Need Advice On How To Progress Cat Introduction! New Cat, 2 Resident Cats

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radarlove413

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Let me know if I should stop posting updates haha. I keep doing this so anybody else in our situation can get some perspective on the highs/lows of a long intro.

Dunlop has mostly been in a great mood. Cocoa did something to annoy him a few days ago, so there was a bit of a spat when he tried to trap him under the bed. But, Cocoa is yowling/hissing more when he's being bullied now, so we're hoping he'll keep standing up for himself more!

Donatello is a bit better. There were a few times when he tried to get in Cocoa's territory and Cocoa growled at him, so that's good. If he's being a jerk, I still scruff him if I can. If not, a loud clap does the trick and he will run away. After the situation has deescalated, I will make them have a positive interaction by eating treats near each other.

Cocoa is still a runner, not a fighter. Still not traumatized by the bullying! In fact, he's following Dunlop around from above more and more, pawing at him and trying to get him to play. (Dunlop ignores the gestures, or looks mildly interested) He's mostly avoiding Don, but that's fine for now since Don is the current alpha. No litterbox accidents, but if the boys are super active he sometimes asks me to guard him in the box. When the boys are sleeping, he follows me around and loves to nap on the couch with me.

Aside from lots of play, I've been showering them in treats. I'm able to feed them Temptations all on the kitchen floor without Cocoa being attacked at all. I basically throw treats at them for a minute or two. When they finish, they all kinda stare at each other. Cocoa usually jumps up to safety, and the other two go on their way. Or, Don will softly meow at Cocoa and he jumps away calmly.
 

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Let me know if I should stop posting updates haha. I keep doing this so anybody else in our situation can get some perspective on the highs/lows of a long intro.
Keep posting. And hopefully someday, sooner than later, you'll post that all is wonderful in your feline family, and that will be the purrfect ending for this thread.

but if the boys are super active he sometimes asks me to guard him in the box.
Awww... kinda sweet, but also a little sad.

When the boys are sleeping, he follows me around and loves to nap on the couch with me.
But this is 100% sweet.

Aside from lots of play, I've been showering them in treats.
Bribery is never a bad thing.
 

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Ah yes, keep posting. I am still working with my girls too. I love the idea of throwing treats at them. LK loves treats and pushes around the treat ball but the 2 residents still tend to be standoffish. Button, my black 9 year old still growls and hisses but doesn't attack but avoids LK at all costs. Maggie my 10 year old Tortie confuses me because at times she seems not to care about LK and then at other times she will growl and hiss. Maybe throwing treats at all of them at the same time will help. Button is so 'above' LK that she waits until LK is done eating and then she will eat. I feed wet food 3-4 times a day, not very much at a time but frequently. Button only eats about 2 times a day. First feeding in 5:00 in the morning, second feeding is between 10 and 11:00 am, 3rd feeding is about 3-4, and the fourth feeding is before we all go to bed so they sleep through the night. They also seem to eat less now that it is getting warmer outside. I use to have to 'protect' LK to use the litter box but she seems to know when to use it now. We have 3 litter boxes in the lower level of our house so there is plenty of room between the boxes but Button use to guard the stairs so LK couldn't get by. They are so smart. The confrontations have slowed but like I said Button just avoids LK but when LK isn't around Button seems to go looking for her. I was watching Jackson Galaxy the other day and he was working with 2 cats and he suggested what you, radarlove have done, as long as they are not 'killing' each other, they have to work some of the issues out themselves. I have started to back off when I hear them hissing and growling too. At this stage, I am ok with it because there is no blood or fur flying. I can be overprotective at times so I have to learn to back off. I want to protect all of them. BTW, do you have pictures of Don and Dunlap & Cocoa? Would love to see them. Can't really tell who is in the avatar. Anyway, things are better here too but still love to read about your babies.
 
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radarlove413

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Thanks everyone! Sorry I haven't posted sooner - I was away a bit. I'll get some updated photos of them and post them later :)

The cats are a bit better this week again. I'm weaning Donatello off the Clomicalm now. Mostly, if Cocoa is in Dunlop's way, he just slaps him with no claws, which is great! Donatello isn't feeling the best again, but he's been tolerating Cocoa a lot better. Staring, meows, and some chasing. But, he's also tolerating Cocoa on the floor more. They even touched noses today! Don hissed 30 seconds after, but there were no attacks and he let Cocoa run away.

