I'm usually a pretty good faller, but I was operating on stress and very little sleep. I will practice when I am healed!

Seska, I agree with Zen. That seems like a totally unrealistic time-frame for letting an outdoor cat adjust to a new place; I, too, would think that the cat would just start heading back to Home, since the new place wouldn't be Home yet.

He doesn't want Merlin - he's leaving the country. He wants to make sure Merlin's successfully rehomed before he leaves, but that's in two weeks, and no one else wants him. Not even the local shelters (all very full) were willing to take an 11-year old cat. Very worried he's going to end up being put down. Surely a few weeks of not being well-adjusted here is better, since we're prepared to put in whatever work is necessary to make sure he settles in eventually.

Um, yeah, Seska. He'd better not make me fly overseas to cluestick him with my EVIL HAND.

Given some of the horrible things people have done to animals they've taken in, I can understand him wanting to be sure Merlin is being treated well and has a chance of adapting before he leaves, honestly. We all want to think that we are the people we know aren't the problem but the problem exists. He might want to see more progress than can really be offered at this point but I don't think he's a total bad person here.

Cass, of course - I don't think that. It was his mum's cat, after all. I just wish he had more time so we could make a more fair assessment of how it's going. Hopefully we can show him we'll do everything possible to make it work.

We've just put the other two cats in the kitchen (with access to the garden) and given Merlin the rest of the house to roam in, and gone to bed early, so he can have a chance to come out. I really hope he does. He has to be very hungry by now.

It takes many cats a while to adjust; I didn't think Gimlet would get used to Cosmo when I brought Cosmo home, but she did, after about 2-3 weeks. But I sincerely thought I might have to find Cosmo another home for a while.

Is new kitty chipped?

No, not chipped yet. Again, we told the guy we'd prefer to wait till he's chipped before letting him out, but he doesn't see the point. I have an old tag from one of Milo's old collars that has our phone number on. We can put that on Merlin's collar, if he insists on letting him out on Thurs.

Hrm. Seems like he wants to make a lot of decisions for people doing him a true solid. I understand worry and wanting to provide a good environment for kitty, but dude...

It may take longer than 2 weeks for Merlin to get adjusted to his new home.

When I moved in with Mom and we were bringing Maddie and Dean into her cat's territory we did it rather gradually.

First Maddie and Dean were based in the bedroom and Vien (her cat) got the run of the house as normal. He was an indoor/outdoor cat, so when he was outside we'd let Dean and Maddie out. And when before he came inside they'd go back in my bedroom. That way they could smell all the different cat smells without seeing each other.

Then we let either Maddie or Dean out for brier periods of time with Vien to see how they went together. Then we let them loose to be together.

But when I brought Penny into the household with Dean I shortened the introduction time. But Penny had been in the apartment before and she and Dean hadn't hissed at each other.

We kept Gracie inside four a good three weeks when my dad moved, while she yowled and scratched at the door. And that was just a new locale, not different people or new animals.