New Cat Intro - How to know when/if to step in?

[coloradokitty]

We adopted a new cat, Smudge, about two weeks ago. Our resident cat Abby is generally pretty laid back but obviously not wild about the new addition. We've been doing all the suggested things - keeping them separated, feeding them on opposite sides of the door, scent switching, etc. Last week, we put a baby gate up to let them see each other and they did pretty well. There was a little hissing/growling from Abby but nothing too over the top.

Yesterday, we decided to take the baby gate down and it was a whole different story. Abby growled and hissed and chased Smudge. At one point, she got him cornered and batted at him a few times. Smudge might be the most relaxed cat in the world and really didn't seem too concerned about Abby...just kept his distance as best as he could. But I worried the whole time about it escalating because Abby has claws and Smudge is declawed on all 4 feet (by his previous owners) so there's no way for him to protect himself if she did decide to attack him.

I guess my question is how to know whether and when I should step in. I know they have to work out their territory and who's boss. I just really feel an extra responsibility to keep Smudge safe.

Thanks!

 

[chat2008]

We are, as you know, going through this process too, about a week ahead of you in the timeline. The other day things took a huge turn for the better at about the 2.5 week mark. We were losing hope because they seemed to be attacking and ambushing each other too aggrrssively and it was a vicious cycle, wjth the new cat just having fun (but genuinely scared) and our resident uncreasingky hostile.

What helped break this cycle was our mother-henning them with tight supervision and saying "no!" firmly and giving them a look if one was about to attack the other... It almost worked like clicker training because almkst immediateky our body language alone was enough to break up the attack process without even having to say "no!". Some may consider my next move heresy- I purchased a squirt gun (water pistol)... Let me say that I have only used it about three times in a few days to squirt whoever initiated an attack and right away the sight of it or my reaching for it is eniugh to break up an attack before it even begins. The upshot is that by mother henning like this for just a few hours, they stopped attacking each other and got used to the kther being around in close proximity- the next day I didnt even need to do the "no!" and mother henning- and I put the water pistol away for good now as any chases they do nkw are tamer and looking more and more playlike.

I guess what I am saying is that in the very first few days of wide open exposure its useful to stop fights before they begin or break them up with a distraction (hitting a tin can with a spoon or whatever, doesnt have to be squirt of water) to instill a pavlovian inhibition against attacking... But once you start that inhibition you then want to start slacking off and letting them start working out alpha/beta territory issues. In your case, since the newbie s declawed, maybe extend the mother-henning fight prevention period by an extra couple days and see if by then the attacks become very rare.

I'll defer of course to the real experts here but wanted to chime in since I really thought we were going to have to give up and refoster our new cat until tnings turned very quickly over 48 hours.

POSTSCRIPT: i am editing this in after the fact, but with hindsight, before resorting to the "no!" or squirt gun threat (and I onlu used it 3 x total) I now defer to Jackson Galaxy's advice to first try distracting an attacking "bully" using a laser-pointer or mouse on a pole as a distracting target- the laser pointer, while perhaps problematic as a toy because it can be frustrating for the cat, is perfect to have in ones hand to immediately distract a bully when he crouches for an attack on the other cat. Eg see...

http://www.littlebigcat.com/behavior/laser-toys/

 

[coloradokitty]

Thanks! Last night went pretty well. Abby did some hissing/growling and Smudge took refuge on a chair. I brought out a toy and played with both of them, which seemed to defuse the situation quite a lot. Abby relaxed, did some soft blinking, etc. And Smudge was eventually able to jump out of the chair and make a beeline to "his" room without her chasing him.

Today, however, we seem to be back to square one.

I ordered some Feliway last week and it should arrive today. Hopefully that'll help, too.

Patience, patience, patience.

