Ow.

We had another escape today. It was my fault ... Little Grey Kitty had been wandering around upstairs for a little while and hadn't tried to jump the gate, so I took my eyes off of him for about 4.5 seconds.

By the time I got downstairs, LGK and Electric Mayhem were in full fur-puff and exchanging war growls and Big Yellow Hallway Monster was heading in from the sunroom* to see what was going on. Against my better judgement, but with no real alternative, I scooped LGK up and tried to take him upstairs. There was much wiggling and yelling, but no real damage other than a minor scratch across one wrist. (Mine, that is.) The only problem was that BYHM was trying to back up the staircase in front of us, and I could tell he was getting more and more agitated, so I didn't think the odds were good for me getting LGK back into his room without some cat-vs.-cat action. So I reversed course and went to shut LGK in the downstairs bathroom for a minute until I could get the other two under control.

The next couple of minutes are a blur ... I did manage to get LGK into the bathroom, but at some point I also ended up with seven or eight scalpels embedded in my right leg. Okay, so it was four sets of claws and one set of teeth ... trust me, it all feels the same. Electric Mayhem decided that my leg looked like a good target for her frustration, so she really let me have it. Thank goodness for heavy denim, is all I can say. After LGK was in the bathroom and EM had disengaged from my flesh and was snarling at everyone from under the dining room table, then I had to defuse the agitation brewing between BYHM and EM before they decided to get into it. BYHM was ignoring the toy I waved in his face, so I grabbed the broom and shooed him into the basement and slammed the door on him. Then I lured EM (with difficulty) out into the sunroom for some treats and shut her out there. Finally, I managed to get LGK out of the bathroom and back upstairs to his room. (In case you're wondering, Big Acoustic Kitty was safely shut in the master bedroom during this whole adventure.)

Eventually everyone got calmed back down and EM and BYHM and I had an extended feather toy/kitty treat session ... long enough for me to feel like they had worked out their aggression and weren't going to start in on each other. LGK I just left alone for the rest of the day. I didn't hear him howling or jumping at the doorknob, so I think he needed that alone time. I did let BAK come down later in the afternoon, and nobody seemed any more interested in him then usual, so I think we're okay.

Suffice it to say, getting that screen door up is tomorrow's #1 priority.

I'd post a photo of my war wounds, but I don't think anyone's really interested in looking at my pasty white leg. But let me tell you, it's a really good thing that shorts weather is several months off. Not only do I have large, bloody holes in my leg (one might even have been a candidate for a couple of stitches, but I'm too cheap to pay the $150 emergency room co-pay, so screw it) but EM nailed me with enough force that I'm already forming some extremely impressive bruises.

*Oh, yes ... I think I've failed to mention that the sunroom (location of some of the earliest aggression incidents) is back to being a cat-friendly zone. I went with the white-trash option of painting the glass at kitty eye level so that any visiting kitties will go unseen by our bunch. It looks pretty tacky, but as far as the intended results - so far, so good. *Knock wood*

Non-Pee Related Post

So, after all the pee-related frustrations, I realized that I haven't posted much about how things are going on the re-introduction front. Here goes:

Big Acoustic Kitty is really throwing a wrench into things by insisting on spending so much time downstairs. He wants to eat downstairs most mornings, which means that Little Grey Kitty either eats in the studio by himself or out in the hallway by himself. Which, I'm afraid, has just reinforced his notion that the upstairs belongs to him. He and BYHM are still sniffing noses through the gate, but he's gone backwards in his tolerance of BAK. BAK has come up the stairs a few times and LGK makes it known that he really wants him to go away. No hissing or growling, but some mild lunging and paw waving and generally "not happy" body language.

So, all in all ... we're not making any progress yet. (I went back and put "yet" in. I'm trying to stay hopeful.)

Frustration

Maybe I should not be quite as upset about this as I am, but ... well, I am.

