Previous homeowner abandoned cat but we already have cat

[Sylvia Jones]

Strange only part of my response posted They slept for 3 hours after

 

[fionasmom]

My outdoor ferals go wild about catnip, much more so than the indoor cats. I can see that Jean does have a lot of interest in who the outsider is, but it might be interest in the long run if they get introduced.

 

[epainter]

Well, it's been a couple of weeks now in the house, and Tori has seemed to be a bit more chill -- still meows for us at the kitchen window / back patio but not as long, and quickly decides to just lay down instead. It's very frequent to see her passed out on our back porch haha

Tori definitely lives here -- she's on the back porch I would say at least 60% of the time. She lets me (and I think likes?) being picked up -- she purrs when I do, only stays a min or two then hops off to the railing. If I sit down she always hops on my lap. Chatted with my neighbor, she still comes by for food over there, but apparently she never talks to them -- they've never heard any of the cats meow.

I've still not seen her daughters around, but Tom comes by occasionally to grab food -- Tori seems to hide or just stay out of the way when he comes around. She acted very similar today when we had an unexpected visitor -- a racoon in broad daylight was on the porch eating her food (I try not to leave any food out overnight to avoid that since they usually come out at night, but this guy didn't care what time it was lol) Tori just stayed out of his way (he was undeterred by us, if we opened the door he scuttled a way a little but then went straight back for more food). Might need to do more timed feedings than free feedings if that keeps up -- he climbed up to nap on the tree right next to our yard so not sure how else we can deter him/others.

The jury is still out on Jean / Tori getting along -- they seemed to be getting more used to each other, less hissing, but then decided swatting at the patio door at each other was the thing to do -- so feels like one step forward two back in their case.

I have been talking with my boyfriend though and we've both admitted that yeah, we'll most likely be bringing her inside in the future, just not sure on the timeline yet (assuming the relations between Jean and Tori don't get worse -- we are hoping they will mellow about each other before we bring her in). We are still getting the house in order, and we know it's a long process to start so we are waiting for when we have the time for it. My internal timeline is at least before it gets cold here.

 

[fionasmom]

That is all wonderful news. She looks so happy in your pics, and so comfortable to be with you. Please keep us posted as to how this story turns out and if you get both Jean and Tori to co exist.

 

[epainter]

Partner and I have talked, and most likely we will try to bring Tori in at the end of summer, but we still have reservations about how territorial and not friendly Tori is to other cats. Behavior we've noticed:

• If Tori notices Jean (even from a distance) she will like speed run to the patio door and stand there (literally paws up so she's standing) aggressively at Jean. I think because of this if Tori gets close to the patio door or window when she's there she still poofs up and hisses.
• Today it's record-setting highs in Seattle (up to 111deg) -- and we have a lot of shaded options, cold water, etc for Tori (multiple spots). We noticed her daughter, Dee, decided to come to chill out in the shade of the house (not in any of the patio spaces we've set up, so not really in "Tori's" space), so we set out some water and food down in the grass where she was. Sure enough, Tori eventually found her, got aggressively in Dee's face (couldn't hear, but I think it's safe to assume there was some growling), and Dee scuttled away. Basically, the same behavior we've seen her do to her kids at a distance when she sees them (mean mugs them, starts to low growl). Bums me out that she's just a bully about the space, even to her own kin.
• When Tom is by, she isn't friendly to him, but seems to make a specific effort to just ignore him. Doesn't attack him when he eats her food or is on the porch when she is. (He is also much larger than her, big beefy tom cat)

Are there any tips for stopping Tori from being ultra territorial?

My worry is if when we bring her in she never gets friendly with Jean, and we've only introduced in-house stress for Jean, because Tori just doesn't know how to be cool with other cats. (And I'm not sure how much she will already feel the inside is her space since assumably it was with the previous owner)

Besides that she has been sweet to us, nice to my partner's son. Loves when he plays with her with a string toy:

 

[epainter]

*Jean poofs when she sees Tori (wish there was an edit post option!)

 

[fionasmom]

That is a very cute pic of Tori with the friendly little boy. If you bring her inside, do you have a separate room that she can use for a while while you try to integrate the cats and allow them both to take on the same "house scent"? Do you think that Tori would object to indoor only life?

 

[epainter]

That is a very cute pic of Tori with the friendly little boy. If you bring her inside, do you have a separate room that she can use for a while while you try to integrate the cats and allow them both to take on the same "house scent"? Do you think that Tori would object to indoor only life?

Yes, if I bring her in, I would definitely keep them separated (Tori in a room by herself), slowly introduce, etc. Will house scent be enough for a very territorial cat?

I'm not 100% sure on how she will like indoor only. I think it would be definitely a tough transition for a while, it is also a concern of mine (not just introducing them but changing Tori's daily life so much). I'm sure her ideal scenario is full indoor/outdoor access. She definitely wants in, would probably love to be able to hang out with us whenever she wants (she seems mostly content of we are outside with her even if not giving her attention or anything).

Jean is also very scent sensitive, she would always hiss for days after I brought Storm home from the vet (regardless of what "scent" swapping I tried to do to alleviate. Because of that I'm don't think letting Tori have both would work either.

 

[fionasmom]

Your idea of the room for Tori is the way to start out. It is definitely one step at a time as you evaluate the situation. You may get a surprise in that she really wants to be inside and you can introduce from there. Some variables though clearly.