Strange Cat Introduction

linkworshiper

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Just brought home two adult cats to introduce to my other cats. At the moment, the two new guys are in individual crates in the bedroom with the door closed off from my resident cats. Here is where it gets weird. I let either cat out one at a time to stretch legs and sniff around. Whenever Jenkins, the tuxedo cat, is out and about, he chooses to cuddle up to Rigatoni, the orange one. He sits right next to the bars, sometimes even touching Rigatoni! But when I try to let Rigatoni out at the same time, Jenkins starts wild cat fights. Definitely not a play fight. He made me bleed when I tried to break it up. Anyway, just curious if anyone knows what's going on. I suspect it might be a territory thing, but I'm not sure why he would decide that so quickly, especially when he and Rigatoni arrived together. Any direction would be great.

IMG955035.jpg IMG955034.jpg
 

Kflowers

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do not try to break up a cat fight with your bare hands and arms. The best way, easiest on the cats and the least bleeding for you, is to drop a blanket or a duvet over the cats. They will fight with the blanket, and with any luck, go out opposite edges of it. The fight with the blanket should take the edge off the fight rush.
Cat bits can be serious, scratches can be deep try to avoid them so you can do more for the cats.

I would keep a blanket in the room with these two, who may just be freaked from being moved, being in the carriers, being out of control and smelling the other cats and you. I would also keep handy blankets in the rooms where there is any chance of your cats meeting each other. Blankets should be within easy reach. If you don't have enough blankets, use bath towels to drop between the cats, do not get your hands near the cats. You would be surprised how close to your face your hands are when they are at arm's length.

You might also think about buying some safety glasses to wear while you're doing the introductions.

I've had a large number of cats over the years, all but one introduction ended in toleration with, eventually, no fights.
 
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linkworshiper

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You are right about towels. I usually do but I panicked when they just went for each other lightning fast. Do you think it's just a matter of giving them lots of time? If the orangebone is ready before the tuxedo, should I start introducing him to my other cats first or wait to do it together? Thanks!
 

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Whenever Jenkins, the tuxedo cat, is out and about, he chooses to cuddle up to Rigatoni, the orange one. He sits right next to the bars, sometimes even touching Rigatoni! But when I try to let Rigatoni out at the same time, Jenkins starts wild cat fights.
What happens when you do the reverse - that is, let Rigatoni out but keep Jenkins in his crate?
 
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linkworshiper

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What happens when you do the reverse - that is, let Rigatoni out but keep Jenkins in his crate?
Rigatoni hops right onto the bed and curls up. Sometimes he walks around and stretches his legs. He likes investigating objects but he doesn't really bother Jenkins. He's got scared after the cat fight and went under the bed but he doesn't seem to mind when Jenkins goes to him. He's been eating his wet food, picking at dry and Jenkins is the opposite.
 

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I think it's a matter of time. Sounds, to a certain extent, like Jenkins just needs more exercise, which should happen when all your guys are together.
 
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linkworshiper

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I think it's a matter of time. Sounds, to a certain extent, like Jenkins just needs more exercise, which should happen when all your guys are together.
Oh they'll be running like lions haha. I'll try and give Jenkins more time out. It might make him feel more comfortable. I can tell he's stressed because he likes to sit in his litter box. But he's super affectionate and sweet at the same time. I'm sort of wondering that if I integrate Rigatoni first, will it help Jenkins to have the whole room to himself? Perhaps with the crate always open?
 

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That is odd. I have never heard of that happening. I currently have one of my outdoor cats in a room by himself for at least three months now, he’s still not integrating really… he spends most of the time hiding behind the bed, I think he is mostly scared of me because he likes my cats but he’s not interacting with them as much as he used to either in the beginning.

My boys, 2 of whom were outside, are friendly to cats outside for a long time. There is only one left outside now who is the BFF of Fred, the guy who is inside now because he was limping. My cats will sniff cinnamon’s nose at the screen door etc. however if I bring any of these cats inside Quinn starts being aggressive, hissing etc. screeching, dominating them… but no wounds. With Fred he figures out where he is and then chases him back behind the bed if he comes out…the other night I noticed Merlin seems to be doing that now too. Maybe they decided Fred is a weirdo because he’s always hiding behind the bed or they decided he needs to stay there?
Jenkins looks like my Zena 😻

I hope it works out. Have you played with them alone? That may help.
 

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Oh they'll be running like lions haha. I'll try and give Jenkins more time out. It might make him feel more comfortable. I can tell he's stressed because he likes to sit in his litter box. But he's super affectionate and sweet at the same time. I'm sort of wondering that if I integrate Rigatoni first, will it help Jenkins to have the whole room to himself? Perhaps with the crate always open?
Yes one at a time can be helpful. Cats will watch one another and learn that way too. Nobel learned much from watching Magnus, even as a geriatric cat.
 

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Are Jenkins and Rigatoni integrating to one another?

