Im officially a crazy cat person :/. Introducing Simba!

[Becki]

Wow, your food bill must be something to see! I have 2 spoiled f2s who demand separate raw meals made for them. I can't imagine how this would work out with your gaggle! My male is also Kovu. I am sure the breeders and those who work in rescue will have good advice. As for me, the only thing I can offer you is buy stock in cat litter!

 

[Alex and Katie]

Ours are hooked on these 10 ounce cans of weruva. Mainly fish flavors but also a chicken. We also do raw ground chicken from hare today and dry merrick cat food. All in its about 600 dollars a month for the food. Another 150 or so per month for litter. I'm guessing that as the kittens mature and stop growing they'll eat less and the cost will go down but for now they're fed as much as they can eat which between the 5 of them is anywhere between 60-100 ounces of raw/wet food per day and a full bowl of dry at all times. What blows my mind is that everyone is RAIL thin. You'd think we starved them they're so lean haha

 

[Dantes]

Ours are hooked on these 10 ounce cans of weruva. Mainly fish flavors but also a chicken.

I'll bite...where do you find 10oz cans of Weruva? I would love to buy some, but here I only see 5.5oz cans

 

[Patti]

Hi Alex and Katie, it sounds like you've been bitten by the Savannah bug big time! I think with what you have to work with you are doing the best you can.

I might make two suggestions - first, put a lock (e.g., hook and eye) on the outside of your bedroom door so that you can keep Simba enclosed in there, and second, don't get in his face, especially when he is upset. I know you don't think you are, but trying to kiss his nose when he's just been in an altercation with another cat can be threatening to him.

Whenever there is hissing or growling move slowly (unless you have to move fast to intervene before someone gets hurt of course) and purposefully, while speaking in a quiet calm voice and avoiding eye contact, remove him from the situation. If he shrinks away from being picked up step between him and the others and try to usher him out of the area.

Simba may not appear to be happy locked away in your room, but in reality he probably needs the down time away from the stress of learning to integrate with the rest of the clan. Remember, he has been an 'only child' for all of his life, he needs time to sort out how he feels about his new adopted family. I have no doubt it will all sort itself out in time, so just give him the time he needs to work things out, and of course the same goes with the rest of your cats.

 

[Alex and Katie]

@Dantes. We get all of our wet and dry food from Chewy.com. Their absolutle favorite is the polynesian barbeque which is big eye tuna. It looks like something i would be content eating.

http://www.chewy.com/cat/weruva-polynesian-bbq-grilled-red/dp/30225

The other 3 flavors that come in 10 ounce cans are the paw lickin chicken, Mack Jack, and Mideast feast. theyre all just chunks of meat and chicken and chewy has the best prices ive found anywhere for cases.

@Patti. a hook and eye seems like a great idea actually. kind of embarassed i didnt think of that haha. I will go to the hardware store today and get something nice and heavy duty so i can give him alone time while we're at work. when he is around the others he usually takes the high ground if they get too rowdy. he can jump a few feet higher than anyone else so i often see him on top of a tall cabinet or our entertainment unit. the others have REALLY calmed down and started giving him space. At first they were obsessed but now theyre being very patient. They definitely are just waiting for him to want to play. As for any altercations I was always taught growing up (keep in mind this is with dogs) that unless there is physical contant/harm being done that it is best to let the stare downs and standoffs to be worked out between the animals. Kissing a growling and hissing cat was downright stupid I completely agree and I will not do so again. The hissing as all but stopped. Ours are dead silent when they approach simba. he will still give a concerned moan but even he has stopped hissing mostly. Two nights ago I woke up to a heavier growling. Simba had gone into our bathroom and 3 out of the other 5 walked over and sat down in front of the door and wouldnt move. Simba puffed up and widened his stance but they were not intimidated at all. I shooed ours out of the way so Simba could leave the bathroom and all was fine and everyone hopped back into bed. Ive only seen Simba take a real swipe at anyone once and it was when our other F1 Milo cornered him in the kitchen and there was no contact just a warning. Ive never owned cats before so I will certainly take all the advice i can get especially from the more experienced members i just dont want to baby him to the point where im breaking up what could be progressive interactions

Wont i be doing more harm then good to step in between them everytime there is hissing or growling? for the first few days, eveytime ANYONE approached i pushed them back as i didnt want him bombarded but for instance last night Simba was under a large chair sort of back in the corner of the room and our F3 Mel boy spook was able to slowly walk over and actually get under the chair with him. Simba maintained a low pitched groan but didnt run or swipe or hiss. spook stayed for a minute or so and then slowly walked away. Almost like he was trying to show Simba that he wasnt there to make him uncomfortable and was willing to work with him on his terms (my interpretation at least) I was overjoyed. I just dont want to hinder progress if it is in fact being made.

