Need help from owners of more than one CAT!

[pjlla]

We have an adult cat, Olivia that we picked up as a stray about 4 years ago. She is very sweet, we love her and she loves us.

Another stray appeared in our neighborhood about August. Actually, a whole family appeared (mom, dad, and baby kitten). Dad was the victim of a "hit and run" Halloween night, and another neighbor has taken in the kitten. But that left poor Momma Cat outdoors. A friend and I have been calling shelters to find Momma a home, but have had no luck. I finally took her in the other night before the big storm. She is living in a room in my basement. She is warm and safe and fed.

This new kitty (we are calling her LUCKY) is very sweet and loving. Purring, cuddly and all. We would LOVE to keep her, but here is the big question....

How do you integrate a new adult cat into an existing cat family?? Olivia did get downstairs and the two cats were hissing at each other through the door. I grabbed Olivia by the scruff of her neck (so I wouldn't get clawed)and hauled her back up stairs, but she was PISSED! She didn't settle down for about 30 minutes.

We DON'T want to alienate Olivia or make her feel unloved or end up with her running away. But I can't see just letting them get together in a room and ending up with a huge CAT FIGHT in the middle of my house!! If we can't find a way to have them living together HAPPILY, then I will need to find a home for Lucky.

Any suggestions?....................P

 

[MsLeFever]

When we got our second adopted stray our first cat was pretty put out. They hissed and spit at each other but rarely actually exchanged blows. Then they just got over it. Good Luck!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Happily may be too much to ask for but more than likely they will be able to co-exist in peace. But, your going to have the hissing for awhile till they get used to each other.

I don't have any tips, we've just brought the cat in and they get used to each other. We do have one cat who is still jealous of the kitten but they keep a wide berth from each other.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I don't have experience bringing an adult cat into a household with another cat, but I have integrated kittens into a household with cats. Some of those kittens were real young and others half grown. In September we added two 4-5 month old kittens to our 2 cat, 2 dog household.

Keep the cats totally apart for at least a week. Besides helping the cats to gradually adjust, it will also means that Lucky won't be passing a virus to your existing kitty. You can also check well for fleas, etc. After at least a week (or longer if your car still seems upset) you can allow them contact from under the door. Expect some hissing--if it gets too nasty then bring the Olivia back upstairs. Give her a cat treat, especially if she isn't hissing. Do this until the hissing is better. This allows them to get used to each other without face to face contact. When you do eventually let them have face to face contact, limit the time and separate if there is too much aggression. Some hissing is normal and one of our cats still hisses at the kittens if the kittens get too wild (this morning Venus was chasing Belle, and Belle was a bit put out about that LOL).

I gave treats to our cats whenever they didn't hiss at the kittens. Didn't take long for Tigger to adjust. He now loves the kittens and Belle is ok with them--doesn't love them, but in general doesn't get too upset.

Play with the cats, give them toys, etc. I think one thing that really helped Tigger was the fact that he got played with more with kittens in the house than he did before. The best part for Belle is that now the dog has kittens to chase besides just her.

Before the face to face introduction, switch their bedding so they can really get a good smell of the other cat. Then switch back before the introduction. I did this with all our bedding--the kittens, cats, and the dogs.

I've also heard that a person should put a little perfume on the back of the neck of each animal before introducing them. That way they all smell the same.

Good luck and chances are good that they will adjust to each other even if they don't become buddies. Don't let the hissing at the beginning bother you too much. It's normal.

Many years ago when we brought a kitten home to our 2 cats (this is ouor "first round" of cats), we didn't know about gradual introductions and I thought one of our cats was going to kill that kitten. We did separate when we weren't there, but let them be together when we were home and it was pretty nasty at first. They adjusted and had many happy years together.

Oh, make sure that you keep at least 2 litterboxes so they don't have to share.

