Introducing cat no. 5

Mammycat1

Hi i have recently found an abandoned about 5 month old unneutered male kitten. Currently living in shed but have brought him indoors a few times just to gradually introduce him to others. three of the cats arent too bothered but two are, they are the most dominant ones who tend to sit on me :-). Their reaction is disgust, fear and running out of the house. I hate upsetting them all, only had a new addition last year whose just about accepted. My biggest fear is of one if them running away :-( has anyone else successfully introduced new cats into multi cat households and have any tips or tricks for doing this well. Looking for personal experience as opposed to whats online on cat sites, have read those and plenty of common sense which i shall try to apply but would appreciate any other advice or tips from those who've been there. BTW i have advertised him as found cat on local website but dont hold out much hope of an owner responding, the poor mite was probably dumped as were all of my other little ones.

zoe 3619

We took on a third cat about two weeks ago.got her settled in a room the other cats don't really use much,with litter tray,food and water.our original two cats like to hang out in the living room,so new cat is cosy in the bedroom,giving her time to settle in and get used to the place,while avoiding confrontation.theyve had a chance to get used to the smell of each other,and after a few days started meeting on the stairs etc.hissed at each other a couple of times to begin with,but they have separate territories within the house,so didn't seem to feel to threatened by each other.they've stopped hissing at each other now,and instead they're sniffing at each other(slightly suspiciously).I'm confident it'll work out between the three of them.guess the trick is to let them get used to the smell and sight of the new cat without thrusting it in their faces.hope all works out.

Nody

Our latest foster cat (Maya, 2 year old female weight in at 2.6kg when we got her) spent 6 weeks in a closed in room (medical issues with worms in her lungs which required heavy medication to kill off) before the rest of the crew was allowed in (no possibility to swap spaces due to the medical issues as everything was to be sterilized daily). Honestly it was the smoothest integration I've ever done as by the end of those 6 weeks (only occasional peak when the door was opened for someone to enter/leave) not a single one of our cat had a bother about her. Sure, some sniffing around the tail but no hissing or anything and integrated from day 1 as the door opened. Normally we'd do 1 to 2 week integrations but in terms of smooth sailing that was about as smooth as it could be. In your case if possible I'd aim for something similar; after two or three weeks (and assuming vet clearance regarding health & shots) to introduce one by one the bolder cats in there for brief 5 to 10 min stints and then out again and slowly expand the room swapping with the usual food served at the door etc.

Irish Stones

A bit off-topic here, but I would like to focus your attention to the fact that any new cat, especially a cat coming from unknown places, could be a potential carrier of diseases.
Before introducing a new cat in a house where other (healthy) cats live one should be as sure as possible that this new cat is healthy as well.

As for your question, I'm the last person who can talk... I introduced a new cat to my only cat 13 years ago and they haven't come to a deal yet