Introducing new cat to 2 resident cats

[Scamille]

I broke down a week ago and brought home this stray/feral cat I was caring for bc I think she was in danger. I'm trying to introduce her to my 2 cats but I'm scared to! I'm basically keeping them in bedroom and her in bathroom. I open one door for a few hours and vice versa. She's SLOWLY making her way closer to me in the living room but it's take over hour for her to move one foot. I'm terrified of opening both doors at the same time tho! How long can I do this?

 

[rubysmama]

Scamille : Hello and welcome to TCS. Thanks for bringing the stray cat into your home.

You are doing the right thing by keeping them separate, especially until you can get her vet checked, to ensure she doesn't have any illness that could infect your resident cats. However, it is suffice to keep her in the bathroom, and meanwhile allow your residents their normal space.

After she's been vet checked, you could start putting your cats in the bedroom for bit, so that the newbie can leave her scent around the house, for your cats to get used to. The cat introduction process generally works best when done slowly, as you do not want any of the cats becoming stressed.

TCS has the following articles on cats introductions which you may find helpful. Thanks again for rescuing her. I hope all 3 cats are eventually besties.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Introducing Cats To Cats

A couple more articles you might find helpful:

A Feral Cat Or A Stray Cat? How To Tell The Difference | TheCatSite
Adopting A Stray Cat | TheCatSite
The Five Golden Rules To Bringing An Outdoor Cat Inside | TheCatSite

Good luck. Please keep us posted.

 

[Scamille]

Thank you I read most of the articles. But I'm wondering why she is destroying the litter in her box. I put scoop away clumping litter in there and she trys to destroy the clumps? Have you ever seen this behavioral?

 

[rubysmama]

But I'm wondering why she is destroying the litter in her box. I put scoop away clumping litter in there and she trys to destroy the clumps? Have you ever seen this behavioral?

Hmmm... don't recall ever reading about a cat doing that before. Maybe she's just accidentally destroying the clumps as she tries to completely cover her scent. Is the litter in the box deep? Is it a large litter box?

 

[calicosrspecial]

I broke down a week ago and brought home this stray/feral cat I was caring for bc I think she was in danger. I'm trying to introduce her to my 2 cats but I'm scared to! I'm basically keeping them in bedroom and her in bathroom. I open one door for a few hours and vice versa. She's SLOWLY making her way closer to me in the living room but it's take over hour for her to move one foot. I'm terrified of opening both doors at the same time tho! How long can I do this?

Hi,

PLEASE do not be scared. For now, we will not have them together in any way. We start off with scent introduction (no visual) and move on from there. No need to be worried or scared. I have brought in a lot of ferals and helped with many, many more and the success rate is extremely high. It all comes down to knowledge (which we have) and effort (which we'll need from you). If we have that I am highly, highly confident we'll get them successfully intro'd.

It is really important to follow the formal introduction process step by step at the pace at the cats. It is a process.

How exactly is the house set up? I don;t like to change or take territory away for the resident cats since change can cause issues and a lack of confidence. If I can understand the house setup that would be great. The new cat will be fine in the bathroom for a while. I would like to resident/existing cats to have as much access to their previous territory as much as possible.

We want to slowly build trust making positive associations using food and scent (no visual) to being with. We also want to make every encounter as positive as possible and to minimize any negative encounters. We want to distract if any negative encounter might be starting. Any time a negative is avoided it is a positive.

We also want to work on building the cats confidence via Play, Food, Height and Love. A confident cat is more likely to accept and be accepted. Since the resident/existing cats have the most difficult time to adjust since it is their territory being "invaded" it is very important to work on their confidence.

So step up play with the resident cats and feed treats or a meal after, give them cat trees, maybe cat shelving if you own your own home, scratching posts, warm and comfy bedding. Places to go high and to get their scent on it to "own" the territory. And finally love. Being calm and confident around the cats. Acting like nothing is new, nothing threatening. Everything is ok. Keep to routines as cats love routines. Give them their good food, treats. If you can safely (without being at risk of being hurt in anyway) get them to purr, or just hang out and relax. To feel safe and secure. I can help you with all these details.