I was wondering if I could get some advice on this new problem. ANTS. We NEED to get some ants exterminated in our home. (Previous owners didn't do anything, so now we have a giant field ant colony that refuses to stay out of our basement). The cats need to be boarded at the vet for at least 6 hours while he sprays. I've never tried to move all them at once, so I just had a few questions:

I was thinking of keeping them out of the house until the end of the day, to give the stuff more time to dissipate. The exterminator assured me they're safe after 6 hours, but I'm paranoid. Anyone had experience with this?

Don and Dunlop are fine after vet trips and never have any redirected aggression. I'm not sure how things will go with Cocoa. Our vet is awesome and said they'll put them in separate kennels, but right next to each other. They'll also watch them and give them a sedative if they get too agitated. Since they're all going to the same place, same smells, it should help, right? Should I drive them all up there together, or make a separate trip with just Cocoa?

Then, when they get home, I was thinking of keeping them all separated for an hour or so, then letting Don and Dunlop mingle. Then, letting Cocoa out into the kitchen and just monitoring. I don't want to lose the shaky progress we have made!
 
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radarlove413

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Ah yes, keep posting. I am still working with my girls too. I love the idea of throwing treats at them. LK loves treats and pushes around the treat ball but the 2 residents still tend to be standoffish. Button, my black 9 year old still growls and hisses but doesn't attack but avoids LK at all costs. Maggie my 10 year old Tortie confuses me because at times she seems not to care about LK and then at other times she will growl and hiss. Maybe throwing treats at all of them at the same time will help. Button is so 'above' LK that she waits until LK is done eating and then she will eat. I feed wet food 3-4 times a day, not very much at a time but frequently. Button only eats about 2 times a day. First feeding in 5:00 in the morning, second feeding is between 10 and 11:00 am, 3rd feeding is about 3-4, and the fourth feeding is before we all go to bed so they sleep through the night. They also seem to eat less now that it is getting warmer outside. I use to have to 'protect' LK to use the litter box but she seems to know when to use it now. We have 3 litter boxes in the lower level of our house so there is plenty of room between the boxes but Button use to guard the stairs so LK couldn't get by. They are so smart. The confrontations have slowed but like I said Button just avoids LK but when LK isn't around Button seems to go looking for her. I was watching Jackson Galaxy the other day and he was working with 2 cats and he suggested what you, radarlove have done, as long as they are not 'killing' each other, they have to work some of the issues out themselves. I have started to back off when I hear them hissing and growling too. At this stage, I am ok with it because there is no blood or fur flying. I can be overprotective at times so I have to learn to back off. I want to protect all of them. BTW, do you have pictures of Don and Dunlap & Cocoa? Would love to see them. Can't really tell who is in the avatar. Anyway, things are better here too but still love to read about your babies.
I'm glad it's going way better! It's certainly true, and that's how we got Dunlop and Donatello through their introductions. I would definitely advocate for throwing treats at them, our boys love their treat time and forget their differences :)
 

rubysmama

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Since they're all going to the same place, same smells, it should help, right? Should I drive them all up there together, or make a separate trip with just Cocoa?
I'm thinking, yes, same smells should help. In fact, it might really help improve things.

I can't remember if it's been mentioned in your thread, but sometimes cats who aren't exactly friends "bond" over a trip to the vet. So if you're reeeeally lucky, this might be the piece of the puzzle that you've been looking for to fix everything. For that reason I'm thinking take them all in the same car, so they share the experience.

Please keep in mind, however, I've never had to introduce cats, nor have I dealt with aggression between cats, so my thoughts are not based on personal experience. Hopefully someone else will reply with their thoughts.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
 
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radarlove413

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I'm thinking, yes, same smells should help. In fact, it might really help improve things.

I can't remember if it's been mentioned in your thread, but sometimes cats who aren't exactly friends "bond" over a trip to the vet. So if you're reeeeally lucky, this might be the piece of the puzzle that you've been looking for to fix everything. For that reason I'm thinking take them all in the same car, so they share the experience.