Yesterday (or maybe it was the day before - things have been busy here lately) I discovered that Little Grey Kitteh had peed all over a pile of papers in the studio. This morning, I discovered that the corner behind the door where he likes to hang out also smells of urine. Now granted, both of these spots were discovered well after the event in question ... both spots were long dry and the smell was only evident after I happened to move some things around and got closer to the source. The spot by the door was actually underneath some other stuff, so I know it's been there for a while. And the spot by the door I could sort of understand - all the pee was at the base of this bookcase that had come up from the basement. If some of the basement smells had come with it, that would explain some of the peeing.

I've cleaned up both places really well and will be keeping a better eye on LGK from now on. I just wish I knew what had triggered it. Did Big Yellow Hallway Monster hang out on the other side of the door and make LGK upset? Was LGK not feeling well one day? Was he just annoyed that I'd left him or shut him back up in the room one day? Did it happen during nicer weather when the windows were open and something outside upset him?

And honestly, I can't be 100% sure that LGK was the one who did it. (Though that's my guess.) The bookcase was there before the studio became LGK's home, so it could have been BYHM. The paper I'm pretty sure was LGK's mess, though.

So ... Amitriptylene (usually prescribed by vets for the treatment of "inappropriate urination") for everybody this morning. I'd been slacking off in giving it to LGK, but that was obviously a mistake. Luckily, LGK and BYHM are much better about taking their medicine than Big Acoustic Kitty is about taking his. They don't like it, but there's none of this "run and hide and pee on people and then run around foaming at the mouth and drooling all over everything" like BAK does.

In other news, "outings" upstairs have become a daily event for LGK, but I think we need to really rev up the re-introductions. There have been a number of mutual nose sniffing sessions through the baby gate at the top of the stairs, and overall they've gone pretty well, but I'm a little worried that LGK is starting to view the entire upstairs as his territory. And if BAK starts feeling worse again and not spending so much time downstairs, that could become a real problem. But, since the Amazing Husbandini is down with a nasty cold and I'm starting to feel that cold-heralding tickle at the back of my throat, too ... well, we'll just see what happens, I guess.

10.14.10

*knock wood* Yesterday and today have gone pretty well.

Little Grey Kitteh had not one, but two outings yesterday ... he got harnessed up and let out of the studio to wander around the upstairs a bit. The first time went unnoticed by the other three kitties, but the second, pre-bedtime outing did get the attention of Big Yellow Hallway Monster and Electric Mayhem. But, while LGK and EM didn't get nose-to-nose through the baby gate, they didn't show any hostility, either. And BYHM and LGK did get nose-to-nose through the gate, but also showed no hostility. So, good news there.

However, right after LGK wandered off from the mutual-nose sniffing session, he did start to act a little weirded out and went right back into the studio when I called him. Short and positive sessions ... that's what we're after.

BYHM had his first dose of non-ear-goo Amitriptylene this morning ... he wasn't happy. But at least he doesn't drool it all over the house like Big Acoustic Kitty does with his steroid meds.

10.13.10

Rolled out of bed late this morning, so the kitties were all sure we'd been eaten by wolves and they'd never be fed again. BYHM went straight into the bathroom and "let" me shut the door on him, then fussed the whole time. Which is fine. Big Acoustic Kitty then decided that if wanted breakfast, he was apparently going to have to get it himself, so he came downstairs and dined in the family room. Finally I managed to bring a plate up to Little Grey Kitty and he's eating it while I type.

So ... been falling down on the job the past couple of days. Nobody's really been wearing their harnesses or meeting the prisoner. Although LGK did get a little bit of an outing last night while everyone else was downstairs. He really wants out of the studio, but the second he's past the door, you can tell he's somewhat on guard. And he can't be out too long, or he overloads a bit. Slow and steady increasing of territory is the way to go, I guess.

We're considering actually putting some kind of a screen door at the top of the stairs so that he doesn't have to worry about BYHM jumping over the baby gate and getting to him. (Because it's not obvious enough that we're crazy cat people.)

That's it for now. Starting tomorrow, I think the daily posts might come in the evenings, or even go up a day late, so that I have something more to discuss than just breakfast. Fishy pudding can only be so interesting.

10.12.10

No breakfast upset this morning ... because I didn't even try.

After getting to sleep around midnight and waking up around 3:00 a.m., I think I've earned a one-day pass on trying to harness the cats for a breakfast introduction. However, Big Yellow Hallway Monster does now smell like pickles.

