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- May 5, 2019
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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:
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:
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:
- 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.
- 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).
- 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?
- 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)?
- 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...