Now small side note, Awestruck and I, being gym buddies, are currently training with others from our gym for a Hyrox competition. So, start the excuses list, we had a big Hyrox workout on Saturday. Then I ran a 10k on Sunday. Then our gym had it’s big (and tough) Memorial Day workout on Monday. And then we decided to hike Tuesday. And not just any hike, but a 9.5 mile hike with 3,550 feet of elevation gain, for our first hike in four months. Possibly not my best decision. BUT I Swear I Remembered This As a Chill Hike. I remembered doing it last time and it was “tough but enjoyable” . Anyway, so we were already tired and probably bit off more than we could enjoyably chew. Add to that, the forecast was for a nice warm, sunny day, but with some wind, which would be perfect. Spoiler alert, it was hot and buggy. End excuses list. Ha.

Awestruck drove and we parked in the small pull off area for parking. It seems since the last time I was here, they’ve moved the trailhead to start at the parking area, rather than the end of a residential street. It makes sense to annoy residents less and doesn’t significantly change the mileage.

The trail starts off immediately steep. Not far along and Awestruck realized she forgot her knee sleeves and she ran back to the car to get them. Not much farther from that, I had to stop to pee. I coincidentally stopped near this red tractor (? car?) in the woods, which would become an important milestone on our way out.

The early parts of the trail are steep, but the actual trail itself is quite nice. Mostly clear of rocks and roots, and wide. Of course much of it is an old logging road, which explains the cleared nature of it.

Unlike last time, which was in July, there was very little in the way of flowers or fungi. We did see this cute little baby trillium though.

We then came to the granite slabs. As I recalled (and in this recollection, I was correct), the slabs are big and long, but mostly textured, so they aren’t as scary as some other trails. You can mostly walk right up them. A few of them meant I would go along the edge and grab a tree, but for the most part they were just “butt burners”, aka steep walking for long enough that your glutes are on fire.

Then you come to some ledges with lovely views.

We took a break here. We both had hoped for (and waited for) a nice, sunny day. However, it was definitely hotter than the summit forecasts had predicted. And as mentioned earlier, no wind. No wind meant it felt hot AND it meant that the bugs were worse than we wanted. Of course they always seemed to go RIGHT in your ear the moment you were on a sketchy slab and needed to concentrate on your footing.

Sometimes you just gotta do dumb poses to entertain yourself.

After the ledges and slabs, the trail somehow gets more steep, with way less enjoyable footing. Awestruck here helping show the steepness of the trail.

It is very pretty, even if it’s steep. This bit felt like I was in Lord of the Rings.

Again, thank you Awestruck, for providing perspective on this glacial erratic.

It was then quite a bit of drudgery to get to the summit. Steep, buggy, sweaty, rocky, rooty trek. While we were chatty at the start of the hike, we went into quiet mode and “just get there” mode. Finally, finally, we saw this.

The short spur to the summit of Mt. Moriah. Awestruck was ahead of me and I just heard “WOW! WOW!” So I think despite the tedium, I picked the right hike. Awestruck declared this her favorite summit so far.

We had the summit to ourselves (thanks to it being the Tuesday after a holiday weekend). And Awestruck took the opportunity to lay down.

For some reason there are two survey markers (and also one of the metal “stick” markers) on the summit.

Summit selfies

We enjoyed a nice break at the summit. One other hiker popped up just for a moment and looked around, then left. We only saw three other hikers the entire day. Two folks that had started before us and we saw them on their way down. And one hiker that passed us on both his way up and down. Ha!

A few weeks earlier, I was out of town and missed the celebration dinner for Awestruck’s birthday. So I secretly brought these to the summit, sang Happy Birthday, and pulled out two nips to celebrate. (We missed you, Bartender!)

Sunblock and bug spray reapplied. Socks and shirt changed. Food eaten. Water drank. Time to descend back to the car. I’m not going to lie, it was tough. It was strange though. On the one hand, many of the things that normally hurt on the descent for me, like my feet, felt great. I even said at one point, I felt pretty good. But on the other hand, there were moments when I just felt like my body was incapable of moving forward. We definitely went into silent mode for a bit.

Back to the ledges/slabs and Mt. Surprise.

At least I knew that even though we had to descend a bunch of granite slabs, the footing would greatly improve from here. And it did, but it still felt like we had been hiking for 200 years. I reminded Awestruck that the red tractor would mean we were close, and we both were glued to the right side of the trail just hoping to see that thing. We finally, finally saw it, and somehow even from there to the car seemed to take forever. But we finally made it.

As you can see, we got tired of the stupid bugs flying in every head hole, and donned our bug nets.

Some interesting stats (at least to me). The original trail is 9.0 miles roundtrip (officially). According to the sign at the new trailhead, the re-route appears to add 0.4 round trip. So, in theory our hike was 9.4 miles round trip (according to maps and actually measured distances, not phones and satellites).

According to my Garmin InReach, it was 9.58 miles. According to the Gaia app on my iphone, it was 8.86 miles (and 8.91 the last time I hiked it). According to my new Garmin Venu 3S watch, it was 10.55 miles. The variability all makes sense as the InReach, Venu, and my phone all use satellites, with variance in how often they check/log position. They can miss a twist in the hike if they don’t log it, shortening the distance. They can also mistakenly log you as somewhere you aren’t, which then adds distance you didn’t really do. Since my Venu logged a top speed of a 7:06/mi pace at one point, I’m going to guess it mistakenly logged me somewhere I wasn’t!

Anyway, I believe this was #13 for Awestruck!

• Total distance: 9.4 miles
• Total elevation gain: 3,550 feet or the equivalent of climbing the Empire State Building 2.5 times
• Total time: 10 hours, 15 minutes
• Moving time: 7 hours, 59 minutes

May 7

Cali was out from under the bed for 48 hours which turned out to be because she puked under there. Ha! I cleaned it up and back under she went. I tried adding an actual cat bed, it remains to be seen if she’ll use it.

She also came down the stairs (halfway) in the middle of the day! This is the first midday venture of hers that I’d seen. She eventually came all the way down, checked out fresh food I had just put out, and ate! Great news for moving eating down to the kitchen eventually. I put dinner on the first floor and Cali came down. We had churu on the first floor!!

May 8

Cali ate downstairs a couple of times overnight.

May 11

Henry jumped up on my bed and laid down on my feet. When I woke up, Gwen came up and joined us. Henry actually let me give him one pet before the warning paw. And then Cali jumped up on the bed!! She nuzzled Henry a second, but then he bapped her and she jumped down.

May 12

During morning churu, I was sitting on the bottom stairs and Henry jumped in my lap! Of course it was just to get closer to the churu, but still. I’ll take it.

May 13

Cali came down the stairs for churu. And sniffed my hand while I was giving some to Henry. And she stayed on the stairs after. Then came down and had some breakfast in the kitchen!

May 18

A small jump in updates because I went to visit my mom in Oregon. My daughter was home from college and was able to take care of the cats. It seems like things were pretty routine. Cali came down once a night to eat downstairs as well as at least once during the day when my daughter was there. They had churu time. And Gwen wasn’t nearly as clingy when I got home as she has been when I’ve left her in the past.

Cali came down and ate while I was in the kitchen making my dinner. I swear Henry goes and tells her to come down. I had just put some tuna water in a bowl and he had some. Then he went to the stairs yowling. Then that’s when she came down. Like “Hey they’ve got new stuff and it’s good, come down!”