 

[pjlla]

Thanks so much for the helpful suggestions. I will buy some cat treats today. Olivia is about 10 yrs old, so she is well past the "playing with" stage, but maybe she would appreciate an extra brushing attention. I plan on bringing Lucky to the vet next week to get checked out. She appears clean (no visible fleas or earmites and no visible worm issues), but I definitely know about cats transmitting viruses to each other, so no hugs and kisses for them until they Lucky gets a clean bill of health. I will continue to try to find a home for Lucky. I even told DD if one of her friends seems interested that I would be willing to pay for the vet bill and shots if someone was willing to give Lucky a good home. Thanks again for the advise................P

 

[bicker]

One thing that seems to help is if neither cat is a calico. They seem not to get along with others in stressful situations.

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I just wanted to say thanks for taking Lucky in even if it's just temporary. I have two cats myself, but they were both adopted together since they had been around each other since they were born.

 

[gradtchr]

We introduced Pooh (our new cat) to Simba very slowly. We kept Pooh closed up in our bedroom for two days and let them get used to each others scent. When we finally allowed Simba in he hissed and spit and growled at Pooh but kept his distance. Pooh just looked at him. For two weeks whenever Pooh came near Simba he would hiss and growl (of course this was only when we were around) I was home from work one day and Simba had forgotten I was there and I went into the room where both cats were and they were sleeping head to head. I called out Simba's name and he woke up looked at me stretched stood up looked started looked at pooh looked back at me back at pooh and he hissed. The jig was up though and that was the last hissing time with them they are best buddies now.

My advice is go slow and know that hissing will occur but it does come to an end at some point.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I was home from work one day and Simba had forgotten I was there and I went into the room where both cats were and they were sleeping head to head. I called out Simba's name and he woke up looked at me stretched stood up looked started looked at pooh looked back at me back at pooh and he hissed. The jig was up though and that was the last hissing time with them they are best buddies now.

LOL I have caught Belle grooming the kittens. She would do it more often if they would stay still, but being kittens they don't do that often.

 

[Virgo10]

First off, thank you for taking this poor cat inside!

Before you do any introductions I have to ask if you've had the stray Vet checked. Where I lived in Massachusetts, feline AIDS was a terrible problem. Please be sure that the new kitty doesn't have that or Feline Leukemia. You probably already knew that but I just wanted to mention it.

Well I have 16 cats and only 2 are related. What I found that worked the best was a gradual supervised introductions over days, and in some cases, weeks. It seemed to depend on the cat. A few were pretty laid back and non aggressive so the introductions went smoothly. Others wanted to establish their seniority right away and that's always a recipe for conflict.

Cats seem to identify house mates by scent. Once the cat has been in the home for a while, the others won't perceive it as an outsider.

Until I was absolutely sure a new animal was accepted, I never left them unattended. Now the 16 get along splendidly... at least most of the time. Like with kids, there are always a few squabbles from time to time but nothing serious.

Here are my kitties if you'd like to take a look.

All My Cats

 

[pjlla]

Virgo10.... did they all make the move to FL with you? You're brave!

Thanks again to all who have offered advise. I will be calling the vet tomorrow to get Lucky checked before I "formally" introduce her to Olivia. I bought a jar of treats today to help ease them both during this time of "transition". The kids are already attached to Lucky, so she may be a keeper, but I am still going to look around for a home for her, at least for now.........P

 

[pjlla]

Well, to those of you who offered your suggestions before... an update. Lucky received a clean bill of health last Thursday. So we have been letting her upstairs and putting Olivia in the basement.... figured they would smell each other in these places. We have put them in the same room, but it just results in hissing and one of them running away. We currently have them both upstairs, but they are avoiding each other. I will separate them before we leave for church (I can just see them fighting while we are gone and knocking down the Christmas tree!!). So far, so good, I guess. Thanks again for the helpful suggestions.........P

 

[Stitchfans]

I have 3 cats. We brought Missy into our home when she was about 6. Jasmine and Bambi were a few years older. Yes there was a lot of hissing and even some hair flying. No one ever got hurt though, just tempers up. To this day I am afraid to say and this is 4 years later Missy and Bambi still get into it once in a while. They never did get to like each other. Jasmine, the oldest on the other hand doesn't get involved or seem to care. Once in a great while Missy will chase Jasmine then Bambi gets involved saving her sister. Just thought I would tell you about my experience. No real advice I guess.

