Cat Introduction - May Need Help Daily - Stevie & Kittybear

[DebfromPhilly]

Hello kitty lovers!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I’ve had cats my entire life and am 50. Ive introduced many cats but only cat to kitten and never cat to cat before now. I’ve had Stevie for 4.5 years and he is 10.5. Stevie lived with 2 other cats his entire life and got along with them well. I adopted his “brother” with him, that he was bonded to, but his brother died in April from cancer, at age 15. I’ve had Kittybear for 3 weeks and 3 days (3.5 years old - pure bred Ragdoll (retired breeder - purchased her) - very skittish and generally scared of everything in this transition to her new home with Stevie & me. Her breeder/former owner said she always lived with female cats and that she was good with them until recently when the other cats started to bully her…which is why the breeder decided to retire her. Her breeder said that this bullying was only because they were all intact female cats, and that it wouldn’t be the same in my home since I only have a neutered male. There is an ongoing return period for Kittybear.

The two of them have gotten very comfortable with feeding, very close to each other, with no blanket.

We had a successful joining of the kitties yesterday evening, when my mom was visiting, where they were able to ignore each other. It did end last night with a minor hiss due to close proximity - I decided to end it then, with treats near each other, since it was their first successful time in the main part of the house together. I live by myself but my mom is almost next door to me and she is available when I’m needing a second person for this intro.
This morning did not go well at all. (Note: I keep rearranging furniture and cat trees to keep the kitties from getting cornered by each other, which is a major part of the problem today and I know how I’m going to fix up the furniture today, to correct the current problem.)
I’m wondering what you think about Stevie’s (the cat that is chasing the other cat) possible state of mind here. His tail isn’t down and his fur isn’t standing up, but he’s 10.5 years old so I don’t think he’s trying to play, although he is more playful than your average 10.5 year old. I also don’t think he is trying to kill Kittybear (great news) Also wondering what you all think should be my next steps with these furbabies. Thank you very much, in advance, for any of your thoughts and suggestions! Stevie Starts Fight with Kittybear - Cat Introduction Gone Wrong

 

[DebfromPhilly]

I should have said the following, right after " This morning did not go well at all." : After successful gate feeding this morning, I put them together again, while I was working from home, and it did not go well. Stevie cornered Kittybear and then when I helped her get out of the corner, Stevie chased her and kept swatting at her rear end.

 

[ArtNJ]

Charging and swatting seems to be something cats do during an introduction when they are nervous/unhappy about the other cat, and it means something like "Get out, I don't want you here!" rather than "I'm going to kill you" as you correctly deduced. Its maybe a bit more than an old man shakng a cane and yelling "get off my lawn" but not necessarily that much worse. So its not necessarily a huge problem. Unlike a real fight, sometimes cats can work through this on their own.

What have you done so far in the introduction? Here is our guide for reference: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Is the new cat spayed? If not, the hormones/related scents could be posing a problem for Stevie. Also, 3 weeks is not a long time when you are dealing with an older cat, especially when introducing them to another cat whose life was likely a bit different than a standard house cat due to her being bred.

Use the article that A ArtNJ provided above and see if you can develop a new plan around the steps in it. Here is another TCS article that might be of benefit too - it applies to any aged cat being introduced to an older one.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles

If you didn't adapt her to your house first before starting introductions, this article might also be helpful.
How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home – TheCatSite Articles

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Charging and swatting seems to be something cats do during an introduction when they are nervous/unhappy about the other cat, and it means something like "Get out, I don't want you here!" rather than "I'm going to kill you" as you correctly deduced. Its maybe a bit more than an old man shakng a cane and yelling "get off my lawn" but not necessarily that much worse. So its not necessarily a huge problem. Unlike a real fight, sometimes cats can work through this on their own.

What have you done so far in the introduction? Here is our guide for reference: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

I really appreciate your thoughts on this and the good chuckle on the "old man shaking the cane." That makes perfect sense! This is good news.

I've read everything there is to read, I own the whole series of My Cat from Hell on Google Play, and have all of JG's books - paper and audio, to supplement. I've been re-reading a lot of all of this material of JG's and the material on TheCatSite. :-) It's so different when you are actually doing the intros, because the cats will always do something that was not specifically said in all of the literature.

Thanks so much!

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Hi. Is the new cat spayed? If not, the hormones/related scents could be posing a problem for Stevie. Also, 3 weeks is not a long time when you are dealing with an older cat, especially when introducing them to another cat whose life was likely a bit different than a standard house cat due to her being bred.

