Nearly two years....

In October, 2011 we brought Lilly into the house. Moki didn't want a new cat and made that very clear, trying in every way to make Lilly leave.  We consulted with a veterinary behavior specialist and a cat behavior specialist.  The vet met Moki, but in his office about three hours drive from here.  The cat behaviorist was all the way on the West Coast and only had our word for what happened when Moki would see Lilly.  We have tried drugs, natural remedies, and behavior modification techniques.

But today we had a consultation with a local Animal Communicator.  Norris is not sure she was actually talking with Moki, Lilly and Lu, but she did work with us and with the cats and while she was here, we had Moki out and about on her own in the house, with Lilly on a leash to keep her from getting into trouble with Moki.

Norris is in the foreground, with just Lilly's ears and the top of her head visible. Moki can be seen at the opposite end of the room, lounging, but not relaxed as Kathy explains what behavior we are asking of her.  Kathy used her body to make sure Moki did not have a straight path to Lilly. 

A few moments later, Kathy stepped back into the house. Now you can see just Moki, Norris and Lilly.

When Moki started to look like she wanted to rush Lilly, Kathy went back out on the porch to remind her what we were asking.  All went well.  Here's a shot from a little later, as the scene shifted back in the house.  Again, Lilly looks pretty relaxed, and though Moki is not relaxed, she's not attacking and there's no one actually between her and Lilly.

Norris is just to the right though and can snatch up Lilly if need be.


Kathy left us with instructions to keep up these introductory meetings several times a day, with a few bits of advice on how to proceed through the week.  We had all three cats upstairs this evening for dinner, which went very well.  Moki finished hers, and went back toward the bedroom to wash her whiskers.  Lilly and I stepped out on the porch.  Moki came out a few minutes later.

This is real progress - just to prove it, here's another photo where I'm not even looking at Moki and she's staying in her meatloaf position, though she's keeping an eye on Lilly.

We have worked a long time to get to this point. Unfortunately, things did not continue to go perfectly.  A few minutes after Norris took this photo, Lilly was getting bored and thought she'd sneak off into the house, going behind the gas grill.  I thought we'd be ok. but Norris was watching Moki, who got upset when she couldn't see Lilly, and quickly went around the other way to head Lilly off.  She started hissing and batting. Lilly got upset too, but using the leash I swooped her up and carried her away from the scene.  Moki had a few minutes to calm down before we put her in the carrier to take her back to "her" space (my studio) to cool off for a while. 

We'll keep trying!