr. T hasn't really backed down...but nor has he purposefully engaged; he's definitely a Beta. I think these are some excellent signs! :thumbup
Mikey's AMPS was almost an hour late because he was much more interested in the stare-down with the new kitty (still haven't figured out a name for him yet). He didn't drop very low last night, but with his AMPS so low, I think today might be a good day for us. I'm working from the office today and have a doctor's appointment at noon, so I can't run home and check on everyone, but my roommate is there all day and said he'd keep an eye on things.
And who is/was Tarragon? Someone must share a link for me!
The Two Kittens' Integration Project:
(Long, so you can skip over if you want.)
Possible names for Mr. Tuxedo: A friend on fb said she liked his original "Merlin" name and I retorted that if I were ever going to name a cat after an Arthurian Character, it would be The Fisher King. She said she likes "Fisher" even better and I think I kinda like it, too! Then, there's Maximilliano, or "Max," which I was trying out on him last night for a bit solely because it was the one name he responded to when I started reciting a long list of random names at him. Or Leo, as I facetiously suggested, to keep the theme of Famous Italian Artists (or TMNTs; take your pick). My sister suggested "Virgil" after the poet, but that sounds like a name a kitten would get beat up for. My brother suggested "Willow" after the Val Kilmer movie, but all I keep thinking of is "Willow" from Buffy instead.
Mr. T is night-and-day from Mikey. I hate to say it, but I can now clearly see where my brother is coming from about how he keeps saying, "all the other cats I meet are NICE and Michelangelo isn't!" Mr. T is a complete sweetheart and was wrapping himself all over my legs this morning as I stood in the kitchen preparing their food and Mikey's insulin shot. He even snuggled in my lap for about a half hour last night and again this morning. He just purrs nonstop and he hasn't swiped at me or nipped at me AT ALL and when he rolls onto his back, exposing his belly for me to scratch, if I go to scratch it, he DOESN'T attack my hand! Hopefully he'll be able to teach Mikey some good manners. :roll: I think my brother is going to fall in love with this cat and it looks like he might be already.
I've decided to segregate Mikey in my room until Mr. Tuxedo gets more familiar and comfortable with his settings. Since Mikey considers my room his "safe place," I figured it would be unfair to kick him out of it for a few days, especially because that would just make him more stressed and possibly even resentful of the new kitten. On top of it, he'd be crying and scratching at my bedroom door, trying to get in at night. Since Mr. T has never known of my room, he won't be bothered not being allowed in it. So, Mikey gets my room and Mr. T gets the rest of the house.
When my brother came home last night, he felt bad for Mr. T being all alone so he took Mr. T up to his room for a couple of hours...until Mr. T started to poop under his bed and not in the litter box. Turns out at four months old, Mr. T has already been strictly clay litter trained and doesn't know what to do with the equine pine I use. Mikey, on the other hand, had never been litter trained and the very first time I put him in the litter box, he went to the bathroom without any problems and never had any accidents up until the week prior to his diabetes diagnosis (it was one of the reasons I took him in to the vet). Mr. T remained constipated (probably from stress combined with not knowing where to go) for most of the night, so he had to spend his first night all alone in my living room. :cry: This morning, when I came downstairs, he had used his litter box for urine and one of the cat beds for Number 2. I tossed it from the cat bed into the litter box and hopefully Mr. T gets the hint. If not, I'm stopping for some clay litter on my way home today to mix with the pine. But, boy! How quickly I've forgotten how STINKY dry cat food smells coming out the other end. I expect that should clear up in the next day or two with Mr. T's new wet food diet. :razz:
Last night, for the hour or so my brother had Mr. T in his room, I let Mikey run free downstairs so he could get used to Mr. T's smell in the house. My brother then brought Mr. T down after the under-the-bed almost-bathroom incident to see if he could get him to go in the litter box downstairs (he didn't end up going until well after I went to bed around 3 am this morning). Mikey was up in my room and I had just assumed my brother had closed the door to my room to lock Mikey in. He hadn't. So, Mikey comes sauntering downstairs and sees me sitting on the floor over by the cat (hasn't noticed Mr. T yet). He walks over to me to see what's up and then spots Mr. T. Over the next two hours, they kept eyeballing each other, maintaining a good 1-to-2 foot distance, growling a bit every now and again, and eating from their food dishes I set about a foot apart.
So far, including another half-hour introduction this morning, they have not made any physical contact, but at least they're not hating each other to death. Mikey definitely looks to be the Alpha Male, but Mr. T isn't a cowering, simpering Omega or anything. He's holding his own fairly well and enforcing his own space while not encroaching into Michelangelo's proxemics (except to steal the ignored treats I've been setting down in front of Mikey). When Mikey does try to get into Mr. T's face, so far, Mr. T hasn't really backed down...but nor has he purposefully engaged; he's definitely a Beta. I think these are some excellent signs! :thumbup