Hey guys! I would like some opinions! Me and my new husband are moving into a brand new apartment together. I have a 2 year old spayed female and his family has a 9 year old spayed female. I know for a fact my cat is VERY territorial but I also know she's quite a bit nicer to cats in neutral grounds and if I take her into another cats territory. His cat is the same way. Now I understand most articles discuss introduction of a resident cat to a new cat and there is the separation and the slow introduction. However, I'm struggling with this because I feel like if I separate them in the beginning I will risk them becoming territorial over the rooms they are in. Now keep in mind. If it doesn't work out the older cat will go back to the home she is in now with his parents but I really want it to work out cause no body likes her and she doesn't get appropriate care, feeding or play. And I quite feel bad for her as she's a very nice cat (they got her 6 years ago and she's developed urinary issues which I'm sure are due to a too small litter box not being cleaned often enough) and therefore they don't want her. I really really want them to get along or at least tolerate each other. Any thoughts?
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Introducing Two Older Cats
- Thread starter wildog47
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Territory issues can be solved by swapping the cats. Keeping the cats in two rooms for a week or so and then switching them for the same amount of time will mingle their scents. If you keep up a regular schedule for swapping, the scents will mix quite nicely and they probably won't develop a sense of "MY space" since they really don't have a dominant area. And the mingled scents might assist in getting them to not mind each other.
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I wouldn't be too concerned about them getting territorial over their initially assigned room. With it being a new apartment it's going to take them some time to get used to new surroundings anyway which should help with territoriality. Ive just brought two new adult cats home myself and am taking it extremely slow with the introduction. I've made the mistake of going too fast with introducing even a kitten to my cat in the past and learned the hard way to never do that again! The cats will give you a good indication of the time frame. Every cat is different. I've had it take as little as week and as long as a month. There a lot of good literature online & on TCS regarding techniques (swapping scents, letting the hear & smell the other but not see them, etc.). Good luck! Let us know how it goes
After a week or two of swapping scents (and beds too if you'd like - that seems like a great idea to me) you can start letting them smell & hear each other from under the door. If you have two adjacent rooms divided by a door they'll gravitate towards the door to explore the cat (or cat scent) on the other side. As they become used to the others scent you could try putting them on either side of a glass door or maybe take turns putting each one in a carrier and letting them explore the other cat . If there is no growling or hissing that's a good sign. If there is then continue the scent swapping until you see no signs of aggression.
