Toodles meets our other cats

The continuing story of bringing home our new cat, Toodles

Day 2, "Sniffing":

We encouraged Sprite and Scout to sniff Toodles under the door. As they sniffed at her, we gave them both treats and praised them. Since all the ladies were in good spirits, we played too. We put a pencil under the door and Toodles batted it from the inside, while Sprite and Scout batted it from the outside.

That evening, I read the newspaper with Toodles. Then we watched TV with the other girls like usual.

Day 3, "Moving day!":

We moved Toodles and her stuff, from the guest room to the den down the hall. Then we left the guest room open. Scout and Sprite came in and sniffed around. We patted, gave treats, and praised them again. We did this so they could smell Toodles, without the pressure of a face to face meeting. They checked out everything. Then they figured out she was in the den. We encouraged more playing under the door.

Everyone seemed relaxed. So we opened the door a crack. They all got a quick peek at each other. We praised them and treated again. Then we shut the door.

Days 4-6, "Play dates!":

Sprite is less dominant than Scout. So Sprite had the first play-date with Toodles. We carried Sprite inside the den and held her for a while. We took her back out after a few minutes. In an hour she "asked" to be let back inside. We brought in a cat-fishing-rod toy. We played mostly with Sprite while Toodles watched.

Anytime one approached the other we quickly distracted them with the toy. When they separated and relaxed we gave them treats. At this point, even a friendly "Hello" could easily be misinterpreted by the other cat, and become a fight. So we wanted to keep them happy but slightly apart.

The next day, Scout had her first play date. Scout, our dominant cat, is less playful than Sprite. We held her and let her sit on us for the evening. While Toodles sat on the floor. Scout was happy to look at Toodles from the "high-ground".

Why might they fight? What do you do if they fight? Read this 3-page article from About.com:Cats.

Coming soon, Toodles gets free rein...