Cat Introduction gone bad, need some assitance

[msanta03]

Hello Everyone,

I need a little help or suggestions.  My wife and I have a 6 year old male (Pipe), but we decided to adopt a 2 year girl (Pixie) a little over a week ago from an animal shelter.  I did a ton of research on the introduction.  We have a decent size townhouse, so separating them was quite easy.  We moved Pipe's litter box, food and water up from the basement to the mid level and put Pixie down in the basement.  She has her toys, litter box, plenty of space, blankets, etc.  

I've been trading scents and letting them smell each other under the door of the cellar.  I've even put Pipe down in the basement and let Pixie upstairs for short periods of time.  We've also snuck Pixie upstairs to a bedroom for an hour or two a day to look at the window and look at the birds.  She lays on the same blanked that Pipe lays on.  

I've cracked the bedroom or cellar door cracked at times so they can barely see each other, very minimal hissing.  She put her paw through the crack of the door and swiped, but nothing horrible.  I've fed them some snacks or tuna with the door slightly cracked and it went OK (nothing alarming)  They seemed interested in getting to know each other and mainly sniffed

Today we brought up Pixie and put Pipe back in the cellar.  I went downstairs to check on Pipe after 30 mins, I opened the cellar door and Pixie sprints down the stairs between my legs and all hell broke loose.   I had no time to react, before I knew it was WorldWar3.  They both hissed and howled, I tried to calm the situatin for 3 secs between them, but Pipe attacked Pixie.  It was only for maybe 3-5 seconds, but just seemed pure hatred and how dare you be in my house.  Pixie has front claws, Pipe does not.  She tried to follow him up the stairs to continue the fight, but we threw a blanket on her.  Pipe ran upstairs and for the first time ever urinated on the kitchen floor (probably from shock).  I went down to see Pixie 5 mins later and she attacked me.  

Hours later both cats seem to be fine, I'm just at a loss on how to proceed at this point.  Any suggestions on what to do, do I start from the beginning?  I don't want to end up bringing Pixie back to the shelter.  I'm willing to put in the time and effort to make this work, just looking for some expert guidance from someone who's done this before.

Thx

Matt 

 

[Columbine]

Hi, and welcome to TCS

Accidents like these are pretty common. Don't get too concern about it - just carry on as you were (but maybe skip the joint feeding for a day or two.

A baby gate at the door to Pixie's room would be worth considering -it just proves an extra bit of insurance against this happening again.

You might find Feliway diffusers a useful tool at this time, and Spirit Essences can be helpful too.

These articles should help :-
[article="32680"]​[/article]
[article="29726"]​[/article]
[article="29658"]​[/article]

 

[jolie0216]

Hi, and welcome to TCS

Accidents like these are pretty common. Don't get too concern about it - just carry on as you were (but maybe skip the joint feeding for a day or two.

A baby gate at the door to Pixie's room would be worth considering -it just proves an extra bit of insurance against this happening again.

You might find Feliway diffusers a useful tool at this time, and Spirit Essences can be helpful too.

These articles should help :-
[article="32680"]How To Successfully Introduce Cats The Ultimate Guide​[/article]
[article="29726"]Introducing Cats To Cats​[/article]
[article="29658"]The Multi Cat Household​[/article]

Hi there!   I'm in the process of doing the same thing - slowly introducing a new cat - how many Feliway diffusers do you recommend putting out?

I have the Feliway spray, and I use it to spray down the car and carrier for vet visits, but I can't say that it has really helped in that  situation lol

Would you put one of the Feliway plugins in the new cat's room?  And then one in the main living area?  Would that be enough?   Thanks!

 

[Columbine]

With the Feliway, they say that one diffuser covers 50-70 square metres. If that's too pricey, focus on the rooms the cats spend most time in - in this case that's one in the newbie's room and one in your others cat's favourite room.

Some people do find cats respond to the diffusers and not to the spray, or vice versa. They are slightly different formulations. I would suggest starting out with the two rooms you suggested, and maybe moving up to the optimal am out if you see a response. Having said that, I just put Feliway in the two areas we had the most conflict, and that worked fine for me. There is definitely an element of trial an error with these things.

 

[shadowsrescue]

With the Feliway, they say that one diffuser covers 50-70 square metres. If that's too pricey, focus on the rooms the cats spend most time in - in this case that's one in the newbie's room and one in your others cat's favourite room.

Some people do find cats respond to the diffusers and not to the spray, or vice versa. They are slightly different formulations. I would suggest starting out with the two rooms you suggested, and maybe moving up to the optimal am out if you see a response. Having said that, I just put Feliway in the two areas we had the most conflict, and that worked fine for me. There is definitely an element of trial an error with these things.

I have an open floor plan home and need quite a few of the diffusers.  Yet in my situation they helped tremendously and I could tell when they went empty.  I made sure to have one in each room where the cats spent time.  I used the spray in areas where I did not have an outlet.  I think the biggest issue people have with feliway diffusers not working is that they do not have enough. In an open floor plan home, you really need to have them all over the place.  They are pricy, but they work and they are not needed forever. 

I also used a baby gate in the threshold of the door and then I used a cheap wooden screen door attached with tension rods.  The screen door was $20 at Lowes.  It kept me from defacing the door.  This allowed the cats some face to face time and also allowed the cat in the room to see and hear the comings and goings in the home.  I did only use this set up when I was home to supervise.  I kept the gate in place as the screen was flimsy.  I have a picture if you would like to see it.

 

[jolie0216]

Actually that would be great to post the picture -  I haven't actually brought the new kitty in yet, he still lives outside.  I am taking him to the vet the day after tomorrow, then will bring him inside once I get home, as long as he gets an all-clear from the vet.    I have a spare bedroom to put him in, but I'm worried that either he will dart out or someone will dart in whenever I open the door to check on him.   Sorry to hijack this thread lol 

 

[shadowsrescue]

IMG_1222.JPG

• shadowsrescue
• Sep 18, 2013

 

[afreund26]

It's always hard introducing a new cat.cats are very territorial so it will probably take some time n patience. I would start by taking the existing cat to the door letting him smell around n then give him treats try and associated the new cats smell with something positive with treats and after you get them to a point when they aren't showing agression take them into a nuteral space where there aren't many hiding spaces for them to get backed into a corner it also helps to have a cat tree or something high up that the original cat can still feel dominant as long as there is no aggression give them treats for as close as they can get to one another be patient and don't keep them completely separate for too long and they should be playing together in no time

 

[fluffypokey98]

I would try adding their scent to each other faster. Literally rub hand vigourously at mouth/gum area, then immediately rub that hand on other cat. Then repeat with other cat. See if it helps at all. Their scent is located at their mouths/gum area upper, and tip of tail.

 

[Columbine]

I would try adding their scent to each other faster. Literally rub hand vigourously at mouth/gum area, then immediately rub that hand on other cat. Then repeat with other cat. See if it helps at all. Their scent is located at their mouths/gum area upper, and tip of tail.

I know this is sometimes recommended, but I really wouldn't advise it. You're literally forcing each cat on the other by doing this - giving them no option to get away. It could end up creating an even bigger problem. If you really want to do the rub down technique, wait until each fully accepts the other's scent, and then just use a normal scent cloth - nothing so extreme as going into the gums etc.