Struggling With Introducing 2 Cats

[2furbabies]

I adopted a new cat a little over 2 months ago. I did everything by the book as far as proper introductions but so far my resident cat still will not accept the new cat (also female). After the "first" introduction they seemed okay (or so I thought), then one day the new cat attacked my resident cat (nasty mean fight). So I separated them and started the re-introduction process from scratch. Went thru all the proper steps again. I am now to the point where they are both out with supervised visits. Sometimes they do their own thing and don't even bother with each other, and other times one or the other will get aggressive. There is growling, hissing, swatting. Most times I am able to divert the new cat's attention onto something else and it diffuses. But I've had people tell me I shouldn't intervene and let them battle it out. It looks to me like the new cat has tried to make nice, and my resident cat doesn't want any parts of her. To make matters worse, the new cat just recently started going outside the litter box. I'm assuming it's the stress and anxiety of the other cat but have a vet appointment scheduled for tomorrow to rule out any physical issues. So.... at 2 months in am I expecting too much? I will keep at it.... just wondering what my next steps should be from here. I am not comfortable at all leaving them alone unsupervised. When I'm home and can watch them they are both out. When I'm not home or at night sleeping I have the new cat locked away in a spare room which has been her space since she arrived (I do have a gate at the door and leave the door open so they can see each other at all times). I'll take any tips or advice!

 

[ArtNJ]

I think the consensus is that while they do sometimes need to work through remaining issues on their own, this doesn't really apply if they are fighting for real. Growling, hissing and swatting they can sometimes work through, but if they are fighting with intent to injure, that doesn't necessarily get better on its own, or at least its much harder. Since you have had at least one fight that you believe to have been the real deal, your certainly not wrong to keep them in the supervised visit stage and try to distract if you sense the possibility of a real fight coming. (Just by your post count, I'm going to assume you know a real cat fight when you see/hear one.) At some point, you may need to take a leap of faith and give them another shot even if there is still hissing and growlng, but you'll be the best judge of when they are ready.

What ages, and are they spayed/neutered? Have you tried calming products, be it Feliway any others? One poster on here has the idea of having them separated by baby gates, double high if needed, so they can see as well as smell each other. Never done it, but conceptually it seems to make a ton of sense if you can handle the logistics.

As far as how long it should take and whether you should still be optimistic, I think that you need to keep in mind that your not far from plain ole harmless distaste, and there is every chance you can get at least that far, with perhaps gradual progress towards toleration on their own. But you still need to proceed carefully, because you may also not be far from sliding back to active hatred. So it takes as long as it takes I guess...some have gone through longer processes.

 

[2furbabies]

Thanks so much for your reply. They are both females, resident cat who you see pictured here is 7 years old, and the new cat is 6 years old. They are both spayed. I do have baby gates up double-high so they are able to see each other when the new one is in a separate room. I am currently trying several calming agents (Feliway diffusers and spray, Bachs Rescue Remedy, and Zylkene). Can't tell one way or the other if they help at all but I'll stick with them. Yes, I need to get up the nerve eventually to not intervene and see what happens. Momma ain't quite there yet!

 

[KarenKat]

It is so stressful integrating cats! And I hear adults are worse than when one is a kitten, although I have only integrated 3-yr old Olive to our resident boys, 7-yr old Gohan and 10-yr old Trin. We had few fights but a lot of chasing that sometimes became intense. After about 7 months, we are at the toleration stage, although I think my experience is longer than most.

Sounds like you are taking all the right steps. I was also nervous about "letting them figure it out," even though I see Gohan, our territorial chaser, not do anything once he "caught" Olive beyond a no-claw smack to the head once in a while. If you saw a real fight, wait until you feel better about letting them duke it out. The calmer you are, the calmer they will be.

Do you have separated playtimes with an interactive toy that you can get them running and tired? I would try that, follow by a group feed. They will be the least anxious after that, and if they get a favorite treat within view then it's more positive association. After that you can try graduating to group playtime.

The most relaxed and least chasy times for Gohan we during and immediately following a group feed, or if he was sundrunk. If your resident cat likes to get all warm and sleepy in the sun, that's the perfect time to have a supervised visit with your new cat. I think Jackson Galaxy said it best when he said the whole point of these supervised interactions are to have the cats stay in the room as long as they are comfortable without a fight, and hopefully have them leave the room peacefully. Over time, they will stay longer and longer.

Good luck, it's not easy thing you are doing but so worth it down the road!

 

[ArtNJ]

Sounds like your using best practices, so all we can do for you is offer encouragement. One fight without injuries isn't that big of a setback. I'd bet money you'll end up at worst somewhere between distaste and toleration within another month or two -- and even if that is as far as you get doing your careful process, that isn't an end point, they can keep improving on their own.

I really like KarenKat's suggestion of being sensitive to their natural activity cycles. I haven't seen anyone suggest that before, but its common sense given how extreme these cycles can be for many cats.

 

[RufusGizmo]

i'm on month ten of integrating two new kittens with my two 12 year old resident cats. took me so long to let them all out together while i was gone, i was terrified. if they are really fighting i would not. two months is really not that long, we still have some issues to this date. its hard.

 

[2furbabies]

Thanks all for the great tips. It's nice to know I'm not alone, although wouldn't wish this on anyone, LOL. I've had cats my entire life and this is the first time I've encountered 2 not getting along so it's all new to me. They do have their separate play times and they will also play together/separately with a laser light back and forth or a teaser toy. They also have feeding times together in the kitchen and that goes well. I will keep at it, and yes I keep telling myself 2 months isn't very long. Unfortunately I was not able to get much of a history on my new girl from the rescue as far as her interaction with other cats. They said she had been around other cats before, but that's all they could provide.