Growling... is this normal????

[catlover1991]

My husband and I recently adopted an older cat from the shelter he is 13 to be exact. I had posted here earlier about problems we were having getting him adjusted to living with a much younger cat and the tips have worked out very well. I have a a calm quiet house all day long and my cats are resting and not on edge..

When I go into the special room I have set for the older cat we just adopted to spend time with him and pet him he is more than ready for the love but he starts out with a moew that turns into like a long moan or growling noise. I dont feel like its a threat because he purs between and when I stop to make sure i am not making him angry he nudges me with his nose and wants me to pet him more!

Has anyone ever had a cat that does this or know if its something I should be concerned about? the last think I would want is for him to be uncomfortable. 

Before we moved him into the room we have him in now for him to slowly get used to our other cat he was making the growling noises at our other cat is what made me think about it so much . I know it is going to take some time to get used to each other for the cats but is there something I can do to make him more comfortable with us or is he just really vocal ?

 

[mservant]

Hi, I had a quick read of your other post earlier but didn't post there as felt you already had some useful replies which I couldn't really add to, but aware of some of the other things going on in the house from that.  I feel your own gut reaction to your cat is probably fair in that he is nudging you and seeking further contact. I would continue cautiously, like you are though, as the growling may be an expression of his not being entirely happy and relaxed with his situation.  Cats do not only purr when happy so be alert to other non verbal clues to his mood and levels of arousal / anxiety.

I once spent one of the most stressful and upsetting days I can remember with one of my previous cats: I had temporarily relocated to a different house while my place was being renovated and taken my two older cats with me.  One settled under a bed and hid quietly, the other paced backwards and forwards from the front of the house through to the back, and as she did so she walked past where I was sitting on a sofa in a back sitting room.  Every time she walked past in either direction she eyeballed me and gave out this continuous low growl until she had left the room I was in.  She didn't stop for over 10 hours.  I eventually went to bed in the front room of the house and the little horror that had terrorized me and made my life a misery the whole day imediately jumped up on my bed cover and started to nose butt asking for petting.  The next morning she was fine.  The day I brought them home she walked round the whole apartment, went in to a new room that had been made by splitting a larger one in half and stood right in the middle of it and growled again.  Then she walked out of the room and that was her sorted.  What a cat.  That growl came from her core, it was haunting.

I would watch him carefully and listen to any change in tone or position / body tension so you can hopefully pick up if he is feeling more threatened and might become aggressive. Other than this just continue to take things slowly and gently with him and hopefully he will settle.  I would expect the growling to reduce if he feels safe and calm.

 

[catlover1991]

We were just in there playing with him and giving him an afternoon snack and he was meowing and growling again but was laying out on the bed and rolled over when we petted him like it liked it. When we go in that room though our other kitten is normally on the other side of the door wondering what is going on. I have done everything the other people said by separating them and I try to spend time with both of them so he can get used to me and I feel like he is bonding with me in a way . I am really glad that we picked him even though we are having some trouble. I mean really who knows what this cat has been through.. and he already has his own personality and we have to work to get used to it . 

I was just worried that he was not happy or comfortable in his new home. Hearing him groan and growl like that makes me feel like I have put him in the middle of a really stressful situation and I would never want to do that . I want to make his life better. I had never heard a cat do that before..

another thing i am worried about that my husband and I were just talking about is the problem isnt they dont like each others smell or whatever its that our younger cat wants to explore the new cat and  see what he is about and be in his face all the time. The older cat doesnt make any kind of threatening gestures to the younger cat until he gets in his face and my thing is how is he going to get it out of his system unless he follows him around for a while. I just hope that everything works out for the best because I want it to so bad.

I would feel like the older cat wouldnt have much of a life if he wanted to stay in one room all the time. 