Please keep in mind, however, I've never had to introduce cats, nor have I dealt with aggression between cats, so my thoughts are not based on personal experience. Hopefully someone else will reply with their thoughts.

Good luck. Keep us posted.
Thank you! They’re off at the vet right now, so we’ll see how they are when we get back :) They were 100% fine being by each other in their carriers, and the vet is kennelling them separately! Needless to say, nobody is happy with how their day is going. I’ll post an update later when they’re back.
 

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For what it's worth . . . .

Cats are territorial at heart, and introductions are pretty much over a lifetime.

Relations among my Gang of Six vary over time, especially as a wild and frisky younger cat gets get older, and older cats get really old. And the really old ones pass from the scene. Friendships evolve, then end, and new ones form. Sometimes. Sometimes hackles will always be raised now and again, I wouldn't be alarmed about that, as long as no cat makes war on others.

But I have found that most cats will learn to at least suffer one another provisionally, even if they never bond like dogs are more likely to. Or, like they bond do you or other people in the household.

On a cold night, it gets crowded at bedtime in my house. Good thing I've got an extra-large mattress, finally. :)
 

rubysmama

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They’re off at the vet right now, so we’ll see how they are when we get back :)
Fingers and toes crossed that this major inconvenience for the felines (and humans) ends up bonding the felines and that once home they decide to be friends. :catlove: :redheartpump:

:crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers::crossfingers:

:goodluck:
 

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Just wanted to share what I discovered. I had 4 Feliway plug ins. One in the living room, one in the dining room, one in the entrance, and one in the bedroom. The 3 kitties seemed to be down to one mild confrontation a week. I checked the Feliways and they were almost empty so I thought I would let them go dry to see if they really worked. Well.... within 4 days they were starting to hiss and yowl at least once a day. Needless to say, I ordered 4 more from Chewy and am now waiting to receive them and plug them in. I am a firm believer they work because of the change I saw in my kitties when they went dry. The entrance, dining room and living room are all sort of open to each other so I think the pheromones were able to co mingle and that is where our kitties spend most of their time as that is where we have some of the cat trees, scratch lounges, and furniture and of course, us.
 

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Very interesting, lovemall lovemall . I'm curious to see if things improve once you get the new ones plugged in.
 

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rubysmama, I will gladly let you know how things improve. I had them for 8 weeks as they last 4 weeks I had 2 sets and when I let them run out, sensitivity started up. I should be receiving them any day. It may take a couple days for the plug ins to start working again but will keep you posted. Button is the most territory sensitive but when she acts out, Maggie comes running and has to get her 2 cents in. Luckily, no flying fur or blood. Lucky Kitty sort of cowers but she will still growl back at them and tends to hold her own. She doesn't run and hide or act scared. :dunno: I guess that is good. None of them run and hide they just sort of cool off staring at each other until one of them will slowly slink away. I try not to get involved other than let them know I have my eyes on them, and they know it. I am anxious to get the next round of Feliway. It was really getting peaceful.:bliss:
 

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I got my Feliways today so plugged them in this morning. Will monitor their behavior for the next few days and let everyone know how it has helped. It may be both the Feliway and getting use to each other that has helped them get along better. Doomsdave has some very important and sensible takes on kitties and how they get along. They may never be good friends, only tolerate each other. Thanks doomsday for your comments.:) BTW I changed avatars. This is my precious Maggie that has been with me for 10 years through thick and thin. This kittenish faced kitty is the matriarch. Sometimes she is ok with LK, sometimes not so much. But she is my heart and soul.:purr::petcat:
 

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It has been 5 days on the 4 feliways and there has only been 2 confrontations. I believe these pheromones are helpful. Can't say they are the panacea to the introduction issues but I do believe they help. Hoping their confrontations will continue to diminish. My 2 residents just will not fully accept LK yet. Maybe never. Might have to learn to tolerate each other. The sad part is that LK acts like she wants to be friends, she watches them and sometimes trys to sniff them but my 2 cantankerous fuddy duddies have no interest in accepting her completely. Wondering how radarlove is doing with her intros.:tabbycat:
 

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That's good that the Feliway seems to be helping. Hopefully, eventually, your 2 resident cat will accept LK. :crossfingers: Also wondering, radarlove413 radarlove413 , how things are going with you.
 

