The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
Introducing a new cat to an old cat
Peen
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
We have a 5ish year old girl cat. We had two cats until last July when our other cat got super sick and we had to put him down, so she's not a stranger to having other cats around. We thought we'd get another cat so we picked out a 10 month old girl from a local shelter and adopted her and so far they are getting along 0%. We didn't introduce them face to face until 4 days in and we've kept them separated during the day but have tried to leave all of the doors open at night and they've had a big fight that we've had to break up every night. It's a week that we've had the second cat today and not only are they still hissing at each other but new cat scratched my wife when she tried to give her some attention.
Do we need to give it more time? Is cat #2 just a bad fit?
Do we need to give it more time? Is cat #2 just a bad fit?
0
Posts
Nintendo ID: Pastalonius
Smite\LoL:Gremlidin \ WoW & Overwatch & Hots: Gremlidin#1734
3ds: 3282-2248-0453
No promises tho.
Give them two litter boxes well away from each other so they don't have to compete on that. It's surprisingly important to cats.
And it's very possible that they'll never get along.
In addition, one of his early episodes had a cat that, by temperament, was rambunctious, which required that the owners play and walk the cat for about 30-45 minutes, each day, in order to get the cat tired, which was the secret to getting the cat to stop attacking their other cat.
At first it was a lot of fight breaking up and at night, or when I wasn't around, I'd keep them separated. It's been two years but old cat tolerates new cat now. They probably will never cuddle but they definitely play every day. Every once in a while she'll give him a hiss and a swat to let him know she isn't in the mood.
TLDR; Keep at it, it takes diligence.
what they did was build a door size screen and kept them seperated through that so they could smell each other.
Yeah, I find that most cats prefer "alone" to "unrelated cat." People anthropomorphize them by assuming they need a playmate or they will be sad, which, I find, is not true. They do like cats that are related to them, but IMHO they'd prefer to be on their own if that is not available. Human company is enough for them, unless you work 12 hours a day and are never home, in which case getting a cat is probably a bad idea. You do need to do a bit more to play with them - drag a string around or roll a ball for them to pounce on.
we used to have play dates for our one cat, but the second hates other cats and would much rather have a dog friend
When you do the smell swapping thing, make sure you rub the item along the cheeks, where cats tend to rub their faces against your fingers and such. That's a pheromone related spot for cats. I've had the best luck using a small blanket or towel, and placing that towel under the other cat's food dish when they get fed. It helps them associate the scent of the other cat with the pleasant activity of being fed.
You could also try a pheromone relaxant spray or collar, but I can't make any claims about their efficacy.
This is more or less the ideal meeting mechanism, because they can see and smell each other without touching. A glass barrier or a very narrowly cracked door is better than nothing. Whenever they are to meet without a barrier, have blankets on hand to wrap them up in. Never try to separate them bare-handed.
Understand that getting along may simply never happen and that when mixing cats, "disdainful tolerance" is considered a win.
The problem arises when one of the cats dies, as happened to the OP. Do you get another cat, or do you let the cat be alone? I find that cats are not as unhappy to be alone as you would suppose.