• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Kitty Cat Chronicles

tails of adventure cats & handicats extraordinaire!

  • Home
  • Meet the Gang
  • KCC Adventure Team
  • Our Adventures
  • Cerebellar Hypoplasia
  • Contact Us
  • Etsy Shop
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / FIV+ / Operation Sassification: Caster’s Big Meeting, Part 2

Operation Sassification: Caster’s Big Meeting, Part 2

January 18, 2016 23 Comments

Operation Sassification: Caster’s Big Meeting, Part 2

If you saw our post last Monday, you know that Caster recently had his first meeting with sister Sassy. For anyone who is just joining us or doesn’t know Sassy’s story, I’ll give you a brief recap…

We rescued Sassy as a stray back in November of 2013. She tested positive for FIV and was also aggressive towards the other cats, so we we’ve had to keep her segregated. It’s now been over two years since she joined our family, and we have slowly been trying to integrate her with the other four cats. It’s taken a lot of patience and work, but for a while now Sassy has been able to be out with Delilah and Sophie. We’ve held off on introducing her to the boys because the boys are too enthusiastic and interested, and Sassy wouldn’t react well to that. Since she has been doing so well with the girls, we decided it was finally time for her to meet the boys.

We started off with Caster and kept him on a leash to keep him from approaching Sassy. I don’t know if it’s because they’ve all smelled each other so many times by now or what, but Caster had almost no reaction to seeing Sassy. It seemed like Sassy’s presence was old news to him. Sassy didn’t seem phased by Caster’s presence too much either. She hissed a bit to let him know not to approach her, but that was about it. We decided it was safe to take Caster off his leash to see what would happen…

cats in kitchen, Caster's Big Meetingcats in kitchen

Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing. They simply ignored each other. Internally, I was doing the biggest happy dance I thought I could have imagined. But then we decided to see what would happen if we let Sampson out to meet her too… (I should mention that Delilah and Sophie were already out as well.)

cats in kitchen

All five cats… in the same room… together… at the same time…  Okay, then I was seriously doing the biggest happy dance anyone could have ever imagined. (Delilah isn’t in the picture above because she was behind me.)

I tried to keep them all distracted by engaging them with their favorite wand toy. It went well and lasted about 8-10 minutes before I noticed that Sassy was starting to get a little stressed. At that point, I took her back to her room to decompress. I know 8-10 minutes of having all five of my cats together doesn’t seem like a big deal, but to me it really is. This is something I’ve been working towards for over 2 years now. Though we still have a ways to go, and who knows when or how long it will take (if ever) before Sassy is fully integrated without supervision, but this brief meeting and playtime between all of my kitties together is a HUGE victory for us.

I am absolutely thrilled at the progress that Sassy has made since we rescued her. She has come such a long way, and I am so happy for her. This just goes to show you that you should never give up on an animal. All it takes is love, patience, devotion, and effort. And it is well worth it.

Filed Under: Caster, FIV+, Integrating Cats, Sassy Tagged With: coexistence, feline immunodeficiency virus

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Pipo/Minko/MrJackFreckles says

    January 18, 2016 at 1:17 am

    Wow, That is great!!
    Worth all the time and effort!

    Reply
  2. Summer says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:11 am

    I agree, this is HUGE for Sassy! That was a big step – I hope things continue to work well with everyone.

    Reply
  3. Tamago says

    January 18, 2016 at 7:19 am

    Wow, I’m really thrilled at the big progress, too! How wonderful not only Caster met Sassy with no problem but Sampson also joined. All five kitties together – it’s really like a dream comes true! And it’s a dream achieved by your patient effort and love. I’m so happy for all of you!

    Reply
  4. Brian Frum says

    January 18, 2016 at 9:45 am

    I think that’s tremendous and keep it up, you are doing a wonderful job with the introductions!

    Reply
  5. Austin Towers says

    January 18, 2016 at 10:53 am

    Goodness! Your patience is commendable! But well worth it!! xx

    Reply
  6. LP says

    January 18, 2016 at 11:47 am

    Excellent! We knew it would happen and that all your persistence and patience would bring success 🙂 Keep up the good work all of you kitties!
    Tell your Mama she should check her e-mails for a special one from us 🙂
    Lots of love and hugs,
    the critters in the cottage xo

    Reply
  7. Toby & Leia says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    Pawsome! We admire your dedication and patience.

