Karen,

This is wonderful news.  I would like to emphasize what several of us said
in previous messages.  That is, you really can't place a specific timebable
like this.  Cats are individuals.  Some will adjust very quickly, and others
will take more time.  It's just like people -- you can't place an arbitrary
timeframe for children to learn to like each other (or adults, either).  So,
please be more flexible about this and look on the positive side.  It *can*
be done.  As I mentioned in an earlier message, I went through the process
with Duffy and Holly -- and Holly was a cat that I previously thought would
*never* accept any other cat in the house.  She has, though, and they now
get along beautifully.  I took a full 6 weeks before I left the two cats
alone together at all times.  If you ever have any questions, please feel
free to email me and I will respond.  (stancole1 at yahoo.com)

The policy of euthanizing after 3 days is *very common.*  That is why some
of us were so distraught at the thought of a kill shelter.  Duffy was in a
shelter for several months.  It hurts me just to think of that, but I also
know that he (and Holly and I) was actually among the lucky ones.  That
shelter normally euthanizes at 2 weeks or sooner, but the staff made special
efforts to keep Duffy alive and find a home for him because he is blind but
also such a special kitty.

One of the most useful tools in introducing cats is to temporarily replace
the door to the room where the new cat stays with a screen door.  This can
be *very* inexpensive.  Buy absolutely the cheapest screen door at a
discount store and use the same hardware that is currently on the permanent
door.  You might even be able to find one at Goodwill or some place similar.
Keep the permanent door, of course, and reverse the process when the screen
door is no longer needed.  The advantage of this is that the cats can see
and smell each other but cannot get into fights.  This helps them to
gradually adjust to the presence of the other cat(s).  I used a variation of
this by getting a damaged interior door (which only cost $5.00 because of
the damage).  We cut a square in the door and mounted metal over it.  You
can see some pictures in the first album under my signature.

Thank you for rethinking this whole issue, and please keep an open mind
about allowing more flexibility in the schedule if it is needed.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly:     >'o'<
http://tinyurl.com/8y54 (Introducing Duffy to Holly)
http://tinyurl.com/8y56 (Duffy and Holly "settle in")

Well now that was just a silly thing for him to say.  I know a lot of people
who would love to have a gorgeous black kitty like Tessie!  Would have been
smarter for him to just say it's policy, stupid policy though it is.

At that point I had to

It will take time, as others have said.  Please don't try to put a
time-limit on integration.

Does anyone have any Feliway or Rescue Remedy they could maybe send to Karen
to help ease the transition?  If I had any extra $$ I'd buy some to send
her.

Jill

Congratulations on your new little one.  Please remember to give it lots of
time - 2 weeks is probably not long enough.  Your cats are reacting normally -
that's how they do it.  Some day you'll see them chasing each other or lying
close by each other and you'll be glad you stuck it out.

NanCe

When we got there John started to say that

I am so glad Tessie will be getting another chance!

When you get her back again, when we had Nox and Smokey, we made sure
to spend some time in the room with the "Confined" cat so s/he wouldn't
get lonely (while the other had the run of the apartment) and we
switched them at night.  The "confined" cat had the run of the bedroom,
with a litterbox in there and food, so it wasn't such a bad
"Confinement" and a week of this allowed them to get used to the smells
of each other before they met up again "in person."  We did a similar
thing with the kittens.

Now both Nox and Smokey love the kittens.  Smokey and Nox will never be
best of friends, but they can coexist without hurting each other or
stressing each other out.

As for the ridiculous "nobody wants a black cat," well, Nocturne is our
darling (and the only one we adopted from a shelter; the others were a
matter of "nobody wants a feral" *Smokey* and "nobody wants to feed
orphan kittens around the clock.")

Purrs!

--Fil

That hardly allows enough time for an owner to inquire about
and locate a missing pet!  The sad results of overcrowding,
of course.  Often "animal shelters" don't really provide
much "shelter".  (And in many places, the SPCA is more or
less synonymous with the municipal "pound".)  "No kill"
shelters sound ideal, but there's a limit to how many
animals they can accommodate, and if they're full, they're
full.

I wonder if he was testing you - trying to make you see how much you
really wanted to keep her.  If not, he's the most callous person I ever
heard of working in a shelter.

Chak

. When we got there John started to say that

I wasn't aware of it until I got the Fabulous Furballs but the majority
of cats and kittens waiting to be rehomed are black. As I say to them
"You are lucky black cats. VERY lucky black cats!"

I can't believe that they give the poor babies so little chance to

Only last week a couple surrendered their dog to Battersea Dogs Home in
London because she was expecting a baby. They surrendered the dog on
Friday and after a tearful weekend realised they could make changes to
enable them to keep the dog so they headed back to reclaim him.
.....Only to find he'd already been put down. In their defence, they
did point out that the paperwork states that if a dog cannot be rehomed
for behaviorial reasons then they can euthanise and they said that the
dog had snapped at staff and shown "Food problems" so in their opinion
the dog could not be rehomed (their argument is that if they let
someone have an animal which then bites them, they are laying
themselves open to be sued). Personally as I read it, I thought no
wonder the dog was snappy etc etc, he probably felt stressed or
confused especially since his owners had hand reared him as a puppy and
it wasn't fair to condemn him in 3 days.

But that's the harsh reality...All I can say is congratulations in
doing the right thing with little Tessie and I am sending purrs that
you'll end up with a harmonious multi-cat household with some patience.
I've never done it myself but even the Furballs despite being sisters
don't see eye to eye on everything!

Lesley

Slave of the Fabulous Furballs

<snip>Nobody wants an adult or a black

I'm so glad to hear you are giving Tessie another chance - thank you so
much!
Best wishes that Scouty and Silver give her a chance too,
Polonca and Soncek