 

[mservant]

I think you are doing the right thing, taking things slowly and giving them time.  If you follow the advice and don't rush the techniques explained in the Articles section of this site, like I think you are, your cats will begin to settle.  It is natural for introductions to take time, and I think it can be especially difficult for older cats who have had more time to establish their own ways and who may have had a range of negative experiences in their life - as well as coping with an energetic kitten who wants to play.  None of this suggests it is not a positive thing to do, just that it requires patience.  That you are looking to watch and listen to your cats and try to understand their feelings gives this situation the best possible chance of having a positive outcome.  Swapping scents between them, smelling each other on you, feeding them close to each other but on oposite sides of a door, and using something like vanilla essence to equalize scents during early introduction meetings can all help to smooth the path to eventual shared space.  And if one of your cats does choose to hide for a while it is better to allow this; they can come out in their own time.  It is best to provide a good range of high and low hiding spaces for any cat and once they share space with a new cat as well as humans the need for these increases. It gives them a sense of control and safety if they can choose not to be seen or interacted with.  If they start to feel safe and secure they are more likely to come out from their hiding places over time. 

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

I hope you see some changes with things settling soon to reassure you that you are doing a positive thing for your cats.

 

[baconman]

Another thing you might want to consider is taking something each of your cats has had a lot of contact with and sharing it with the opposite cat. Like a blanket for pillow or something. Cats associate scents with who their family is. Perhaps giving your kitten attention, petting and what not, then going in and doing the same for the older cat. This will give them both the opportunity to get adjusted to the others scent and over time they will begin to share similar scents of the home. When I introduced my two cats originally, I would share a toy between the two of them (they were in different rooms) The older cat would sniff that new toy for sometime and in times would growl at it. I assumed it was the smell. Over time though when I gave them access to each other, their first real close contact was sniffing each other out. There will definitely be that initial period where they are uncomfortable with contact but they will warm up over time. Just make sure when you do finally introduce them that you treat them completely equally, play with them together. Show them that they are family. Keep multiple litter boxes, their own food and water bowls and allow a place where they can go to be alone. I find the older of cats tend to experience the most stress during introductions. Remember to pay attention to their body language and that most likely they wont be best buds at first. Over time though they will learn to coexist. Good luck to you.

 

[catlover1991]

I really think things are getting better with every minute of the day . Phantom is no longer growling at us when we go in to pet him. He is still very vocal and meows but the growling is gone. He also sometimes just stands at the door when our younger cat is on the other side and sniffs. I think and hope that eventually they will be able to co exist. For now though the older cat doesnt have any problems with staying in the room we have for him in fact I think he likes it . I think he enjoys the attention we have been giving him and with him being older it is much easier to tell what he wants and needs. When we go in to pet him he jumps on the bed now as before we were having to pick him up and put him there.. When he is done and doesnt want interaction anymore he goes under the bed! We also gave him some cat nip yesterday which he loved. He rolled around and played with it for hours. I really think with patience I am going to be able to make this work. I think that before we introduce him back to our cat even slowly we are going to try to get a better bond with him ourselves. I dont have any idea what kind of situation he came from but he sometimes seem weary of people so I want to make sure he knows that we both care about him and want to make his life better and I think with that trust will come success introducing him back into sharing a space with a much younger cat !   

 

[mservant]

You must feel in incredible sense of relief that the growling has stopped, I remember how distressed I felt when I heard my cat doing that.  It definitely sounds like things are heading in the right direction now and your idea of you building up your relationship with him and getting to know each other first before intruducing the two cats sounds great for your older guy.

 

[catlover1991]

I do. I am just ultimately concerned that the two will never be okay with each other and this will lead to me having to get rid of the  older one. I already told my husband once we figure this out if the older cat doesnt seem to get along with our younger cat we had first I will never have 2 cats again. As much as I love cats its so stressful to gave to separate them and have one locked in a room all the time. I tried taking the younger cat in for a small visit today and I held him and petted both of the cats on the bed and my younger one is so scared of him because of all the growling he was doing and thing like that. Even though he has stopped growling at my husband and I he is still doing it when the other cat comes in the room. At the same time I dont want to do anything to make the older upset and not like it here I dont want our baby cat to feel like were trying to replace him or see him that scared. I feel bad calling the shelter I adopted him from and asking for advice. They lied to me about the cats health and although he doesnt have major problems he has some minor issues and they knew about it and didnt say anything until I had to call and ask them.