hello cat lovers. We recently adopted a much younger meow meow and the introduction process was as wrong as you can get. The person who was fostering him needed him adopted ASAP. Long story short he was delivered and plopped in the floor with my other cat standing right there. We were not set up yet for his arrival. Needless to say they don’t get along. It’s mostly that the newest kitty is 4 and my older kitty is 17 and is not in the mood to play. My eldest doesn’t act 17 but his body def shows signs. He is slender and has arthritis and so it’s now become a major concern that Carl ( new cat) might really hurt Zander ( old cat) not meaning to but by knocking him down etc. in hind site we should have thought more about the age difference but I guess it was wishful thinking. So my question is will redoing the into the right way help at all if it’s just a fact Carl wants to play? Albeit I’m not a behaviorist so it could also be territorial issues because they are both male. However, he doesn’t chase him out of the room or go after his food he just stalks him and bops him on the back or tail. There’s been no fur flying brawl or anything. Also, if we do ahead with the separation the only way logicsticslly to put up a barrier would cut Carl off from the living room where most of the people hang out and I don’t want him to be lonely. Any advice welcome
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Does Re Introduction Work
- Thread starter Shants7
- Start Date
Hi!
Can you play with Carl to keep him not only a bit distracted but also to take a little of the edge off his energy?
Keep an eye on your older cat's emotional wellbeing too. If he needs a break, have a place set up for him with his things so he can have peace and quiet.
This doesn't sound that bad, actually, regarding their interaction --considering how things went at the start. I don't know if I'd try to do a reintroduction or not.
Can you play with Carl to keep him not only a bit distracted but also to take a little of the edge off his energy?
Keep an eye on your older cat's emotional wellbeing too. If he needs a break, have a place set up for him with his things so he can have peace and quiet.
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- #3
Hi thanks for the reply. So we play with Carl a lot. And I have a few interactive toys that keep him busy when he’s not chilling on his cat tree. He has more toys than a human child . Sometimes he leaves Zander alone but it’s unpredictable when he’s going to zone in on him. He crouches and hides behind doors for a surprise attack. ( if it wasn’t detrimental to Zander it would be cute). Zander has his spot in the bathroom right by the heating vent so I can shut the door but then he gets lonely and wants mom and cries so I either open the door or just sit in there with him. The baby gates just arrived today ( going to stack them to make them high enough) so we will be able to block off zones for them to be in, it’s just that my forever baby Zander is still blocked off from the humans ( aka the living room) He’s the sweetest thing ever and I hate to do that but it’s the only way to allow Carl access to his huge cat tree and a cat box and Zander the bathroom and then another cat box. But yes, Zander is my priority so I’ll do what I need to do to make sure he is happy. I’m really hoping the gates work because I can’t let Zander live his golden years in fear of being pounced on.
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- #5
We have had Carl for a month now. Zander ignores him mostly unless they meet face to face or Carl pounces. When that happens he hisses and bats at him. I try to step in as soon as I hear Zander upset. ( though I’ve heard conflicting advice whether to let Zander establish what he’s trying to say vs when I pick him up away from Carl) Carl doesn’t hiss or snarl first though, only in reply to Zander. Which is why I think it’s much more play on Carl’s part. Zander is eating fine, and sleeping fine. He’s been using the litter box but has also left us a few “I’m angry” poops. That’s not a new thing though, he has done it before even when my sister didn’t wake up when he was tapping her lol. He’s a bit of a brat that way, he’s super smart and knows how to get his way. Being the age he is it’s something we’ve accepted. And funny we apologize to him! Like I’m sorry Zans baby you’re upset. But I can tell he’s not fully acting the same he spends much more time in the bathroom and less on “ his” chair in the living room. Side thing he’s so crazy about his chair that if anyone sits in it and he wants to sit there he will sit and stare at you and sometimes meow till you move and then he hops right up. So I’m concerned about his mental health but also physically because Carl is crazy strong and a little play Tap on the back probably feels like a punch to Zander and Zander loses his balance when he sneezes so a punch on the back has knocked him over. Sigh thank you for taking time to talk with me about this. I’m happy to get a cat behaviorist to come over. Honestly I’d do pretty much anything for my kitty.
Is Zander a cat who'd respond to music? Classical harp music, or musicforcats . com could help his stress levels.
I think that the gates, and maybe alternating times with you-all in the living room could help Zander.
I think that the gates, and maybe alternating times with you-all in the living room could help Zander.
It's didn't sound too bad, till I read about Zander being knocked over. No wonder he's leaving you "I'm angry" gifts.
The re-introduction could help, though if it's more Carl wanting to play, than aggression, not sure if it will help or not. Do try though, and see how it goes. And spend more time playing with Carl.
I hope things work out. Keep us posted. And post pics of your boys, if you can.
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This is all sounds so freaking normal, I would resist intervention, and then try to limit your 'intervention' to verbal queues. "Carl! Stop! Come here! Be Nice!"....etc, rather than picking up anybody and taking them away.
Rationale: Carl, at 4yo, isn't really a "kitten". As an adult, he still wants to engage in some stalk/hunt/kill playtime....but so does Zander, regardless of the limitations of his body. Hissing/batting are normal parts of cat interactions. As long as such 'negative' reactions are respected by the other cat, there is no real problem.
Anecdote: I have a super-energetic kitty, Blue (from my profile pic), that occasionally absolutely torments her sister (same age, so not an old-vs-young issue). "Intervention" means admonishing Blue, and even occasionally letting Violet 'escape' the room, and then blocking Blue's pursuit, and then distracting her with a toy. Other times, I will find them cuddling/sleeping together.
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- #9
Thank you for your reply. Honestly this wouldn’t be an issue if Zander wasn’t so fragile. Yesterday he was cornered and fell on his side, I went to see if he was ok and his front arm was bent all crazy stuck behind his head! How that even happened I have no idea. He’s walking fine and wasn’t crying he just needed my help to get it un stuck ( we took him to the vet though just to be sure) but it’s things like that, I know Zander still wants and needs to exercise his cat-ness and he does get play time. And he can verbally stick up for himself but I just constantly worry that Carl will rush at him or bat at him and Zander will slip. It’s like a 24 year old trying to play touch football with an 80 year old man with a cane. I honestly didn’t think it would be this way because in my mind Zander was still a very agile spry guy who had a few issues with jumping up to places like the sink but he adapted and now jumps onto the tub then sink... but I didn’t see him as so easily taken down. It’s not until he was faced with a built younger boy that it’s been a thing.. which is not Carl’s fault. We have baby gates set up and I do my best to watch them but when it’s just me home they both want to be able to come to the human. We are committed to doing whatever we need so both babies are happy... it’s a work in progress.
hang in there!!I just had a thought, would a soft body harness help zanders stability? If not that, something...?