Use the article that A ArtNJ provided above and see if you can develop a new plan around the steps in it. Here is another TCS article that might be of benefit too - it applies to any aged cat being introduced to an older one.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles

If you didn't adapt her to your house first before starting introductions, this article might also be helpful.
How To Help A New Cat Adjust To Your Home – TheCatSite Articles

She was spayed on August 10th, 2.5 weeks before I picked her up. Stevie was fixed when he was very young. I have heard it takes some time for the hormones to move out of the body, so that may still be a small issue.

Thanks very much for the suggestions!! I will try anything about now. :-) <3

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Charging and swatting seems to be something cats do during an introduction when they are nervous/unhappy about the other cat, and it means something like "Get out, I don't want you here!" rather than "I'm going to kill you" as you correctly deduced. Its maybe a bit more than an old man shakng a cane and yelling "get off my lawn" but not necessarily that much worse. So its not necessarily a huge problem. Unlike a real fight, sometimes cats can work through this on their own.

What have you done so far in the introduction? Here is our guide for reference: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

Regarding the setup and what I've attempted so far with the intros:

I have 4 litter boxes going right now, had 3 but have 4 at this moment and they are all "Jumbo" with no lids, and one is in the middle of my living room and one is in the middle of my dining room with only a wall on one of the 4 sides of the litter boxes. 2 of my boxes are in corners with space around the 2 sides that are not in corners.

Intro history - We have desensitized scents and sights. Site swapping is not a problem and neither is gate feeding, with no blanket. The do not even look at each other when gate feeding. They are both focused on their meal.

We are stuck at the interactive playtime and treats.

KB is super food motivated, but not very play motivated - takes a long time to get her revved up, and I can only get her to play when she is in the mood. She usually starts hunting and meowing loudly right after I get in bed and turn the lights off. I've been working on getting her play time switched to daytime since she arrived - work in progress.
She ignores laser pointers, like she can't see it. I can distract her with treats for a long time, and she seems to never get full or sick of treats, even right after a meal. She can take or leave love with me, as she is still scared of me when I'm standing - I'm 5'8" and her previous owner was 5' even and had 2 little kids.

Stevie is not very food or play motivated. He is not much of an eater and has a poor appetite. I've tried many different treats, but I've not found anything that will distract him from her when they are in the same room with no barrier between them. I also cannot get him to play in her presence. He ignores the laser, even though, he is somewhat interested in them when there is no other cat. His favorite interactive toys he is happy to ignore, when KB is in the room. He stares at her. I put him on a cat tree to keep them from having a stare-down last night, and that worked. He is very easy for me to move and he has never scratched or bitten any human, ever, so he is the one that is easily movable for the intro process. He is a very affectionate cat and is usually by my side wanting pets, when KB is not around, and he wants me to pet him forever, which I'm good with. RE treats for Stevie: I've tried canned tuna, and fresh hot, (human food) chicken, lots of different kinds of treats including everyone's favorite, temptations - crabby-crab (which is both of their "jackpot" treats), but doesn't work for Stevie when KB is in the room. It only makes KB want to steal Stevie's treats because Stevie isn't interested in them.

Ugh! I got my work cut out for me.

Thank you so much!

 

[DebfromPhilly]

I can and do play with both cats 1-6 times daily. KB needs it more, because she is younger and because I'm desperately trying to reverse the time she wants to play, and I can get her actively playing at least 2 times per day, but attempt to 4-6 times per day, with some of the attempts being unsuccessful. With Stevie I can get him to actively play 2 times per day, on most days. Sometimes he only wants to play once a day.
In KB's play sessions by herself, she howls at her pray loudly, for her entire play session, once she has caught one thing. She does not do this when I'm playing with her. When she is playing by herself and I'm in bed trying to sleep, she will bring me her pray and drop it on me or near my hand and will continue to howl. Can't wait to teach her to fetch once I have her playing at the right time of day.

 

[DebfromPhilly]

Final update. Stevie and Kittybear are the best of friends. They lay next to each other multiple times a day and both like to groom each other. It’s turned out to be a match made in heaven. It took about 6 weeks for them to start to like each other. Their fights now cause no scabs.
She is starting to sit with me for longer periods of time and is starting to trust me more and does like to be pet, as the breeder had suggested.

Thanks very much to all of you who assisted me on this journey!

Im now going to create a post regarding my experience adopting a retired breeder, because I believe her life before me, was likely horrible, and I want people to know that it’s not all roses even when it’s from a reputable breeder.