Introducing two cats

MrWalsh

So, this popped up from another thread I answered in.

Just thought Id see if anyone had any further advice.

Cat 1 was a neighbours cat who was abandoned, at the same time we started taking care of her so did some other neighbours so she shares her time between us both, and we put a cat flap in so she can always come indoors and we have agreed feeding schedules. I did think she was about 6 or 7 but she could be older. She isnt friendly or affectionate really and she hates all other cats.

Cat 2 we found on the street with kittens before xmas and then took her in, got her neutered, vaccinated etc... Within a week we knew we wanted to keep her so we made a start on the slow intros - beginning with scent and site swapping and then moving onto "peeps". She is only a year or so old and much livelier than Cat 1.

The problem really is, that anywhere we read about it talks in terms of progression to move to the next stage but we seem stuck at the same place for ages now!!

We have tried the Feliway and no joy with it at all. We have them both on the Calm food - which did help a lot initially.

These days we have 2 baby gates up covering a whole doorway in the apartment, and Cat 1 lives in the front, with Cat 2 out the back. When we let them see each other through the baby gate there are a couple of different ways it goes. If either cat is surprised by the other at the gate there is usually a full on attack at the gate, mostly by Cat 2, with Cat 1 moving far enough back to be out of the kill zone but still watching - sometimes Cat 1 leaves when this happens. Sometimes when we control them seeing each other more such that one cat is sitting further back when we allow them to see each other, Cat 1 hisses and gives death stare and Cat 2 alternates between miaowing, pacing back and forth, tries to climb over the gates etc...
Sometimes they both just refuse to look at each other and walk away.

Our fear is that Cat 1 will get hurt if they fight and/or stop coming to us at all - which we would feel really guilty about. I also dont want her stressed out and/or getting bullied - it already happens that neighbourhood cats bully her and she can get very anxious about it.

We havent put them in the same room yet - as all the instructions say to wait until they are grand with the peeps before doing that!

Cat 2 gets to go outside now so Im kind of hoping they meet and settle their differences outside. But just 2 nights ago Cat 1 walked up to the back window and Cat 2 attacked the window furiously so I despair of them learning to live together at all!!

morgana

We actually had similar problems introducing a new kitten to our 2 resident middle aged cats. Not as bad, but the resident cats would avoid kitten and not engage at all or get hissy fits (kitten of course was unperturbed and tried to chase them with no concern.

We had a strict separation policy with elaborate contraptions to keep them apart for 3 months. What finally resolved the situation was having them meet outside.

Suddenly the eldest cat engaged and told kitten in no uncertain terms that she wasn't having it. Kitten learned catiquette pretty fast and then things got better daily and we were able to remove any barriers in the house about 2 weeks later (one week to make absolutely sure they weren't doing any harm).

Kitten (no longer kitten but almost 1 3/4 years old) and eldest cat get along pretty good (kitten certainly is infatuated with her :P) and the other cat and kitten mostly ignore each other with occasional hisses from him but also some sign of kinship (nose greeting).

SO we had 3 difficult months where thought more than once OMG what have we done! - but happily it all worked out in the end and a lot of patience. We had Feliway for a while as well and it certainly hleped to restore the confidence of the eldest cat.

MrWalsh

morgana wrote: »

We had a strict separation policy with elaborate contraptions to keep them apart for 3 months. What finally resolved the situation was having them meet outside.

How did you organise this Morgana?

Cat 1 goes in and out the front door and Cat 2 goes in and out the back door. We have seen them encounter each other out the back but to be honest, Cat 1 legged it as soon as she was spotted so there wasnt any proper interaction.

Ive tried to bring Cat 1 round the back and then let Cat 2 out but Cat 1 just keeps legging it - I dont have my own garden, theyre communal gardens of apartments so Cat 1 just runs off round the front when she wants to.

morgana

Well, we bought one of those door-sized timber trellises and put clear plastic sheeting over it. Attached it to the door frame by putting a hook on top door frame and a hoop (cable tie) on the trellis. Opened and closed almost like a door, we kept it closed by putting a door stopper on the other side when kitten got too adventurous. She climbed it many time before giving up as it actually stopped her from getting out.
It helped as they cats could see each other but not touch !

And outside, well we only have one cat flap, which our resident cats have been using all along (kitten was either in one room or with us in the living room with the trellis attach to keep the other 2 out.

When we allowed kitten outside (under supervision with the kitchen door open) she was initially wary and shot back inside quickly. The other two were hanging out near and watched.

Can't remember exactly how it happened, but at one of those occasions the eldest cat was near and kitten came close, so she got some clear hisses and tabs. So she learned to kept a more respectful distance, and it all developed from there.
The hardest part was to get the residents to engage and not just avoid or go away.

Outside there seemed to have been more of an incentive to actually interact with the newcomer. I can imagine as encounters with other cats occasionally happen outside and is therefore a known situation. Whereas inside it had been their territory only and they weren't inclined to share initially.

Once contact had been made by the eldest cat, the other followed suit (i.e. by ignoring & avoiding kitten) and kitten had learned not to immediately shoot to any cat it sees to play :P

skallywag

The two cat conundrum is indeed a very interesting one, we've been dealing with it at home now in some form for the last 7 years or so. We've had many variations including brother & sister, mother and son, resident cat plus a stray arriving. After studying this carefully during the last years I can honestly say that it seems to be a system devoid of any logic nor rules, and there is very little that we can do to influence the outcome. In all cases you were never too far away from a potential flashpoint, with the mother and son combo being by far the worst, with the mother being forced into leaving eventually (she decided to move in with a neighbour). The brother and sister combo (with this sister being the subsequent mother who then moved out ...) probably worked the best, with the resident and stray being very unpredictable at times in that they can appear to be getting on very well (though the resident is clearly dominant, i.e. the 'stray' willl sit back and let him eat first, etc) but then all hell can break lose at 3am for no apparent reason. All in all I think that if one cat is clearly dominant and the other submissive then things tend to work out well.

MrWalsh

skallywag wrote: »

All in all I think that if one cat is clearly dominant and the other submissive then things tend to work out well.

I think the original cat is submissive, I often see her being bullied outside by neighbourhood cats, they will walk right up and literally pin her to her front door and just sit staring at her. She runs and hides when she can. I dont want her to be put under stress as it took a long time to get her comfortable after she was abandoned.

skallywag

True, an abandoned cat is a much more sensitive issue of course, not sure what your next course of action is there really. I guess you will have to just let them mix it up and hopefully they find a their own happy medium?

Our 'stray' as I called him rocked up about 18 months ago, and had a bit of gumption about him as he would come in the catflap and eat out our own cat's food at nighttime. I would imagine he left home of his own accord more than actually have being abandoned. He eventually has moved in with us completely, with our own lad now tolerating him as long as he get's his way on everything. The stray will always submit to him on everything, such as being hunted off our bed at night when he arrives, eating first, etc. But that said it seems to be me more the case of the stray being older and wiser I think, and just looking for the easy life, because he's double the size of the dominant lad at least and will give as good as he gets if the dominant lad actually goes as far as to give him a slap.

MrWalsh

Interesting. Our first cat outweighs the second one a lot and could easily put her in her place but the second one is street tough!