May 19

Cali scared me as I couldn’t find her anywhere. Finally found her behind the tub. Not sure if it was the AC being on for the first time (it’s kind of loud and also cold, obviously) or the vacuuming I did or the combo. Or just that it’s very hot today, so maybe that’s a cool spot. In any case, I lured her out with a churu and she ate it off my hand!

During dinner churu, Henry let me pet his head!! He didn’t seem to love it, but he didn’t duck away either.

Cali was downstairs quite a bit in the evening. Gwen and Henry were playing with toys and each other. Poor Cali stayed under the chair and watched. I tossed a couple of toys her way, which she did sort of bat around a few times under the chair. She’s trying!

May 20

Breakfast churu happened in the living room (we’re creeping closer to the kitchen). And Henry again allowed a pet on the head. I tried a couple of strokes on his back and he moved away so I let him be.

May 21

Cali definitely doesn’t like the AC. Not sure if it’s the noise or the cool air, but she goes in the bathroom when it’s on.

Twice now I’ve seen Gwen grooming Henry and it’s the cutest thing ever. They sniff each other, then she moves to his back and licks a few times. Then he gets annoyed/confused and walks away or they “fight”.

May 22

Cali came downstairs and I didn’t even notice. Gwen and Henry were about to fight so I put out the double stick toy. Cali went over to watch while they played! She wants to be a part of things, but is still not ready to join in. So she comes and watches from the sidelines.

May 23

Henry tried my iced coffee this morning. I didn’t think he’d try it and I definitely didn’t think he’d go back for more. I guess I have to guard my coffee now.

Cali sat with me on the stairs after breakfast churu. She usually has it and leaves, but this time she sat there. So cute and I’m so proud of her.

May 24 – 3 months!

We did it! The three month milestone. When normal cats are confident, comfortable, and acclimated. I think Gwen has acclimated to her new roommates. Gwen and Henry definitely have their play fights, but I think they both enjoy them. They spend much of their time together. Henry is very much confident, comfortable, and acclimated. He doesn’t run away over loud noises or when he sees me coming. Usually Gwen and Henry are wherever I am. He’s very curious and likes to see what’s going on. He very much knows the routine and comes to the kitchen when he hears cat food cans opening. I think Cali is comfortable and acclimated. We’re still working on confident, but she’s so improved over where we started. She comes downstairs and explores occasionally. She is still very cautious when she explores. She seems more comfortable with me. I’ll hold out my hand after churu and she doesn’t hiss or run away. She does still spend a lot of time under my bed (at least in the cat bed I put under there), but again, she seems happy there. She bathes herself, naps, etc. She isn’t cowering under there. I think it’s just her safe happy space. I hope she’ll find more of those around the house as she gets braver. She seemed to be doubled for the other milestones, 6 days instead of 3, and 6 weeks instead of 3, so I won’t be surprised if it takes her 6 months instead of 3.

Here’s Henry. He likes the little cat cave. It’s under a chair and he likes to hang out there. He also likes the chair itself. And one day even joined me for a nap on the couch.

As I said, Gwen and Henry hang out a lot together.

I think Gwen was trying to prevent me from leaving.

Cali on the chair upstairs. Cali venturing downstairs. And Cali “hidden” under the chair downstairs. Also playing with a toy mouse, while the other two were playing together.

There are actually three cats in this pic! Henry and Gwen playing with the toy, and Cali closely observing.

Lastly, Henry and Cali on the stairs, post-Churu. They’re so cute. I love them so much.

April 23

Vet visit!

Impossible to tell, but there are cats in those carriers

Shockingly getting them into carriers went really well. Henry just wandered into one of the carriers and sat down. So I put in some treats and zipped him up. Cali was in the bottom of her condo, which she didn’t know has a removable back door. So my boyfriend held the carrier at the front and I opened the back and just nudged her through with a towel. We ended up five minutes early to the appointment, that I was terrified we’d miss altogether because I wouldn’t be able to get them in their carriers. Instead we had a slightly traumatic visit, where they didn’t even get examined. We came home and everything was thankfully pretty normal. They both accepted a churu from me and dinner interaction was the usual, so they seem to have forgiven me for the traumatic experience. On the upside, they got to see that getting in a carrier and a car still means they’re coming back here to their safe space. We will retry a vet visit in a few months, after better socialization and with cat Prozac.

I cleaned up and moved some stuff around upstairs since I no longer need to sequester the cats (in the bathroom or my bedroom). Cali actually ventured downstairs until she got scared and Gwen chased her back up the stairs. I’m starting to think the shelter had it wrong. Henry is the spicy one. Cali is just scared.

April 25

Last night went really well. I think we are continuing to settle into our routine. Gwen likes to sleep in the cat hammock. Henry in one of the double decker condos. Cali mostly under the bed, though I think she spent some time on the top step of the stairs.

I’ve moved the food bowls out of the bathroom and into the hallway close to the stairs, with the hope of getting them to eventually move to the kitchen with Gwen’s original bowls. Everyone still comes into the bathroom first though, I have three adorable observers while I brush my teeth.

That’s Gwen looking left, Cali looking at me, and Henry…looking at the wall. Then Cali loafed in the door, Henry looking at her, and Gwen…ignoring everyone and eating.

We had an interesting thing happen this morning. Usually, Gwen comes into the bathroom first. Then Henry follows. Eventually (and not always) Cali comes in just by the doorway. This morning, while everyone was waiting for me to get to the food part, Gwen flopped down for belly rubs. I gave her belly rubs and pets. She stood up and Cali immediately went over to Gwen and sniffed noses, then nuzzled her. Not sure if to comfort her, check on her, or just wonder why she was crazy enough to flop over for me. But it was cute.

April 26

Cali came partway down the stairs and was rolling around on the step. Henry tried to chase her and she hissed at him and stayed (rather than running back upstairs under the bed). Then she ran up a few minutes later. I’m so glad to see she’s getting braver and more comfortable. Later she played with him on the stairs. Not just being chased by him, but “fought” back. Yay!

She was hanging out on the stairs for quite a while. Watching Henry play. Eyeing me every now and again. It was at least 20 minutes (which is a record for her). I went about my normal life not even realizing she was still there. Then Henry tried to walk past and she chased him upstairs and she went back to her spot under the bed. She came back again, a few stairs lower this time. Then came all the way down and went past me and into the downstairs hallway for a bit!

She comes down the stairs partway and just stays there. Many times she comes down and sits a bit further back. I think she thinks I can’t see her. It’s adorable and hilarious.

April 29

Cali has been skipped our morning churu time for a couple of days, not coming out from under the bed. Today she was back! (I’m not worried as she’s been coming out a lot at other times during the day and night). She came pretty much right over to me. She had her churu and seemed less concerned about me. She finished the churu with the help of Gwen and Henry who now know what’s up and stop their breakfast to come get some churu. Cali went back under the bed, but before I stood up to leave she came back over. I was petting Gwen, and Cali looked at me. I held my hand out for her to sniff (something I do a lot with Henry). She didn’t sniff, but she didn’t hiss or run away either. She looked more like she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do. Again, calling that progress.

She’s been coming out more and more in the evening. All the way downstairs!

The last couple of mornings around 5:30 AM, Gwen and Henry have gotten into bed with me. Gwen is my clingy baby, so she climbs right on top of me. Henry will jump up on the bed and slink around trying to figure it out. He has come up and sniffed my face. He has also batted at my foot (without claws thankfully). Gwen is there just to get love and snuggle. I’m pretty sure Henry is there to make sure the being that feeds him is still alive. But he usually settles down and waits for me to wake up. Technically all three cats are there, as Cali is UNDER the bed.

Cali used the downstairs cat box! This is a great milestone toward getting all the cat stuff out of my bedroom!

