Hi!
So, I have an approx. 7 year old cat that showed up when we was 1 as a stray. He showed up at my fiance's parents house. They had a cat already, and Monty, the newcomer (our cat) would regularly actively hunt him down and attack him. They were both inside/outside cats. He would trot through the house looking for his parents cat in all his hiding spots and attack.
He is now a housecat and has been for years, and moving away seems to have snapped him from that "this is my turf" behavior. At his parents house you couldn't keep him inside, he would literally take out screens and jump from the second floor through the awnongs to get outside, and he's quite happy inside now and has been since the day we moved to a new 'territory'
I adpoted a stray kitten recently, and have been diligent in keeping him isolated (he has been vetted). Monty shows more fear/apprehension than anything, which I take as a good sign. I've let them explore each other's territory, fed him in 'enemy territory' without the kitten around, fed them on either side of a closed door, and recently started cracking the door while they eat about an inch. My issue is if Monty gets too interested, instead of apprehension, he tries to get in through the door crack and displays the same interested hunting behavior he did with fiance's parents cat. He has been making slow progress, he used to walk around and hiss when I'd bring him (alone) into the kitten room and he graduated to being comfortable amd playing. He used to run from the closed door the second he finished eating, now he stays to lick his bowl clean. I've been feeding him wet food (a special treat) with his dry when they eat close together. I can't decide if this is comfort with the idea of a new cat or confidence in his ability to fight it!
It is hard to let them see each other without being able to touch each other. My other room has a clear, lockable cat door installed. Do you think it would he be good to let the kitten in that room and lock the cat door for some time each day so Monty can see him but not interact with him? Or do you think the visual stimulus would trigger the hunting behavior?
Do you think I'm just pushing too fast? I should clarify the kitten displays no aggression, fear, or anything to Monty and is very keen to meet him. Even when he is hissed at and swatted through the door crack it doesn't phase him and he wants to play. Typical rambunctious kitten behavior. I'm pretty confident we can make it work with enough time, I'm just unsure how to do the visual access and if it's too soon. I think introducing too fast is maybe what triggers the hunting behavior because he still feels threatened?
So, I have an approx. 7 year old cat that showed up when we was 1 as a stray. He showed up at my fiance's parents house. They had a cat already, and Monty, the newcomer (our cat) would regularly actively hunt him down and attack him. They were both inside/outside cats. He would trot through the house looking for his parents cat in all his hiding spots and attack.
He is now a housecat and has been for years, and moving away seems to have snapped him from that "this is my turf" behavior. At his parents house you couldn't keep him inside, he would literally take out screens and jump from the second floor through the awnongs to get outside, and he's quite happy inside now and has been since the day we moved to a new 'territory'
I adpoted a stray kitten recently, and have been diligent in keeping him isolated (he has been vetted). Monty shows more fear/apprehension than anything, which I take as a good sign. I've let them explore each other's territory, fed him in 'enemy territory' without the kitten around, fed them on either side of a closed door, and recently started cracking the door while they eat about an inch. My issue is if Monty gets too interested, instead of apprehension, he tries to get in through the door crack and displays the same interested hunting behavior he did with fiance's parents cat. He has been making slow progress, he used to walk around and hiss when I'd bring him (alone) into the kitten room and he graduated to being comfortable amd playing. He used to run from the closed door the second he finished eating, now he stays to lick his bowl clean. I've been feeding him wet food (a special treat) with his dry when they eat close together. I can't decide if this is comfort with the idea of a new cat or confidence in his ability to fight it!
It is hard to let them see each other without being able to touch each other. My other room has a clear, lockable cat door installed. Do you think it would he be good to let the kitten in that room and lock the cat door for some time each day so Monty can see him but not interact with him? Or do you think the visual stimulus would trigger the hunting behavior?
Do you think I'm just pushing too fast? I should clarify the kitten displays no aggression, fear, or anything to Monty and is very keen to meet him. Even when he is hissed at and swatted through the door crack it doesn't phase him and he wants to play. Typical rambunctious kitten behavior. I'm pretty confident we can make it work with enough time, I'm just unsure how to do the visual access and if it's too soon. I think introducing too fast is maybe what triggers the hunting behavior because he still feels threatened?