Next steps for reintroduction

[chedbubag]

Hello all, I've posted before about our resident cat Agatha (female, 8) and her recently adopted siblings, Cheddar (male, 9) and Bubbles (female, 10).

About three months after we brought Cheddar and Bubbles home, we achieved a comfortable environment where Agatha tolerated the new cats and all shared our home in peace. That changed dramatically after Agatha and Bubbles had an intense fight that left us afraid to let them freely roam the house.

Looking back, it was possibly triggered over territory; Bubbles and Cheddar lived in our spare bedroom for the first few weeks they were home and Bubbles mostly continued to sleep there during the day thereafter. While I was brushing Bubbles before bed, Agatha jumped on the bed with us which triggered the chase and fight, as best I can tell. My guess is that in Bubbles' little cat brain that was an invasion of her space.

We're in the middle of reintroducing Bubbles and Agatha. Cheddar is oblivious to the issue lol. He is already bonded to Bubbles and tolerated/doesn't threaten Agatha. I'm hoping for advice on three aspects of reintroduction:

1. Best strategies for scent-swapping. I've left a blanket that Bubbles sleeps on in Agatha's side a few times. Agatha will hiss at the blanket. Should I wait out that hissing to get her accustomed to Bubbles' scent or should I find another way?

2. Best strategies for site-swapping. Agatha is reluctant or scared to venture from her side of the house, even when we have Bubbles isolated. Bubbles will briefly venture into Agatha's side. There is some hissing and staring when they cross paths but we only let the gates down under supervision so another fight has been prevented, so far.

3. Stopping an energetic cat from playing too hard with a calmer cat. Despite her age, Bubbles is very active. Daily playtime helps but she still maintains a baseline of energy that's above Agatha or Cheddar. One problem I anticipate as we continue reintroduction is Bubbles initiating play with Agatha, who will react negatively out of fear and their energy imbalance.

Finally, I would love to hear some success stories or encouragement. This was a bummer to go through especially after three months or progress.

Thanks in advance!

(peaceful moment before the incident)

 

[ArtNJ]

The whole purpose of introductions is to let the stress out in a safe way, and have them see that nothing bad actually happens. So I'd regard hissing at the scented blanket as a sign your doing it right, and that its worth doing. If there was no hissing at the blanket, I'd wonder if there was any continuing point to it.

You are right to be careful with the site swapping, as you don't want to cause so much stress it makes things worse. You just might not be able to do that step, or not able to do it right away. In general, I think the most important thing is to have a gate up with visual access, so they can see as well as smell the other cats.

Re: 3, there is no full solution. But maybe during the early stages of actual physical reintroduction to each other on a trial basis, you can do thorough play sessions right before the trial reintroductions. That way you get the best chance that these will go well, setting the stage for unlimited supervised interaction.

 

[Kris107]

I think I get hung up on the cats preferring only "their" side of the house. That has to go away. But as A ArtNJ mentions, getting them to interact and see each other a lot is the place to start. What do each of them love? What are they motivated by? Love to eat? Love to play? Loves pets/brushes? Do whatever it is they love next to each other. If they play, use a string they can both play with. But then breaking down the territories is important too. The whole house should be all of theirs. Do you have any cat trees or spaces up high that they can get to? Sometimes that helps with that feeling of safety.

 

[chedbubag]

The whole purpose of introductions is to let the stress out in a safe way, and have them see that nothing bad actually happens. So I'd regard hissing at the scented blanket as a sign your doing it right, and that its worth doing. If there was no hissing at the blanket, I'd wonder if there was any continuing point to it.

You are right to be careful with the site swapping, as you don't want to cause so much stress it makes things worse. You just might not be able to do that step, or not able to do it right away. In general, I think the most important thing is to have a gate up with visual access, so they can see as well as smell the other cats.

Re: 3, there is no full solution. But maybe during the early stages of actual physical reintroduction to each other on a trial basis, you can do thorough play sessions right before the trial reintroductions. That way you get the best chance that these will go well, setting the stage for unlimited supervised interaction.

Luckily, we found a sleeping pad that both Agatha and Bubbles will lay on day and night. We've been swapping it every other day for a few days now.

We have two pet gates up to divide the house, which they can see through. We attempt to feed them where they can see each other through said gates. We've been successful letting Bubbles into the side that Agatha occupies without any conflict aside from some hissing when they get within ~1 foot of each other. When that happens, I've been able to diffuse by just placing our broom between them. I think the biggest hurdle is making Agatha more comfortable in venturing into the rest of the house, she hasn't explored since the fight.

We'll try longer play sessions with Bubbles individually before opening the gates. Bubbles is active enough that I think she'll need more than the standard 15 minutes of play to wear her down.

 

[chedbubag]

I think I get hung up on the cats preferring only "their" side of the house. That has to go away. But as A ArtNJ mentions, getting them to interact and see each other a lot is the place to start. What do each of them love? What are they motivated by? Love to eat? Love to play? Loves pets/brushes? Do whatever it is they love next to each other. If they play, use a string they can both play with. But then breaking down the territories is important too. The whole house should be all of theirs. Do you have any cat trees or spaces up high that they can get to? Sometimes that helps with that feeling of safety.

We are ordering more cats trees immediately. When we've opened the gates, we've noticed everyone is calm in our den where there is a table they're allowed on, multiple windowsills and a cat tree. They even spent an hour or two napping while they were all on different levels/spaces but near each other. We're going to replicate that arrangement in the other main room of the house.

 

[Alldara]

Also take a dry cloth and pet each cat with it daily. Then run it along the baseboards of your home.

Don't forget to give them things to "do" together during intros as they progress!