Current introduction status (with video)

sargon

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We've had a slow, difficult introduction that began in late August. it went from just having the other cat in the guestroom, to eventually havign Freya eat outside the guestroom, to eating with the door cracked, to baby gates, to Freya in the livingroom with Squeakers ( who is being held), and now to supervised interactions.

Every step has been slow and involved a lot of unhappiness from Freya, but here's where we are. How does it seem to be going, and do you have any suggestions?

PS if I try and use a toy it makes the cats start to compete as to who cna play with it/me, which is why I don't do that during it



 

ArtNJ

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The cats seemed to be ignoring each other just fine, then they got close, kinda looked like the Siamese was curious, but then the Siamese busts out a series of rapid swipes. I wasn't able to hear if there were any interesting noises. Tough for me to be sure, but it didn't look like play, didn't look provoked or defensive in nature. So kind of seemed like the Siamese was being deliberately provocative, but not necessarily trying to initiate full hostilities and actual fighting.

So yeah, guess I'm agreeing with you, the Siamese, Freya, is not doing great with this. However, I don't feel I've seen enough to assess the danger of actual fighting. If you don't think they are going to actually fight, and you have done a long slow introduction process, not much you can do other than give them time to see if they work it out. If you are worried they might actually fight, definitely continue only supervised interaction for now.
 

Jcatbird

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It looks like it’s going well. A little paw battling is fairly normal. Freya is the pretty fluff baby? If so, she retreated when she was challenged. Normal. It takes time with introductions. Patience too! Lol From your description, you have followed the process I usually suggest. The thing is, every kitty goes at their own pace. It’s not something we can ever push but they look pretty calm until the very end. Even then it was just leaving the room. Your other cat is Siamese? That’s an intimidating kitty. My fluff girl is timid with my bigger and more muscular cats but they learned to get along. The one thing that I still have in place that helps is a safe haven for retreat. My cats are all rescues and because I brought in a lot of cats in a short time period, space was at a premium back then. I used large cat cages for introductions. You could use a carrier just as well. Give Freya a place all her own for now. A place she can run to besides going back to her room. Place a shirt ir something that holds your scent inside and give her treats or toys there to let her feel like it’s a good place to go. Because cages and crates have walls and one entrance, it’s easily defended if the other cat tries to enter. I actually House new kitties there until they were not afraid to come out. They started in a separate room but then graduated to the cages. At first I kept them partially covered to make them feel snug. I slowly pulled back the cover and the kitties met/pawed through the bars. The new cat came to understand that the resident could not get to them and grew more confident. Similar to baby gates but now they could be in the room that the resident had already established as “theirs.” It’s just taking it a step further. As the new kitty gained confidence I began opening the cage door and sitting on the floor to hold them during intros. Eventually the new kitty would want to explore but could retreat if scared. The resident cats sometimes actually got concerned about the cat that appeared to be held captive and would paw at the door to try and help them “escape”. All the better!
Got a photo for you so that you can see the kitties met and the younger female actually did head bumps with the older male feral. All the kitties are now integrated and doing well. They still like to go in the cat room and take a nap in the cages. Lol
FD4A1A3C-3B66-4591-902A-1149A3E4806A.jpeg
 

ArtNJ

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I agree Jcatbird Jcatbird a little paw batting is normal, but what I didn't like is that it wasn't necessarily defensive. It looked like the siamese initiated, walking over to the other cat voluntarily and starting with the batting. If that is all it is, ok nbd, but it made me cautious to see that and uncertain if there might be other stuff we arent seeing that pushes this into a higher risk bucket.
 
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sargon

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To clarify, Freya, my original cat, is the Siamese, and, my belief is that the the squabble shown is probably as far is it is likely to go with them.

Generally what happens is that Freya is doing her own thing, and Squakers gets close, which makes Freya start to follow Squeakers with some aggression. As long as Squakers stays far enough away, that doesnt' generally happen ( far enough is 8' or so)
 

Jcatbird

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I agree with A ArtNJ From the video we can’t tell if it is defensive, offensive or even play. Following Squeakers with a bit of enthusiasm must make Squeakers nervous either way. Watching them when they are together right now is something I also advise until they establish boundaries and no one runs away as though fearful. Then you can leave them alone together without concerns. This may all beome playful once Squeakers and Freya have come to understand each other. Just make sure not to show nervousness or favoritism. They have to work this out between them so that they both feel they are equally important members of the family although in their kitty world, one may be the more dominant or “top cat.” They are both beautiful kitties!
 

ArtNJ

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It definitely couldn't hurt to watch them a bit more. However, if/when you are pretty sure they are not going to actually fight, you could inch forward and let them be together as long as you are in the house and not sleeping -- ie you dont actually need to be in the same room, just able to hear sounds of a real problem.
 
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sargon

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We actually have a huge cage ( like big enough for a german shepheard level huge), so we've bene usign that as a way to help them acilimate with less stress. it seems to be workign fairly well, although Squakers doesn't like the cage.
 
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