Advice on Introducing 2 New Cats to A Resident.

angeladw

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Hello, I am new to the site and came here looking for advice on introducing two 1yr olds (brother/sister) to my resident 12-year-old male Casper. The backstory for Casper is he was rescued at about nine months after being kept in the basement by his family due to allergies. During his first year with me he had very severe play aggression which resulted in multiple attacks on me, as he was treating me like another cat. I decided to get him a friend so he would learn the difference between me and another cat. Gilbie was introduced to Casper when he was about two. I don’t know how old Gilbie was as he was a rescue as well. Vet estimated five or six. We started with Gilbie being kept separate in his own room and I would do the swap out, But Gilbie was so calm and sweet and Casper was so eager to meet him that I decided to put up double baby gates in the doorway just so he could see the other cat and I could see his reaction. He immediately climbed to the top of the gates and I had to pull him down, but he got away for me climbed up again and jumped right into the room onto the bed. As luck would have it they became BFFs immediately there was no fighting ever. Fast forward three years or so Gilbie died without illness or warning. It was heartbreaking. The next addition did not go as well. The same foster mom said she had a cat she thought would be a match but Cody wasn’t being fostered by her but by a friend of hers because she didn’t have the room and they weren’t completely above board with the information they gave her on his temperament. When I first got Cody and put him in the spare room to begin the introduction process, they hadn’t told us that he would freak out when in a room with a closed door. Afraid he would hurt himself I didn’t have any option at the time and really didn’t know any better, so I let them be together. I was naïvely hoping they would get along as he had before with Gilbie. This was not the case. Although it wasn’t life-threatening to either Cody was more of a leave me alone I don’t have time for you. They also neglected to tell me that he had a heart murmur. It wasn’t severe but I knew it would be difficult to rehome him so I decided to stick it out with him. They never bonded although they learned to tolerate each other for 8 years. This year after 7 months of constant care for kidney failure, I had to let Cody go. Even though his treatments were working and his kidney disease showed some improvement, he developed anemia. Although we knew his treatments would never cure him I was hoping for a few years more with him. But the anemia was fast moving and it was only a few weeks later I had no choice. Casper and Cody didn’t love each other I loved both of them and it broke my heart to say goodbye to Cody who was so sweet with me.

So this time everyone was telling me if I were to get a young cat, I should get two so their playing would allow Casper to do his own thing as an older cat who might not want to play as much or as rough. Enter Loki and Natasha. Their foster parents let me know that they were very shy and we’re hopeful that Casper would help them get over their shyness with people. I did meet them and spent a few hours with them and eventually both of them did come out and interact with me and were very sweet.

I brought them home and set them up in their room. When each carrier came into the house, Casper saw them but there was no hissing or aggression with either of them which I took as a good sign. Casper was very interested in what was behind the door, but they were very shy and would hide a lot. So I wanted to get them used to me and spent a lot of time going in and out of the room. Casper being so curious a few days in on the advice of a foster friend I carried him into the room with me to meet them they did a little sniff noses and that was it and I brought Casper out of the room. I had only caught him hissing under the door once. So I thought it a good sign that he wasn’t looking to be aggressive with them and neither were they. But I got over anxious and read too much into it and a few days later was letting them out in the same space. Because they were so shy they tended to hide most of the day and became more active at night. Since Casper didn’t really see them or interact with them during the day it seemed like things were going well but when they did come out and spent a lot of time in the same space things started to take a turn. Every time they walked by Casper their tails were up but every time he was near them his tail was down. While he wasn’t ears back overtly aggressive he was obviously not happy. When Loki tried to make attempts to play Casper took it negatively and would swat at him not in a playful way scaring Loki who would run and hide. Natasha had a bit of a different response and she actually went after Casper once which surprised me. She would also hide the most but would come out if Loki was out. There was one afternoon during the second week I was trying to play with both Casper and Loki at the same time so that they would have a positive experience together this seemed to go well for a while until I stopped playing with them. Casper went after Loki trying to swat at him multiple times this time Loki was cornered a bit and swatted back. I immediately got Casper away and Loki went back in his room. I started reading up about re-introduction if initial introduction went badly which I had felt I had done by doing it too soon. Which brought me to this site. It’s been a few days of keeping them apart completely again. But it’s hard on the kittens because they’ve been out they don’t like being cooped up as much. Things were good for couple of days I would put Casper in his room and let the kittens out for a while. I’ve been trying to do since swapping with toys and face cloths. I’ve been trying to get them to eat close to the door. And then again tonight Casper was hissing at the door again when I thought things were getting a little better. Also when Casper catches their scent on other items his tail is still lowered. I really want them to get to the point where they all get along, And I’m OK if this takes extra time, but I don’t want the kittens developing aggressive tendencies because so far they’ve been pretty sweet with me and not biting or scratching, I am open to all kinds of advice on how best to do this with more than one cat. I also wouldn’t want them ganging up on him but I’m not sure how to get Casper to understand that they’re trying to play and it’s not the same as it was with Cody. I need to get this right. I work half the week but my shifts are 12 hours. I can come home during my shift for a while. But I don’t want to have to worry about fighting when I’m not home. So I don’t want it to be another they just tolerate each other situation.
 
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angeladw

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Correction:
I’ve been trying to do SCENT swapping with toys and face cloths……
 

Mamanyt1953

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Time and patience are on your side. They are your best friends. And don't only scent-swap, SITE-swap. Let the new cats out while putting your resident cat in their room. That's important, because it gets the scent of all of the cats in all of your home. I'm going include a couple of our articles for you, they are clear and easy to read.


I would imagine that your new babies are keeping their tails high because they give each other confidence, already being friends, and your resident cat feels a bit outnumbered, but all is not lost here. Just give this time.
 