 

[Kaiser891]

Alex, you lucky duck. That is one cool looking cat. We have five cats as well... Four DSHs and Charlie, our F3 savannah. Charlie is a year old, and the other four are all four years old, and we still have occasional hissing and spats.. Nothing major, but I bothers the hell outta me. Hang in there! And if you find any magic solutions to peaceful resolutions for your gang, post it here!
Bill

 

[Patti]

It sounds like you are doing all the right things, and I agree that they need to work out the pecking order for themselves. I'm guessing that you are seeing daily improvement in their interactions - probably by the end of next month (or this month if you're on the east coast you will wonder what you were so worried about

BTW, I also order from chewy.com - I love them! Their shipping boxes could be a bit stronger (I've had a couple fall apart when I'm hauling them into the house) but that is my only complaint with them!

 

[WitchyWoman]

I've been out of town so late to reply. If it were me, I'd put Simba back into quarantine but in a room with a screen door that is locked from the outside. If you can temporarily put up a screen door on a spare room that would be great. Then I'd allow all the cats to interact through that door. Simba doesn't have any space to call his own at the moment and he has 5 cats who are determined, each in their own way, to establish a new pecking order in an environment that they own by virtue of being there before Simba.

When Simba is hiding underneath or behind something or seeking the highest point in a room, he is doing so because he does not feel confident. Simba needs to acclimate to the new environment slowly and he also needs time to bond with the humans in the household. Way too much change and stimulation going on for him at this point. His safe room should have a bed, perch or cat tree, and a box or cat carrier that he can retreat into when he wants alone time.

After a week or so, I'd put the other 5 SVs in Simba's room and let Simba have free roam of the house for a few hours a day when the humans are around. And when it looks like everyone has calmed down a bit, I'd introduce the other cats to Simba one at a time, starting with the cat who is the calmest. Sounds like a lot of work and it is, but you have decided that a large number of cats is right for you so now you have to take the time and effort to ensure the process goes smoothly for everyone's benefit.

The thing that is most important is reduce the stress for all the cats. Stress is a leading cause in some illnesses and the last thing you want is for one or all of the cats to develop a stress-induced illness.

Best of luck. Simba is a stunning, handsome cat and you are to be commended for making the commitment to give him a good home.

 

[Alex and Katie]

thank you for your suggestions deborah. We have Simba in the bedroom and have secured the door shut fromt he outside with a hook and eye. I think a screen door would be a great idea but short term would be tough. I could call a handy man and see if one could be installed in place of the wooden door over the weekend but im not sure i can swing it on that short of notice. We have kept him in quarantine since tuesday night. I noticed that while he had calmed down towards them he had become more agitated towards katie and I. He has since reverted back to his wonderful clacking purring chirping headbutting self. We've kept our others out of the bedroom the past 2 nights and they are NOT happy campers. They wail and cry and scratch at the door periodically throughout the night as they are used to sleeping on top of us every night. I dont want them to feel neglected or feel that theyre being punished. In lieu of a screen door being installed at least in the short term i had an idea and im not sure if it could work or if it would do more harm than good. We have a large outdoor cat enclosure for the yard. its at least 7 or 8 feet long, 7 feet tall, and probably 3 feet wide complete with all kinds of shelves and toys and hides. would it be at all reasonable to bring the enclosure inside to use for slow introductions? our original 5 love the enclosure and i was thinking that i could maybe set it up in a corner and cover one side of it with a piece of ply wood or something and one by one bring them into the bedroom and take turns placing one of them and then simba in the enclosure so they can interact but feel protected. I was guessing that if he did well with that, that i could eventually bring 2 or 3 at a time and have him get used to being around a bigger group as they always travel together. Very rarely will i find a single cat anywhere so ultimately once integrated he will either be joining the pride or constantly running into the group as a whole. Is this a bad idea or is this something that could possibly work?

 

[WitchyWoman]

How about buying some baby gates? You might have to buy 3 or 4 to fill a doorway but it's easier than the screen door idea and much easier than lugging your enclosure inside. Target has them for about $19. http://www.target.com/p/evenflo-pos...sku=13979830&gclid=CNy3vICF4LsCFZJhfgod-XEADw

If you decide to bring the enclosure in, put Simba in it when the other cats are in the room but don't put any of the other cats in there with Simba for the interim. Let the other cats and Simba interact in the room and if he needs to retreat to the enclosure he can do so without fear of being trapped in there with a cat he may not feel comfortable with.

Even with all your efforts, I know you understand that a new pecking order will have to be established. What surprises a lot of people though, is that pecking order may take as long or longer than a year to solidify.