First of all, congratulations on the new arrival! That's always an exciting time.

I'm so happy to hear that your introductions are going so well, but boy, am I ever jealous! We've had Meg since the end of November, and I still have to keep her and Zorro separated.

At the beginning (for the first few months) they tolerated each other, and then it got worse instead of better between the two of them. Now I have to keep them in separate rooms for Meg's safety -- she weighs 11 pounds to Zorro's 18 -- and I had to have the poor girl to the vet twice when she had abscessed Zorro bites. I was absolutely stunned to see this side of Zorro, as in the six years we've had him, he's always been a very loving guy, and on the timid side. Who knew?

Now, I can tell you that in the book "Cat vs Cat" by Pam Johnson-Bennett, she advises very strongly against letting them "work it out," since it is her belief that cats do not have the same social hierarchy system as dogs. Whereas dogs will have problems until they've established who is the "alpha dog", she says cats don't come to a similar understanding -- they may well keep wanting to be "alpha cat", and that if the "working out" turns to hostility, it can be pretty bad!

Now, all that said -- if what you're doing is working, then it's the right thing to do. I am firmly convinced that our cats read our animal behavior books at night while we're sleeping, and laugh at us among themselves at all the fuss and bother we go through to take good care of them...!

Hugs to you all,
Diana