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angeladw

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And don't only scent-swap, SITE-swap. Let the new cats out while putting your resident cat in their room. That's important, because it gets the scent of all of the cats in all of your home.
Yes I do do that. I am able to put Casper in their room and let the kittens out to the rest of the house.
 
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angeladw

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Yes I do do that. I am able to put Casper in their room and let the kittens out to the rest of the house.
And thanks so much for the articles I really appreciate it.
 
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angeladw

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Yesterday and today I have tried feeding them on opposite sides of a baby gate. I use a towel to keep them from seeing each other fully even though they have previously had interactions. Casper eats his food and seems OK but his tail is still down and his pupils dilate as soon as he sees or smells them. The kittens ate their food yesterday and this morning but this afternoon didn’t want to come over. I hope I have more luck tomorrow.
 

Mamanyt1953

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Time and patience. We've seen some wonderful introductions that took MONTHS to complete! Way too soon to be discouraged here!
 
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angeladw

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If you wouldn’t mind sharing for those that took months, if you kept them apart all that time and just kept swapping? Or was there limited interaction for many months? Any help you can give me would be appreciated.
 
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angeladw

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I’m still keeping them separate. I feed them each morning with Casper on one side of the door and the youngsters on the other side in their room. There has been no hissing so far. I put Casper in another room a couple times a day to let the new cats out to explore and spend time with me someplace other than their room. I’ve been doing this for over a week. Tomorrow I’ll be putting up double gates in the doorway to see how Casper reacts this time out to seeing them. I hope I’m doing the right thing and it goes well.
 

Mamanyt1953

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You may want to move the food dishes farther apart when Casper can see them, and begin moving them closer a bit at a time.
 
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angeladw

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We had an unplanned confrontation with Natasha this morning. She anticipated my opening the door with breakfast and being small she shot out. Casper of course was right there. She rubbed up against him, her face to his and he did not react except to sniff her behind. She stopped and checked out his food bowl which I thought might bring on a reaction but didn’t. I was able to keep Loki inside and she ran back into the room for food. I will take this a great step forward.
 
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angeladw

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Some additional info according to my Vet he puts them at 2yrs and not 1yr.
 

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Site swapping and patience are the most important. Let each one be comfortable first along with scent swapping as they get comfortable in each place and restless in each different place(not the same) then slowly try introducing at feeding times. If it doesn't work try another day.

Time patience over and over again. I thought I would be in the months category right now, think I got lucky and I hope you donto
 
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angeladw

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Yesterday we put up the baby gates in the doorway I covered them with towels and I had one person on the side with Casper and I was in the room with the newbies. Natasha was under the bed she heard a strange voice so was hiding. I lifted the towel up a couple inches so Loki and Casper could see each other. No hissing or aggression was evident. I was able to get Casper to play with a toy under the gate Loki would get a little interested in what was happening but for the most part seemed indifferent. This went on for about 15 minutes. And then I ended it. Today I put up the gates with the bottom gate high enough I could move their food bowls underneath to them since I’m on my own today. I placed Caspers food across the hall from them. Casper will eat a little if he sees them but they don’t seem to eat if they can see him. The towel was only up a few inches again. Casper put his paw through the gate batting at Loki but not aggressively at least it didn’t seem aggressive. Loki just moved away. I shut the door and when I checked back a little while later they had eaten.
 
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angeladw

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Does anyone have advice on if I should re-introduce each cat separately with Casper? Should I have each one spend a few minutes each day with Casper? If so what signs should I be looking for or what test should I give that tells me they’re ready to spend time together?
 

Mamanyt1953

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Well, this is just a guess, but I'd say that Natasha is about there. She is obviously ready to make friends, and Casper wasn't upset in the least. Bottom-sniffing is a big deal in the animal world...the sniffee is saying, "I consider you worthy of knowing about me," and the sniffer is learning about general health, emotional state, and mating status. Yep, all of that from a fanny-sniff. LOL, try to remember that the next time a dog or cat either gives you a sniff, or offers you one. It's a gesture of friendship.
 
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angeladw

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Well, this is just a guess, but I'd say that Natasha is about there. She is obviously ready to make friends, and Casper wasn't upset in the least. Bottom-sniffing is a big deal in the animal world
I fed them with the gate between them again this morning and a few inches of visibility. Both Natasha and Loki did eat a little bit this time with Casper there eating as well. Casper did bat at her through the gate, i’m not sure if that’s a good sign. It wasn’t sniffing or getting to know you so I’m not liking that behavior from him. He really wants to get into the room but again not sure if his intentions are good.
 
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angeladw

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I could still really use some advice on when to let them spend time together and if I should do it separately.
 

Mamanyt1953

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It seems that Natasha is the more interested in a "meet and greet." I'd start with her. Not right now, let this get a bit calmer first. But yes, work with them one at a time. That way, if the worst happens, you're only dealing with two angry, panicky cats, not three. OH...and when you do decide to let them meet, have a large throw pillow or piece of cardboard handy. Should a fight break out, you can slip either of those between the cats, and use it to herd one of them away to a safe place.
 
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angeladw

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It seems that Natasha is the more interested in a "meet and greet." I'd start with her. Not right now, let this get a bit calmer first.
Yes thank you. I do believe I should start with her. She got by me again this morning when I went to feed them. Casper already had his food outside the door. She stopped at his bowl, he didn’t hiss or react, when she moved away he followed to sniff then she can back in the room for food. I think maybe I will try a few minutes of togetherness this weekend when I’m not working again. I’ll be working nights the next 3 days so their schedule will be a bit off and will need to stay in their room more.
 
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