Kahlua needs a home

[Lacey]

And I really don't think my home is the right one for her. Maybe I'm giving up too soon, but Mowgli is really miserable with her in the apartment. Zelda's got a "You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone" attitude, but I don't see hide nor hair of Mowg when Kahlua's out. The poor guy left a perfectly good snuggle session with Zelda to hide behind the tv last time I let Kahlua out, and she was staying at the opposite side of the room!

Guess it's time to start making "Free to Good Home" signs.

[moosmom]

I'm sorry it hasn't worked out for Kahlua at your home. But please do not, I repeat DO NOT post ads or posters with "Free to Good Home"!!! If you do, she'll wind up in a research laboratory. Post an adoption fee of $50-75. If people aren't willing to pay it, they have no business adopting a pet.

Good luck.

[jazzcat]

Oh no. There are still things to try. Have you done the scent switch? Give Mowg one of her blankets or towels to let him get used to her scent? I think that helps a lot. I also found that feeding them a treat while they are at or on the blanket helps.

How does she act towards him? It may just take a lot of time for him to feel comfortable. I think that fact that fur isn't flying is a very positive sign.

Of course you know what is best for your household but I hope you can give them more time. If you must rehome her I wish you luck. Are there no rescues in your area? I really hate to see her go to a shelter right when kitten season has started.

[catnapper]

You've only been introducing them a week or so, right? thats not a long time... and Mowgli's going to resent the intruder the most since he's the last added to the family. Pouncer was a BRAT when we brought in Harry and Abby. then when I bring in new fosters, its Abby thats a brat, then Pouncer. For some reason, Harry boy is nice and welcoming of newbies (but I digress...)

It took Pouncer a few good months to return to happy, loving Pouncer after I brought in the kittens. For those first few months, he was growly hissy boy. And would NOT cuddle with mom. That made me soooo sad. Once he realizes another playmate is a good thing, he'll come out and play.

[NoahsMommy]

Gosh, this sounds so familiar...I felt this way a few times with a few of our cats too. The intro phase is the hardest part of getting a new pet. By far. ((hugs))

I would give it a little bit more time. I don't recall what you've tried yet, but do you have any of the Feliway plugins? Have you tried Rescue Remedy?

Lots of cats, especially female cats, don't like new pets in the house and it takes a lot longer for them to adjust. Something like this always disrupts the happy balance and over time it will get better.

Lots of hugs and good wishes,
Kelly

[kuhio98]

Lacey ~ Boy do I understand your frustration. I hope that with a little more time, they can agree to disagree. We've had Halo for 2.5 years and Cammie for 2 years. They no longer hiss and spit at each other but are never going to be friends.

Cammie is scared of Pepper. She hissess and spits all the time and Pepper thinks they are playing. Halo and Pepper have a sibling relationship. They play hard and fight hard.

It took them a long time to work out their differences. I hope that Mowgli comes out of his shell soon and gets back to his old, happy self. I would be careful about who gets your attention first.

I'd greet Zelda first and give her a snuggle and then Mowgli and then Kahlua. This helped with Cammie and Halo. Once Cammie got some reassurance that she was still "queen bee", she calmed down. Once, I screwed up and snuggled Halo first. When I put her down, Cammie picked a fight with her just to reinforce her place.

We've never had any luck with Feliway but others have had success. It might be worth a try.

[Lacey]

I've tried Rescue Remedy in the water so far. Somehow I don't think the scent switch would work very well with Mowgli. We all know what he does to towels... I actually did try putting Kahlua in my bedroom and letting Mowg into her room to see what would happen. He would sniff and hiss and sniff and hiss.

And Kahlua wants to be top cat in the apartment. Over the weekend, she tried taking on both Mowgli and Zelda. No one was hurt, so I don't think it was terribly serious, but it was enough of a ruckus to scare the bejeebus out of me.

Zelda will ignore Kahlua if Kahlua leaves her alone. Their weekend squabble was definitely started by Kahlua. Zelda was checking out the spare room, was at the complete other end of the room, and ZOOM! Here comes Kahlua.

And Mowgli is just getting to the point where he won't hiss if he smells Kahlua on me. The poor guy is such a fraidy... Well, you know.

So far I'm just asking some folks that I know and trust if they would like a kitty or have a friend who would.

[NoahsMommy]

Lacey,

Only you will know if it will work out or not. I wish you luck with whatever decision you make.

If Kahlua doesn't seem to fit in and you have issues with dominance, maybe a kitten would work better?

Good luck,
Kelly

[jenluckenbach]

Of course you should feel free to continue the search for a home for Kahlua if that is what you feel is right. But please know, that all the reactions you are seeing are perfectly normal. Most of us have dealt with them. And a lot of us have wondered if things would ever settle down and be normal again. If you want to talk one on one about how you might be able to deal with this feel free to PM me.

[jazzcat]

Oh I forgot all about Mowgli's thing with towels, sorry.

As you can see, many of us have been there and some still are - Ripley is still afraid of Scout most the time and she seems like she absolutely hates him. I was afraid that she hated males in general but she has no problem with Rocky so far. Anyway, like Kelly said, only you know what is best and if it will work out but maybe during the time you are looking for a new home there might be some breakthroughs. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.