Hi all. We recently took in a friend’s 2 year old neutered male cat because he would be moving to a different country.
We already have a ~2 year old female tabby who is very social and playful.
We previously had 2 cats, but one has passed on, but we knew the general protocol of introducing our cats. We had them in separate rooms and had them swap beds, toys, etc to get them used to each other’s scents. They eventually got to the point where being in carriersrighht in front of each other caused no distress.
After a few weeks, we let them interact for the first time and there was hissing and growling from the new cat. He ended up getting so stressed that he threw up. Meanwhile, resident cat showed no signs of aggression and even offered multiple eye kisses to the new guy.
Regardless, we separated them again, repeated our routine, and again they were fine in the carriers. Tried again to let them meet by letting them out in opposite sides of the room while me and my boyfriend each played with one of them so they would associate happy feelings with one another. However, new cat hissed and growled again and again though he never tried to actually fight. After around 10 minutes, he’s throwing up again!!
So once again we separated them and did our whole thing from the top.
HOWEVER, we were just robbed a few days ago while we were home!!!! New cat was in a room downstairs when it happened while my bf and I were with our resident cat in our bedroom. New cat was terrified. A group of police came to search the house and he was even more terrified. He hasn’t eaten or drank in a 2 days, except finally a little nibble of canned food (<1tbsp of Hills urgent care wet food). Because we were so shaken up after what happened, we decided we wanted everyone together should anything happen again.
Our cats are now in our master bedroom, separated by a 10ft tall gate that is covered so the cats can’t really see each other (maybe 2 inches of visibility on the ground). The new guy is doing a little better, but still goes towards the gate to hiss. Also he barfed the first night he was in the room, but is otherwise the least scared he’s been since he’s been with us. However, there is no less aggression or defensiveness he has to the resident cat. When he sees her feet passing, he immediately hisses. I thought since he’s in a room smelling her scent it’d be better, but it isn’t.
And go make things even worse, his bright pink nose is so pale today!!
Can anyone offer any advice?
We already have a ~2 year old female tabby who is very social and playful.
We previously had 2 cats, but one has passed on, but we knew the general protocol of introducing our cats. We had them in separate rooms and had them swap beds, toys, etc to get them used to each other’s scents. They eventually got to the point where being in carriersrighht in front of each other caused no distress.
After a few weeks, we let them interact for the first time and there was hissing and growling from the new cat. He ended up getting so stressed that he threw up. Meanwhile, resident cat showed no signs of aggression and even offered multiple eye kisses to the new guy.
Regardless, we separated them again, repeated our routine, and again they were fine in the carriers. Tried again to let them meet by letting them out in opposite sides of the room while me and my boyfriend each played with one of them so they would associate happy feelings with one another. However, new cat hissed and growled again and again though he never tried to actually fight. After around 10 minutes, he’s throwing up again!!
So once again we separated them and did our whole thing from the top.
HOWEVER, we were just robbed a few days ago while we were home!!!! New cat was in a room downstairs when it happened while my bf and I were with our resident cat in our bedroom. New cat was terrified. A group of police came to search the house and he was even more terrified. He hasn’t eaten or drank in a 2 days, except finally a little nibble of canned food (<1tbsp of Hills urgent care wet food). Because we were so shaken up after what happened, we decided we wanted everyone together should anything happen again.
Our cats are now in our master bedroom, separated by a 10ft tall gate that is covered so the cats can’t really see each other (maybe 2 inches of visibility on the ground). The new guy is doing a little better, but still goes towards the gate to hiss. Also he barfed the first night he was in the room, but is otherwise the least scared he’s been since he’s been with us. However, there is no less aggression or defensiveness he has to the resident cat. When he sees her feet passing, he immediately hisses. I thought since he’s in a room smelling her scent it’d be better, but it isn’t.
And go make things even worse, his bright pink nose is so pale today!!
Can anyone offer any advice?