Funny side note, Gwen loves the theragun (one of those percussive massagers). If I turn it on, she will come running and put her head against it. Henry also comes running. But he hates it. He stares at it. If I hold it out to him, he swats at it. For whatever reason, it is his mortal enemy. If I ever need to get the cats to come to me quickly, the theragun will do it.

Another side note. At her last appointment Gwen was told she needed to lose weight. On the downside of our current situation, she’s been eating a lot more between three cats worth of food out and extra treats. On the upside, she’s been running up and down the stairs so much (SO MUCH) more now that Henry is here. Hoping the new exercise at least cancels out the extra food.

April 30

Cali spent most of the night either on the stairs or in one of the cat caves, which is very exciting. Under the bed does seem like her “safe space”, if she gets startled, she go under there, but quickly will come back out.

The way the cats play seems a lot more “fair” now, too. Each one takes turns being the aggressor. Meaning, Henry will chase Gwen, but then Gwen will chase Henry. And Henry will bug Cali, but then Cali will bug Henry. Cali and Gwen seem pretty chill with each other. I’m happy as long as it isn’t always one way, with one cat bullying another cat.

May 4

I think Cali has been out from under the bed for at least the last 12 hours! It feels like she’s been coming over to me more and doesn’t move until I’m close to her (like if she’s sitting and I need to walk past her to get somewhere else).

I’d like her come down stairs more before I move the food bowls downstairs, but I think we are getting close.

They’re all doing well with lots of visitors. My son came home and then went back to school, but is now back for the summer. His girlfriend has visited, too. My daughter was home for a bit and then went back to school. And my boyfriend comes over regularly. Gwen of course is used to it. Henry is curious but cautious, unless you have treats, then he throws caution to the wind and will eat treats from your hand. Cali is Cali, but at least doesn’t regress when visitors are here.

I’m continuing to work on getting Henry okay with me touching him. And then eventually Cali. I’m continuing to encourage Cali to come downstairs (mostly just by doing nothing and letting her explore when she wants). As I’ve said before, I’d like all food bowls on the first floor in the kitchen. Then once I’ve made the basement cat-safe (Henry-safe and Cali-hiding-proof), the litter boxes will all go down there.

We are up to 24 hours straight where Cali didn’t go under the bed! She hung out in the cat cave in my bedroom, or the ottoman in the bathroom, or on the stairs!

I was even able to walk past her on the stairs and she didn’t run away.

May 5

36 hours! We are at 36 hours and she hasn’t gone under the bed! I’m so happy for this milestone.

Some random photos from the last two weeks. Henry in a box. Gwen observing Henry playing. Gwen and Henry relaxing while they wait for food. Henry sitting in Gwen’s spot.

At some point in the last two weeks, I sent an update to the NHSPCA to let them know how the cats are doing. And they posted it to their Facebook page. My babies are “famous”!

April 14

Spent most of the day all together. It went pretty well. I feel like sometimes Henry will chase after Cali once she comes out. I don’t think it’s mean, but she doesn’t like it and runs back to the bed. I may have to separate him at this point rather than Gwen.

April 15

I ended up with all three cats upstairs at night and had to shut the door to keep them from chasing each other (Gwen and Henry). I woke up to a couple of hisses/growls, but no scuffles.

I went into the bathroom for morning routine (we will continue this until after the vet appt). Henry was the first to come in and observe. Then Gwen came in. Then Cali! Patiently waiting for her Churu. Gwen and Henry ate actual food. Cali just ate the Churu and then she left. After that, I opened the bedroom door. Gwen, Henry, and I went downstairs. Then I heard noise upstairs, which was Cali playing with a toy!

I’ve put up some half-stair barriers on the stairs. I want them to be able to come and go, but not at speed. We will see how that goes.

The day went very well. I separated them while I went to the gym. Re-united for dinner. Cali came in for Churu and left. Later they were all upstairs and Cali was actually sitting in the base of the cat tree (not the one in the bathroom) rather than under the bed!

April 16

Overnight I was able to keep the door open and it was mostly uneventful. I woke up to Henry playing with a toy and running around, but no major scuffles. Gwen slept on my bed for the second night in a row so I’m sure she’s delighted to be allowed back upstairs at night.

Henry and Gwen played together a tiny bit batting a green spring back and forth.

My son came home and Henry came downstairs and had a jump scare of a whole new person in the house (even though they’d met briefly before).

Cali was also on the top of the stairs for a bit. I could hear her squeaking to Henry.

Cali came out at bedtime for the dry food I put out. And she spent more time in other spots upstairs like the second condo I brought out into the bedroom. And I think she was in the cat carrier too. Great progress, Cali! They all seem to have had fewer tussles today.

April 18

I didn’t even realize it until the morning, but the night before I went to the gym and didn’t even think about a need to separate them while I was gone. And everything was fine!

Overnight Cali was out a lot! I don’t know where she was, but it wasn’t the bathroom (the only other place I have a camera). It might have been downstairs, which would be great. To my knowledge, she’s only gone down there twice. But even if it wasn’t downstairs, I’m glad to see her spend more time out from under the bed.

In the morning she came right in and waited while I did pre-Churu chores. She had her Churu and left, but it sounded like she was playing and didn’t head right under the bed.

FOR THE RECORD, when I say she’s under the bed, I have two of those fabric Christmas wrapping bags/storage things under the bed. And she sits on those like her own personal queen size cat bed. My old cat Alice used to like laying there. I’m not some mean person who just lets her sleep on the floor under a bed. She’s comfy AF.

April 19

So I think life is mostly back to normal here. I went out yesterday and last night. All the cats were free, commingled, and fine.

Cali was hanging out in the carrier, which is awesome to see before our vet visit.

During dinner routine I brushed my hand near Henry’s back and he tuned and looked at me. He didn’t love it, but he didn’t jump away. Progress.

Cali came down for a second while I was sitting in the couch. She came all the way downstairs. Froze in the living room. And went back upstairs. Maybe she didn’t think I was there and then turned back when she realized? Later I saw her on camera upstairs playing with a toy by herself.

At bedtime she came I to the bathroom a couple of times. Ate a little, but also we all sat there while I folded laundry. Then she went downstairs for a minute and came back up and got into the cat carrier.

April 20

Cali came right in at breakfast. Waited for her churu. She didn’t seem to mind my hand inching closer down the handle. She came back in to eat some food at the bowl, but I scared her off when I moved toward the sink. She came back in a minute later to use the litter box and then eat.

Henry ate some treats from my son’s hand at dinner time routine.

April 21

So mostly a week of full integration and I’m so happy to report that things are going well. I’m nervous about their upcoming vet visit (mostly about getting them into carriers and not erasing all of the trust I’ve built). We will continue socializing and just being a happy cat family.

The updates may become less frequent, but if you’re friends with me on Facebook or follow me on Instagram, you’ll probably see plenty of pics.

Went up for the third gate interaction of the day and Cali happened to already be out. She went in her condo, but then peered out at us. Then she came right over to the gate. She sniffed Gwen. There was no hissing for anyone. Cali was very interested in Gwen and the gate. Henry came over and was chatty and she hissed at him! Then she yawned and stretched and went back to her cat cave.

In the evening Cali came out again. She stretched, walked around, ate, used the litter box, and got up on the ottoman.

Henry was being very vocal. I chirped at him and he seemed confused and came over to me and sniffed me.

April 8

I let them into the bedroom as they seemed a bit cooped up. Just before lunch they were both back in the bathroom so we did a gate interaction and Cali joined in again! Gwen was mostly uninterested except for the treat. Cali was interested in treats and Gwen. Henry was interested in everything, but Cali shooed him off again.

