Introducing A New Cat

[Elenya Rose]

Hi everyone,

We are currently in the process of introducing a new cat into our household, we have two cats already.

Here is some background. We currently have two cats Merry and Pippin, who are 17 year old sisters (they are litter mates). We have had them for approximately 18 months, before this they lived with my sister in law. In their previous house they were badly bullied by two cats for approximately four years, these were my sister in laws new husbands cats. Merry and Pippin are both very small. Pippin only weighs 2.8 kgs (approximately 6 pounds) and Merry is only a little bigger. Their bond were very fractured at first but it has gradually improved. They are both very nervous now of other cats and do not react well to them. I gather that this is a change from how they were prior to them being bullied. Merry and Pippin are both lovely cats, Merry can be a touch aggressive and is definitely the boss!

The cat we are currently working on introducing is Misty. Misty is approximately 14 years old and we will be having her for five months only. She is a shy submissive cat but she has had a tough time. She previously lived with an elderly brother and sister for the majority of her life and the brother was her main caregiver. The brother passed away and now the sister has also passed away. My in laws are going to adopt her but are going to be away for five months, which is why we are taking care of her.

We have had Misty in our spare room, with food, water and a litter box. We have both spent time in there with her. My partner has slept with her for the past couple of nights as she has been quite distressed at times. She is eating, drinking and using the litter box and has settled in well so far. She has been very affectionate with both of us and is happy to curl up and go to sleep on our laps.

We have let her have a wander around the house a couple of times, when Merry and Pippin have been outside and have had a sniff around. I have rubbed a sock over her and given it to Merry and Pippin to sniff. Merry has seen her briefly through a crack in the door and was not happy!. Hackles went up and her tail puffed out and she was growling and hissing. Pippin is to scared to approach the door though she will for treats!

Apparently they got on well years ago as Misty's previous owner was my in-laws neighbor and Merry and Pippin lived with my in laws for a time.

Is there anything else we should be doing? We are planning to take it slowly, though I feel sorry for Misty being shut in the spare room. I am also worried that we are being unfair to Merry and Pippin. The only other option was to have her shut in my in laws house while they were away for five months, which seemed really unfair to her!

Just to add that Merry and Pippin are currently ignoring the door, though there are times when Merry sits there and gives it an evil glare!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Can you obtain any calming products? Or try music, there's MusicForCats . com, or an app Relax My Cat.

Hang in there, this will take some time but will hopefully work out after a bit. I'm actually thinking that if things don't work and you find that the resident cats remain unhappy, keeping Misty in that room isn't a horrible thing. In other words, I'm thinking that until she is able to relax a bit, she's going to be upset no matter where she is, and a safe room is better than being out with other cranky cats, especially since it's for a relatively short time and she'll be moving on anyway.

You could try a ticking clock (if it's too loud you can muffle it with a small towel) or a heartbeat toy, in addition to classical harp music for her, if having a person sleeping in the room with her is a hardship for you-all.

I know those are typically for kittens, but Misty's world is really upside down right now, she is grieving and trying to make sense of it all, bless her little heart.

You could even try a heating pad turned to low with a couple towels over it.

Maybe this will help;
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Read through the article that Furballsmom provided to you and see what tactics you could try. The baby gate concept mentioned in it seems to have worked very well for many members on this site.

 

[Elenya Rose]

Thank you both for your replies. Thank you for the article, it is useful. The music is a good idea, I have some I can try. I had forgotten that I used music to help Merry and Pippin settle when they first arrived. They were both very fractious with each other at first and the music helped Merry in particular settle. We have a heated bed in the room for Misty but she is not particularly interested, probably because it is summer where we are (Australia).

I see what you mean about the possibility of keeping her in the room if things don't work out. It is just that I am a big softie and it breaks my heart when she cries to get out.

We will look at the baby gate set up for when they are ready to see each other, its not something we can do right away as we cannot afford it right now.

She is a lovely cat and is very loving and affectionate. We are doing our best to give her plenty of love and cuddles. I do hope they all get on eventually but cats are so unpredictable, you just don't know how things will pan out.

I have been giving Merry and Pippin treats near to the closed door. Pippin will go to the door and gobble them down and run off. Merry isn't having any of it and sits there glaring at me. She has a mean stare!