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Also wondering, radarlove413 radarlove413 , how things are going with you.
Guess its just you and me. Anyway, my two residents still like to push their weight around but LK continues to wait her turn to eat and make a large half circle when walking around Button and Maggie. She apparently is happy enough to stay because I let her out when she wants, but she always waits at the door to come in. Less snarling and growling but still happens intermittently.Maggie and LK eat together quite nicely but they eat more than Button. I feed Mags and LK at least 3 to 4 time a day but Button only eats 2 times a day and doesn't care to eat with anyone. Very particular about her meals. They do keep me entertained and continue to teach me. I just love em all :lol::petcat::purr:
 

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Let me know if I should stop posting updates haha. I keep doing this so anybody else in our situation can get some perspective on the highs/lows of a long intro.

Dunlop has mostly been in a great mood. Cocoa did something to annoy him a few days ago, so there was a bit of a spat when he tried to trap him under the bed. But, Cocoa is yowling/hissing more when he's being bullied now, so we're hoping he'll keep standing up for himself more!

Donatello is a bit better. There were a few times when he tried to get in Cocoa's territory and Cocoa growled at him, so that's good. If he's being a jerk, I still scruff him if I can. If not, a loud clap does the trick and he will run away. After the situation has deescalated, I will make them have a positive interaction by eating treats near each other.

Cocoa is still a runner, not a fighter. Still not traumatized by the bullying! In fact, he's following Dunlop around from above more and more, pawing at him and trying to get him to play. (Dunlop ignores the gestures, or looks mildly interested) He's mostly avoiding Don, but that's fine for now since Don is the current alpha. No litterbox accidents, but if the boys are super active he sometimes asks me to guard him in the box. When the boys are sleeping, he follows me around and loves to nap on the couch with me.

Aside from lots of play, I've been showering them in treats. I'm able to feed them Temptations all on the kitchen floor without Cocoa being attacked at all. I basically throw treats at them for a minute or two. When they finish, they all kinda stare at each other. Cocoa usually jumps up to safety, and the other two go on their way. Or, Don will softly meow at Cocoa and he jumps away calmly.
I really needed this thread! For some reason transitioning cats makes my anxiety go up!

We have two resident cats, Jonah and Leo. We just rescued another male, Ash. All of them are about 1.5 years. Ash is NOT neutered, but will be soon. Jonah has been the alpha, but looks like Ash is here to see if that can change. Jonah slid by us when leaving Ash's safe space.

We didn't know it until we heard their conversation. They just "talked" to each other and sniffed noses. Then kinda did a circle thing of eying each other. BUT then Ash jumped on Jonah's back, grabbed the back of his neck and slightly humped him. Needless to say we ended that and keep them separated.

All of our boys are super sweet, love cuddles, and etc. The resident cats sleep with me or on me every night, and Ash just wants constant cuddles.

My Leo acts like your don and my Jonah is like your other one. Leo is like the younger brother. One minute he is grooming Jonah, the next he is hissing because he is in a "mood". Jonah doesn't understand when to stop chasing sometimes, but Jonah couldn't hurt a fly. Leo is all bark and no bite too.

Ash is defiantly going to shift the dynamic. Leo will take longer to adjust. I see my vet in a few days and will get his advice. We tried having a 3rd cat before, but quickly found out she HAD to be an only cat ( i was severly bitten and have some battle scars). So we found a sweet older couple who wanted an older cat :)

I see you have worked with alphas before. How do you handle introducing two alphas? I do see the potential for them becoming play mates and maaayyybbbe cuddle buddies. They all love to cuddle to me and my husband. But they only sleep on me ;)
 

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My main comment is it may not work well at all until after Ash is neutered and the hormones are decreasing then gone. I think then you will have a much better chance at progress. Then you get a true sense of his behavior that is not charged by hormones. Is neutering in the next days or a week?
Also, it might be good to start a new thread with your above post? More people may see it that way.
Please post updates!!
 
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