Introducing Two Adult Cats

[CatLover93]

Back story:
We've had a handsome babe, Jax, since June of 2018 when we adopted him as a bottle fed kitten. He's had the run of the house for well over a year now, but he's very social with humans. He greets us at the door when we come home & he loves to play!

On Thanksgiving evening (Nov 28th 2019), a super friendly, affectionate stray crashed our dinner. She showed up on our doorstep begging for food (she was malnourished & covered in ticks) & she simply would not take no for an answer. We set Hemi up in our garage while we waited to take her to the vet and get her checked out.

Fast forward almost TWO months!!! She's currently living in one of our spare bedrooms (they are both fixed at this point). We tried our best to adhere to all the rules when introducing a new kitty. We kept them separated, swapped blankies for smell introduction, ate on other sides of a baby gate, etc. Up to this point there have been very few problems (neither ever growled, resident kitty hissed at very beginning but has been weeks since last time, ears are never back, eating habits are normal).

We just tried introducing them this past weekend where we left Hemi out while Jax was relaxed elsewhere in the house. At first things didn't seem too bad & she was just very curious (doesn't seem bothered by another cat) while Jax is a little standoffish and very unsure of another animal. Jax would stalk her around the house pretty much everywhere she went. After a while of that she would stop dead in her tracks & turn around and chase him off. This happened a few times, never resulting in any actual fights.

Our problem is that now Jax is pretty scared of her & anytime we let her out he hides under our bed almost the entire time.

I am looking for some advice & how to continue, because I don't want to affect the sweet personality of our resident cat, but I also would really like for them to at the minimum co-exist. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! <3

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I am not sure what to advise, as it sounds like you went through the traditional introduction steps. It is good that they are not actually fighting, but having one of them so afraid that they hide all the time is about as equally bad. The only thing I can offer are these TCS articles (see links below) to see if you can back up on the introductions and determine other tactics to try during the process. The last article might give you some ideas on how to build up Jax's confidence, which might help.

Hopefully, other members who have dealt with a similar experience will come along soon and offer tips that worked for them!!!

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction – Cat Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
Introducing Cats To Cats – Cat Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – Cat Articles

 

[CatLover93]

Hi. I am not sure what to advise, as it sounds like you went through the traditional introduction steps. It is good that they are not actually fighting, but having one of them so afraid that they hide all the time is about as equally bad. The only thing I can offer are these TCS articles (see links below) to see if you can back up on the introductions and determine other tactics to try during the process. The last article might give you some ideas on how to build up Jax's confidence, which might help.

Hopefully, other members who have dealt with a similar experience will come along soon and offer tips that worked for them!!!

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction – Cat Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
Introducing Cats To Cats – Cat Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
16 Top Cat Experts Share Tips For Dealing With Timid Cats – Cat Articles

Thanks for pointing me toward these articles!! I will definitely give them a read & fingers crossed I can find a solution! <3

 

[FeebysOwner]

Keep us posted, and if reading the articles prompts more questions, please don't hesitate to ask. And, keep an eye out for additional responses from others, keeping my fingers crossed there will be some members who have ideas that go beyond those articles.

 

[She's a witch]

hey, it's really not bad. Your new girls, as a former stray, is used to the company of the cats and probably had lots of reasons to chase them away from her. Your boy has probably never been around other cats and doesn't remember very well what they are and how they operate. It's understandable he was following her everywhere out of curiosity. It's understandable she didn't appreciate that, as most probably she doesn't have good associations with other cats following her. I'm pretty sure time will help it. I'd continue their meetings, and I wouldn't worry that he's afraid of her at the moment. You could play with her when he's under the couch so that he can see she can be fun. Give them favorite treats when they are relatively close to each other. Once they are with each other long enough, the novelty effect will go away and he won't have to follow her. When she will see that he is relaxed around her, she will relax too. Do you have a cat proofed baby gate that can be placed on her door, so that they can see each other without any contact? That can greatly help with them getting used to each other. So does territory swapping, put him into her room and her in the rest of the house, so that they can learn to accept each other's scents.
Good luck!!!

 

[CatLover93]

hey, it's really not bad. Your new girls, as a former stray, is used to the company of the cats and probably had lots of reasons to chase them away from her. Your boy has probably never been around other cats and doesn't remember very well what they are and how they operate. It's understandable he was following her everywhere out of curiosity. It's understandable she didn't appreciate that, as most probably she doesn't have good associations with other cats following her. I'm pretty sure time will help it. I'd continue their meetings, and I wouldn't worry that he's afraid of her at the moment. You could play with her when he's under the couch so that he can see she can be fun. Give them favorite treats when they are relatively close to each other. Once they are with each other long enough, the novelty effect will go away and he won't have to follow her. When she will see that he is relaxed around her, she will relax too. Do you have a cat proofed baby gate that can be placed on her door, so that they can see each other without any contact? That can greatly help with them getting used to each other. So does territory swapping, put him into her room and her in the rest of the house, so that they can learn to accept each other's scents.
Good luck!!!

Yes! I keep trying to tell myself that time will be my biggest tool in this phase. I agree 100% with what you are saying & I assume her chasing him is her way of saying "Will you stop it please?!", because the chase never ends in a fight.
I have hope that this will pass, because as soon as we put her back in her room he's out from under the bed, back to normal & playing.
We did the territory swap a couple times prior to our intro. & We do have two baby gates stacked in the doorway (but she's been climbing them! so we may need to get a third haha) and when they are separated by the gates all is well and they are cordial. They do wave their paws through the gate (along the floor) & I just assume that's playful.
We've been trying to break the stares & tension with treats and play. She's all for it, but he wants his focus and attention to be strictly on her. I am hoping once he becomes more familiar with her being around he'll warm up to her.
Thank you for easing my mind! I have been worried & troubled by this whole process.

 

[She's a witch]

I'd get a third gate and keep the door open with them as much as possible. If they play under it it's really better than you think! I'd do as many meetings as possible, with every one of them Jax will feel better. It's also possible that he doesn't really hide because of fear but more to stay low and watch her from the safe space to avoid troubles. Do you have any high cat tower in the room where they meet? It could be a good observation post for him and the one that would actually increase his confidence. On the other hand, you don't want him to be over confident as it's better that he doesn't follow her at the moment, so maybe it's good he's staying under the bed

And try not to stress, they can feel it and they can "think" there's reason to be stressed and they can stress themselves. So stay as calm as possible, it's really going well. After all, it's only been a week since they met, it's really nothing. Just pretend that nothing major is happening and treat their meeting as the most normal and natural thing in the world.