So for now, do the above to build confidence and start feeding on opposite sides of the closed door. Starting a bit away and slowly moving the bowls closer each day. If you sense negativity distract using food, a toy, calm and confident words and move the bowls back a little. We always want to keep it as positive and show all the cats the other cat(s) doesn't mean harm.

Keep them totally separate for now and I can help you get to the next step based on how they are doing.

And on the breaking up of the litter. It happens. My guess is she is just trying to cover her scent too much. I am not worried about it since she is using the litter box.

It is a process but it is really successful. I am happy to help. Thanks for saving another life!!! We'll make it work.

Please update us and ask any questions for clarification or anything else. Really important to follow the process and keep it positive to build trust between all of them.

 

[Scamille]

Hmmm... don't recall ever reading about a cat doing that before. Maybe she's just accidentally destroying the clumps as she tries to completely cover her scent. Is the litter in the box deep? Is it a large litter box?

Its about 10"-15". And I'm not putting alot of litter bc of what she's doing. It makes a huge mess. It's ok I'm just curious why she's doing it! I've never seen my other 2 cats do that and I've had them 13 years. Thank you for replying!

 

[Scamille]

Hi,

PLEASE do not be scared. For now, we will not have them together in any way. We start off with scent introduction (no visual) and move on from there. No need to be worried or scared. I have brought in a lot of ferals and helped with many, many more and the success rate is extremely high. It all comes down to knowledge (which we have) and effort (which we'll need from you). If we have that I am highly, highly confident we'll get them successfully intro'd.

It is really important to follow the formal introduction process step by step at the pace at the cats. It is a process.

How exactly is the house set up? I don;t like to change or take territory away for the resident cats since change can cause issues and a lack of confidence. If I can understand the house setup that would be great. The new cat will be fine in the bathroom for a while. I would like to resident/existing cats to have as much access to their previous territory as much as possible.

We want to slowly build trust making positive associations using food and scent (no visual) to being with. We also want to make every encounter as positive as possible and to minimize any negative encounters. We want to distract if any negative encounter might be starting. Any time a negative is avoided it is a positive.

We also want to work on building the cats confidence via Play, Food, Height and Love. A confident cat is more likely to accept and be accepted. Since the resident/existing cats have the most difficult time to adjust since it is their territory being "invaded" it is very important to work on their confidence.

So step up play with the resident cats and feed treats or a meal after, give them cat trees, maybe cat shelving if you own your own home, scratching posts, warm and comfy bedding. Places to go high and to get their scent on it to "own" the territory. And finally love. Being calm and confident around the cats. Acting like nothing is new, nothing threatening. Everything is ok. Keep to routines as cats love routines. Give them their good food, treats. If you can safely (without being at risk of being hurt in anyway) get them to purr, or just hang out and relax. To feel safe and secure. I can help you with all these details.

So for now, do the above to build confidence and start feeding on opposite sides of the closed door. Starting a bit away and slowly moving the bowls closer each day. If you sense negativity distract using food, a toy, calm and confident words and move the bowls back a little. We always want to keep it as positive and show all the cats the other cat(s) doesn't mean harm.

Keep them totally separate for now and I can help you get to the next step based on how they are doing.

And on the breaking up of the litter. It happens. My guess is she is just trying to cover her scent too much. I am not worried about it since she is using the litter box.

It is a process but it is really successful. I am happy to help. Thanks for saving another life!!! We'll make it work.

Please update us and ask any questions for clarification or anything else. Really important to follow the process and keep it positive to build trust between all of them.

My male cat is being pretty good about it so far (they both know there's a cat in the bathroom) but Libby is mad and staying far away. Suzi (new cat) is very swee and loving towards me but is attacking poor Sqeaky's paws under door when he reaches in with his front leg under bathroom door.
What about buying a baby gate and putting it in door way to separate them at first? Thank you for your time

 

[Scamille]

Hi,

PLEASE do not be scared. For now, we will not have them together in any way. We start off with scent introduction (no visual) and move on from there. No need to be worried or scared. I have brought in a lot of ferals and helped with many, many more and the success rate is extremely high. It all comes down to knowledge (which we have) and effort (which we'll need from you). If we have that I am highly, highly confident we'll get them successfully intro'd.

