Hi Everyone!
This is my first post here. Hoping for some advice, thanks in advance!
My husband and adopted a kitten 4 years ago her name is Bella. We always wanted two cats, but were unsure about it in a 2 bedroom apartment. 1 month ago we adopted Delilah, a 5 year old neutered female (Bella is also neutered).
We kept them separated for about 10 days. Swapped smells, fed them on either side of the door etc. Then we allowed supervised visits/open doors whenever we were awake / home for about a week. At first Delilah wouldn't leave her room. Bella would try to poke her head in the room, but Delilah would hiss and growl until Bella left. We encouraged Delilah to come out with toys and eventually things were going well, they would touch noses and would sometimes be found sitting quietly in a room together. However, Delilah would tend to hiss and grow anytime Bella got up to move. Delilah would also guard "her" room by sitting in the door way and growling every time Bella walked by. Bella never hissed or growled once, she did however try a few times to play with Delilah by pouncing (definitely a playful pounce). Things started to calm down, no more hissing or growling. I thought things were going well but I'm noticing something...
Delilah has now decided to follow Bella around everywhere and sometimes charges at her. No more growling or hissing but she wont really let Bella lay down in any of her old favorite spots (Delilah steals them) except a linen closet that we help Bella up into. She also pushes her way in between Bella's playtime. She even stands outside the litter box when shes in there. I can tell Bella is a bit stressed, and she rarely cuddles with us anymore. Even Delilah isn't the loud purr cuddle box she was when we first met her at her previous foster home. Both cats just seem on guard all the time making sure they know where the other is.
Do you think things will calm down? I do have an option for re-homing Delilah if I must.
Other things to note: I purchased a feline calming spray, also considering the pheromone diffuser. And Delilah is 18lbs, so we have her on a diet, this could be part of her frustration.
This is my first post here. Hoping for some advice, thanks in advance!
My husband and adopted a kitten 4 years ago her name is Bella. We always wanted two cats, but were unsure about it in a 2 bedroom apartment. 1 month ago we adopted Delilah, a 5 year old neutered female (Bella is also neutered).
We kept them separated for about 10 days. Swapped smells, fed them on either side of the door etc. Then we allowed supervised visits/open doors whenever we were awake / home for about a week. At first Delilah wouldn't leave her room. Bella would try to poke her head in the room, but Delilah would hiss and growl until Bella left. We encouraged Delilah to come out with toys and eventually things were going well, they would touch noses and would sometimes be found sitting quietly in a room together. However, Delilah would tend to hiss and grow anytime Bella got up to move. Delilah would also guard "her" room by sitting in the door way and growling every time Bella walked by. Bella never hissed or growled once, she did however try a few times to play with Delilah by pouncing (definitely a playful pounce). Things started to calm down, no more hissing or growling. I thought things were going well but I'm noticing something...
Delilah has now decided to follow Bella around everywhere and sometimes charges at her. No more growling or hissing but she wont really let Bella lay down in any of her old favorite spots (Delilah steals them) except a linen closet that we help Bella up into. She also pushes her way in between Bella's playtime. She even stands outside the litter box when shes in there. I can tell Bella is a bit stressed, and she rarely cuddles with us anymore. Even Delilah isn't the loud purr cuddle box she was when we first met her at her previous foster home. Both cats just seem on guard all the time making sure they know where the other is.
Do you think things will calm down? I do have an option for re-homing Delilah if I must.
Other things to note: I purchased a feline calming spray, also considering the pheromone diffuser. And Delilah is 18lbs, so we have her on a diet, this could be part of her frustration.