Hello everyone,
I am new here. I have found so many useful tidbits of info on these forums, but recently I've searched for similar situations and haven't been able to find the information I am looking for, so I thought I would go ahead and make a post.
I adopted a 6 mos old male cat (black) from the humane society in Sept 2017. He is an angel, the strong and silent type. He isn't super cuddly, but enjoys a quiet lap, plays, loves treats, follows me around the apartment. I moved into a bigger apartment recently (June 2018) and adopted another cat (humane society giving them away...too many to care for
. I made a cash donation and rescued the one that had been there the longest). She's about 2 years old (dilute tortie) and he is now about 1 1/2 years old. The introductory period was truly stress-free and went without a hitch. I kept the new female cat in the bathroom for 2-3 days, while my male went about his normal life. I fed them close to the door so they would smell each other. On day 2 they started touching paws from underneath the door. On day 3 or 4 I opened the bathroom door, but set up a baby gate. She was meowing to see him. He came and smelled her through the gate and walked away, uninterested almost. So since I hadn't heard a single hiss in days I decided I would remove the baby gate. She immediately started exploring. He followed her around. A few hisses here and there, but they were immediately playing. By one week they were snuggled together on the couch. It's life true love...big spoon and little spoon. Their relationship is interesting. I can't tell who is alpha. She is bold and playful. She'll entertain herself with a toy mouse and he just watches her. He's mellow and lazy, but gets a wild hair sometimes. She copies his behaviors a lot and likes to follow him around. If they nap separately, eventually she'll wake up and go snuggle up to him somewhere. She's the annoying little sister he never really asked for it seems.
There have been no real issues with toys, feeding time, water bowls, treats, or litter pan. He eats slower, so I feed him up higher otherwise she'll go for his food. He'd let her. He also will eat from her bowl at times and she lets him. However, I observe some interesting behavior that I don't really know how to interpret. When the male uses the litter pan in the laundry room, she lingers nearby outside the laundry room. Sometimes as he exits the laundry room she will charge at him (seems playful - ears forward, no hissing, tail in a relaxed position). She never does anything. It almost reminds me of when humans wait outside a door and try and scare someone when they come out. Am I misunderstanding this behavior and is she actually bullying him? Also, he just saunters by her. She will immediately go use the litter pan after he does though. Is she marking her territory or is this just her being his little shadow?
Thanks for your input. It's so difficult to interpret some cat behavior sometimes.
I am new here. I have found so many useful tidbits of info on these forums, but recently I've searched for similar situations and haven't been able to find the information I am looking for, so I thought I would go ahead and make a post.
I adopted a 6 mos old male cat (black) from the humane society in Sept 2017. He is an angel, the strong and silent type. He isn't super cuddly, but enjoys a quiet lap, plays, loves treats, follows me around the apartment. I moved into a bigger apartment recently (June 2018) and adopted another cat (humane society giving them away...too many to care for
. I made a cash donation and rescued the one that had been there the longest). She's about 2 years old (dilute tortie) and he is now about 1 1/2 years old. The introductory period was truly stress-free and went without a hitch. I kept the new female cat in the bathroom for 2-3 days, while my male went about his normal life. I fed them close to the door so they would smell each other. On day 2 they started touching paws from underneath the door. On day 3 or 4 I opened the bathroom door, but set up a baby gate. She was meowing to see him. He came and smelled her through the gate and walked away, uninterested almost. So since I hadn't heard a single hiss in days I decided I would remove the baby gate. She immediately started exploring. He followed her around. A few hisses here and there, but they were immediately playing. By one week they were snuggled together on the couch. It's life true love...big spoon and little spoon. Their relationship is interesting. I can't tell who is alpha. She is bold and playful. She'll entertain herself with a toy mouse and he just watches her. He's mellow and lazy, but gets a wild hair sometimes. She copies his behaviors a lot and likes to follow him around. If they nap separately, eventually she'll wake up and go snuggle up to him somewhere. She's the annoying little sister he never really asked for it seems.There have been no real issues with toys, feeding time, water bowls, treats, or litter pan. He eats slower, so I feed him up higher otherwise she'll go for his food. He'd let her. He also will eat from her bowl at times and she lets him. However, I observe some interesting behavior that I don't really know how to interpret. When the male uses the litter pan in the laundry room, she lingers nearby outside the laundry room. Sometimes as he exits the laundry room she will charge at him (seems playful - ears forward, no hissing, tail in a relaxed position). She never does anything. It almost reminds me of when humans wait outside a door and try and scare someone when they come out. Am I misunderstanding this behavior and is she actually bullying him? Also, he just saunters by her. She will immediately go use the litter pan after he does though. Is she marking her territory or is this just her being his little shadow?
Thanks for your input. It's so difficult to interpret some cat behavior sometimes.