 

[Furballsmom]

If I didn't know better, it might not be that she wants out as much as she's crying for you
Hopefully the music helps her, and everybody

 

[Elenya Rose]

Thank you, that might be it but she is also used to being able to roam outside at will. I am so proud of her for using the litter tray as she has never used one before.

When is a good time to start visual desensitization? Merry and Pippin are both avoiding the door to the spare room at the moment and are showing no interest at all.

Off topic but my partner and I make jokes that we are a retirement home for elderly cats

 

[FeebysOwner]

A couple of more articles, specifically about introducing a new cat to a multi-cat household. See if there are some more tips in here you can try for your "senior cat center".

What to Know When Introducing Cats to a New Cat | Catster
Tips for Introducing a New Cat to a Multi-Cat Household

 

[meowpassion]

I would also recommend reading or watching John Galaxy, particularly in terms of multi-cat household.

 

[Elenya Rose]

So we have had a little progress. Both Merry and Pippin have still been avoiding the spare room door but Pippin had a sniff at it a couple of days ago, I suspect she felt more brave with me standing near her. Misty hissed at her through the door and Pip hissed back.

My partner took Misty into the study the other night to give her some company and so she could have a break from the spare room, she is getting a little stir crazy in there. This meant the spare room was open so I encouraged both Merry and Pippin to go into the room to have a look around.

I was really surprised because Pippin would go in but Merry wouldn't. Merry is normally the brave one. Pippin was cautious but had a good sniff around, I was really proud of her because I could see she was scared. I don't think she would have gone in if I wasn't with her. She was bullied the most at their previous home and had to have anti anxiety medication for a while.

It was a bit more dramatic last night when my partner took Misty into the study. I heard Merry have a look around the room (and eating Misty's food lol). Both Merry and Pippin were very unsettled and fearful. They were both lying on my bed, doing short random growls and being cranky with each other, with the odd swipe and a hiss. I suspect that was a bit of redirected aggression because Misty's scent would have been coming through the open spare room door.

I was finally able to get Merry settled with some harp music and the music app Furballsmom suggested. Music really settles her, once she settled Pippin did as well. I would recommend to anyone who needs to settle a cat to try soothing harp or classical music. It doesn't have much effect on Pippin but it really does on Merry. She also likes Bach The app was great as well.

So some small steps forward. We are being put under pressure to do the introduction process faster but I'm refusing. It takes as long as it takes. If Misty integrates well with Merry and Pippin then we will look at keeping her with us. She is a lovely little cat, I'm getting fond of her (I knew that would happen!)

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I'm so glad the music is helping!!

Youre absolutely right, --tell the person/people who are trying to hurry things that you can go only as fast as the slowest cat.

 

[Elenya Rose]

Hi!
I'm so glad the music is helping!!

Youre absolutely right, --tell the person/people who are trying to hurry things that you can go only as fast as the slowest cat.

Thank you, that means a lot. I'v had to stand my ground about it, so the validation is appreciated. I suspect that they will all be OK but it is just going to take time.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Elenya Rose]

So we have had some progress. I cracked open the door to Misty's room for both Merry and Pippin to have a look at different times. Misty didn't come to the door but they could both see her. Neither hissed but they did back away then ran off. The last time Merry saw her she hissed, growled and her hackles went up. I think this is an improvement, this is also the first time I have been able to get Merry to the door since then.

We have been taking Misty into the study and then leaving her room open for Merry and Pippin to have a look and a sniff around. Pippin will go in but Merry hardly does and then gets very stressed and starts hissing at Pippin, which dies down once we close the door. I'm pretty sure this is redirected aggression.

Neither of them are particularly curious about the door, which surprises me because they are both very nosy normally. Pippin was once but Misty hissed through the door at her, Pippin jumped and hissed back.

I'm feeling a bit unsure how to proceed from here. Do we keep leaving the door to Misty's room open until Merry is comfortable with it? Then look at getting more visual. Pippin will always sniff at things in the house that Misty has touched but Merry ignores everything with her scent. I said to my partner that it is like she is in denial that there is another cat in the house. I wonder if part of the problem is that she knows that there is another cat in the room and then freaks out when she can see the door is open, she would also be able to smell her more strongly. We don't let her see us taking Misty into another room because we are not sure of their reactions when they see her yet. Or Misty's for that matter.