"Smelling like pickles" is a 3-word phrase with a lot of history around here. Back in the day, it became painfully obvious that Electric Mayhem and Big Acoustic Kitty were never going to get along. In an effort to curb some of EM's psycho behavior, we had to resort to a spray bottle full of water. It helped, but not much. So then we added a little bit of white vinegar to the water. Not enough to hurt her if she got it in her eyes, but just enough that the smell would put her off. After one particular dousing, she dried herself off and came sneaking back to cuddle up to her papa ... who sniffed her and said, "she smells like pickles."

Have you seen the t-shirts for dog lovers that read, "It's all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone"? We keep saying we're going to make one up for ourselves that reads, "It's all fun and games until someone smells like pickles." Nobody would get it but us, but that's okay.

BYHM, pissy-pants alpha that he is, has developed a bad habit of whacking at EM while they're waiting for me to finish fixing their breakfasts. He's always a little possessive of the food dish area, but breakfast time is the worst. I've taken to shutting him in the downstairs bathroom so EM can whine about starvation in peace. He's actually gotten pretty good about going into the bathroom and then staying there to eat his food. But, this morning I was out of it and he wasn't behaving, so when he went to smack his sister, I squirted him with the water bottle. Not a happy kitty, that one. But, breakfast did get much less punchy.

I know the negative reinforcement techniques should be used sparingly, but while BYHM is responsive to some positive reinforcement techniques in other areas, he's not giving up his need to run the other cats off from the food dishes. So ... pickle water it is.

10.11.10

The breakfast pissyness continues.

This morning proceeded much like yesterday morning, until the Big Yellow Hallway Monster decided that he was tired of all this nonsense and he just wanted his breakfast and he was not going to play our silly games any more. He then managed to slip out of his harness and refused to come anywhere near the door to the studio.

So Little Grey Kitty (fully harnessed) ate his breakfast with the door open and no other kitty in sight. BYHM did stay upstairs to eat, but he did it down the hall and around the corner.

After all that, the new plan is to spend a few more days getting BYHM used to his harness before we try it again. He did so well the first couple of times he wore it that we thought he'd be okay, but I guess we rushed it.

Other than that, all is well so far today. LGK is napping in the sun behind me as I type, and the rest of the house is quiet.

10.10.10

I pissed everybody off over breakfast today.

The normal routine involves me going downstairs, shutting Big Yellow Hallway Monster in the bathroom so he doesn't try and play whack-a-mole with Electric Mayhem while he waits, then feeding EM and then bringing BYHM's plate of diet fishy pudding into the bathroom for him. Then it's fix plates for Big Acoustic Kitty and Little Grey Kitty and take them upstairs so that they can have their breakfasts on either side of the (open) studio door. BAK and LGK have been doing pretty well with their breakfast time, with only a few incidents here and there. (And those, I'm sorry to admit, have been because one or the other or both of the humans weren't paying enough attention.)

This morning, the plan was to harness up both BYHM and LGK and let them see each other over breakfast. However, that involved NOT feeding BYHM downstairs. That wasn't well-received. I had to take three plates of fishy pudding, the harness and the leash and one very upset kitty upstairs. Then we had to feed BAK without letting BYHM muscle in on the action. Then, we had to safely stow the food while we hooked him into his bright blue S&M outfit. Then, we had to keep him in the hallway while I went into the studio and harnessed up LGK (who had been howling and throwing himself at the door ever since he heard the baby gate open when I went downstairs). Only after all that could we open the door and put everybody's food down so they could eat.

However, things went pretty well after that. BYHM, as expected, tucked in to his breakfast with not more than a brief glance at LGK. LGK was a little freaked out when he saw BYHM and his tail was at about half-puff all through breakfast. But, he finished his food with only a few breaks to look up and check out his new companion. And nobody charged at anyone.

So ... good news on that front. BYHM then went in to see BAK (who had been shut in the master bedroom for all of this, eating his breakfast in peace) and there was no residual aggression or frustration to be seen. Another positive.

Unharnessed, BYHM went back downstairs and got an ear full of Amitriptyline, and to this point in the morning, all is well. (knock wood)