I find a squirt-bottle of water easier and more effecive.  I
still have to chase Melly up four flights of stairs to the
roof door, every once in a while when I'm not fast enough,
but it's the only way to keep her inside the apartment when
I come home.  She never did that when Patches was alive, so
I'm hoping, now she has a companion cat again, she'll lose
interest in escaping.  ....Unless she encourages Cendri to
do likewise!  (But Cendri is so shy and so much given to
hiding that I hardly know she's there except at mealtimes -
I don't think she's too likely to want to escape.)

I did my best to intergrate IBKFergus slowly, but all rooms of the house are
in use, and hte crate had to go back to the lady who lent it to me a week
after I got it, so there were deadlines in our case.

IBKFergus and Shmogg tolerate each other. I think IBKFergus would happily be
friends with Shmogg, but Shmogg is a curmudegeonly old b*st*rd c*t and is
unlikely to change his stance on all these interlopers in his house (Shmogg
only likes two people, himself and me). But after a few horrendous sound but
bloodless cat fights, the pecking order was sorted, and a cease fire reigns
(unless IBKFergus 'tries it on' of course, and is quickly thwapped back into
beta-cat status).

However, IBKFergus gets on fine with everyone else in the house besides me &
Shmogg. She & Fluff have been known t lie down for a nap together, and she
*voluntarily* gets jumps up on the change table every single time Cary has
his diaper changed, and willingly puts herself int he way of toddler who
will do anything to get out of having his diaper put back on. She's had all
her limbs, her tail, and her ears both pulled and sucked on, her fur rubbed
up the wrong way, has been 'patted' with much vigour and enthusiasm and
otherwise toddler-handled and keeps coming back for more. And appreantly,
when Cary and I have gone to bed, and Shmogg is purring me to sleep,
IBKFergus gets onto Joel's lap whilst he's playign World of Warcraft and
purrs her little head off. But she hisses and scratches at me if I get to
close, strange cat. It seems for cats at least, there is a definate
dilineation going on - Shmogg rules me, and IBKFergus is in charge of
anybody who came afterwards.

WEird cats.

Yowie