Months Of Cat Introduction

[metonymforlove]

Hi all!

I am a first time poster seeking advice on how to integrate my two kitties.

Coffee is 6 years old and has been with me since she was discovered injured with her siblings at 8 weeks. She moved with me across the globe with me and has been with me through grad school and marriage! She got a little skittish after moving to the states, but is generally a sweet cat; she approaches strangers, but isn't a lovebug with them and will hiss if they move too suddenly. With my husband and me, she is a cuddlebug. She like to squish herself between us or likes to lay on top of our bellies whenever she gets the chance.

Pika is 1 years old, and we adopted him from our neighborhood shelter. He has been with us for almost 4 months (that's how long this integration process has been). The shelter said he should be fine with other cats because he shared a room with some very solitary cats who hissed at him when he approached. They said his response was to just walk away and not make a big fuss. They did mention he had a big personality, which I didn't quite understand at the time. Here are some of his personality traits:

• He is just a crazy, playful little dude. When we first brought him, he would pounce on toys, growl at them, and start panting after play sessions (he doesn't growl at the toys so much anymore).
• He also seemed fearless because he wanted to explore the rest of the house RIGHT away, didn't bat an eye at our vacuum cleaner the first time he saw it in action, and wanted to explore the entire veterinary clinic on his first visit there.
• He is extremely easy to handle. He never struggles when we pick him up, and pretty much does everything we tell him to (comes when called, stays put when we hold him, etc.)

Now to explain our integration. When we first brought Pika, Coffee was extremely upset. She hadn't even seen his face yet, but the knowledge of another cat behind a door was enough to make her stop eating and hiss at my husband and me whenever she got the chance. I was afraid this might be a sign that the integration was never going to work, but she slowly began eating again and acting like herself. After about a week of this, we began to feed the kitties on opposite sides of the door - Pika right up against the door and Coffee several feet from the door. Every time I felt that perhaps there was NO progress, Coffee would get better and better, which is why I haven't completely given up yet (also - we are now extremely attached to Pika).

After 4 months, we are currently at a place where the two can eat face to face about a foot away without any hissing. However, Pika is attached with a leash and harness because he has a tendency to go after Coffee randomly. I believe he is just trying to play, but Coffee definitely doesn't see it this way, so she will hiss, spit, and swipe at him. Every time he make a move, their relationship seems to backtrack a little bit.

The weird thing is that occasionally, Coffee goes up to Pika, sniffs his nose, then hisses. Also, she will occasionally roll around in front of him, but then hiss when he makes a move to join her. These behaviors give me hope. But then, she also tries to attack his feet if she sees them under the door. I know it's an attack because it comes with aggressive hissing.

There are a couple of questions I have:

1. How can I help Pika understand that he needs to leave Coffee alone? I play with him until he gets tired, but will still fixate on her whenever she moves, (different from what I heard at the shelter) which is what makes Coffee nervous I think.
2. When should I just let them out together without any restraints (we currently switch them freely between the room and the rest of the house, but then keep Pika on a harness when they are out together. He is free to roam at this time, but we grab the leash when he starts to go towards Coffee).
3. What does it mean when Coffee goes up to him, sniffs his nose, then hisses? Is this a possible "I want to be friends kind of, but still not really sure of you" type of thing?
4. What does it mean that sometimes she will roll around in front of him, but then hiss when he makes a move to join her (perhaps pounce on her because he thinks she is initiating play)?
5. Does anybody have stories of introductions that took this long - or longer? I would really be encouraged if anybody told me they fought through a particularly tough integration and were able to be successful in the end (I don't need them to be best buddies - just not hissing/growling/swiping, which all come Coffee and never Pika). I suppose that one bright side right now is that she hasn't made that fierce spitting sound lately...

Thanks in advance for anybody willing to read through my long post!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sounds like you have 2 lovely cats. Hopefully in time they'll be friends.

I've never introduced cats, so can't advise from experience, however, there are many threads in this form from members having difficult cat introductions. Occasionally someone will return the new cat, but usually they keep trying. Unfortunately, we don't always get updates on whether the cats eventually became friends or not.

With your two, is it just hissing, growling, swiping? Has there ever been fur flying, or blood shed? Those are the 2 main things to worry about, plus if one cat stops eating, develops litter box issues, or seems stressed.

I can't really answer your questions, however, I do wonder if it's time to see what happens if they come face to face, without Pika being restrained.

Here's a TCS article on Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? which explains body language to watch for, plus has videos of cats both playing and fighting.

