New cat chasing Resident cat

[amarettosmom]

Hello everyone!

My boyfriend and I recently got a new cat (Dr. Goblin, M.D. 3y6m old) and have been introducing her to my cat, the resident cat (Amaretto 2y7m). We live in a small one bedroom apartment, so we did our best to give them their own space so far, but for a bit there didn’t seem to be any hissing or other issues through the door to our bedroom so we let them meet. However, now Dr. Goblin follows Amaretto around intensely whenever she can (we have been keeping them separate with Amaretto in the bedroom bc it’s where she is comfortable), even going as far as completely chasing her, which has happened 4 times since we got her 3 days ago and it scares Amaretto badly every time. We are trying our best to keep them separated and have limited monitored time of them interacting, which like 70% of is just them silently staring at each other. Is this behavior normal? What should we do to help? And when do you think they will chill out so that we can just let them mingle? (my boyfriend has been sleeping on the couch to keep his cat company so we are sad about sleeping in separate places )

 

[ArtNJ]

Three days is seriously rushing it for introducing adult cats. Introducing adult cats is usually not easy, and in fact I personally, at this stage of my life, would never do so in a one bedroom. Too hard. All of that said, your cats are young, which helps a lot, and sometimes we get lucky and things are much easier than one expects, especially with two young adults!

Chasing this early is not terribly likely to be playing, but its possible. Is the chaser growling or hissing?

Broadly speaking, you have two choices now: (1) commit to a lengthier formal process following an introduction guide (ours linked below); or (2) let them work through this stuff. Without knowing exactly what is happening, I can't express an opinion.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

Another part of what is going on is that Dr. Goblin likely has some villanous DNA thanks to his name. To allow him to express his villainous instincts without bothering the other cat you could try: MARVEL 's Spider-Man Plush Kicker Cat Toy with Catnip - Chewy.com . Or you could rename him after an Amaretto-compatible liquor!

 

[amarettosmom]

Three days is seriously rushing it for introducing adult cats. Introducing adult cats is usually not easy, and in fact I personally, at this stage of my life, would never do so in a one bedroom. Too hard. All of that said, your cats are young, which helps a lot, and sometimes we get lucky and things are much easier than one expects, especially with two young adults!

Chasing this early is not terribly likely to be playing, but its possible. Is the chaser growling or hissing?

Broadly speaking, you have two choices now: (1) commit to a lengthier formal process following an introduction guide (ours linked below); or (2) let them work through this stuff. Without knowing exactly what is happening, I can't express an opinion.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

Another part of what is going on is that Dr. Goblin likely has some villanous DNA thanks to his name. To allow him to express his villainous instincts without bothering the other cat you could try: MARVEL 's Spider-Man Plush Kicker Cat Toy with Catnip - Chewy.com . Or you could rename him after an Amaretto-compatible liquor!

We do keep them separate for most of the day, Dr. Goblin and/or Amaretto just manage to slip past the bedroom door every once in a while which leads to them interacting. The first day we brought Dr. Goblin home, there was no hissing, growling, etc. by either cat through the door or when they interacted through the crack in the door, so we were hopeful that this would be a little easier lol. Lastly, Dr. Goblin (the chaser) doesn’t growl or hiss before she chases, but Amaretto sure does once Dr. Goblin gets too close.

 

[gilmargl]

In my experience introducing 2 cats of the same sex is far easier than a mix and living in a house or large apartment makes introductions a lot easier. That being said, I think you are doing well. Even when cats have been kept apart for weeks - first by a door and then using a wire or wooden barrier, initial direct face-to-face contacts often result in one cat following or chasing the other. It may still take days or even weeks before they are happy with one another.

Can you shut one in the kitchen or bathroom at night (for no longer than about 8 hours), so that you can at least sleep together? You can alternate: one night Dr Goblin and the following one Amaretto, leaving some treats before you close the door. I have done this a few times when introducing individual foster cats, who no-one wanted to adopt and who had spent too long alone in my cat room. When things became peaceful during the day, I no longer felt the need to separate them in order to have a quiet night's sleep.
Good luck

 

[ArtNJ]

What happens when Dr. Goblin catches up? Does he do the speed swatting thing?

 

[amarettosmom]

What happens when Dr. Goblin catches up? Does he do the speed swatting thing?

I am honestly not sure, they both move so fast that it’s hard to tell. After one of the chases I did see that both of them were making angry sounds and puffed up, but I’m not sure if it was because of her chase, or Amaretto’s reaction.

 

[amarettosmom]

In my experience introducing 2 cats of the same sex is far easier than a mix and living in a house or large apartment makes introductions a lot easier. That being said, I think you are doing well. Even when cats have been kept apart for weeks - first by a door and then using a wire or wooden barrier, initial direct face-to-face contacts often result in one cat following or chasing the other. It may still take days or even weeks before they are happy with one another.

Can you shut one in the kitchen or bathroom at night (for no longer than about 8 hours), so that you can at least sleep together? You can alternate: one night Dr Goblin and the following one Amaretto, leaving some treats before you close the door. I have done this a few times when introducing individual foster cats, who no-one wanted to adopt and who had spent too long alone in my cat room. When things became peaceful during the day, I no longer felt the need to separate them in order to have a quiet night's sleep.
Good luck

They are both females so I guess I have that going for me here lol. Right now, I am keeping them fully separated as best I can because of how Dr. Goblin is antagonizing Amaretto (which she just hides and hisses and tries to get away) so I am worried. I really want this to work though because my boyfriend loves his cat and I don’t want him to have to return her.

 

[ArtNJ]

I'd try to slow it down a bit and follow the guide I linked, to the extent you can. Escapes are something everyone struggles with, especially in a small apartment, but if the cats end up actually fighting it can really set the process back.

 

[amarettosmom]

I'd try to slow it down a bit and follow the guide I linked, to the extent you can. Escapes are something everyone struggles with, especially in a small apartment, but if the cats end up actually fighting it can really set the process back.

Neither cat has an aggressive or fearful reaction to the other ones scent, do you have any tips for the visual stage? whenever they interact through the door they don’t have any signs of fear or anger, it’s only when they are in full view of each other

 

[ArtNJ]

Neither cat has an aggressive or fearful reaction to the other ones scent, do you have any tips for the visual stage? whenever they interact through the door they don’t have any signs of fear or anger, it’s only when they are in full view of each other

Well, the *easiest* is baby gates, but some cats will jump them. Double stacked baby gates can work, or some folks make home made contraptions - there are some pictures in the guide I believe. Sometimes folks will use a playpen, dog crate, or even a large carrier (for short stretches) but imho that (especially the carrier) is really a fallback for if one just can't make a gate work.