 

[chat2008]

Patience- ain't that the truth. No sooner was I crowing about our turnaround than things have backslided a kot with us... Our normally sweet and affectionate resident is acting increasingly depressed and withdrawn, and showing occasional bouts of redirected aggression at us. And suddenly we also have a butt wipe on carpet issue with the new cat... The real biggie fir us is ti see iur resident so unhappy. Ultimately, it was to make her happier that we wanted a companion cat- so if she us dead set and stubborn on refusing to beother than ice cold to a new cat, and shows obvious signs of anxiety and funk from it, we may be back to rethinking this all again, and openly shopping for new parents to foster (we refuse to plop the poor guy abck inti a shelter) the wonderful boy... Argh! Ah, patience, patience, sigh.

 

[mimi3908]

chat2008, we were in your position a year ago. We got a cat to keep our other cat happy (so we thought) and we ended up with a new alpha which made things very very difficult in the beginning. We also had to reconsider our thinking but at the end, then we thought it shouldn't be about just keeping one cat happy, it is about helping both cats in our hands now and we looked at the cats like they were little kids that simply need to learn to adapt to each other no matter how long it took. Then one day about 3 months later, they just clicked and they've been quite a pair ever since. I would never have imagined they would ever get along and now seeing them sit/sleep together and groom each other is just some transformation that I thought would never come. I know it may not happen in all cases and I think it helped that we have enough room for the cats to find solitude if they didn't want to be bothered and I know that is not the situation with everyone. I always believe that cats rather have company amongst their kind and might even enjoy a little fighting from time to time than 24 hrs day and night sitting/sleeping/eating and staring at the window by themselves - so boring. I don't even get worked up anymore when I see a bit of skirmish among my three cats now, they rest 18 hours a day, so what is a bit of fighting when one gets moody as long as no one gets hurt and I can tell they rarely use their claws against each other. Always, time and patience.

 

[chat2008]

Thanks for chiming in Mimi3908... I feel a bit like in the middle of a "cat from hell" episode still. Our girl resident has regressed even more- whenever the newbie is out of the isolation room (bedroom plus bath), our resident now makes these upset cries interspersed with a redirected aggression hiss or swat at us if we try and console her; she is clearly very stressed and unhappy - more than she was a few days ago, and is making defensive aggressive attacks on the newbie again. If we saw progress of some sort it would be one thing, but it's going backwards. I hate locking up the new boy in the bedroom again but looks like that will be needed to regroup and decide where to go from here. If this just continues, then not only will our resident be in a funk, but the newbie will never have a peaceful home either. He used to want to start playing with her but now is increasingly scared of her nasty attitude. (PS We live in a two level condo that has botha separate bedroom and a bug separate upper loft).

 

[coloradokitty]

I keep thinking about when we introduced Abby to our other cat Ripley (RIP). It. Was. Awful! Lots of attacking and hissing and stalking. And we supposedly did everything right when introducing them. I remember several days when I just bawled because it seemed they would never work out their differences. But they did. They were never best buddies but for 10 years, they were companions. They were almost always together (although not cuddled up) and would sometimes play together.

What I learned then - and what I have to keep in mind now - is that progress is a journey and it doesn't always take a straight line. In fact, sometimes you even back up and have to seemingly start all over again (which is where it sounds like you are now). But if you're persistent and patient, you'll get to your destination eventually. 

 

[catspaw66]

In the last year and a half,  I have brought in Sheba, then Spice, then Sugar.   Sugar and Spice are sisters but I had to take one at Christmas and the other at the end of January due to health problems with Sugar. There were the usual cat swearing, ambushing, etc., but now it is not unusual to see all four of them, Julie included, playing full contact tag back and forth through the house.  Before Sillly's eye got really bad, sometimes there were 5 players.

They cuddle with each other in varying combinations depending on the temp in the house.  Sometimes they make a large enough cuddle of kitties that I almost get pushed off the bed.

 

[chat2008]

Thanks, Coloradokitty and catspaw66... Inspiring to hear your trials of patience work out. Funny how a nine pound fluffball can cause so much drama and stress in a home for something a couple of naive humans have all planned out scientifically... Indeed we are going back tk square one, but nkt throwing in the towel yet.

 

[catspaw66]

Cats don't understand science, so they just act like cats.