6 weeks into intro's with a highly territorial cat. Time to rehome?

[sislcat]

Hi everyone-

Emotionally, I'm at my wits end so any expertise is very, very appreciated. I'm trying to decide if it's best to reach back out to the rescue and foster him until a better suited family can apply. This is extremely heartbreaking and I haven't cried this much in a very long time- just anticipating rehoming him is crushing- but I'm not sure we're allowing him to live his best life right now.

We thought we did everything right. Researched Jackson Galaxy's cat intro videos, setting up base camp, etc. We did not expect happy-get-alongs at first sight, we anticipated hissing and nervousness. What we weren't ready for was to the extent our resident cat would be as territorial as she is.

Quick facts:

1. Resident cat (M) has been a solo cat for 6 years. She's an 8 y/o female in great health- high energy, loves to play.
2. We adopted a 2 year old male (S) from a rescue in December.
3. We were told he loves cats and finds comfort in the company of other cats.
4. S is double the size of M- which makes me nervous about the fighting we've observed.
5. We've got multi-cat Feliway plugged in everywhere. M has a calming collar on (that's relatively new, last day or so)

For the first 2 weeks, we kept them separate, S in his own bedroom with everything he needs (cat tree, cat box, food, water, bedding, toys). Almost immediately our resident cat M started attacking the door when she could hear or smell him behind it. We shot out of bed in the middle of the night to her yowling and smacking the door on day one.

After that we blocked off the door a bit more with a baby gate and pillows. We gradually moved up to feeding them on either side without hissing. Then moved to eating on each side through a baby gate. This has never been perfect. M can watch the newcomer on her terms and not hiss or growl, but if he looks up at her or approaches her in any way- game over.

After a few instances of calm feedings (weeks 3-4) we decided to try and let him out to see if they could just be in the same room, distracted by play. Oh no. When S stands in the threshold of his room, M LOCKS in on him, and if he takes two steps toward the room she's in, puffs up, growls, and eventually rockets toward him screaming like a banshee.

An unfortunate instance after this was a few days later S snuck out of his room into our bedroom where M was sleeping. She cornered him- leading to a fur flying fight. He retreated back to base camp.

Now: we've tried restarting introductions. It's hit or miss. Once we moved from the eating on either side of the door and into eating on either side of the baby gate, M will sometimes tolerate him, sometimes not. We are no where near being able to have them in the same room, let alone let him roam outside base camp without putting her in another room.

We've finally started grappling with the idea that maybe this is not suitable for him. We're trying to emphasize his needs as a cat (he's a a more difficult case as he is extremely shy with humans at first and it took us a couple weeks just to have him not hide when we opened the door to base camp). He's gotten comfy with us and started showing affection. But being confined to this bedroom when we aren't at home seems unfair to him. I have started to imagine that a multi-cat household with cat's used to other cats (that would be vetted by the rescue) would be better suited for him. But the idea of letting him go- it's just so hard.

Anyone have similar experiences? Of either needing to rehome a newly adopted cat or of successful introductions with a super territorial cat?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Not enough time for introductions at the pace it appears you have gone. An 8yo cat, especially one who has been a sole one for 6 years, can need a whole lot longer to adjust/adapt than you have given it so far. There are scenarios on this site, and others, where it can take months and months - some even a year.

I have heard before this 'not fair' to the new cat about being confined - don't seem to hear nearly as much about the poor resident cat who has had their entire life, as they knew it, upended. A 2 yo will get over what these adjustments mean in the short term for them, by far quicker than an 8yo.

You probably just advanced through the introduction steps without waiting to ensure the slowest adapting cat has reached the ability to go to the next step.

Maybe taking a look at these TCS articles might help you to reassess what to do going forward? They may not differ much from what you have done, but I do think the bottom line is that you may have expected too much too soon.
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction – TheCatSite Articles
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[sislcat]

I think it's a given that it all feels unfair to our resident cat. Seeing her fighting stance and the stress rippling through her body is very concerning. I'm prioritizing her in making decisions as to whether S should stay with us.

And I've read so many articles my eyes could fall out, but none of them help me understanding packing and body language to watch out for when my resident cat is super territorial. How do I know when my resident cat is ready for the next step? The first time they saw each other was 2 weeks in, after hissing / door attacks slowed down. Sometimes M doesn't mind looking at S through the baby gate. Sometimes M will sit and watch S without a sound. Does this mean they're ready for the next step? Because actions after that point say otherwise. I've had a week in a row without hissing and the second we move to the next step it's a fight- one that seems to regress all our efforts back to square one.

Every single person I've talked to until this point, including a vet, are astonished that they can't even be in the same room at the same time. I'm not expecting cuddles or tolerance, but the way M locks onto her target and banshee screams at him - it's distressing. And I worry about the stress taking its toll on her.

