Hello everyone, I've been reading the forums here and already feel better know I'm not alone in this situation. I've had my resident cat, Ozzy, for 7 years, rescued as a feral cat who is now the sweetest guy ever. He had been run over by a car when we found him, so he had to have his tail amputated, and his hips were smashed so those had to get glued back together. He walks a bit funny and he can't jump very high, but he is a happy dude who loves pets and snacks. He also recently had to have his upper canines removed. He's friendly to other cats, which I know because I've cat-sat for friends before and he's accepted the new cat right away.
So, my boyfriend and I decided to adopt a second cat, Biba, a female who is the same age as him. Both are neutered/spayed. Biba was found as a kitten after her mother and siblings all died. Since then, she has lived with just her human (who recently passed away) and never seen another cat, until 3 weeks ago when we adopted her.
We followed all the instructions about giving her a room of her own until she felt safe, introducing them via a crack in the doorway, feeding on both sides of the door, letting them explore the house without the other cat to get used to the scent, etc.
Ozzy has basically tried to welcome Biba and be friends, but Biba is only getting more aggressive. At first she would just hiss at Ozzy, and he would back off, as he's a gentleman and no means no
. I let them roam the house freely now (I work from home), and there haven't been any violent incidents, but mostly because every time Biba goes to attack Ozzy, he slowly backs off and hides under the bed. They manage to eat near each other without much incident, but during the night I wake up to Biba growling and hissing at Ozzy in his only hiding spot. In addition, it seems that Biba has started spraying the couch in 'her' room, which she definitely didn't do when she first arrived. Biba has also started chasing Ozzy any time she finds him out and about in the house. She waits outside his litter box (they have separate litter boxes in separate rooms) and once he's done, she charges at him until he hides under the bed again.
It has been 3 weeks, so I know it's still early, but I'm starting to feel like she's just too territorial and the more she gets attached to me and my boyfriend, the more she bullies Ozzy. And I'm worried he can't really defend himself because of his hips and lack of teeth, not that he even tries to defend himself to begin with. Any advice?
So, my boyfriend and I decided to adopt a second cat, Biba, a female who is the same age as him. Both are neutered/spayed. Biba was found as a kitten after her mother and siblings all died. Since then, she has lived with just her human (who recently passed away) and never seen another cat, until 3 weeks ago when we adopted her.
We followed all the instructions about giving her a room of her own until she felt safe, introducing them via a crack in the doorway, feeding on both sides of the door, letting them explore the house without the other cat to get used to the scent, etc.
Ozzy has basically tried to welcome Biba and be friends, but Biba is only getting more aggressive. At first she would just hiss at Ozzy, and he would back off, as he's a gentleman and no means no
. I let them roam the house freely now (I work from home), and there haven't been any violent incidents, but mostly because every time Biba goes to attack Ozzy, he slowly backs off and hides under the bed. They manage to eat near each other without much incident, but during the night I wake up to Biba growling and hissing at Ozzy in his only hiding spot. In addition, it seems that Biba has started spraying the couch in 'her' room, which she definitely didn't do when she first arrived. Biba has also started chasing Ozzy any time she finds him out and about in the house. She waits outside his litter box (they have separate litter boxes in separate rooms) and once he's done, she charges at him until he hides under the bed again.It has been 3 weeks, so I know it's still early, but I'm starting to feel like she's just too territorial and the more she gets attached to me and my boyfriend, the more she bullies Ozzy. And I'm worried he can't really defend himself because of his hips and lack of teeth, not that he even tries to defend himself to begin with. Any advice?