    Reply
  8. madi says

    January 18, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    Your mom is a cat whisperer!! For sure everyone is feeling the love and safety too
    Hugs madi your bfff

    Reply
  9. Annie says

    January 18, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    This is wonderful! I can imagine how happy you must be. Your patience and commitment are to be applauded.
    Good job, Sassy!

    Reply
  10. Deziz World says

    January 19, 2016 at 3:48 pm

    Dat is sooooooooo Pawsum!!!! Weez duin’ da happy dance wiff ya’. Weez sendin’ lots of purrayers dat da length of time will continue too incwease and everypawdy will get to hang together all da time. wuldn’t bed time be gweat then.
    Luv ya’
    Dezi and Lexi

    Reply
  11. da tabbies o trout towne says

    January 19, 2016 at 4:45 pm

    guys !!!! this is total lee kewl….we pre dict that bye may… everee one will bee at de same taybull…. sharin a perch pizza & sum donutz !!! YAY !!!! ♥♥♥

    Reply
  12. Toby & Leia says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    Pawsome! We admire your dedication and patience.

    Reply
  13. Toby & Leia says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    Pawsome! We admire your dedication and patience.

    Reply
  14. Toby & Leia says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:37 pm

    Pawsome! We admire your dedication and patience.

    Reply
  15. Caren Gittleman says

    January 18, 2016 at 1:18 pm

    well done you!!! I am hoping that soon they will ALL be able to be together all of the time! BTW LOVE the glimpses of your new home 🙂
    It’s spotless!

    Reply
  16. Random Felines says

    January 18, 2016 at 2:54 pm

    YAY!!! That is great news. Small increments are a HUGE step. Sassy – we are very proud of you.

    Reply
  17. BeadedTail says

    January 18, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    That is a big step for Sassy! We can understand how she’d get a little stressed after all that but what great progress to be with her furblings all at once after all this time! Way to go Sassy! And to you too mom! Kudos for your patience!

    Reply
  18. Kitties Blue says

    January 18, 2016 at 5:57 pm

    We think 8 to 10 minutes is terrific, Yippee! Mom understand how joyful you felt Mom Emily. Sassy is so lucky that you rescued her and that she has a great family to get to know. Astrid sends Sampy all her love and bushels of kisses. With love and hugs to all as well. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

    Reply
  19. Ellen Pilch says

    January 18, 2016 at 7:14 pm

    That is wonderful. I hope eventually they won’t need to be segregated. Some of ours are segregated for various reasons so I understand your happy dance.

    Reply
  20. The Island Cats says

    January 18, 2016 at 7:26 pm

    10 minutes without an issue? That is a major victory. Keep taking those baby steps and before you know it, you’ll have one big happy family.

    Reply
  21. Katie says

    January 19, 2016 at 8:25 am

    You’ve done extremely well to get to this stage! Most, if not all cat owners will understand how it can get with cats meeting new cats, these things take time and time you are clearly giving these beautiful cats, which is great! I hope soon they can all enjoy quality time together.

    Reply
  22. Raven says

    January 19, 2016 at 11:26 pm

    Congratulations on making such progress on getting them all together.It’s not easy to get everyone comfortable and predictably stable. Keep up the good work …. slowly but surely…..hopefully they’ll make quicker progress now that they’ve had good interactions.

    Reply
  23. shadow says

    January 25, 2016 at 9:50 pm

    Yippie! Yay! Happy dance today!!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Home of the

KCC Adventure Team Logo
Get new posts by email:

Categories

Tabcat Pet Tracker

Footer

Copyright Notice

All images and content are copyrighted and may not be used or reproduced in whole or in part without written permission. Please contact us if you are interested in re-using any of our content.

Amazon Affiliate Disclosure

Kitty Cat Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases made through any Amazon links on our site. There is no cost to you, but these commissions help to keep our site up and running. Thanks for your support!

Privacy Policy

This web site may collect anonymous, general demographic information about you when you visit, click links, or leave comments. Read our privacy policy for details.

Copyright © 2022 Kitty Cat Chronicles