I felt sad for Misty tonight. She was having a roam through the main part of the house, while Merry and Pippin were outside and she led me to her carrier and kept meowing at me There is no way she can ever go back to her old home

She is also going a bit stir crazy in her room, we let her out when we can but we are no where near ready to let them all be in the same room yet. She was scratching madly at the door earlier so I put on the scared kitten music from the cat music app. She seems to have calmed down now.

 

[Elenya Rose]

Also, we have been looking for pet or baby gates to use and are having issues with finding a suitable one. Pippin is really small and very skinny, so a lot of the ones with rails would not work because she could probably squeeze through them. We joke that she can fit into tiny spaces like a rat. One of her favorite tricks is to bait Merry, then run off to a space only she can fit into. Sometimes I feel like we have a pair of toddlers with claws and fangs!

There are mesh ones but they don't look particularly robust. I worry that they wouldn't hold up to sharp claws, we would need to get two as none of them are high enough!

This is Merry, who can be quite the brat and lets me know if I stay up past my bedtime (she then nags me until I go to bed).

This is Pippin, who is a shameless hussy and will be friends with anyone as long as they scratch her chest



I will get a photo of Misty tomorrow

 

[Furballsmom]

They are GORGEOUS, and what characters LOL!

I wonder what was going through Misty's mind as she was leading you to her carrier. Did she want to go inside of it and make it a "safe spot" for herself, or something like that? Some cats like being in their carriers quite a bit

Do we keep leaving the door to Misty's room open until Merry is comfortable with it?

I think so, yes.

I don't know if this would be of any help? The whole thread is interesting, but these gates, made out of wire shelving, might be useful for you?
Cat Enclosures And Gates

 

[Furballsmom]

...about Misty and her carrier, maybe like this, (I couldn't get Jcatbird 's actual post #187 to copy so I copied my post 186 just above it)
Aggressive Resident - It Just Got Real. No Idea How To Help Him.

 

[Jcatbird]

Hi! Thank you Furballsmom ! I hope that post will help here.
It really is just giving each kitty a feeling of security, belonging, love and the time they need to adjust to everything and everyone around them. My heart goes out to Misty and I’m very glad to see the persistence demonstrated here! Love the pictures! They can be just like kids sometimes. They can push everyone’s buttons! I hope Misty will soon feel settled with Merry and Pippin.

 

[Elenya Rose]

Thank you furballsmom, they are lovely but naughty scamps! With Misty and the carrier it could be that she was wanting a safe space but as it was the carrier she came in, I felt like she was telling me that she wanted to go home. I will check out the links you posted.

Thank you for the kind words jcatbird. My heart goes out to her as well.

We had an incident this morning after I left for work. My partner forgot to close the door to Misty’s room and she got out. He found her having a face off with Merry. They both had their hackles up and bottlebrush tails and they were yowling. Meanwhile Pippin was watching the drama from the bed, quite relaxed. DP said all she needed was popcorn!

He was able to get Misty back into her room before a fight erupted. I just feel a bit down because it feels like all of our progress has gone down the toilet.

Merry is no longer in denial that there is another cat in the house. She spent a large part of the evening monitoring the door to Misty’s room. I ended up spending a lot of time giving her and Pip cuddles, while playing Merrys favourite harp music. She seems to be settling. If Merry is settled, Pippin will always relax.

DP has been spending a lot of time with Misty. They are forming a nice bond

Is this normal? This is the first time I have introduced an adult cat to other cats. I’ll probably keep posting because I really appreciate the support. This is a great community.

 

[rosegold]

It seems like you’re having small bits of progress which is promising! Even after the recent setback I think you are still on track. I don’t have a lot of experience and my introductions have always gone pretty smoothly, but others are giving awesome advice as usual. Just a thought, do any of your cats react (positively) to catnip? Back when I introduced Chai to Chilli, I found that it calmed everyone down and provided a great distraction from staring at each other. Especially when I used matatabi sticks—Chai was ambivalent about those but Chilli was happy to get high and roll around without even looking at the new girl. (Of course, some cats get a little wild on catnip which might have the opposite effect). And treats, of course, lots of treats!

Love their names, by the way.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Don't feel down even a little bit, the accidentally open door didn't undo progress. What happened is now just part of their story, and even with any hiccups that may occur in the future, it's ok.

By the way, if you-all do find you need to separate warring felines, throwing a blanket or large towel over them, or a large piece of cardboard in between them can keep you safe;

How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight