At my wits end Any ideas?

[tsue]

An old neighbor abandoned his male cat. I had the cat fixed a couple of weeks ago. I have an only child male fixed cat for three years. These two cats have seen each other through the window for months when the old neighbor was still around. He had a police report on him and had left him for days without food or water so I started feeding him. I would approximate his age at around 10 months and mine is 3. My indoor cat would always bat at him through the window. I decided to fix him and keep him inside to heal but now he doesn't want to leave. He gets along great with my dog and uses the litter box. The problem is that he and my resident cat do not get along. The stray will try and challenge him then my cat will start growling and hissing but the other cat doesn't back down. I seperate them before there is a fight. Plus I have tried using a water bottle on the stray to deter the bullying I am not really sure which one has the problem or its just the both of them I have been doing all the steps, two litter boxes a piece, separate food dishes and keeping them separated and have tried feliway. Its not like they haven't been seeing each other for months. But as soon as I let the stray cat out of my room he will go up into my cats domain causing problems so then I seperate them again. I do know the outside cat gets along with others as I have seen him, but he was stalked by another orange cat outside. The temps here have dropped substantially as I had a spot for him outside. As soon as I ever opened the door though he would bolt in. I am wondering if I should just try and find the outside cat a new home or if there is a chance they will ever get along. I guess I am asking if this is a lost cause or has anyone ever had any luck with this.

 

[ArtNJ]

You need to do a formal slow introduction process. Here is a guide on how to do that:

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

There is definitely a good chance this can work. Basically, you do a formal introduction process of 1-3 weeks depending on how its going, and then you try putting them together again. If there is just some growling and hissing, with maybe the occasional "get away from me" swat left at that point, they can work through that. If it looks like they are going to actually full on fight, that is a bigger problem and you would either need to go back and lengthen the introduction process further or find a new home for other cat.

Please understand when I say a "good chance this can work" I mean that if you add up the chance: 1) they will become friends; 2) they will tolerate each other or 3) they will not like each other, but they will manage to live together without fighting or undue stress it will be higher than 50%. Heck, I'd go 80+%, although there might be some stress for a good while with things improving over time. But its really relatively rare that you can't get cats to at least coexist without fighting.

 

[tsue]

Thank you for the encouragement I will keep trying. I even got another cat tower but he still wants to be where my cat is at lol worse than kids pick pick pick

 

[She's a witch]

If the stray was neutered only two weeks ago, he may still have lots of hormones ruling over him, prompting him to act very territorial. It takes about a month after neutering for them to calm down.

 

[tsue]

Thank you I was wondering about that. The vets office that did it said very rarely will two male cats get along so that was kind of disappointing Today has been a tad bit better. My resident cat will hiss and growl at him still if he gets like up in his face I can't think of another way to put it lol

 

[fionasmom]

I have had adult male cats get along....there is an introductory period for sure, but it can work. You were very kind to rescue this cat. In some cases my males have become friends and in one case they chose option 3 and basically managed to never be in the same room at the same time for about 5 years, but lived very peacefully.

 

[tsue]

I have had adult male cats get along....there is an introductory period for sure, but it can work. You were very kind to rescue this cat. In some cases my males have become friends and in one case they chose option 3 and basically managed to never be in the same room at the same time for about 5 years, but lived very peacefully.

Thank you so much for your encouragement

 

[tsue]

I have been putting the stray cat in my room with his box, food and water when I settle down at night to watch tv. I think its good for my resident cat to have his own time and he always gets up on my lap plus he wasn't really eating well so this gives him time to do that. Then at night I put the stray in the bathroom with everything so there is no fights or disruption during the night. My cat is kind of sensitive so I don't want him to feel neglected I am not sure how long to keep this schedule but for now it makes me feel better

 

[ArchyCat]

She's A Witch has a good point. I have had several neutered males at one time, inside only cats. They got along quite well. Bde patient! and thanks for rescuing the cat!

Please keep us updated as things progress!

 

[tsue]

She's A Witch has a good point. I have had several neutered males at one time, inside only cats. They got along quite well. Bde patient! and thanks for rescuing the cat!

Please keep us updated as things progress!

Thank you I will and thanks for all the support

 

[foxxycat]

Have you ever watched Jackson Galaxy my cat from Hell?

I also am doing slow introduction of new older cat who won't stop chasing my cat.

We had her in my library but hated it so moved her into my bedroom but I sleep in the livingroom so it's not been too bad. I found out we should be starting on scent swapping daily too. Once you have a room set up for the new cat-you should switch the cats out for a few hours at a time-Try to get them used to the scent of each other. Just remember no Eye CONTACT for now. I found if I avoid them glaring at each other and only have them smell each other-it helps cut down on the glaring and chasing.

This video really helped me to understand what's going on...it's said that they rely on scent more than sight- I also use a sock and rub one cat-then rub same sock on other cat and back and forth-then leave sock where each one can smell it during the day.

Also litter box=make sure each one has their own-and if they leave presents in the box-switch them into the other box=this is another scent marker.