Hi! I have been reading all the threads about cat introduction on here, and am hoping to get some advice and reassurance from the lovey people on this forum
I have a beautiful 11 month old kitten, Lola. She is incredibly confident around humans and sociable, she loves to play non-stop which is why we wanted to get her a friend.
Yesterday, we adopted another beautiful 7 month old kitten, Snowy. We were told Snowy was also very playful and loves other cats, so that seemed promising.
We brought her home to our small 1 bedroom apartment. When we arrived we isolated Snowy in the bedroom. Snowy was really confident immediately and out playing within minutes - she settled immediate. Lola, on the other hand, is not used to having the door closed and was very distressed - she didn’t know there was a cat inside, she just wanted the door open, as cats do!
I know this was a mistake, but we opened the door to let them meet. Lola didn’t realise there was a cat inside for a few minutes but when she did, there was hissing and growling and noises I’ve never seen her We let them interact quite a few times over a few hours - snowy seemed very eager to say hello but stayed back as Lola hissed. There was never any fighting.
I realise now that introduction was too quick. Snowy is happily living in the bedroom alone, while Lola is unhappy in the main room. It’s really distressing to see Lola so upset - this usually sweet confident girl, who runs the house is largely staying in her cat tower, and looks too nervous to go over near the bedroom. When she does, she hisses. She also sometimes hisses at me out of general stress.
I’ve already tried a bit of scent swapping as advised on here. I’m also going to try and get to eat on the other side of the bedroom door, but unfortunately that’s a long way from her usual eating spot and she seems very reluctant to go anywhere near the door.
I’m just so worried that I’ve ruined their first interaction, and that they’ll never bond. We have a small apartment so they will need to be able to live in close quarters. I hope I haven’t done the wrong thing by adopting a second cat - all I want is to make Lola happy, and give Snowy a great life too.
Any tips or words of reassurance would be much appreciated. I know it’s super early days, it’s just so hard to watch our beloved Lola be so unhappy.
thank you all!
I have a beautiful 11 month old kitten, Lola. She is incredibly confident around humans and sociable, she loves to play non-stop which is why we wanted to get her a friend.
Yesterday, we adopted another beautiful 7 month old kitten, Snowy. We were told Snowy was also very playful and loves other cats, so that seemed promising.
We brought her home to our small 1 bedroom apartment. When we arrived we isolated Snowy in the bedroom. Snowy was really confident immediately and out playing within minutes - she settled immediate. Lola, on the other hand, is not used to having the door closed and was very distressed - she didn’t know there was a cat inside, she just wanted the door open, as cats do!
I know this was a mistake, but we opened the door to let them meet. Lola didn’t realise there was a cat inside for a few minutes but when she did, there was hissing and growling and noises I’ve never seen her We let them interact quite a few times over a few hours - snowy seemed very eager to say hello but stayed back as Lola hissed. There was never any fighting.
I realise now that introduction was too quick. Snowy is happily living in the bedroom alone, while Lola is unhappy in the main room. It’s really distressing to see Lola so upset - this usually sweet confident girl, who runs the house is largely staying in her cat tower, and looks too nervous to go over near the bedroom. When she does, she hisses. She also sometimes hisses at me out of general stress.
I’ve already tried a bit of scent swapping as advised on here. I’m also going to try and get to eat on the other side of the bedroom door, but unfortunately that’s a long way from her usual eating spot and she seems very reluctant to go anywhere near the door.
I’m just so worried that I’ve ruined their first interaction, and that they’ll never bond. We have a small apartment so they will need to be able to live in close quarters. I hope I haven’t done the wrong thing by adopting a second cat - all I want is to make Lola happy, and give Snowy a great life too.
Any tips or words of reassurance would be much appreciated. I know it’s super early days, it’s just so hard to watch our beloved Lola be so unhappy.
thank you all!