Last week I lost my beloved Maggie-Cat. You can read the story of her last illness here:
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/271587/difficulty-treating-ill-cat-please-help
On Sunday I adopted "Sammy" (still testing out his name) from a local animal shelter. He is male, neutered, five months old, very sweet, very confident. He just sat in the carrier on the way home like "Yeah, sure, whatever." He is also terrible like kittens are.
He is confined to my upstairs bedroom, which is currently a mess. I had to have the mattress and box spring carted away after my late husband's illness, and there are a lot of boxes and other effluvia. So it's quite the kitty playground.
My other cat, Eli, has been with me since August. He is a timid, sweet cat. After spending a week under the bed, he integrated with Maggie pretty easily and they became best friends. He LOVED her and she grew to love him. They would cuddle together and he would groom her for hours. He misses her terribly.
For the first two days, I did not let Eli into the room with Sammy. Then on Day 3, he scooted in before I could have a chance to shut him out. So I decided to let them interact and see how it goes.
I have now done this for three sessions and here are the behaviors I see. Remember -- Eli = existing cat; Sammy = new cat:
1) Eli seems mostly curious, but when Sammy gets too close he hisses at him.
2) Sammy will chase Eli but back off when Eli hisses at him.
3) Eli does not chase Sammy but will approach him cautiously.
4) Eli has swatted Sammy with paw once. I do not think claws were out but I cannot be sure.
5) Sammy has growled at Eli a couple of times and gotten fluffy tail.
6) I have not seen Eli fluff his tail.
7) Both cats have ears forward and alert. When Eli hisses, Sammy gets into defensive crouch and puts ears back but does not hiss back.
I have also taken shirts and rubbed them over Sammy's face and placed them downstairs into Eli's "territory."
Before he came to live with me, Eli's best friend in his foster home was a neutered male. My Maggie was a spayed female.
I think the fact that I have not seen violence is a good thing, but I'd like some input from people who have done this with two males before. I have only had two females at a time (who fought) and a male/female pair (who fought) before Eli and Maggie fell in love. And unfortunately, that was only for 2 months before Maggie became ill.
I am sitting here in an ice storm in NJ and it is nearly certain that the power will go out. Sammy is gray (he is part Russian Blue) and will be impossible to see when the power goes out...so it will be hard to keep him confined at that point. So...am I doing this right?
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/271587/difficulty-treating-ill-cat-please-help
On Sunday I adopted "Sammy" (still testing out his name) from a local animal shelter. He is male, neutered, five months old, very sweet, very confident. He just sat in the carrier on the way home like "Yeah, sure, whatever." He is also terrible like kittens are.
He is confined to my upstairs bedroom, which is currently a mess. I had to have the mattress and box spring carted away after my late husband's illness, and there are a lot of boxes and other effluvia. So it's quite the kitty playground.
My other cat, Eli, has been with me since August. He is a timid, sweet cat. After spending a week under the bed, he integrated with Maggie pretty easily and they became best friends. He LOVED her and she grew to love him. They would cuddle together and he would groom her for hours. He misses her terribly.
For the first two days, I did not let Eli into the room with Sammy. Then on Day 3, he scooted in before I could have a chance to shut him out. So I decided to let them interact and see how it goes.
I have now done this for three sessions and here are the behaviors I see. Remember -- Eli = existing cat; Sammy = new cat:
1) Eli seems mostly curious, but when Sammy gets too close he hisses at him.
2) Sammy will chase Eli but back off when Eli hisses at him.
3) Eli does not chase Sammy but will approach him cautiously.
4) Eli has swatted Sammy with paw once. I do not think claws were out but I cannot be sure.
5) Sammy has growled at Eli a couple of times and gotten fluffy tail.
6) I have not seen Eli fluff his tail.
7) Both cats have ears forward and alert. When Eli hisses, Sammy gets into defensive crouch and puts ears back but does not hiss back.
I have also taken shirts and rubbed them over Sammy's face and placed them downstairs into Eli's "territory."
Before he came to live with me, Eli's best friend in his foster home was a neutered male. My Maggie was a spayed female.
I think the fact that I have not seen violence is a good thing, but I'd like some input from people who have done this with two males before. I have only had two females at a time (who fought) and a male/female pair (who fought) before Eli and Maggie fell in love. And unfortunately, that was only for 2 months before Maggie became ill.
I am sitting here in an ice storm in NJ and it is nearly certain that the power will go out. Sammy is gray (he is part Russian Blue) and will be impossible to see when the power goes out...so it will be hard to keep him confined at that point. So...am I doing this right?