It is really important to follow the formal introduction process step by step at the pace at the cats. It is a process.

How exactly is the house set up? I don;t like to change or take territory away for the resident cats since change can cause issues and a lack of confidence. If I can understand the house setup that would be great. The new cat will be fine in the bathroom for a while. I would like to resident/existing cats to have as much access to their previous territory as much as possible.

We want to slowly build trust making positive associations using food and scent (no visual) to being with. We also want to make every encounter as positive as possible and to minimize any negative encounters. We want to distract if any negative encounter might be starting. Any time a negative is avoided it is a positive.

We also want to work on building the cats confidence via Play, Food, Height and Love. A confident cat is more likely to accept and be accepted. Since the resident/existing cats have the most difficult time to adjust since it is their territory being "invaded" it is very important to work on their confidence.

So step up play with the resident cats and feed treats or a meal after, give them cat trees, maybe cat shelving if you own your own home, scratching posts, warm and comfy bedding. Places to go high and to get their scent on it to "own" the territory. And finally love. Being calm and confident around the cats. Acting like nothing is new, nothing threatening. Everything is ok. Keep to routines as cats love routines. Give them their good food, treats. If you can safely (without being at risk of being hurt in anyway) get them to purr, or just hang out and relax. To feel safe and secure. I can help you with all these details.

So for now, do the above to build confidence and start feeding on opposite sides of the closed door. Starting a bit away and slowly moving the bowls closer each day. If you sense negativity distract using food, a toy, calm and confident words and move the bowls back a little. We always want to keep it as positive and show all the cats the other cat(s) doesn't mean harm.

Keep them totally separate for now and I can help you get to the next step based on how they are doing.

And on the breaking up of the litter. It happens. My guess is she is just trying to cover her scent too much. I am not worried about it since she is using the litter box.

It is a process but it is really successful. I am happy to help. Thanks for saving another life!!! We'll make it work.

Please update us and ask any questions for clarification or anything else. Really important to follow the process and keep it positive to build trust between all of them.

Also I have 2 cats. Shouldn't I Introduce her to one at a time? And is it ok to keep her in bathroom this long? I'm spending at least 3-4 hours a day with her. And I put my cats in my bedroom and open bathroom door for about 1-1.5 hrs twice a day to let her explore. She's doing good too. A little slow ut that OK. My apartment is one bedroom one bathroom. I know! Hey I had to bring her home this horrible man was threatening her and I was riding 4 buses roundtrip every day to go feed her and make sure she was OK. I was terrified every day that he would harm her. So I just went and got her spayed a d rabies and brought her home with me! This is crazy but she's staying now

 

[rubysmama]

So she's been spayed. That's great. So since she's been vet checked, it's ok to let her around things your other cats are around.

As for introducing, there's lots of advice in the How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide article including ways to block doorways so the cats can see each other, but not get too close.

 

[calicosrspecial]

My male cat is being pretty good about it so far (they both know there's a cat in the bathroom) but Libby is mad and staying far away. Suzi (new cat) is very swee and loving towards me but is attacking poor Sqeaky's paws under door when he reaches in with his front leg under bathroom door.
What about buying a baby gate and putting it in door way to separate them at first? Thank you for your time

Resident cats can respond in different ways at first. But it is important to take it slow and build trust. The biggest mistake I see is when people rush the process. Maybe a or the resident cats are ok then it degrades from there. Cats are territorial so anytime there is a potential threat issues can develop.

Reassure both resident/existing cats. Play with them if possible and feed treats after play. Also, be reassuring. Stay calm and confident towards them, act like everything is ok. Keep them on a routine. Cats like constancy so the more "normal" things are the more it will help. If a cat gets "funny" distract with something positive. A treat, a toy, loving words. Get them to focus on something other than the new cat and turn it into a positive or a non-event. Really important to show the resident cats that the new cat is not a threat in any way.

"What about buying a baby gate and putting it in door way to separate them at first?" - A baby gate is a good idea to create a "buffer zone" now. We want to have the door closed at all times right now. No visual contact yet. We need to feed on each side of a closed door for now. Ideally given her attacking the paws we may want to create a buffer zone so she can't get to the new cat's paws. If you see her focused on the paws distract with a treat or a toy. Anything positive. Imagine is some person came off the street and was in one of your rooms. You would be worried. What might this person do? Same for cats. We need to show the resident cats that this new cat is not a threat, not negative.