 

[ArtNJ]

While I'm not 100% sure I understand the exact sequence of things, I think I understand it well enough to agree w/ FeebysOwner that things went too fast. If a resident cat is throwing himself at the door in a frenzy two weeks in, thats a pretty clear indication that you looking at a long and difficult process. It sounds like there were continuing issues at times 3-4 weeks in, and then you proceeded anyway based on "a few" calm feedings. When dealing with a difficult intro, you want the visual access step to continue until it seems to no longer be working to reduce tensions. Here, that could easily have been 5-6 weeks. Escapes leading to fights destroy progress, so if you are going to try this again, you need to be sure you can prevent them.

None of that means I think it would be unreasonable to return the cat to a no kill rescue. This is clearly going to be a long and difficult one, and it might be much easier and less stressful for everyone if the cat goes to a family without other pets. If you think you are going to have difficulty preventing future escapes, that is an additional reason to return the cat.

I'm not a huge fan of introduction processes that take many months where the cats remain separate the whole time. Yes, there are success stories, but I just dont have a good sense of what the odds might be or how long it would take. Its a scary commitment to make, with stress on both cats and the family. If thats the situation, I would personally rehome. But you dont know its necessarily that bad -- a solid 4-6 week process might well work. So I think I'd be a bit torn, and that any decision you make that is reasonable for you is the right call.

 

[sislcat]

Thanks for your input. I do appreciate it.

Just to clarify- we would not rehome the resident cat- she's been with us for 6 years and is the one that is highly territorial. The new adopted cat is very friendly with others. In fact, the foster home he came from urged us to allow him to see our resident cat as soon as possible because he warms up to cats more than humans. Which is our entire dilemma; our resident cat is not friendly- and if our newly adopted cat has observable behaviors in foster care that he'd prefer to be around other animals, our environment is not going to be one where he will thrive.

Never once has the new adopted cat, hissed or growled at our resident cat. It seems entirely one sided.

 

[FeebysOwner]

The first time they saw each other was 2 weeks in, after hissing / door attacks slowed down. Sometimes M doesn't mind looking at S through the baby gate. Sometimes M will sit and watch S without a sound. Does this mean they're ready for the next step? Because actions after that point say otherwise.

The operative words you said are 'attacks slowed down' - they did not stop - even if there were intermittent events of watching and no sound. That is called 'assessment' by the resident cat, where she has not made up her mind just yet as to how she really feels.

You have to do what you think you have to do - no one here can guide you on that overall.

 

[sislcat]

So after a couple days of assessment, and in the same scenario she decides to start growling and spitting at him through the gate, instead of watching quietly like she had been. Has her assessment been made? Maybe I'm too in the thick of it right now but I honestly can't imagine having feedings for 6 weeks where she doesn't hiss or growl. In which case, by most articles I've read, she's not ready to have him out of base camp. Right?

 

[FeebysOwner]

So after a couple days of assessment, and in the same scenario she decides to start growling and spitting at him through the gate, instead of watching quietly like she had been.

Was there any time during this process between visual site acceptance and visual site rejection where you tried to have them in the same area together? If so, that is your answer. She appears not to be ready to go beyond site visualization. Sometimes, that requires going back yet another step where they don't have visual access. It is what I call 're-setting'.

I presume you are doing some site swapping, so that the new cat can have access to parts of the house, while the resident cat is confined to other areas? Of course, this does not mean leaving the resident cat in a confined area without attention, as is the case with the new cat as well. The more difficult the cat adaptation is, the more attentive/diligent the caretakers have to be.

 

[sislcat]

No. Since the first escape incident and fight, we started introductions all the way over. Starting with feeding without visualization. Then after we were doing that okay, we introduced sight. Then, I'll have 4 feedings in a row (site visualization) and on the 5th she'll start hissing and growling and want nothing to do with seeing him. That's where I get lost. Do we just keep doing visual feeding until she stops hissing? Or after every hiss or growl, remove sight again and start over?

We are doing site swapping so that the new cat can have access to other areas. I've tried bringing her into his base camp when he was swapped into another room) and she wants absolutely nothing to do with it. A cat that has never hissed with me in 6 years is spitting and swatting at me to get out of the room. Growling and smacking bedding and chairs that he has sat on. So I've given up trying to put the resident cat in that room. Yes, we do this supervised. We are not ever closing resident cat up alone in a room, she's either with me or my spouse.

We've intentionally tried to give resident cat more attention, praise, treats (which is just a certain type of wet food as I've never found a treat she likes) throughout this process so she doesn't feel like she's losing anything.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Then, I'll have 4 feedings in a row (site visualization) and on the 5th she'll start hissing and growling and want nothing to do with seeing him. That's where I get lost. Do we just keep doing visual feeding until she stops hissing? Or after every hiss or growl, remove sight again and start over?

You will have (at least) two schools of thoughts on this - Continue with the visual feedings, seeing if overtime the hissing and growling stop, or go back to the non-visualization part. I think to continue with the visual feedings and see what happens.

What I find strange is that you say the resident cat reacts to being placed in the new cat's room but doesn't seem to do the same when being able to go back to accessing other parts of the house that you have let the new cat roam. Sounds to me like she doesn't like the confinement, rather than the new cat's scent. Do you have any thoughts on that?