Cali went back to the cat tree during a gate interaction. Henry played on his own and used litter box. While Gwen sat at the gate. Those are all good signs to me.

Later I went into the bathroom and thought I’d just leave the bedroom and bathroom doors open (with the gate closed). If Gwen comes up to the gate, she comes up. She did. Henry was unbothered, but Cali went right over! Even while I was in the room. Gwen had wandered away, so I called her back. Henry then became interested. And Cali actually tried to nuzzle Henry! (He was confused and pulled back).

Oh boy! Our first time with all three in one room! Gwen wandered around sniffing everything. Cali mostly observed until she saw chicken, then she came out. Henry was mostly interested in the chicken. We overstayed our welcome a tiny bit and Gwen got a little hissy so we ended it. But overall I think a successful first session!

Side note on food, no one seems to like the pate anymore, just the “grilled” wet food. And Cali seems to prefer dry food. I read that boy cats shouldn’t have dry food, so I may have to invest in those chip feeders.

Cali came out and ate and explored a bit. Went back to her condo. I refilled the dry food and she came right out for it. I guess it makes a nice contrast to the Churu.

I also made a “treat puzzle” out of the paper they put in packages for shipping and threw some treats inside. It was a hit with Henry and Cali.

April 9

I had the gate up, but with no mesh for an interaction. I had everyone take turns getting some Churu. Until I pulled out the teal one, which is Cali’s favorite, and she chased Henry off. Everyone wandered off after the Churu and spent a few minutes just watching each other.

I was going to be gone overnight for the first time since getting Cali and Henry, so I set up food and everything for the night and let Cali and Henry out into the bedroom with Gwen downstairs.

April 10

We had a group visit in the bedroom. It went well until Gwen decided it was still her turn for Churu and she hissed at Henry, who then hissed back. So we ended that session. I gave everyone one last bite of Churu including Cali who didn’t participate because she was under the bed.

We had another all three interaction in the evening. It went well with maybe one hiss, but mostly they all three sort of did their own thing.

My view of Cali under the bed when I try to lure her out for Churu. Henry in the cat tree. All three! Henry in a different cat tree.

April 11

I let Gwen into the bathroom again. She jumped up on one of the cat trees. I also opened the gate. Cali went right out to her spot under the bed. Henry kept going back and forth between Gwen in the bathroom and Cali under the bed.

We had some hissing and swatting, so we went back to a gate interaction.

Also note to self, maybe don’t expect good interactions when it’s windy. I think they were all much more easily spooked.

Before bed we had a good interaction. Everyone shared a churu, taking turns. Henry even laid down for it. Gwen was more chill. He went in the condo and she got up top though to try and mess with him. Then Cali went in the tub and Gwen got too close. So some skippy-baps were exchanged. It’s hard to know what’s ok interaction and what’s not. Like what’s warning/playing and what is actual fighting. I’m watching carefully for ear positions, tail, fluffed fur, etc. So far it all seems like they’re just communicating, not actually fighting.

I’ve started prepping the first floor so hopefully they can start to have that space as well. If needed I can always isolate Gwen if I can’t wrangle Cali and Henry.

Henry being a cat. I tossed my sweatshirt on the floor for a second and he immediately sat on it. All three from the Blink camera. And hard to see, but Cali and Henry being cute in their spots.

April 12

Overnight it looks like Cali was very active and even played with a couple of toys! The night before I brought in the wand toy and used it near her. She didn’t go for it, but did watch intently.

We had a nice calm interaction. Then Henry went into the bedroom and Gwen immediately followed. Had a nice sniff, but then he went under the bed. I sensed that she was going to go after him, so we started to leave only to see Cali had come out and was standing near the door. Cali and Henry greeted each other and we left.

Basically Gwen stalks Henry, and Henry stalks Gwen. It seems ok, as whenever the stalked gets too annoyed, they hiss and the stalker backs off.

We had a very long hangout (an hour!). I think some of what I was afraid as fighting was playing. I think Gwen and Henry are figuring each other out. And playing but I keep stopping them. Some of this hangout was spent playing, but a lot of it in separate places. Cali was in her spot under the bed the whole time.

We had another shorter visit since I saw on the camera that Cali was up. A quick churu for everyone and then I changed the litter in the boxes.

More than once when they were free in the bedroom, Cali has come in when I’ve put out dinner. Sometimes just for churu but today for churu and then she stayed to eat. That feels like great progress that she knows the routine and is willing to come out for food, not just hide and eat it when I’m gone.

Cali in her tree tolerating me. All three with Cali front and center for Churu. Gwen reacting to Henry jumping in and out of my hamper. Bonus Gwen photo, relaxing after all the interactions.

April 13

Cali and Henry were free in the bedroom overnight. I woke up to Henry playing with my foot. Then he came up and sniffed my face, like his nose was touching my face. Very cute. Slightly creepy.

I went in to the bathroom for morning routine and Cali was already in there in the doorway. I needed to go in to feed them and she wasn’t backing up. So I slowly went in. She did leave but just went in the hallway, not back under the bed. I continued the routine until I saw she was back at the door, so I sat down to do churu and she came over! I didn’t have to get right in her face with it. Great progress.

I made Cali and Henry a vet appointment. I’m concerned about getting them wrangled into cat carriers, so I brought them out to get comfortable with them. Henry and Gwen IMMEDIATELY got inside.

Our interactions for all three went well, so I left the bedroom door open. Henry went down to the first floor and explored and pretty quickly came back up. Then he went back down again.

Cali came down while I was in the office! And went back upstairs when she saw me.

While Henry and Gwen were having dinner in the bathroom, Cali took her chance to escape downstairs. She was under the couch for a while, then went back upstairs for food. I took the chance and gave them all a churu.

I had let them all out around 4 PM. There were a few hisses, a few chases, but mostly good. I decided I’d let them be out overnight. However, around 11:30 Gwen and Henry decided to chase each other up and down the stairs, so I locked Gwen back out.

April 14

I let Gwen back in (or rather, opened all the doors) right after breakfast in the bathroom. Cali came in for her Churu. We took turns, and then everyone dispersed. Gwen has eaten their food and used their litter box. This morning, Henry has been exploring the first floor.

I just heard a tussle. Not sure who it was, but I’ve separated them again. I think we’re close and I may be overly cautious. But a TON of progress was made this week and I think we’re close to being fully integrated full time.

I laid down on the floor again, on my back, like cats who are saying “I’m not a threat and I trust you”. Not long after that, Cali came out.

At mealtime, she came out before I even put the food out. She walked around a bit, sniffed stuff, and went back in her cave.

I came in later and she was on the ottoman. She got right up and used the litter box while I was there.

And again later before bed, she came right out and played with a toy even flopping over on her back! She used the scratcher, sniffed a bit and back up on the ottoman. All while Henry was eating treats off my legs. I place a treat on my outstretched leg to get him used to walking on me.

April 1

We had two great gate interactions. Just sniffing. Some paws through the bottom crack, but no getting the other one.

Henry doing his best model pose. And Henry in the window.

April 2

Overnight I let Cali and Henry into my bedroom. Henry was VERY vocal and seems like Jack Skellington discovering Christmas town all night “what’s this? What’s THIS?”. She came out from under the bed a couple times overnight, which is better than the last time they were in my bedroom. Overnight Gwen tried to break down the door like we are on fire and she’s a firefighter. It wasn’t the best sleep I’ve ever had.