Here, also, are the TCS articles on cat introductions, in case there might be some tips in them you can try. Good luck. Keep us posted.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction | TheCatSite

 

[walli]

I don't have a success story Yet but I am going thru something a little more difficult than you, Your story sounds doable! 4 months is not a long time.
My Joey sounds exactly like Pika! I think they will be fine, and it sounds like you are doing all the right things too! My other cat is a feral so there really isn't a comparison, but know others have gone thru what you have, believe me I wish my situation was as good as yours!! They will be friends! As soon as Coffee sees he's not a threat, I guess the only thing I can add is make sure Coffee get's lots of attention! sounds like she already does tho! One really good thing you got going is they are not fighting! the 2 eating together is huge!!

 

[metonymforlove]

Hmmm.... So i guess I'm wondering if I should just let them meet each other without ANY restraints. I guess my biggest fear is that I let them approach each other, a fight breaks out, and I un-do the 4 months of painstaking work to get them to where they are now.

Is it better to just keep going at this sluggish pace, or should I let them "work it out" so to say?

 

[jen]

It might happen, but then go back track a little. Also stop fretting over hissing and growling. They need to communicate. The fact that she goes up to him and rolls around and teases and provokes him shows she is just being cautious and trying to show who is boss. I feel like having her on a harness and leash is a really bad idea as then she cannot run and escape to get away from him because she is tethered to you. You have little control over their vocalizations toward each other. They need to do this to communicate however so you need to let them work things out with little intervening and don't scold them for being vocal either. They are eating near each other, they will be ok. Relax and let them work things out.

 

[Kflowers]

Is Coffee spayed? If you said she was I missed it. I'm asking because the 'sniffs his nose, hisses and rolls around on the floor in front of him is very much like some of the heat dances I've seen female cats do. The dance doesn't mean they are going to accept that particular male, in fact it seems to be a way to entice and rile the male up.

So if she's spayed, perhaps she is playing.

It is also possible, actually quite likely that the hiss is to tell him to mind his manners. In their interactions you will see her smack him from time to time. This is her way of teaching him boundaries - mother to kitten, female cat to any other cat around. It's her job. (She may knock him across the room. I've seen that. It's okay.) All you need to watch out for is blood. With blood go back a couple of steps in the introductions.

I've had lots of cats and the only time there was blood it was an accident. I don't count scratches as blood. sometimes they get each other in the eye, this is an accident and need not put your introductions back. Cats play rough.

 

[metonymforlove]

It's Pika who gets a harness every once in a while since he doesn't seemed bothered by her and is not afraid in the least. However, I'm going to take everyone's advice and just let them work it out. I was just afraid of having all our hard work go to waste if they fought. I read somewhere that the time to let them be free together is if they are friendly with each other behind a screen door, which wasn't really happening - which made me nervous about it.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[metonymforlove]

They are both fixed BTW!

 

[metonymforlove]

Soooooo, we let them out. It went well for the first 15 minutes. Neither cat really bothered the other at first. Coffee was just chilling on the couch growling whenever Pika got too close. However, Coffee eventually jumped from the couch and started walking around, and Pika started fixating on her again.

She hissed at him when he approached, and Pika started backing up a bit. We tossed them both treats for not breaking into a fight. However, whenever Coffee turned away - even for a moment - Pika would get this intense look in his eyes with his wiggly bum. He was obviously getting ready to pounce on her. We tried to distract him whenever he did this.

About 15 more minutes passed, and they were at another standstill. Coffee was growling and hissing at Pika as usual. Instead of his playful stance, Pika did the whole sideways stare with back raised slightly. Then...he pounced on Coffee. There was an immediately scuffle with Coffee yowling and the two of them attached to each other and rolling around. My husband and immediately started yelling and clapping. When this didn't get a response, I just grabbed Pika out from the scuffle (I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I didn't want them to keep fighting either). Fortunately, Pika was easy to grab and pull away.

I get the sense that Pika really wants to play and is getting frustrated that Coffee won't play with him. He was the first to lunge and swipe at her during one of their earliest encounters with one another too.

I know swatting is no big deal, but a brawl like this one isn't a good sign for letting them out together yet, right? There was a bit of fur that was pulled out, and it did not sound good with Coffee yowling the way she was.

Does this mean I should just keep going the super-slow route?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[KarenKat]

Hi and welcome! Boy, I understand long cat intros and it’s hard on everyone. I can tell you that a bit of fur is not awful ... and while it feels like going backwards these fights and negative interactions is still progress. It can take a long time, it took us about 9 months before all of our 3 cats could be in the same room without the humans being stressed that something would happen.

Back in Nov 2018 we introduced Olive, a 3 year stray to our resident kitties, 7 year old Gohan and 10 year old Trin. We never had huge fights or anything, but Gohan was extremely territorial and every time Olive stuck her head from her safe room he would chase her back down, and tackle her like a linebacker of he could. His particular personality caused him to slowly retreat after a tackle, but it was so stressful having the chase constantly. Trin was a bit nicer, lots of hisses and posturing (he was our alpha) but after 4 or 5 months we actually saw play behavior where they would take turns play-chasing each other around.