"Also I have 2 cats. Shouldn't I Introduce her to one at a time?" - No, we can introduce them together following the process. So only feeding on opposite sides of a closed door for now. Feed the two resident cats at the same time a few feet from the bathroom door (or at whatever distance they will eat). This is to make a positive association with the new cat. Food is good, life sustaining. So resident cats eat food, all goes well, no new cat is eating it, everything is safe and fine = positive association.

"And is it ok to keep her in bathroom this long? I'm spending at least 3-4 hours a day with her." - Yes, she will be fine in there. It is more important to get the resident cats to trust and accept her. Usually the new cat is easier to acclimate as it is new territory. Spending 3-4 hours with her is amazing. Just reassure her, build confidence. BUT it is VERY important to build the resident cats confidence. Sometimes we focus too much on the new cat and that can cause some insecurity in the resident cats. We need to let the resident cats know all is ok, the same, no threat and build their confidence - playing with them, reassuring them, etc.

"And I put my cats in my bedroom and open bathroom door for about 1-1.5 hrs twice a day to let her explore." - I don't want to do this just yet. We'll do this at some point but it is too early in my opinion to do this now. We want to keep the resident cats lives as "normal" as possible. So keeping things as unchanged as possible. The new cat will be fine. I am not surprised she is doing well. She knows you love her and are taking care of her.

"My apartment is one bedroom one bathroom. I know! Hey I had to bring her home this horrible man was threatening her and I was riding 4 buses roundtrip every day to go feed her and make sure she was OK. I was terrified every day that he would harm her. So I just went and got her spayed a d rabies and brought her home with me! This is crazy but she's staying now" - You are a HERO!! A one bdrm, one bath is fine. That is why we need to do the intro properly. Really build the trust of the resident cats. I do this all the time, we can do it. She is one lucky cat!! THANK YOU for caring about her!!!

I really want to take each step in the intro process carefully. I would like to keep them visually blocked for now until we can build the resident cats confidence and build more trust. We'll get there. We are on "Cat Time" based on how they respond. Work on making positive associations now feeding on each side of a closed door, make every encounter as positive as possible using distraction (a treat, a toy, loving words) to avoid a negative encounter. And step up play with the resident cats and feed after. Keep the resident cats to a routine and have their lives as "normal" as possible (as much like pre new cat as possible).

We'll get there. We do this all the time. The key really is to take it slow and focus on the resident cats to build that trust and confidence.

Please ask any questions or for clarification.

 

[Scamille]

Resident cats can respond in different ways at first. But it is important to take it slow and build trust. The biggest mistake I see is when people rush the process. Maybe a or the resident cats are ok then it degrades from there. Cats are territorial so anytime there is a potential threat issues can develop.

Reassure both resident/existing cats. Play with them if possible and feed treats after play. Also, be reassuring. Stay calm and confident towards them, act like everything is ok. Keep them on a routine. Cats like constancy so the more "normal" things are the more it will help. If a cat gets "funny" distract with something positive. A treat, a toy, loving words. Get them to focus on something other than the new cat and turn it into a positive or a non-event. Really important to show the resident cats that the new cat is not a threat in any way.

"What about buying a baby gate and putting it in door way to separate them at first?" - A baby gate is a good idea to create a "buffer zone" now. We want to have the door closed at all times right now. No visual contact yet. We need to feed on each side of a closed door for now. Ideally given her attacking the paws we may want to create a buffer zone so she can't get to the new cat's paws. If you see her focused on the paws distract with a treat or a toy. Anything positive. Imagine is some person came off the street and was in one of your rooms. You would be worried. What might this person do? Same for cats. We need to show the resident cats that this new cat is not a threat, not negative.

"Also I have 2 cats. Shouldn't I Introduce her to one at a time?" - No, we can introduce them together following the process. So only feeding on opposite sides of a closed door for now. Feed the two resident cats at the same time a few feet from the bathroom door (or at whatever distance they will eat). This is to make a positive association with the new cat. Food is good, life sustaining. So resident cats eat food, all goes well, no new cat is eating it, everything is safe and fine = positive association.