When we brought Calcifer home, Magnus and Nobel were bonded. Magnus is more confident with new cats so we let Magnus and Calcifer go at their own (fast) pace to bond. So we had Magnus going back and forth between the two boys in a supervised way. Nobel was able to watch Calcifer with Magnus to learn him rather than figure it out on his own, which helped him to accept Calcifer significantly faster than Magnus's initial intro.

We still had to keep an eye on everyone.

How's scent swapping going?
 
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linkworshiper

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Hi! Thanks for everyone's great replies. I'll answer as many as I can. Hopefully, it'll help me figure out what to do. Since I first posted, I haven't let the pair of them out together, always just one at a time. After exploring the room, both of them seem to end up on the bed, so I'm hoping they've been smelling each other on the blankets. I also tried swapping litter between their two pans, though I'm not sure if it's affected anything yet. Both of them are still crazy affectionate towards humans. Jenkins slept in my girlfriend's arms last night, like a big pillow. Sometimes Rigatoni will go under the bed when he's out of the crate, but he'll come out if you meow at him enough, so I'm thinking he just likes it under there, not so much that he's afraid.

Also, yes, everyone is neutered, though Rigatoni was neutered just a few days before we brought him home. At the shelter, they had been in the isolation room with the new cats, meaning they were all kept to a single cage that was cleaned daily. I adopted them before they got to mix with the general cat population at the shelter.

My current plan is to put Rigatoni's crate out in the living room with a blanket on it this weekend. Then I'll let Jenkins have the bedroom to himself. I suspect Rigatoni will fit in with the crew much more quickly than Jenkins will. My guys are a playful bunch. They are also very aware that there are cats in the bedroom, and I think they are eager to meet them.
 
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linkworshiper

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WELP. Mystery somewhat solved.

It turns out that Rigatoni has not been fixed. I DID think his balls were large, but I also assumed that he had gotten the surgery as he had been on the surgery list last week. I'm livid, to be honest. I work at the shelter where I adopted these guys, and the Cat Room Lead told me Rigatoni would be coming home with me to recover from his neuter. I assumed the surgery had gone as planned since there was no further notation about Rigatoni on his cage or via email after his specified neuter day. I am currently trying not to lose my damn mind at my coworkers, but they need to assure that he's fixed. It's irresponsible that they handed him off to me as they did. No rabies tags, no meds, no nothing. They literally just told me to pack up my cats at the end of my shift and go home.

I suppose that means Rigatoni will have to stay confined longer than I planned. All of my cats are fixed, but I don't want to risk a bad introduction because of this.
 

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Yes, that was a bad thing, Okay, not a bad thing, a I'm FREAKING OUT for you just reading about it. You are a very good person to not look them in the eye and ask how many others went out to make kittens.

I've brought a lot of cats into my groups, but not once did I let one who hadn't been neuturered in with the others. Not until it was done.

On the other hand you have more hope for a peaceful future than you did before. Once he's fixed and had 4-6 weeks to get rid of the 'gotta fight, ma' hormones he will be so much more willing to join the others. I know that's what you thought you'd got with only the 4-6 weeks to wait.

Are you taking him to your vet or trusting the shelter to actually do the surgery? Will they at least give him the rabies vaccination so you can get an appointment at a clinic?

What about Jenkins? Are you sure he's been fixed? I mean did they give you papers for him:? What about his rabies? Even states where the vets do not have to register the rabies with the county, they are supposed to give you a piece of paper saying the animal has had his rabies shot because you'll need if if he bites someone, or if you have to evacuate. Without that paper you can't bring him into the evacuation shelter with you. AND you paid for it when you got his vaccination.
 

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WELP. Mystery somewhat solved.

It turns out that Rigatoni has not been fixed. I DID think his balls were large, but I also assumed that he had gotten the surgery as he had been on the surgery list last week. I'm livid, to be honest. I work at the shelter where I adopted these guys, and the Cat Room Lead told me Rigatoni would be coming home with me to recover from his neuter. I assumed the surgery had gone as planned since there was no further notation about Rigatoni on his cage or via email after his specified neuter day. I am currently trying not to lose my damn mind at my coworkers, but they need to assure that he's fixed. It's irresponsible that they handed him off to me as they did. No rabies tags, no meds, no nothing. They literally just told me to pack up my cats at the end of my shift and go home.

I suppose that means Rigatoni will have to stay confined longer than I planned. All of my cats are fixed, but I don't want to risk a bad introduction because of this.
Wow! Hard to believe they could be so irresponsible and not tell you 🙀 That most likely explains the behavior at least. I hope they make this right.
 

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Yes, that was a bad thing, Okay, not a bad thing, a I'm FREAKING OUT for you just reading about it. You are a very good person to not look them in the eye and ask how many others went out to make kittens.

I've brought a lot of cats into my groups, but not once did I let one who hadn't been neuturered in with the others. Not until it was done.

On the other hand you have more hope for a peaceful future than you did before. Once he's fixed and had 4-6 weeks to get rid of the 'gotta fight, ma' hormones he will be so much more willing to join the others. I know that's what you thought you'd got with only the 4-6 weeks to wait.

