How To End The War

[Mike85roberts]

We adopted a 10 month old calico two weeks ago. We also have a 3 year old resident cat. Resident is male new kitten is female but both are fixed. We did the separation thing by putting the new cat in the bedroom for the first few days. They played under the door and we even put the new cat in a crate and everything seemed to be going well. As soon as we tried face to face, it was all out war with the new cat obviously being the aggressor. We separated again for several days and have been putting the new one in the crate for a few hours a day. Yesterday we tried switching which cat is in the crate. That didn’t go well. The new cat ran full speed and attacked the crate. Why is this? Resident cat acts like he wants to work it out but new cat doesn’t. She’s sweet as can be to us but hates our other cat.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Do you have a way to blockade part of the house - perhaps even just a bedroom, instead of using a crate? And, start with that being the new cat's home at first? The confinement of a crate is making whichever cat is in it feel like prey and will not make them comfortable being in it.

Also, two weeks is a very short period of time, even for some younger cats. The attacks could be fear-induced. The new cat would prefer to "defend" herself (as she sees it) than to retreat.

I think you might want to take few steps back in the introduction process, and see if these TCS articles might help you with some of the steps you may or may not have used so far.

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Why Do Cats Attack?

 

[Mike85roberts]

we tried a baby gate as some things on the internet had suggested. That doesn’t work the kitten jumps over it like its nothing. I’ve been trying to figure out something I could put up in lieu of a bedroom door to where they could see each other and interact.

 

[Mike85roberts]

Also, yes the bedroom with a closed door is the separation a lot. We’ll swap the new cat and the resident cats positions. They will play under the door some and both eat near the door. I just wish I could come up with a way for them to see each other better but safely

 

[FeebysOwner]

I know a couple of members who have used shelving as a barricade at the door, since it can be gotten in longer (higher) lengths. Others have used two baby gates, one on top of the other.

The pic below (courtesy of daftcat75 ) is one example of how you might use shelving to create a barrier too high for her to jump over.

 

[Mike85roberts]

I know a couple of members who have used shelving as a barricade at the door, since it can be gotten in longer (higher) lengths. Others have used two baby gates, one on top of the other.

The pic below (courtesy of daftcat75 ) is one example of how you might use shelving to create a barrier too high for her to jump over.

That’s genius, I’ll try that

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good luck and let us know if it works for you! I certainly hope so!!

Edited: If you find she uses the slats to crawl up, you could always affix plexi-glass to a portion of it so that it would prevent her from crawling all the way up and over. And, then just leave a small area at the bottom without the plexi-glass so that they can smell and physically touch paws/noses.

 

[daftcat75]

I know a couple of members who have used shelving as a barricade at the door, since it can be gotten in longer (higher) lengths. Others have used two baby gates, one on top of the other.

The pic below (courtesy of daftcat75 ) is one example of how you might use shelving to create a barrier too high for her to jump over.

My 15 year old tortie can still jump this gate. I found this was useful when she was IBD vomiting a lot more often. A barfing cat wasn’t going to jump that gate. But when she was done, she found her hops and leapt free. I would suggest figuring out how to attach rollers to the top so when they jump up, they have no footing to continue on over. Krista never hurdles this. She one hops over with a brief stop at the top. Rollers definitely would have slowed her down.

 

[daftcat75]

The longest shelf I could find was 4 ft. There’s 3 of them there connected by cable ties. Hooks in the wall secure the gate on each end (as well as securing the other end when folded on itself in the open position.) Felt on the bottom edge of the shelves keeps this moving smoothly and not scratching the floor. Each shelf piece was about $30 so total cost with hooks and ties comes out to about $100.

 

[FeebysOwner]

There is similar shelving at Lowe's that comes as long as 12 feet and can be cut pretty easily with wire cutters. It is a slight deviation to the shelving pictured above, but could still be constructed in a similar manner. Depending on the height, even if it were to go to the top of the door, plexi-glass being added to the upper portion of the shelving would solve the possible climbing dilemma.