"And is it ok to keep her in bathroom this long? I'm spending at least 3-4 hours a day with her." - Yes, she will be fine in there. It is more important to get the resident cats to trust and accept her. Usually the new cat is easier to acclimate as it is new territory. Spending 3-4 hours with her is amazing. Just reassure her, build confidence. BUT it is VERY important to build the resident cats confidence. Sometimes we focus too much on the new cat and that can cause some insecurity in the resident cats. We need to let the resident cats know all is ok, the same, no threat and build their confidence - playing with them, reassuring them, etc.

"And I put my cats in my bedroom and open bathroom door for about 1-1.5 hrs twice a day to let her explore." - I don't want to do this just yet. We'll do this at some point but it is too early in my opinion to do this now. We want to keep the resident cats lives as "normal" as possible. So keeping things as unchanged as possible. The new cat will be fine. I am not surprised she is doing well. She knows you love her and are taking care of her.

"My apartment is one bedroom one bathroom. I know! Hey I had to bring her home this horrible man was threatening her and I was riding 4 buses roundtrip every day to go feed her and make sure she was OK. I was terrified every day that he would harm her. So I just went and got her spayed a d rabies and brought her home with me! This is crazy but she's staying now" - You are a HERO!! A one bdrm, one bath is fine. That is why we need to do the intro properly. Really build the trust of the resident cats. I do this all the time, we can do it. She is one lucky cat!! THANK YOU for caring about her!!!

I really want to take each step in the intro process carefully. I would like to keep them visually blocked for now until we can build the resident cats confidence and build more trust. We'll get there. We are on "Cat Time" based on how they respond. Work on making positive associations now feeding on each side of a closed door, make every encounter as positive as possible using distraction (a treat, a toy, loving words) to avoid a negative encounter. And step up play with the resident cats and feed after. Keep the resident cats to a routine and have their lives as "normal" as possible (as much like pre new cat as possible).

We'll get there. We do this all the time. The key really is to take it slow and focus on the resident cats to build that trust and confidence.

Please ask any questions or for clarification.

OK I'll start feeding them on opposite side of the door this evening so we'll see how it goes! and thank u so very much for making me feel better about this. She is so sweet and loving towards me too. She crawls on my lap and kneads my legs, almost like getting a free massage every morning lol

 

[calicosrspecial]

Great. Yes, start a few feet apart on each side of the closed door. If one of the cats doesn't eat then just move it further away until the cat does. Feed at the usual time the resident cats eat. If you sense some unease use soothing, loving words. Reassuring words. Anytime we can get the cats focused on something other than the other cat it is a positive. After feeding then try to get them away from the door and reassure them, love them, etc. Make it a positive experience. We'll feed on each side of the closed door for a bout a week and let's see how the resident cats do. In the meantime, step up play with the resident cats and try to build their confidence. A confident cat is more likely to accept and be accepted.

She sounds like an absolutely lovely cat. Cats do respond to love so I am not surprised she is so good with you. The fact you took care of her in the wild helps build that bond. I am so glad to hear she is doing well.

Let me know how the feeding goes and how the resident cats are doing. We'll watch the cats and how they respond to know how to progress. It is a process but highly successful.

Keep up the great work and ask anything anytime. Thanks for saving her!!

 

[Scamille]

Hello again, my new cat Susannah has been here exactly one month today. I have 2 resident cat where one is OK with her but Libby does NOT like her! She is not trying to fight her but she's making this awful sounding moan and she just hissed at her so loud it made me jump. Should I try to continue the "meeting face to face" episode or put Susi back in bathroom? I know she's getting tired of being in there. It's stressful! Tha ks

 

[rubysmama]

If Libby is only hissing and not trying to fight her, then I think things are pretty much ok. Hissing is a cat's way of communicating. Basically telling Susannah to back off. How does Susannah react to the hisses? Are all 3 cats still eating and using the litter box normally? No one seems stressed?

