Hi Sherry,
Thanks again for your informative post. I'm very aware that I need to have more patience, which was the reason for admittance of my behavior.
Here's an update:
So, we decided switching rooms would be something we should try. We had a Vet appointment Saturday morning for her, and felt that coming home from the vet would be the perfect time because she would already be in the carrier and wouldn't get startled from being handled and brought all the way down stairs. Well, I'm not sure if she felt better because she was closer to our living areas instead of a strange, stimulusless bedroom upstairs, but what a world of a difference. The two were playing together. Occasionally they would get really aggressive and Pixel would run away from Iso. Iso would chase her down and they'd fight again. Then I'd say 'no!' pick Iso up gently and place her somewhere else, and Pixel would then run after Iso. Pixel has started to stand her ground against Iso much better now, and even hisses and growls when she's playing with her mouse toy. Previously she would just run away and cower.
Caitlin's parent's came over and Pixel was much less apprehensive. There was hammering and drilling going on, and she was still there, right in the action. She is still very hesitant to let me touch her, and still hides until she sees who is walking into the room. We have been keeping her in our master bathroom during the day, and today I had to go back in to check something, so I said hi really quickly, and she rubbed her face on my hand.
Again, she's not completely comfortable, and i have to keep reminding myself of that and to be cognizant of that, but the progress we made over the weekend has helped me out tremendously. As it is, I was hoping for a cuddly bengal, but Iso will fill that role. Before bed last night, Pixel was laying in the cat tree in our bedroom and Iso was sleeping on Caitlin's lap while we were watching TV.
We were going to let them sleep in the same room because we thought they were both tired, but they immediately started playing, so we separated them back into their safe rooms.
All in all, this is quite a learning experience. But I am holding onto hope that Pixel will come around, and there is some evidence of that.
Thanks for all your guidance. We will continue to provide updates. I'll upload a few more photos when I get home from work.
:)
|