In the morning, I struggled to get her to come out from under the bed for her Churu. However, in the evening, she came into the bathroom during our dinner routine, which made it much easier to give her the Churu! I think she’s realizing that I’m okay and that it’s hard to eat Churu under the bed.

I was also able to get them back to the bathroom so we can continue gate introductions. While we were in there, she got a bit silly and jumped in the tub.

April 3

Overnight they were very active, of course Henry more than Cali, but she was still pretty active.

When I came in for morning routine, she walked over to check out the food dish while I brushed my teeth (unfortunately for her, the food dish was still empty).

During one of my visits, Cali in the tub again.

Later, I let them out into the bedroom, so I could bring Gwen into the bathroom. Gwen immediately set to sniffing EVERYTHING. After I was able to close the door while they were both in the bathroom, so we could return to gate introductions.

Left: Gwen exploring the bathroom. Right: double decker cat condo occupied

April 4

Did a gate interaction with a crack showing on the side. We had sniffing and paws and no hissing!

I also added cardboard to the top of Calis cat cave. The bottom has a board that keeps it open but the top was just fabric. Henry likes to lay there but the whole thing sags and annoys Cali. I cut some cardboard to fit and put it under the cushion. Hopefully that will help.

She used the litter boxes and ate again in front of me. After that I tossed her some chicken pieces, which she came out of her box for and then when I tossed her another one (without thinking how close my hand was) she didn’t hiss.

She also has the cutest, tiniest, quietest squeak. I had heard it before and wasn’t sure if it was her or Henry (who is very vocal). But she did it while I was in the room, so it was definitely her. SO CUTE.

And another gate interaction with a gap. And there were some skippy-baps (like half-heartedly trying to hit each other), but no hissing. Gwen keeps trying to see Henry. I think that’s a good sign.

No photos. I guess I was living in the moment, or she was out quite a bit and I didn’t want to spook her. Or both.

April 5

Morning routine! I came in as usual and started clean up. A cat came out of the condo. I assumed it was Henry because it would never be Cali. I wasn’t paying attention, just cleaning up. I went to pick up a couple litter pellets by said cat and said cat moved back a couple of inches. I picked up the pellets and looked up and IT WAS CALI!!! Not Henry. And she didn’t hiss or run away. She sat there waiting for me to sit down and give her the Churu. After her Churu, she went in the cave, but came back out after Henry ate to use the litter box. Now I’m wondering if she just likes to use it right after I’ve cleaned it.

Cali is a bit of a messy eater, and Churu sometimes hits the floor. But no worries, Henry comes along after and cleans it up.

After Churu she jumped in the tub (empty of course) and played. She got the zoomies. She jumped out and scratched and right back in the tub. She seems to be having fun! They got in a tussle so I let them into the bedroom for more space.

They happened to be back in the bathroom, so we did another gate interaction. This time with mesh instead of towel. It went well. Lots of sniffing, rewards for sniffing, a little skippy-bap but ears and tails are happy and no hissing. Rewards were given for returning to sniffing.

Late evening routine and Cali and Henry were out in my room. Henry came as always once he heard the cans open. Surprisingly Cali came in shortly after. She ate her churu and dipped right back out.

No photos again because I’m apparently the worst.

April 6

Woke up early to cat sounds. They happened to be in the bathroom together, so I shut the door and gave them early breakfast. Cali was out of her cave, and stayed out to get her Churu.

Later we had a great gate interaction. They had their snacks. The mesh was up. Lots of sniffing, but mostly just seeing the other and not really doing anything. Gwen stuck her paw through a couple of times and Henry just watched.

I’ll have a couple more of these, and then start to remove the mesh and see how that goes.

Another good gate interaction with less treats in the afternoon.

Then after the gym, I went in and didn’t keep Gwen out of my bedroom, which meant a gate interaction, but with me on the inside of the bathroom and no treats. It went really well, essentially with both of them by the gate, but not really caring. The only nerve-wracking bit was when I was leaving, the mesh got stuck in the door, so I couldn’t close it all the way and Gwen took her moment to start to go in the bathroom. I grabbed her, but my heart was racing.

Left: Henry relaxing. Center: Henry eating treats off my legs (and often out of my hand) and Henry playing with his food. He likes to drop his green spring into his food dish! And also paw up some food to eat. Right: Cali relaxing.

April 7

And here we are at the end of Week 6.

We had another good long gate interaction this morning. Gwen wandered off and came back. Henry wandered off and came back. It completely seemed like he was telling Cali there was another cat.

Cali seems to almost be hitting the 3 week milestone markers with behavior, like acting out against Henry. Not badly, but she just seems relaxed enough to be a bit “naughty”. She seems to understand the routine. She relaxes and sleeps pretty deeply without jumping at every little noise. I occasionally get a nice slow blink out of her. Of course, she’s still skittish and spends a lot of time in her condo. If she hears a noise outside, she’ll go back in her condo. But I do feel like we’re progressing, even if it’s slowly.

I feel like interactions with Gwen and Henry are going well. My next step is to remove the mesh and make sure they don’t claw each other with their skippity-baps. Then I’ll try opening the gate I guess. That feels like such a scary step, but I know they can do it. (Can I? haha). That will be supervised visits, hopefully leading to unsupervised visits. Which would lead to free reign of the upstairs for all three cats. And then free reign of the first and second floors. The basement scares me for them, but I think that’s probably still a ways away and I won’t think about that for now (too much).

March 24

Gave Cali and Henry some freedom in the bedroom. No pictures of Cali as she spends most of her bedroom time under my bed.

March 25

Henry enjoying bedroom window time.

After having freedom in the bedroom for QUITE a while, I finally spotted that they were both back in the bathroom and ran up to shut the door. As I’ve said before, I need to get them in there so I can let Gwen have time in my bedroom for area/scent swapping, and for when I re-start introductions. Also, it’s just much easier to interact with Cali and give her treats when she’s not under my bed.

Cali came out to eat from the bowl while I was in the bathroom with them! She definitely keeps an eye on me as you can see in the photo, but it’s better than always in her cave. She’s getting braver/more comfortable!

March 26

I brought in some chicken. I tossed a couple of pieces in front of Cali’s cat tree. Once I turned my back to wash my hands, she came out for it. So I went to toss another piece in front of her and she had the nerve to hiss at me, and then PROMPTLY ate the piece of chicken. So rude. I’m kidding of course, she’s just telling me I got too close.

The new plan for step 1 introductions is to: shut bedroom door with Gwen downstairs, put a towel in the gate (so they can’t see each other), open the bathroom door and put down a treat puzzle by the gate, close the gate, open the bedroom door, and let Gwen in, and give Gwen a treat puzzle by the gate.

Yes my “treat puzzle” is just a muffin tin. The intro went well, with both cats (Henry and Gwen, Cali doesn’t participate) enjoying their treat puzzles and occasionally looking up when the other makes a noise, but then right back to treats. I did it again in the evening and it went the same.

Henry playing with a toy. Cali sleeping in her tree. Henry by the door.

At dinner time, I fed Henry as usual and gave Cali her Churu as usual. I didn’t have to reach in right up to her face to get her to come out! And she ate in front of me again! I think this is only the second time she’s eaten from the bowl in front of me. And then even more exciting, after she was done, she came near me and sniffed a toy and my book. Then she used the cat box while I was in the room! Henry was very vocal the whole time, I think he might have been freaking out as much as I was.

March 27

At breakfast, I gave Cali her Churu and once again, she didn’t need to have me shove it right in her face before she’d try it. If this continues, it means I can let her out more, since I should be able to coax her out from hiding places like under my bed.

