Since his first vet appointment, Bram has been microchipped and registered, and an appointment has been made for his neuter. The office has been turned into a makeshift room for Bram. He’s been in seclusion from the other pets until his two week quarantine following his initial vet visit is over. Don’t feel too sorry for him, he’s in a climate-controlled environment and has all the feline necessities including a bed, scratching post, and litterbox. He even has a new flatscreen!

We have been keeping him company in his room and occupied with a variety of toys. He is friendly but has too much interest in playing with human hands. That is something we’ll need to address. The resident cats have patrolled the hallway outside of his door a few times. They know he is in the room, but at least no one is incessantly hanging out by the door. They all know the drill, whatever is in the room will come out eventually. Bram has seen Tiger twice. The first time was when we carried Bram into the room by way of cat carrier. Bram hissed at Tiger from behind the metal door, but that was it. They also saw each other briefly when the office door was opened.

After the isolation period, it was time to start the integration process. This can take a while considering the number of critters residing in the house. As long as this process takes all the time it needs, and isn’t rushed, things tend to work out. Before we added any animals to the mix, we let Bram have the run of the house solo so he could get the lay of the land before meeting his housemates. He was able to locate the bowls, litterboxes, and scratching posts.

From there we continued integration in stages, from the easiest pet to the most difficult. We decided to let Bram out only when the dogs were out. Once he was acclimated to them, we introduced him to Vlad and Barnabas, and then finally the oldest cats Tiger and Tiki. It took a few weeks, but it seems to be going well.

When Moose and Red were younger and prone to chasing, we crated them when introducing new cats. In Bram’s case, we left him out when the dogs were sleeping on the couch. He jumped on the couch with the boys and sniffed them. No problems there. On another occasion, we let Bram out with the boys when they were awake. They were walking around, and Red was barking. Bram wasn’t bothered by them. The dogs don’t see well, but I’m sure Bram has a different scent from the other cats.

After a couple weeks we added Vlad and Barnes. Barnes hissed and wasn’t the welcoming brother I expected him to be. Vlad wanted to play with Bram, but he was unsure at first. I’m happy that both seem to get along with him now.

Finally, we added the two older cats. Tiger took to him right away, which surprised me because he was the one I was most worried about. Tiki isn’t thrilled but tolerates him as long as he doesn’t get too close. She is like that with the others anyway, so it’s good to see she treats her new brother like the others.

Bram is now out of his room full time. He’s happy to have the run of the house, and I am happy to have my office back. Training cats to stay away from doors is an ongoing process when you have one that has previously been outside. So far Bram has shown little interest in being a door darter. Everyone gets along reasonably well. There is no hissing or chasing, which are all signs that the integration is heading in the right direction. We’re happy we decided to take a chance with the little guy.

I’m pleased to report that since the above was written, Bram has been neutered and there is household harmony among the fur kids. (Human hands are safe, too).