Introducing Third Cat To Two Bonded Cats.

[ads3j]

Hello,
I have experience with the proper way to introduce cats, but I would live to hear other experiences about introducing a third cat to two very bonded cats. I have two females who love each other and am thinking or two different opportunities I have. 1. Adding a third, young male (my two are under 3yo, btw) who is not dominant and friendly. 2. Adding another adult female as a foster.
Would LOVE to hear any other similar experiences and stories of similar introductions and know how they went. And any general thoughts about adding more cats to a really perfect pair. Should I even risk messing up the good thing we got going? I feel compelled to add, but maybe I am tempting fate.

Thought, shared experience??

Thank you!!

 

[betsygee]

We had two very bonded siblings, boy and girl, and then decided to add a third, a male, almost the same age as the other two. We had very similar thoughts as you, not wanting to mess up a good thing with the first two but we really wanted to take in the third as he was in danger of being euthanized at the shelter because no one had adopted him.

We were lucky and it worked out fine. Ozzy adapted well and quickly to our household and now we call them the Three Amigos.

Having said that...we later took in another older cat whose guardian had died and she didn't want to integrate for anything. She is a cranky old lady with a lot of tortitude and it took almost three years to get her fully integrated. She's there now, though, and while she isn't 'buddies' with the other three, they cohabit fine now.

So...it's tough to say. If the third boy is friendly and non-dominant, it may work out fine. Is there a way you can bring him in to see how they interact before making a decision?

 

[ads3j]

Thank you so much for sharing, betsygee! I love this story and hope to meet a cat who is up for adoption in a few days, also, a mother stray who is still nursing her 3 week old kittens will be in need of a foster home when they get adopted, so I have a lot in mind. Really appreciate the shared experience! So comforting. Also, only considering one scenario at a time, not both

 

[vix74]

betsygee - I'd love to hear how you managed with your cranky tortie during the three years! I'm doing the opposite - introducing a young bonded pair to my resident cranky senior tortie and things have just gone from bad to worse with lots of hissing and chasing when the youngsters are within view.

Sorry to hijack the thread!

 

[ads3j]

Another side thought - the adult female I am looking to possibly foster is a diluted tortie, I've heard she has a bit of a personality, but won't make judgement until I meet her. My priority is my current cats' continued happiness. Anyway, made me think - do diluted torties have the same "tortitude" or does it make a difference at all (also, never had any experience with tortitude, but know there is even a book about it, so I tend to believe it).

 

[betsygee]

You know, I can't say it was just 'tortitude'. Hannah's situation was a little complicated. She came to us with three other cat-mates after their guardian died. She wasn't very friendly with any of those cats, but the four of them got along. They lived mostly in their own room that we'd made for them. The three others eventually died and Hannah was on her own.

She just wasn't very socialized so first we worked on getting her more friendly and used to us--at first she wouldn't even sit on our laps or anything like that. Then we worked on getting her to get used to the other cats. It was just a very long process of baby steps--we'd bring her out of her room and supervise her very closely. The minute she went after one of the 3 Amigos, it was back to her room.

I could write a book about it but the short version is that it just took a very long time of gradually longer and longer stays out with the other cats, under supervision, to get them all used to being around each other. It's only been a few months that we've felt okay with leaving her out with the other cats when we're not home to supervise.

 

[ads3j]

Okay, back again. I ended up not fostering the tortie, but instead adopting a male from a shelter. Tomorrow will be one week since I got him, he was a feral and he is driving us crazy and I feel helpless. He meows/yeowls all night long to get out of his safe room and the bonded girls are non-too pleased about it, well, one is okay, the other (a formal feral herself) is growling and hissing. He is whimpering and trying to find a way out and back home - likely to his colony. Additionally, I believe he *may* be a Turkish angora mix and is very strong willed. He is a totally love bug, but super scared and disoriented, not to mention a bit bigger than my two DSH. I got him because he was in pretty bad shape and very under-nourished and I was looking to add another kitty to my two perfect kitties (what was I thinking?!) I was warned to not do it, that i would regret it, I had such a great situation not to test the waters ... but, I did and now I don't know what i'm going to do. We haven't slept in two days. ANY advice from others with similar experiences??