Introducing new cats...urgh

[zerosoma33]

Hi, I'm new here.

I've taken care of Sadie (my beautiful persian/calico) since I adopted her in 2008. She's roughly 5 years of age and is a very sweet cat. She's been by herself (no other animals except for fish in a fish tank) since I adopted her. At one time I tried adopting another cat but the two couldn't get along and so I took the cat back to the shelter after a couple weeks.

My girlfriend has two cats that are adorable and lovable. We are taking things pretty serious and so we wanted the cats to get to know each other. She came down for Christmas break and is staying with me, so she brought her two cats to my house. I thought well, we may have a fight on our hands because there's two cats coming to Sadie's "kingdom". We introduced them a week earlier during a weekend at my mom's house but had to keep them in the utility room. After a few days it wasn't so bad and they pretty much just tolerated each other. But here's what's happening :

Whenever Sadie looks at one of the two cats and they make eye contact, she begins to meow, then it graduates to a meow growl, and if they get any closer, she begins to hiss. In extreme cases, where they are close enough, she will scream and bat them, then hiss. The other two cats don't do much talking back, but Sadie seems to have a huge problem with them.

We don't know much about training, so we've probably done a lot of things wrong, but we've given Sadie and the other two cats treats when we bring them *slowly* closer and no meowing or hissing develops. Alternatively, when they act out mean (hiss, scream, bat), we squirt them with a water bottle to let them know it's "naughty".

It's been about four days now since she brought the two cats here. They pretty much find their own place to sleep and sit and they can stay in the same room together without much of a fight, and they will even eat fairly close (within a couple feet) together. But if any of the cats jumps up near Sadie, she screams, hisses, and lunges at them.

No biting or clawing and I hope that won't happen, but her two cats have kind of learned to stay away from "mean Sadie".

Is there anything we can do? How long does this process usually take and how do I know that it's getting better or if it's just not going to happen?

Thanks a lot!

 

[bastetservant]

There are threads on this forum regarding how to introduce cats successfully. There is a link on the sticky thread on this Behavior subforum. Look at thread entitled something like: Have a behavior problem look here first. Also, on the top of the page is a link entitled "Cat Behavior." Besides the article on introducing cats, there are a lot of others that can be useful.

It can take many weeks or even months to introduce cats to each other. There can be set backs along the way. Please don't get discouraged and give all the cats a good long time to adjust. My newest cat has been home 3 months and she is still living in her own room. She is afraid of my other cats, though one is visiting her regularly now with no growling or hissing going on. Even though we are still far from reaching the goal of her being integrated into the home with the others, she has come a long, long way, and will get there eventually. One has to be patient with creatures as sensitive (and sometimes neurotic) as cats.

Feliway diffusers work well for many people and their multi-cat households. They can, however, take several weeks to work completely, and you may need several if the space the cats are in is large (multiple rooms). There is also a spray that can be applied to cat bedding and that works more immediately.

Good luck with the blending of the cats. It takes time, but it can work out. Few cats are happy about newcomers, but they eventually calm down.

Robin

 

[trangdtu]

zerosoma,

I'm in the same boat myself so not sure I have much to add, but one small thing I've noticed is that Nola, my new kitten, is sleepier / calmer at certain times of day. That's when I try to bring her into the shared room, hoping that more peaceful visits will help Pumpkin, the older cat, associate Nola's presence with good experiences.

I've also sometimes played with Nola & run her around lots in the other room to tire her out before putting her out for a visit.

Good luck with yours.

Trang

 

[darlili]

Another thing, which may seem silly - keep telling Sadie she's your one and only - the love of your life and you will always always love her. From her point of view, as you noticed, her home has been invaded by all sorts of other females (yeah, the human one too!). Sadie needs reassurance that she's still loved, still needed...one thing also, always greet and feed Sadie first - reinforce that all these changes are really to her benefit, but that she's still #1 to you.

Rather than spritzing them when they're bad (unless you're breaking up an honest to god fight), what I did was have toys handy at all times, and every time my two started 'eyeing' each other, I'd distract one or the other with the toy (yep, carried a laser pointer with me at all times for weeks). Like you, every time they were 'nice', I made sure I gave them special treats.

Also, lots and lots of litter pans for all the kitties, and if you can add a cat tree or three to the house, that'd be great - any type of vertical space will 'add' to the territory and let them work out space requirements.

And, try to be consistent in your schedules regarding feeding and playing - cats love consistency, and I bet there are a lot of new schedules in your home. If Sadie and the others can count on some sort of routine, that may go far to setting their worlds in order.

You're right, some cats are 'only' cats - but I'd guess that since you haven't seen any all out fights yet, it's a matter of time and patience and love til they sort things out. But do try the Feliway diffuser (it doesn't work instantly, but I've used it with success). And keep an eye on all three cats' eating and litter box habits - if you see any marked changes, make sure you speak with a vet asap.

 

[katachtig]

Read up on Introducing cats. This is a very helpful guide. You may have to start again by keeping them separated for a few days.

Other things that have helped people is to have Feliway diffusers in the rooms where the cats are most frequenty are. Others have found that putting Rescue Remedy in the water helps smooth some of the tensions as the cats figure it out themselves.

Usually cats don't get into bloodletting fights. Interfering with punishment can make things worse. If you are concerned about fights, have a blanket or towel available if you need to separate them.

I also agree with darlili. Give your girl Sadie lots of attention and keep an eye on her to spot any health issues as she is experiencing a lot of stress. We just introduced to two kittens to Lucy who is grumpy on a good day. She was getting to the point where she couldn't calm herself down if she saw the kittens. She started having problems with the litter box and the vet diagnosed a painful UTI. Taking care of that problem has helped with her mood somewhat (2 or 3 minutes of moaning and hissing instead of 10-15 minutes).

 

[luvzmykatz]

I've had to introduce cats before you have to go slow, keep them in different rooms and slowly introduce them for short periods. You also can't dicipline a cat like you can a dog. Yelling at them and throwing water only makes them more upset. I would start all over again and reintroduce them slowly. It will be worth it. The last time i took me a good 6 weeks. I'm in the begining of the process again and after a week they are still hissing a bit and my old cat is growling but no attack stances or fighting and they can be in the same room. I give him a lot of attention and show him that I give the the new cat attention too and consider her part of the family. Cats are pretty smart they are just stubborn too.