Hey all - in the last few months I've gotten a new cat (Marble) and been working on getting her introduced to the resident (Ishra). Ishra is maybe a year and a half old now and is very cautious - I mean, he practically looks down every step he takes to make sure he's on solid ground. Marble, on the other hand, is an estimated nine months now and the polar opposite. She blunders around like a toddler learning to walk, unafraid of anything. Ishra has been more curious/scared of Marble from the start, while she's more the aggressor. Both are neutered, vacced, etc.
I had been making great progress and hand them eating side by side for a while. Ishra would always break away before Marble finished eating but at least for a time they were coexisting without a barrier. I got lazy, however (not to mention busy) and coming home from late nights/going to work in a rush I allowed a few fights to happen. By now all trust has been broken between them, and while at the very start they ate right next to each other under the door, Ishra won't even come near the door for food now.
They swap rooms twice daily - a good practice from what I've read, but also a necessity thanks to my one-bedroom apartment. Marble screams our ears off if she's stuck in the bedroom for long. I've been working on feeding Ishra closer and closer to the door again - always meal feeding, always simultaneously. My concern is that, after so many fights, I don't know if the relationship can be repaired anymore... Ishra seems nervous at all times, even if in he's the living room and Marble is being quiet. We've had two more even since totally separating them as it's just so difficult in such a small space to keep Marble from bolting through the bedroom door (the only door between the two spaces). I'm working on, well, working less so that I can be home and exercise them more - I'm sure that if they're both happier and healthier this process will be smoother - but I'm really worried that the way things are going my introduction efforts may be fruitless. I know there are countless threads and articles about introductions already but I am hoping that by explaining the situation fully I can find someone with a similar experience and maybe get a first-hand opinion as I am quickly losing hope.
Obligatory pictures of each. See if you can tell which one is the troublemaker...
I had been making great progress and hand them eating side by side for a while. Ishra would always break away before Marble finished eating but at least for a time they were coexisting without a barrier. I got lazy, however (not to mention busy) and coming home from late nights/going to work in a rush I allowed a few fights to happen. By now all trust has been broken between them, and while at the very start they ate right next to each other under the door, Ishra won't even come near the door for food now.
They swap rooms twice daily - a good practice from what I've read, but also a necessity thanks to my one-bedroom apartment. Marble screams our ears off if she's stuck in the bedroom for long. I've been working on feeding Ishra closer and closer to the door again - always meal feeding, always simultaneously. My concern is that, after so many fights, I don't know if the relationship can be repaired anymore... Ishra seems nervous at all times, even if in he's the living room and Marble is being quiet. We've had two more even since totally separating them as it's just so difficult in such a small space to keep Marble from bolting through the bedroom door (the only door between the two spaces). I'm working on, well, working less so that I can be home and exercise them more - I'm sure that if they're both happier and healthier this process will be smoother - but I'm really worried that the way things are going my introduction efforts may be fruitless. I know there are countless threads and articles about introductions already but I am hoping that by explaining the situation fully I can find someone with a similar experience and maybe get a first-hand opinion as I am quickly losing hope.
Obligatory pictures of each. See if you can tell which one is the troublemaker...
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