Are you taking him to your vet or trusting the shelter to actually do the surgery? Will they at least give him the rabies vaccination so you can get an appointment at a clinic?

What about Jenkins? Are you sure he's been fixed? I mean did they give you papers for him:? What about his rabies? Even states where the vets do not have to register the rabies with the county, they are supposed to give you a piece of paper saying the animal has had his rabies shot because you'll need if if he bites someone, or if you have to evacuate. Without that paper you can't bring him into the evacuation shelter with you. AND you paid for it when you got his vaccination.
I have brought my outdoor guys to dvm and special sn clinics who had not been oreviously vaccinated for rabies and thye allowed them there etc. most of them had to be sedated and they all got their vaccination and whatever else they need as well.
 
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linkworshiper

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Ugh thank my lucky stars for all you guys, because I think being able to talk to you guys is the only reason I haven't gone nuclear. I put my Karen bangs on and wrote some pretty strongly worded emails to the medical team. They're literally telling me it's my own fault for trying to introduce cats before they had been fixed, and I was like, THE PROBLEM IS THAT I WAS TOLD THEY WERE. They also said they had no idea Rigatoni was going to be adopted so they didn't think he was a priority on surgery day. I'm pretty sure Jenkins is fixed if a lift of the tail is any indication. Rigatoni could poke an eye out with the size of his boys back there, but nothing like that on Jenkins. The Cat Lead told me they would try to get Rigatoni scheduled for neutering ASAP, while the medical team is also telling me at the same time that they can't promise when he'll get in. In any case, we're bringing him to our vet this weekend so they can look at the paw that got injured in the cat fight that wouldn't have happened if they'd just told me the facts about both cats. They're also trying to tell me that I probably signed some sort of waiver agreeing to take Rigatoni unaltered, but the only thing I could find in either cat's file was a duplicate, unsigned form for Jenkins's procedure.

What a sh*t show.

............though on a whole other topic, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. All of this happened on the tail end of me trying to adopt a dog and then giving up after they adopted me a pup with prey drive that went after one of my cats. Add that to some of the other crazy dog returns as of late, which include an actually dead cat, dog fights and a dog that was promised as sweet but had a bite record. The rose colored glasses are GONE. If I didn't need the paycheck, I'd rage quit right now.
 

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Ugh thank my lucky stars for all you guys, because I think being able to talk to you guys is the only reason I haven't gone nuclear. I put my Karen bangs on and wrote some pretty strongly worded emails to the medical team. They're literally telling me it's my own fault for trying to introduce cats before they had been fixed, and I was like, THE PROBLEM IS THAT I WAS TOLD THEY WERE. They also said they had no idea Rigatoni was going to be adopted so they didn't think he was a priority on surgery day. I'm pretty sure Jenkins is fixed if a lift of the tail is any indication. Rigatoni could poke an eye out with the size of his boys back there, but nothing like that on Jenkins. The Cat Lead told me they would try to get Rigatoni scheduled for neutering ASAP, while the medical team is also telling me at the same time that they can't promise when he'll get in. In any case, we're bringing him to our vet this weekend so they can look at the paw that got injured in the cat fight that wouldn't have happened if they'd just told me the facts about both cats. They're also trying to tell me that I probably signed some sort of waiver agreeing to take Rigatoni unaltered, but the only thing I could find in either cat's file was a duplicate, unsigned form for Jenkins's procedure.

What a sh*t show.

............though on a whole other topic, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. All of this happened on the tail end of me trying to adopt a dog and then giving up after they adopted me a pup with prey drive that went after one of my cats. Add that to some of the other crazy dog returns as of late, which include an actually dead cat, dog fights and a dog that was promised as sweet but had a bite record. The rose colored glasses are GONE. If I didn't need the paycheck, I'd rage quit right now.
Wow.. I am speechless, that is awful and I am sorry you are going through this. I hope he gets neutered asap. Unfortunately I think a lot of places or at least some anyway do a conceal behavioral issues with adoptees etc. I got my beloved civil from a group I was volunteering with and she turned out to have a life long peeing problem as well as asthma and other issues off the bat. Now I’m not sure if anybody actually knew that but I always wondered about it. The shelter owner offered to take her back when the peeing problem started but at that point we had her for a while, she was family and we loved her so there was no way I was going to let her go.

But I have never heard of anyone adopting out a cat or a dog who was claimed to be fixed and who wasn’t.
 

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I would not trust the shelter to do ANYTHING they say they are doing. Do not take your cats back to that place, I would not trust them to come home again. Schedule surgery at your regular vet and get rabies vaccinations while you're at it. You don't want the shelter to suddenly say, those cats don't have rabies vaccinations, they have to be quarantined HERE. No, you can't see them. Oooops, too bad there was a mix up and we put them down. Too bad, so sad. Would you like another one?


Yes, I'm serious. Once someone lies to you, or victim blames you, or both as these people have, you should not trust them for anything.
 
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