I did the towel/treat interaction again. Henry was less interested in the treats than what was on the other side of the towel. Gwen somehow got spooked at one point, but otherwise the interaction was fine.

I did towel/treat interaction again in the afternoon and Gwen was NOT interested in the chicken I had for her. At first she wasn’t even interested in getting off the bed and coming over. She came over finally and I gave her some pets as her reward, since she wasn’t interested in the chicken. Henry enjoyed the chicken, so win-win.

Henry looking adorable and relaxed.

Cali was very active today coming out of her spot several times.

She pooped in the litter box and walked around with me in the room! And used the cat scratcher! And OMG she played with a toy! I almost cried. Then she went on the other side of the room and cleaned herself. All in my presence. I didn’t get a ton of photos because I was afraid to spook her.

March 28

Not much for updates. I was out all day so my time with the kitties was mostly just the usual feeding, Churu, cat box clean up.

March 29

We had a good gate intro time. Both (Gwen and Henry) had snacks. Both would occasionally look up at the towel, but then they went back to their treats. After both of them sniffed and did a little paw through the bottom crack. No hissing!

At the second treat gate time Cali joined!!

My first photo with all three cats! Gwen on this side of the gate. Henry’s rear end and Cali on the other side of the gate. Bonuses, you can see Henry’s green spring in the background, and Gwen’s tongue is out.

After the gate time was over, Cali and Henry had a little tiff as there weren’t enough snacks for both (I didn’t expect her to join in). So I came back in after and put them out and she came out for them!

March 30

I laid down on the floor and Henry circled me, sniffing me a lot. Then he played with a toy right next to me, even hitting me with his tail. Definitely the most contact we’ve had. I’m 100% going with the “wait for them to initiate contact” theory. And again, I feel like once they’re all three integrated and Cali and Henry see how Gwen interacts with me, they’ll begin to initiate.

March 31

Five weeks! Some excellent progress this week with multiple Cali outings.

I also wanted to say that this is not normal! Anyone who would consider adopting a cat, it isn’t usually this hard. Even Gwen, who was supposedly a spirit cat, immediately warmed up to me and quickly integrated with Alice. Better socialized cats won’t take this much work. I hope that these posts don’t turn anyone off from adopting cats. Again, I’m mostly posting for my own posterity/memory, and in case it helps anyone that does adopt a less socialized cat. But it’s not the norm, I promise!

Henry seems bored (aka bothering Cali) so I let him explore my bedroom for a bit. I have a few more things to cat proof, so not ready to leave them out all the time. Plus Gwen/Henry integration will be much better at the bathroom door. My bedroom door is at the top of the stairs and I don’t need them or me tumbling down a flight of stairs. Once I cat proof a bit more, I may leave the door open for them more.

OMG his green spring. I gave him one back after finding them all under the ottoman. For a full hour, he was non-stop playing with the spring. He really loves that thing.

We had a very good interaction at the gate between Gwen and Henry. I went in the bathroom and Gwen mostly sat outside while I played with Henry inside. She watched. He looked out. No hissing. Yay!

Later, I played with him with the wand toy while I was in there. He went right back to the spring after I left. Endless energy.

March 18

We had a not great gate interaction. Gwen got too close to the gate and Henry swiped at her, which she obviously didn’t love.

Later Henry was being a pest, he bothered Cali a few times. And with the swipe at Gwen, I decided to look for my old Feliway diffuser. I plugged it in and it seemed to make an instant difference. He had a good interaction with Gwen, with one hiss from each, but not bad. They had plenty of sitting and slow blinking. Gwen actually hissed at me because I tried to pull her away from the gate. (And then turned and realized she hissed at me, and I know she’s a cat that doesn’t have human emotions, but I swear she looked so ashamed that she hissed at me). He was much more chill with Cali, too.

They’re all three going to need diets once they’re integrated since I’ve done so much bribing with treats. I swear their diets now are half food, half treats (not really, but definitely more than they should be having).

Cali peaking out from her spot like “why are you still here?”. She generally waits until I leave to go eat.

She was out at dinner time on the ottoman. She jumped down and checked out the food (!), but went back to her spot in the cat tree.

March 19

I saw overnight that she was out. I even saw her use the scratching post! He did bother her, of course. And early in the morning they got in a pretty good tussle, but his spring was directly in front of her tree, so I get it. More of a sibling fight, than an enemies fight.

A breakfast time he ate, she had her Churu, and then I sat at my vanity by the window. He went right around me and jumped in window. As he came down he stepped onto my bench and sniffed me. He’s definitely feeling more comfortable with me, less jumpy, and more curious.

Meanwhile Gwen. She hasn’t really ever seemed to like the “grilled” cat food. So I give her the “pate” wet food. I’ve been giving Cali and Henry grilled since I had it leftover from Gwen and she doesn’t eat it. Gwen hasn’t been eating as much lately and I worried she was upset. I went and grabbed a grilled can and of course, she ate it right down. I don’t know how she’d know that was the food they’re getting, but maybe she does and just wanted to have the same?

For introductions, I think we have to go back a step. I can use my bedroom as the “swap spaces” step. Which again, I was concerned I can’t do the “normal” way, since I can’t pick up Henry or Cali to physically bring them to whatever space I want. So for now, no more gate dates, just scent swapping, and letting them into my room, then back to bathroom, then letting Gwen in my room. It’s disappointing, but I think it’s the way to go.

Once we move to gate intros, I’ll try the “towel technique” which is to have the door open, the gate closed and a towel up so they can better smell/hear each other, but still not see each other. Then I’ll do the mesh, then we’ll go actual face to face. Basically, adding in more steps than I did before. I wanted this to be farther along than it is, but I need to step it back and go slower.

I’m going to try more scent swapping techniques, too. Like petting Gwen with a sock over my hand, then bringing the sock to Cali and Henry with treats on it.

I let Henry into my room two more times (well technically, the door was open, they both could have gone, but only Henry did).

He explores, by doing big laps, checks in on Cali, then comes out and does another lap. One of the times, he came to me and sniffed my foot, then my other foot, then got in between my outstretched legs to sniff my phone. While he was exploring, I saw Cali go to the open door, sniff, consider a moment, and go back to her spot.

I later got Henry to eat two treats from my hand without swatting to get them!

Cali came out to eat the treats while I was there (I think Henry was as surprised as I was) AND later she was actually walking around a bit (while I was not there). Meaning, not just food to tree or food to litter box with no stops.

March 20

Overnight both cats spent a lot of time walking around the room. I couldn’t even tell who is who based on where they are because there seemed to be a lot of swapping. So more progress of them getting comfortable.

I went in and Henry’s spring was stuck under Cali’s cat tree. He was smart enough to not try and get it. I knew I couldn’t reach my hand over to get it, I’d get swatted. So I used a wand toy wand (the toy long gone) to get it out. She didn’t care at all. No swiping, no hissing, not a care in the world. Of course, as soon as it was free, he then knocked it right back in front of her. So either he’s trying to mess with her or trying to play with her. Let’s just say it’s the latter.

I put a treat out in front of her tree and she came out to eat it while I sat by the window! Cali was sitting at the back of the ottoman, so I dared to put treats on the corner of it. She stood up to eat one, but the other fell off to the floor. I was waiting to see if she would jump down for it, but Henry was playing nearby and I was there, so I think she figured it wasn’t worth it. Ha!

My daughter was home from college and finally got to meet the cats. Unfortunately, the timing was when they weren’t as hungry, so didn’t come out quite as much as they might have otherwise, but at least she got to meet them and they got to see her.