It’s not been 18 months, and Gohan and Olive can be in the human bed at the same time and Gohan even tolerate her smelling his face after he eats (I think she’s looking for leftovers lol). There were moments I thought they would never walk past each other without being weird and slo-mo, but now it’s pretty stress free.

I think you are doing great! I know how crazy discouraging it can be, but as long as both cats are eating, using the litterbox and no one is hiding all the time than it will slowly get better. Keep the interactions short and let either cat choose to leave the room when they’ve had enough. The goal is to have increasing time of tolerance in the same room and it sounds like that is happening. Don’t be afraid to take a step back when necessary - after a few accidental injuries (torn claws, minor scratches) we went backwards and started locking Olive in her safe room at night. She started exploring and the cats would surprise each other. This kept everyone calmer. Good luck to you!

 

[maggie101]

When my cats Peaches and Maggie were 4 and 5 months they played together. Both rescues. Once they are adult, 1year old+, they became territorial.but Maggie still wants to chase Peaches around, but Peaches does not. Peaches will hiss at her. They are now 6 and 7. Nothing can be done about it. That is their personality. Peaches is very friendly. Never would bite. But when she became adult, she will bite if I pat her when she is above me,wants something,or does not want to be patted anymore.

 

[maggie101]

Good luck!

 

[maggie101]

Coco is a year younger. She was rescued 3 yrs old.Extremely friendly. Maggie was mean to her at first but not anymore. Coco remembers when Magggie was mean so she will stay away from her. My 3 cats have unique personalities. It took Coco a year to leave my bedroom. Once cats are adult,it is almost impossible to change their personality. Peaches territory is my bedroom and dining room. She growls if I squirm in bed. Maggie plays at night in the living room. Coco stays on the couch though during the day she will play with Peaches

 

[metonymforlove]

Well, they were still able to eat their dinner together without any problems despite their earlier scuffle, so I suppose it wasn't as big of a backtrack as I feared. Perhaps tomorrow I will try to let them both roam free, with a harness on Pika in case we need to use it (but not have him be tied up to anything).

 

[jen]

Well, they were still able to eat their dinner together without any problems despite their earlier scuffle

I would say things sound fine.

 

[rubysmama]

Well, they were still able to eat their dinner together without any problems despite their earlier scuffle, so I suppose it wasn't as big of a backtrack as I feared.

That's really encouraging.

Did you have a chance to look at the videos in Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing?. That will help determine if your cats are playing or fighting. Cat play can look like fighting to us humans.

Here's another link to some videos of Kieka 's cat's playing, to give you some more examples.
Not Accepting New Kitten ;(

 

[Kieka]

Here are my crew playing:

View media item 420658View media item 421929

 

[Kflowers]

Since neither cat was bleeding or even scratched I'd say they were just testing each other, almost playing. I'm afraid they may have to go through this testing/wrestling with sound effects to come out on the other side.

The reason you're not supposed to grab one out of a fight is that you can be badly scratched in have to go to the ER and get stitches sort of scratched. When cats are really fighting they won't be able to tell who you are and will consider you an extension of the cat/being they are fighting. Since you have grabbed them you become target number one. That you didn't is another way to tell that your cats weren't actually fighting.

If you can't resist breaking up their 'fights'/'games' (totally not judging here, just accepting) you will want to keep a large bath sheet or even a blanket in the room. When the tussle gets too rowdy throw the bath sheet blanket over both of them. This will distract them from each other. Fighting their way out of the blanket will use up most of their adrenaline rush, meaning they will be less likely to attack you or each other when they get out.

We used a duvet with our particularly focused little man. Once covered - just him - wrap scoop and put him in a closet for about 15 minutes to calm down. (Note this doesn't work with dogs they just panic more in nice dark closets.)

 

[walli]

My husband was in the hospital for 4 days after breaking up a catfight
He didn't know you don't put your hand in!
His blood and joint got infected!

If you don't think they are ready, go with your gut!
Doesn't seem like they actually fought with their teeth, but only you know!!
Cats take lots of time! and patience! ugh!

 

[metonymforlove]

Thanks for all of your insight!
They are out together again right now. Pika pounced at Coffee again, but there was a screen door between them. Does the fact that Pika posture himself really big and squints his eyes before pouncing mean play? I feel like Pika is probably trying to play...but is maybe getting frustrated because all Coffee does is growl and hiss? Or is he not frustrated at all and is just trying to play?

I really appreciate the videos. I think Pika might be trying to do that, but Coffee reacts much more violently. They weren't rolling over each other - it was more that they were attached into a ball together with Coffee yowling pretty loudly and angrily...

It's encouraging to know that even though I reached in when I wasn't supposed to, I didn't get hurt. If what Kflowers says is true, I should have probably gotten hurt? I will keep everyone posted! I hope I can give a happy update since most of the posts I see about long cat introductions just go quiet, which is a bit discouraging...