3rd Kitty Integration Advice Needed

[Joolsy]

In July we took a 3rd rescue cat into our home, Lucas is a lovely black neutered tom around 3 years old, he was living outdoors with a gang of cats and had 3 kittens, I think he was probably pack leader and was neutered before he came to us. We have a female tortie Roxie aged 7 who is the boss of the entire house (humans included) and a 6 year old male Merlin mostly white with a black tail who is a total softie. Both Merlin and Roxie get along fine and play together (while she allows). We naively thought we could throw Lucas into the mix and everything would be fine. He was aggressive towards both and there were fights. So after 4 weeks of a separated household we got a large cage in the main living room and started from scratch. We covered the cage over, Feliway plug ins, Zylkene all round, cat nip spray all over the cage and slowly slowly pulled back the cover. We now have a situation where they all eat side by side (Lucas in the cage) and Merlin will go up to the cage and talk to Lucas and run past in play ... Roxie is more cautious but they all snooze happily in the same room and the aggression is much less as it stands. In the evening we get Lucas out on a lead and let him have a play with the toys in the room, however on a couple of occasions when he has got close to Roxie/Merlin there was aggression (no injuries just a lot of noise and fur flying). We try and give equal cuddles and play time but there is never a situation at the moment when they are allowed to meet unsupervised or off the lead. We have gotten into a routine with it all but we are now more than 3 months down the line and we are unsure what next steps we can take or how to allow Lucas time out of the cage and what to do if there are fights. We want there to be an integrated household. Rehoming is not an option he is the mostly cuddly adorable boy with me and my hubby, we won't give in, he's here to stay. Anyone got any thoughts on how we can get him out of the cage?? Thank you Jools x

 

[susanm9006]

When there have been fights, who is the aggressor? And, was their biteing or just slapping that went on? If it is one or both of the resident cats, I would try caging the aggressor(s) in the evenings and letting Lucas run free and interact with you and hopefully one of the other cats. He needs space and enough time without a harness to wear down some of his energy which may be affecting his aggression level. To go from an outdoor roaming cat to an indoor caged cat has to be stressful for him. Cage time also gives your resident cats more time to absorb his scent, smell his litterbox etc.

If there is minimal real fighting with one cat, then you can try all three. I would not harness any of them but keep a spray bottle or something to bang close in case you need to break up a fight. Hissing, growling and slapping are to be expected and you should let that happen.

 

[Joolsy]

Lucas has been the aggressor. With the fights there was biting but no injuries, they just roll around together and it is noisy. We don't keep him in the cage all the time, just during the day when I am working and some time in the evening after supper. He gets plenty of run around time outside of that in the upstairs. Thanks for the advice, will try the spray bottle or something to bang that sounds sensible and a good distraction. Thank you :-)

 

[danteshuman]

A sight blocker might help. I have found that blocking the sight can stop fights before they start. I have used a pillow (regular kind from a bed) and a blanket in a pinch. I would recommend a nice thick piece of poster board. If I was guessing I would say your female cat & your new cat are both claiming top cat status ... then clashing. I have also seen my two boys kinda gang up on the semi-feral when he enters my/their room. They won't start a fight but they do let him know he isn't welcome. You might try doing a space swap. Where the 2 cats are locked in a room while the new guy roams free around the house for a day or half a day, then switch. That way he can get his scent all over the place & own the house equally. Then in 2-4 weeks try supervised visits with a sight blocker & see how they do? Please tell us how things go?

 

[Joolsy]

A sight blocker might help. I have found that blocking the sight can stop fights before they start. I have used a pillow (regular kind from a bed) and a blanket in a pinch. I would recommend a nice thick piece of poster board. If I was guessing I would say your female cat & your new cat are both claiming top cat status ... then clashing. I have also seen my two boys kinda gang up on the semi-feral when he enters my/their room. They won't start a fight but they do let him know he isn't welcome. You might try doing a space swap. Where the 2 cats are locked in a room while the new guy roams free around the house for a day or half a day, then switch. That way he can get his scent all over the place & own the house equally. Then in 2-4 weeks try supervised visits with a sight blocker & see how they do? Please tell us how things go?

Thank you, some good ideas there, will see if we can implement those :-) x