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hello again, my new cat Susannah has been here exactly one month today. I have 2 resident cat where one is OK with her but Libby does NOT like her! She is not trying to fight her but she's making this awful sounding moan and she just hissed at her so loud it made me jump. Should I try to continue the "meeting face to face" episode or put Susi back in bathroom? I know she's getting tired of being in there. It's stressful! Tha ks

Try to distract Libby in order to avoid negativity. If Susi doesn't attack Libby or doesn't seem like a threat then Libby will learn that Susi is not a threat. It is all about making every encoutner as positive as possible and avoiding negatives.

As Rubysmama says, hissing is communication. The fact it appears not to be escalating and Susi is respecting the communication it is a positive.

But I like to use distraction (using a toy, food, calm, confident words) to make it into a positive (avoiding a negative encounter) to build trust. If a cat (Libby) looks away from Susi it is a positive as a cat will not look away from a true threat. Using food can make a positive association and show Libby that the new cat (Susi) is a good thing and does not mean less food or a physical threat.

Also, make sure you step up play (if possible) with Libby to build confidence and feed after the play. A confident cat is more likely to accept and be accepted.

Let's see how they do. The main thing is to maximize positive encounters and minimize negative encounters and build confidence. Using distraction to achieve that as well as positive associations (food).

Everything you are experiencing is normal, common. Nothing out of the ordinary. It actually sounds positive so far. Especially since it is only a month so far. Keep up the great work and please ask anything to clarify what to do or to address other questions.

 

[Scamille]

Hey ruby & calico, my male resident cat pretty much ignored new cat, he's just curious of her. They r sniffing each other nose to nose. But Libby's a different story. Last night I open bathroom door when they were eating and suzi jumped over the baby gate I just bought! But things seem to go good until suzi jumped on sofa where Libby was at and that's when Libby hissed like she was about to attack but she didn't. I made suzi get off sofa so Libby would feel more secure. I sat on floor with suzi and played with her with an interactive toy fish on stick string that she loves and Libby just watched. When Libby hissed suzi jumped back but that might be because I jumped! It was a scary sounding hiss! Lol

 

[Scamille]

But anyway I didn't make suzi go back in bathroom I just made sure she didn't jump on soda where libby was laying down.Libby just watched her like a hawk! I didn't know if I should continue or put suzi back in the bathroom. I can tell she is getting tired of being in there so I'm goi g in there 2x a day for about 30 min and also putting my 2 cats in the bedroom and letting hang out in living room with me for 2 hours a day. I just feel bad making suzi sleep in bathroom by herself when we are all sleeping together on bed all night. What should I do and thank you both so much!!

 

[calicosrspecial]

Hey ruby & calico, my male resBut Libby's a different story. Last night I open bathroom door when they were eating and suzi jumped over the baby gate I just bought! But things seem to go good untilident cat pretty much ignored new cat, he's just curious of her. They r sniffing each other nose to nose. suzi jumped on sofa where Libby was at and that's when Libby hissed like she was about to attack but she didn't. I made suzi get off sofa so Libby would feel more secure. I sat on floor with suzi and played with her with an interactive toy fish on stick string that she loves and Libby just watched. When Libby hissed suzi jumped back but that might be because I jumped! It was a scary sounding hiss! Lol

Yes, it can be a very scary hiss.

"my male resident cat pretty much ignored new cat" - Great but keep making their encounters as positive as possible to reinforce the trust so far. Reassure them, let them know everything is ok and keep feeding them near each other. Distract if needed to avoid any potential negativity.

"But Libby's a different story. Last night I open bathroom door when they were eating and suzi jumped over the baby gate I just bought!" - Yes, they will jump it sadly. Sometimes we need a few to make it high enough.

"But things seem to go good until suzi jumped on sofa where Libby was at and that's when Libby hissed like she was about to attack but she didn't." - I am proud of Libby. She warned but didn't freak out. That is good. BUT it is early and sometimes early on we are ok because there is so much distrust that they are more reserved. But overall, a positive it didn't escalate.