I hope for Lucky's sake they can and will get used to each other and get along. Good luck.

 

[Robinrs]

I've had multi cat households for over 20 years so I totally understand. Your vet will give you the best advice, much like the others here have said.

Also, understand that cats have different personalities just like people. I had two cats who NEVER got along, mostly because Raven, the girl who was there first, just totally refused to accept Rambo, the kitten we took in. They lived together for 15 years and Raven NEVER liked him.

Rambo, on the other hand, wanted to be a friend to her soooo badly. When Raven died we brought in two kitties that Rambo just LOVED. He was 15yo and he took to them immediately! The little boy and him actually ran together all day and night. The little girl tried to keep up with them but it was impossible! The boy was my niece's cat that we kept till she came to get him but we kept the girl, Xena. Xena and Rambo coexisted but were not real buddies.

Then we brought in another homeless kitty, Aaliyah. Aaliyah took to both of them because she was very needy. Xena played the role of her mother, Rambo her dad. Rambo, 17, eventually passed and there was only Xena and Aaliyah, two very sweet confident kitties who got along very well.

Then we found an abandoned full grown cat at the Humane Society, Max. Max was a sad, formerly abused animal, but VERY loveable. I kept him in a room for 2 weeks but Aaliyah would play footsie with him under the door. She formed an instant companionship with Max, both are black and sometimes you couldn't tell where one ended and the other began, they became so close.

Then we got MEEKO!

Meeko was a lost Ragdoll kitten that took it upon himself to walk into our house! Max stared at him Xena hissed at him and Aaliyah ran screaming. No matter, Meeko made himself at home.

To make a LONG story short, they will respond according to their personalities. To this day Aaliyah still runs from Meeko, Meeko still thinks he owns the place, and Xena and Max are the Mom and Dad of the home. In short, they and YOU will survive!

God bless,

Robinrs

 

[susan1]

hi
i have to say when my second cat arrived it was about a year old, the first one was about 2yrs, i left them to get on with it. they were both there to stay so they had to make the best of it. i couldnt be there 24hrs a day to intervene. i am sorry if this offends but they are cats not kids!

 

[Virgo10]

Virgo10.... did they all make the move to FL with you? You're brave!

Yes they did. My son and step son drove all 16 cats down here. It took them 28 hours. The cats are fine but I'm not sure that the guys will ever be the same!

Great news on the clean bill of health by the way. It was strange but all the stray/throw away cats we got up in Massachusetts that were female were fine. The males all had either FIV or Feline Leukemia.I guess it has something to do with the amount of fighting they do. Very, very sad! All but one of the males we fed and sheltered outside wouldn't let me near them. Then a cat we ended up calling Dad Cat started hanging around my house.

I never saw a cat quite like him. He would follow me around when I was outside and, if I was gardening, just lay there watching me. It wasn't long before I knew I wanted him as part of the family. Then the bad news. He was FIV positive.

While some people have introduced cats with this illness into a house with healthy cats, I just couldn't do it. In the mean time we were getting ready to move to Florida and I was frantic trying to find someone who would adopt him. Would there be anyone who could see past his age and illness to the amazing creature he was?

Thanks to Craigs List, a woman right near where I lived contacted me. She was a member of a group that goes out and spay/neuters strays. The day before we left for Florida she adopted Dad. Her intent was to find a home for him but the last time I heard from her, Dad was still living in her house.

Robinrs, I loved your cats' story. It's so true that they all have different personalities.

 

[taximomfor4]

We were advised to put the new cat in a room with the door shut. The new cat and our old cat could sniff each other all day through the door. Then, after a week, we put the new cat in the main area of the house in a big dog cage. Food, litter box, and all. The cats could then see AND sniff each other all day long. Eventually, after maybe another week, we opened up the cage door. The new cat would run back in there for security sometimes for a few days, but then didn't need to anymore. It's a shame you don't live closer...I would give you our cage. Anyway, you might not need it. Sometimes cats won't learn to LIKE each other, but they often will learn to put up with each other.