March 21

My son and his girlfriend came over. They had last been over when the cats had just arrived. That time Cali refused to eat the Churu. This time, Cali came out partway for her Churu, not as far as usual, but nice to see progress. Henry came out to eat and played a little with my son throwing toys at him.

Henry being ADORABLE. Cali over it.

March 22

Overnight, play my favorite game, “Where is Cali?” Luckily, her eyes were open.

In the morning, Henry followed me around, observing me during chores. He went out into the bedroom (I left the door open), but quickly came back and patiently waited for breakfast that he clearly knew was coming.

Later I opened the door and Henry explored as usual (wellm the new usual). Then Cali came out! Slowly, cautiously exploring, but still exploring! Henry followed her around like a lost puppy. However this left me in a pickle as I had to leave for a couple of hours. I didn’t think there was any way I’d get Cali back. So I took a chance and left them out. They did well, though Cali didn’t leave from under the bed the entire time.

I stalked the camera and they were both finally in the bathroom, so I could close them in again.

While I tried to give Cali her Churu while she under the tub, Henry came right up in my armpit to see what I was doing.

March 23

Put out a “cat cave/condo” and a small cat tree.

Cali was on the ottoman, and I got too close for her liking in order to put a treat next to her. She hissed at me. It was my fault, but it had been several days, so I figured it was worth a shot. But then she seemed fine after with me, so I think it was just a proximity warning.

I opened the door some more today. Henry likes to come in and out. Cali stayed in the bathroom.

Gwen testing out the new cat cave before Cali and Henry got to it. Cali coming out of the new cat cave (already quickly adopted) to get her Churu. Henry in the new cat tree. Cali trying to sleep on the ottoman while I annoyed her for a picture.

March 24

Four weeks! It’s hard to believe. Time has both flown, and crawled. We’re continuing two steps forward, one step back, with me despairing at each one step back, completely forgetting the two steps forward. I am confident we will get there. Someday I’ll be able to go in my bedroom and bathroom and not have to worry about cats breaking in or escaping. Also, anyone want to contribute to my cat fund? I may need to start a gofundme for all the stuff I’ve bought to make this happen.

Technically the evening of the 10th, but after my last update…

Henry being Henry. He’s going to be trouble. Ha! I tossed some treats in front of Cali, and she actually poked her head out to eat them while I was there!

Overnight, she came out and sat on the ottoman for a while with Henry observing from the top of the cat tree.

I came in and was excited to see that Cali didn’t leave the ottoman to go hide in the cat tree! She stayed! I tried to give her a Churu while she was on the ottoman, but she wasn’t going for it, and I didn’t want to spook her. So I sat back and she went to eat from the bowl, while I was in the room!!

Later she was on the ottoman, and I gave Henry treats. I put a treat on my hand (wouldn’t balance on the toothbrush) and held it out to her. She thought about it for a second, but then swatted (not actually making contact, just warning me to get away). I returned to giving her Churu, which she was happy to keep eating.

March 12

Henry used the litter box while I was in the room. Not sure if that’s a good sign or was just coincidence of timing. Either way, he’s comfortable with my presence. Cali ate another Churu from the ottoman. It’s little scarier than when she’s in the botto of the cat tree. She has the high ground on the ottoman. There’s a non-zero chance she launches herself onto my face.

Both of them eating again, in front of me! Cali on the ottoman, with Henry wondering how close he should get. Henry’s unique way of using the cat scratching post, which is to climb it.

March 13

Overnight, Cali got into one of the cat beds on the floor by the door! That’s exciting, another spot that she’s explored out to and felt comfortable enough to sit.

Henry ate chicken out of my hand! He’s definitely getting more comfortable with me.

Cali with some more ottoman time. Henry playing in the sun like a real cat.

March 14

The gate is up! Gwen and Henry interacted (no pics as I try to maintain peace, play, and hand out treats). He got treats. She got pets. Only a couple of hisses were exchanged. I think Gwen could see Cali and Cali could definitely see Gwen. While they don’t interact, I at least want them to know the other exists. Henry keeps going to the door even after Gwen is gone.

Henry is becoming more and more brave. He comes over to the food bowls sometimes before or as I am putting out food. He doesn’t seem bothered that I’m that close. He will sniff my hand or my foot when I’m sat on the floor giving Cali her Churu.

When Gwen and Henry interact at the gate, I use a toy on a wand. Previously Henry would bat at it, but not jump. And pounce on it when dragged on the floor. After gate time, I just played with Henry with the toy. I swear he saw how Gwen played and started playing that way. He was doing a lot more jumping and rolling onto his back! Cali was at least following the toy with her eyes even if she didn’t play. That’s new, too. She previously ignored us and the toy.

Upper left, he’s gone full blown silly cat, chasing around his beloved green spring, and ending up under one of the beds. Upper right, a boy and his spring. Bottom left, Henry rolling around with the wand toy. Bottom right, Cali keeping an eye on things.

March 15

Much of the morning Cali was on ottoman. Happy to see her out of the cat tree more and more.

Gwen and Henry batted at the toy through the gate, together at the same time, with no hissing! I’m very happy about that. I do have to make sure I’m there to distract any hard stares, but otherwise it’s going well.

Gwen and Henry playing at door some more while Cali was on the ottoman. She didn’t seem concerned or scared.

Later after giving treats to Cali and Henry, I put my hand out to Henry. He thought it was a toy and tried to grab it, gently, but did not understand what hands are for.

Then I laid down on the floor, inching closer.

OH MY HEART. First Cali, just chilling and looking at me. Even when she’s on the ottoman, after her Churu, she generally lays down and gives “I’m ignoring you” vibes. Look HOW ADORABLE SHE IS. Then Henry, laying in a bed, right next to me, unperturbed. TOE BEANS!

Moments later, Cali was done with me and Henry and photoshoots.

I actually heard her making little sleep noises! So freaking cute.

March 16

I saw a tip about putting your scent on something (like a sock) and putting that on a stick to warm them up to being pet/touched by humans. I didn’t have a stick handy, or a sock, so I pulled my hoodie sleeve down past my hand. I inched it toward Henry and touched his paw. He half-heartedly swatted at the sleeve, but not really. So I “pet” him with my sleeve (I just barely brushed his paw with the hoodie sleeve). He let it happen without swatting! I did it again and was able to get in a couple more paw pets.

We had two good gate interactions with Gwen and Henry. Short on time, but no hisses. Later had another interaction, this one was longer and at the end I was just petting Gwen and sitting (no distracting toy) and Gwen hissed at Henry.

Somehow three springs have disappeared, so I brought out the last one. Henry was in heaven, chasing it all around the room. Cali looked over at me like “really?”. I said “I’m sorry, but he gets bored and tears up the toilet paper”. And then she slow blinked at me (cat way of saying, I like you). Ha!

Henry does have his chill moments.

March 17

Three weeks! We made it to the second milestone. “They get into a routine. They hopefully start to let their guard down. They can start to have some behavior issues.” True, true, and true! I definitely see that Henry is getting bored with just the bathroom. A couple of times he seems to have messed with Cali, and I think it’s just boredom. I hope we can progress soon to all three cats interacting, so I can at least let Cali and Henry have the whole second floor, rather than just the bathroom. It’s more of a risk of keeping them contained (door is at the top of the stairs and I don’t want to die trying to keep them separate), so I want them integrated before I let them free.

It’s all very two steps forward, one step back. And every step back makes me sad and worried. Writing these blog posts actually helps as I can see all the progress they’ve made. We will get there, I just have to keep being patient (which I’m not at all good at) and keep working forward.