"I made suzi get off sofa so Libby would feel more secure. I sat on floor with suzi and played with her with an interactive toy fish on stick string that she loves and Libby just watched." - This is prefect!! You handled this perfectly. You turned a potential negative into into a positive. Showed Libby that Suzi is not a real threat. Built Suzi's confidence. Ended it on a positive note. Had a positive encounter. Just make sure you are safe when you do that so you aren't at risk in any way and monitor the cats so that they don't get overstimulated. Great job.

It is a good sign but we do have a lot of work to do to reinforce the trust in each other. So keep making positive associations (using food) and maximize positive encounters and minimize negative encounters distracting as needed.

Please ask anything anytime and let us know how things are going. I am highly confident we will get them intro'd. Not sure when but not worried about "if".

Great job!!

 

[calicosrspecial]

But anyway I didn't make suzi go back in bathroom I just made sure she didn't jump on soda where libby was laying down.Libby just watched her like a hawk! I didn't know if I should continue or put suzi back in the bathroom. I can tell she is getting tired of being in there so I'm goi g in there 2x a day for about 30 min and also putting my 2 cats in the bedroom and letting hang out in living room with me for 2 hours a day. I just feel bad making suzi sleep in bathroom by herself when we are all sleeping together on bed all night. What should I do and thank you both so much!!

I would keep Suzi in the bathroom. She will be fine. The resident cats have the most difficult transition as it is "their" territory being "invaded". Since cats are territorial having a new cat in can cause unease and that is why we go through the intro process.

I would try to let the resident cats have as much access to their "normal" territory as much as possible. So when Suzi does come out if you can have them in their favorite territory and make it positive (give treats or play) that is a good way to do it.

The most important thing is to keep life for the resident cats as "normal" - same as before Suzi - as possible. Cats love routines so keeping them on their routines, in their territory, etc is perfect. (Sleeping in your bed at night).

It is all about letting the resident cats know that everything is great, normal and this new cat is "cool".

Suzi will be fine and when we get them intro'd she'll be loving life. It can be hard BUT it is important in order to lessen the intro time by doing it right and building that trust in each other and confidence.

And cats take on our emotions so please don't "feel bad". We want to stay as calm, confident and positive around the cats to help them feel confident and secure and calm. Suzi is going to have a great life ahead of her, a few more weeks/months is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Our goal is to get them intro'd in the most efficient way possible.

You are doing great, keep up the great work. And please ask anything anytime.

 

[Scamille]

Yes, it can be a very scary hiss.

"my male resident cat pretty much ignored new cat" - Great but keep making their encounters as positive as possible to reinforce the trust so far. Reassure them, let them know everything is ok and keep feeding them near each other. Distract if needed to avoid any potential negativity.

"But Libby's a different story. Last night I open bathroom door when they were eating and suzi jumped over the baby gate I just bought!" - Yes, they will jump it sadly. Sometimes we need a few to make it high enough.

"But things seem to go good until suzi jumped on sofa where Libby was at and that's when Libby hissed like she was about to attack but she didn't." - I am proud of Libby. She warned but didn't freak out. That is good. BUT it is early and sometimes early on we are ok because there is so much distrust that they are more reserved. But overall, a positive it didn't escalate.

"I made suzi get off sofa so Libby would feel more secure. I sat on floor with suzi and played with her with an interactive toy fish on stick string that she loves and Libby just watched." - This is prefect!! You handled this perfectly. You turned a potential negative into into a positive. Showed Libby that Suzi is not a real threat. Built Suzi's confidence. Ended it on a positive note. Had a positive encounter. Just make sure you are safe when you do that so you aren't at risk in any way and monitor the cats so that they don't get overstimulated. Great job.

It is a good sign but we do have a lot of work to do to reinforce the trust in each other. So keep making positive associations (using food) and maximize positive encounters and minimize negative encounters distracting as needed.

Please ask anything anytime and let us know how things are going. I am highly confident we will get them intro'd. Not sure when but not worried about "if".

Great job!!

Thank u so much for taking the time to help me out with all this. I had no idea this site existed or I probably would have brought Suzi home earlier! It took me over 8 months to decide and now I can't imagine her being out there on the street alone. She's so sweet! I think she's only about a year old because she plays like a kitten. I bought her a Poppin Play, but she afraid of it at first, it's a little noisy, she's not used to this kind of life yet. Thanks again I'll keep you posted!