Introducing a new cat to another cat advice

--LOS--

Hello cat experts.......we have one lovely long-haired black cat at home, she's about 4-5 years old now. I am forever hounding them at home to get another cat as company for lonely Josie. We normally keep two cats at a time and generally have them for years. But when we only had one cat and then got Josie as a kitten (our current cat) as company for the existing one, the 2 never got along, the new one at the time, Josie, had no problem with the existing one, she was forever craving the attention of the other one but the original one shunned her, hated to be near her, fought with her etc. The old one just never took to having a new cat about even though it was just a kitten.

The old cat passed and Josie was left alone. I would love to have another cat for her as company but we're worried the same thing will happen and she wont take to it. I really don't know if this would happen or not since Josie was previously used to the other cat being around, was once a noobie herself :P and is quite a friendly cat. She does however have a hard time getting bullied by the cats next door and I feel if we had another cat this mightn't be such a problem for her.

So what do you lot think, it is likely Josie would not take to a new cat? Do cats only get along or are at least more likely to get along when they are new together? Have you found this has happened yourself? Is it more likely the existing cat would accept a new cat if the new one was as young as possible? Josie is a girl btw and we would probably only keep another girl cat. Appreciate your advice!

Shanao

Hi there, I've got six cats at the moment (four of my own, and two fosters) and to be honest, I've never had a problem bringing cats into the house with the original four, as we rescue and foster every now and again. Our newest fosters have been here a week now and after some growling/hissing for the first three days, they are now all fine with each other.

One thing I have noticed though is that it seems to be difficult to introduce a female to a female. Mind if i ask why you wouldn't consider a male? All of the males I've had are more affectionate and relaxed than any female cat we've had and even now we only have one female and three males of our own. Fosters are male and female and the male settled in much faster than the female; she still gives the odd growl now and again. Different sex pairs tend to get along much better in my experience.

If you're considering a rescue cat, then it might be an idea to temporarily foster and see how they get along together. All going well, you could adopt, otherwise you might have to try again.

--LOS--

Shanao wrote: »

Hi there, I've got six cats at the moment (four of my own, and two fosters) and to be honest, I've never had a problem bringing cats into the house with the original four, as we rescue and foster every now and again. Our newest fosters have been here a week now and after some growling/hissing for the first three days, they are now all fine with each other.

One thing I have noticed though is that it seems to be difficult to introduce a female to a female. Mind if i ask why you wouldn't consider a male? All of the males I've had are more affectionate and relaxed than any female cat we've had and even now we only have one female and three males of our own. Fosters are male and female and the male settled in much faster than the female; she still gives the odd growl now and again. Different sex pairs tend to get along much better in my experience.

If you're considering a rescue cat, then it might be an idea to temporarily foster and see how they get along together. All going well, you could adopt, otherwise you might have to try again.

I'm guessing in your situation your cats feel less of a threat to the new cat as there is already a few of them? I suspect it is different when a cat is used to being alone and then a new kitten/cat comes along? Our last cat pair never got along even though they were probably together at least a year before the older one passed.

It is my mother who is of the opinion that she doesnt want a male cat as they stray etc which I know is less of an issue once they're spayed. So maybe a male cat is a better solution. I would rather get a kitten regardless. We always get them from people who dont want them but never a formal foster as you describe. I never even knew about the possibility of adopting a cat and then returning it if the two cant get along but tbh I dont think I could do that, I really wouldnt want to have to do that.

Shanao

Our first was on his own for quite some time, and like I said, there was the initial growling for the first few days. Some cats just dont take well to company, like your old one didn't but it sounds like Josie would appreciate some company, especially when she wanted to get along with the older cat. A kitten would be better in this situation, and I really would consider a neutered male. If you are going to go the rescue route, then you could ask them about which cats they have are more easygoing and which ones get along better with company. They should be able to help you pick one out. You could also ask them for something with the kitten's scent on it to give it to Josie a few days in advance so the new scent wouldn't be so unfamiliar when the new arrival comes home.

--LOS--

Shanao wrote: »

Our first was on his own for quite some time, and like I said, there was the initial growling for the first few days. Some cats just dont take well to company, like your old one didn't but it sounds like Josie would appreciate some company, especially when she wanted to get along with the older cat. A kitten would be better in this situation, and I really would consider a neutered male. If you are going to go the rescue route, then you could ask them about which cats they have are more easygoing and which ones get along better with company. They should be able to help you pick one out. You could also ask them for something with the kitten's scent on it to give it to Josie a few days in advance so the new scent wouldn't be so unfamiliar when the new arrival comes home.

It could well have been just that particular cat before, we had to make such an effort to make a fuss of it so it wouldn't feel abandoned as it really detested being in the same room as the other cat and would stay out more etc. We dont want Josie to do a runner! :pac:

Those rescues sound great, I've no idea where there would be one local to me, my family are in meath but I'm living in Dublin so that is also an option. That's also a great idea about something with the kittens scent, even if we end up getting a kitten off someone in the area, that would be something worth trying.

dessierb

Let them slug it out. Pack mentality. It will work it self out.

--LOS--

dessierb wrote: »

Let them slug it out. Pack mentality. It will work it self out.

I'm afraid that's definitely not the case. It was not an issue of initial troubles, you would expect that for a while when a new cat is introduced. However the two were together a long time and remained enemies. Nothing changed.

Wisco

From what I've learned at talks from cat veterinary experts, cats often don't like being introduced to new cats once they're aged around 4 or over (apparently they are socially mature around age 3 or 4 and after that they don't like living with new cats).
What you may find is that they simply avoid each other- this is often how cats cope with having unwelcome strangers in the house (ie, if cat 1 enters a room, cat 2 will leave, or cat 1 spends most of it's time downstairs and cat 2 prefers the upstairs, etc, and they don't mix).
Perhaps you can try a new cat with the proviso that you can return it if the two cats don't get along?
This is what I've learned, but I personally don't have experience of multiple cats (I never plan to have more than 1 as mine really likes her space), so perhaps there are others on here who can share their own experiences.