Three months is the next milestone from the 3-3-3 rule. For me, the next big milestone (and I’m writing these all out, mostly for my own “talking out loud”) will be letting the cats be face to face, supervised. After that it will be letting Cali and Henry have the second floor. I want Cali to not just stay secluded where I can’t even entice her out with Churu before I let them have the whole house. Face to face and unsupervised will be next. First and second floor will be the next milestone after that. Then lastly, the basement. With all it’s nooks and crannies, hiding spots, and potential dangers, I need to feel completely comfortable with how they’ve all adjusted (and do a lot more cleaning/organizing) before they are allowed full run of the house.

After writing the Week 1 post, I went back in to see the cats and Henry decided to come lay down near me! He also didn’t move away when I stood up to leave.

His new routine is to go in the window, once I open the shutters and he’s had his breakfast. Gwen was the same way!

While I was giving Cali her Churu, her whiskers touched my hand! And as I held the Churu closer to me, her paw touched my leg! I tried to hard to remain calm and NOT pet her. While I was giving her the Churu, Henry came over and sniffed my foot. He does seem to check on her whenever she comes out. He chirps at her.

In the evening, my son brought his girlfriend to meet them. Cali ate her Churu, but only from inside the pyramid (again). Henry didn’t come out from his spot behind the tub (again).

Both were out after we left! They both ate. Cali cleaned herself out in the open and Henry ate some more. Cali was out for a while and then went back toward the tree. She sniffed his green spring like WTF is this thing you’re so obsessed with.

March 4

While giving her the Churu, she stood on my leg! And she sniffed my foot. Again, I have to keep from trying to pet her. I know she will NOT enjoy that. I have to just keep earning her trust that I’m a nice human who won’t hurt her.

I gave the tiniest pet to Henry’s front paw. Went in for a second one and he raised his other paw in a nice warning, but no hiss. Progress!

She’s coming out more after I leave the room. Happy she’s learning this environment is safe.

Henry heading to breakfast, while I give Cali her Churu. Henry at the window again after breakfast. And I decided to lay on the floor and scroll my phone for a bit, when I could feel him near me. He sniffed my head and I managed to get this blurry pic.

March 5

Overnight he messed up her pyramid, like jumped on it and squashed it and flipped it over. I heard growling and went in to investigate. I had to turn her upright and unsquash the pyramid. Poor thing was not happy and I didn’t realize she was actually IN it at first, so she gave me a little warning swipe when my hand got too close to the opening.

So the morning and evening routine is that I go in and put food in bowls. Henry eats from bowls while I give Cali her Churu. Well today I went in early and gave her her Churu, but didn’t do the bowls (I needed to bring up more food). So I went in later and did bowls and just sat with them like I do sometimes. She popped her head out of the cat tree and looked at me. Either she was like “hey where is my Churu?” or she was saying “You can leave now, I need to eat”.

She comes out now right after I leave, again progress.

Bonus Gwen photo. I’ve been sick and she’s been taking care of me. I got Henry to play with a wand toy. Like ACTUALLY play with it, jump in the air and stalk the feathers. He’s definitely wary if he gets too close to me and won’t chase it, but will play if I keep it arm’s length away. And the last photo is Henry on the left (note the left ear) and Cali in the cat tree.

March 6

For this morning’s Churu, I accidentally got Churu on Cali’s tail. I thought she was just farther back in the tree, but it was sort of dark in the room, and she’s black, so I touched her tail with Churu-covered toothbrush. She was NOT a fan. I got a well-deserved swat and hiss. Happily though, she was still willing to eat her Churu as usual, once I stopped poking it into her tail.

After our morning routine, she came out (on camera), sniffed one of the blankets for a minute on her way to eat. Again, I’m happy to see her doing something other than just tree to food to tree or tree to litter box to tree. I want her to feel comfortable to be a cat.

I had to take her pyramid out of the room. Henry now seems to see it as something to crush and I don’t want him pissing her off if she’s inside it (or trapping her). So she hangs out in the bottom of the cat tree. I’ll keep an eye out for a stiffer cat house, but that may only be in cat tree form. I was also able to put the lid on the hamper a few days ago and get my dirty laundry back, I needed those socks!

I’ve been occasionally opening the door a crack so Gwen can see Henry and vice versa. It usually only lasts a minute before Henry hisses. I’ve also been continuing the scent swapping.

A glitch in the matrix, caught on camera, they were both cleaning up post-dinner. I decided to make a “cat cave” with a cardboard box and an old t-shirt, with a towel inside. Henry immediately went inside. And caught from the camera, Henry’s ears poking out of the tub.

March 7

I started cleaning/cat-proofing my bedroom. That will mean I can let Cali and Henry out to have a bit more space. They didn’t seem fazed at all by the noise, which is great.

Up to two times per day of cracking the door open so Henry and Gwen can see/sniff each other. I close the door once he hisses. I throw in a treat, too. Continuing scent exchanges.

March 8

Woke up to cat puke on the only rug in the room. As I was doing my cat chores, I noticed Henry ate part of the box of the cat cave I made, which explains the cat puke. So I had to go out and buy a non-crushable, non-edible cat cave.

Other fun things Henry has done: unrolled the toilet paper (had to put a band on it), flipped his bed, knocked all my washcloths into the water bowl, and ate part of the bathtub stopper. Again, just normal bored cat things. So I bought a new cat toy when I bought the new cat cave. This one has had much success as entertainment between Henry and Gwen with the door ajar. No hissing, just playing, and watching when the other cat has the toy. I’ll increase how often I do this, and for how long. Eventually I’ll get out the pet gate and put that in between them. Slow progress, is progress.

Henry in the new “cat cave” (that isn’t really a cave, but is more protected than just an open bed. Henry, the moment I left the drawer open. Cali sleeping in front of me. She may not be out and about, but she at least is comfortable enough to sleep when I’m in the room now. Henry playing with the new toy, while I hold the door open a crack.

March 9

No major updates, continuing to play by the door, which is going well, no hissing. Henry seems to be more interested in me, coming close, sniffing me, but still skittish. Cali seems to be settling into our routine. I try and lure her out farther, or hold the Churu out farther to start. Very slow process, but still process. She seems more comfortable with me as long as I stick to the routine.

I gave Henry some treats, he doesn’t seem to care for Churu, but likes hard treats. Got him to come close enough to me to bat the treat off my leg before eating it. I tossed a couple over close to Cali (she hissed in the past when I did this, no hiss this time!). She came out and tried one, but wasn’t interested in the second. Or at least wasn’t willing to come out for it. Henry came over to try and eat it, and got a swat for his troubles.

Second Cali treat in the corner of the photo. Henry relaxing after his treats.

March 10

Two weeks! Here we are at two weeks. It’s felt like nothing, but also like forever. Ha!

Henry often waits by the door, and his meowing has added in some yowls like Gwen does. I’m starting to suspect he’s calling for her to come play at the door. But that may be wishful thinking. He often goes over to Cali, who doesn’t seem to want to snuggle with him like she did at the shelter, so I think he may be happy to befriend Gwen. I hope she’ll snuggle with him.

I look forward to them all integrated. Partly because my life will be much easier. But mostly because I hope Gwen will show them how to be cats and that I’m a nice person.

Multi-cat owning friends were right, that the extra work of cat boxes and whatnot isn’t that bad. Right now the big effort is just keeping them all separate and cat-proofing the rest of my house in preparation. Yes, I already have a cat, why isn’t my house cat proof? It’s Gwen-proof, but it needs to be Henry-proof. As well as eliminating hiding spots deep in my basement that mean I’d never see Cali again.