Taking In A Stray With 2 Cats Inside

[pkelly3659]

My boyfriend and I adopted a stray cat (Herbie) from outside. We weren’t originally planning on bringing him inside but we decided to take him in when we moved bacuse we didn’t want to leave him behind. He is very friendly and minds his own business when we originally brought him in he just kept to himself but eventually one of our cats (Kyrie) started hissing at his which cause our other cat (Crusher) to hiss as well. So we decided to put Herbie into another room. We tried again a few weeks later but the hissing is still going on and I’m afraid the cats will end up hurting one another what should I do? Any advice would be perfect! Thanks.

Also we had Herbie Neurtered and vaccinated... he’s about 4 years old our other cats are 3 and 4.

First picture is Herbie that cats together are Kyrie and Crusher..

 

[kittychick]

I'll try (and those of you who know me know this is hard!) to be brief bc I ought to be in bed But your one pic really sucked me in - she looks SO much like our Phoebe - she passed on after a hard-fought battle against kidney disease (she was in her 20s, so we know it was time. SO hard! Anyway - attached a pic of her in her last few weeks (she looks extra bedraggled - - - but she was a fighter till the bitter end!).

First - HUGE kudos for bringing this baby inside before winter makes his life ALOT tougher!!! Many must have walked right past, hearing Herbie's plaintive mews, but praying that someone ELSE would come along and care. I bet he was glad it wasbe you!!!!!

Hopefully you'll at least get several answers as we all have own way of doing things- - and we've all had success with different ways. This site's s a great source of suggestions (as we've all had varying degrees of success. So if something someone offers as a suggestion doesn't work for you and your gaggle o'kitties, there's usually someone who there on this site who has a lot of experience in the area you're looking for help in!

A few quick questions - - are all kitties now fixed (it's Herbie, Kyrie and Crusher, right?)? I just wondered - since neutering gets rid of the raging hormones that cause lots of problems (extreme territorialness being one - which would definitely explain Crusher's sudden ill-temper). So if anyone who's NOT fixed right now, could they be done at (or near) the same time as Herbie? That way no one's feeling extra vulnerable.

So back to your actual question ......the big key (again - I speak from experience) SUPER slow intros are the way to go. It's a little rough while it's happening, but it makes times together for them generally end up SO much better! We've made lots of intro mistakes -- but finally learned that, although we just wanted "one big happy family" ASAP, we often rushed the process. We finally sucked it up with our last one we brought in (a sweet little feral fur ball that we TNR'd named Flick that we took it VERY slow with her (and the other 5 at the time). They guided us.

We utilized a cheap japanese screen/room divider with very small openings, and removed the paper/cloth that was on them (I attached a pic of one similar to ours). Ours was about 6 ft. When we brought in our feral Flick we knew she was hopefully staying - - -- so we took the time. We put her into our finished basement - - she started only allowed in the basement bedroom (there's a window, bed -which I used a lot to sleep with her and make her even more secure, cable, a stereo - even a wet bar if she needed to knock a few back if she was frustrated that day - kidding!). Once she was SUPER familiar with that room AND us (we did run a TV down there almost 24/7 so she could get more used to human voices - PLUS it covered the strange noises upstairs a bit)....we opened the bedroom door and let her have the run of the basement. As she got more confident - we opened the basement door, cracking it a TINY bit (and secured how far it could open with bricks on the floor - just needs to be heavy so neither side can push it in). We then started feeding her near the door, and our inside brood on the other side of the door. After about another week (each step was AT LEAST 2-3 days - - - many were longer), once any hissing or posturing disappeared from both sides, we set the screen up in the doorway to the basement so that now both sides could eat and see and smell each other - but NOT be able to touch/smack. Once again, we took our time. Once there was no crankiness, we opened the screen a bit - - but only when we were there and could monitor. We finally opened the screen (and that pic of her is her first step - completely freeway . We think the super slow intro was basically what gave us SUCH an amazing, seamless transition. Obviously, every situation is different - as is every person and every cat! But I think it's worth the slow process!!!!

Sorry so long (and somehow I thought I could be brief?!?!?). I wish you luck and please keep us posted!!!! I fully believe she chose you - - and you'll both be SO happy she did.

 

[rubysmama]

Welcome to The Cat Site. All 3 kitties are lovely. Hope they will live long (and happy) lives together.

I don't have any experience introducing new cats to a household, but here's a TCS article that may help:
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Good luck.

 

[mani]

Between kittychick's advice and the article rubysmama posted, there isn't a lot to add, except to agree that patience and time are incredibly important. It can't be rushed. Go over the whole process and start from the beginning. It's so worth it.

Love the photos.

 

[maureen brad]

I just want to advise that you go slow.If you rush you may just have to start over.I did this last year and it did take 2 months before I could leave all three cats in the same room. I took care to play with my new cat (Jack) several times a day and then let him briefly mingle with the other 2. I would usually grab a wand toy and play with them all for as long as things were good I kept Jack in my office with a cat tree, food, litter box and toys every night.I find plug in pheromones worked very well . it really can be done and result with 3 that do just fine together.I have been thinking about a forth but not sure I want to risk rocking the boat.