Third Cat Introduction Challenges

Cheeky_Moose

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Hi All~

Looking for some reassurance and/or suggestions for what has been an (expectedly) long integration of a third cat.
The Kitties; Beckett (7 yr tuxedo, FLUTD), Tips (7 yr Tortie), Lil’Dude (grey 15 mth-ish)

Lil’Dude was an extremely sick foster I got a year ago (suspected panleuk with recovery complications). It took me 3 months to rehab him and realize he’d stolen my heart. So actual efforts to integrate him didn’t start till last January.
My older two were also rescues at 6 weeks so didn’t develop great ‘inter-kitty’ skills, and with Beckett being sensitive to stress with FLUTD, I knew I was in for the long haul. However, being set up as a foster, the split system has worked fine- each have their own rooms and time spent with me with the run of the house. All slow intro protocols have been followed and I’ve finally gotten to the point where they have hours access to each other through a screen door. My older kitties are very nervous but have gotten to the point where they can be right in front of Dude and they’ll sniff. Hooray for tolerating each other! It took 9 months but I’ll take it.

The problem is lil’Dude is nervous?aggressive? and, while I’ve never seen him hiss or growl at the other kitties, he has this habit of launching himself straight at them- with his paws under the door or straight at them through the screen. They do not appreciate it and I don’t blame them. He’s always silent when he does this.
Thanks to a housesitter, Dude has escaped a couple times which always ended up in him directly chasing the older cats. Both of them run then fight back then run…No blood/fur/pee expressed but lots of poofing, hissing/growling and screaming.
They can eat treats near each other at the screen door and Beckett was acting semi-friendly so I decided to try a quick face to face between the two to see if I could start supervised visits. Dude had just been playing with me and was tired but as soon as Dude realized he could go see Beckett, he ignored the Greenies and toys I tried to distract him with and ran straight into Beckett which resulted in yowling, claws, and Beckett running under the bed. Another quick tussle under there and Beckett got on top of the bed while Dude slinked out looking for him. I stepped in and seperated them, feeling like a horrible cat mom.

Worth mentioning that lil’Dude has been obsessed to meet the other kitties from day one. He was in a multi-cat household till his litter got sick and was given up to the shelter at 12-16 weeks old. He’s always trying to whack the older kitties from under the door and he’ll sit outside it trying to interact with them. He’s definitely calming down so he’s not as rambunctious as he used to be as a baby so I thought now would be an ok time to try real intros but…no go. He will not be distracted from charging them. is this dominant aggression? Fear?

What can I do to stop Dude being so direct? Wait till he ages more? Let them tussle it out (not sure my heart can take that…) My cats are definitely tolerating him through the screen but clearly can’t take him launching himself at them with no warning.

Yes I use Feliway. Yes, I’ve done site swapping. Dude makes a point of napping wherever the older cats nap and I swap scratching pads/beds etc. Thank you if you’ve read this far and I appreciate your thoughts. IMG_3143.jpeg
 

Mamanyt1953

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OK, so he's about the equivalent of a 17-year-old boy. LOTS of roughhousing around with pals. AND he's with two fully adult cats who are so over that nonsense. It doesn't sound as if there have been any real fights, just what may be an overly-enthusiastic attempt to play. Remember, ALL play in cats, whether between themselves or with toys, is practice for The Hunt, and can look very violent to us poor, clueless humans! What is Lil'Dude's physical stance when seeing the other two? Position of ears, position of whiskers, fur on tail? IF the ears are forward, or even "air-planed," rather than flat against the skull, if the whiskers are not flat back against the cheeks, and the tail isn't bottle-brushed or lashing frantically, this is probably an attempt to play, rather than aggression, and the other two just want no part of it. It makes a difference in how to approach this.
 
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Cheeky_Moose

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Hmm... What about a harness for Dude so he can't lunge/charge?
I’ve thought about this but I’ve heard conflicting reports about how this might make him more frustrated? (similar to barrier aggression in dogs- which my dog happens to have lol). I would consider it though!

Mamanyt1953 - behind the screen and under the door does look like play to me otherwise I would have never tried the face to face with Beckett. Dude crouches and lashes his tail before he pounces at the screen. Ears not pinned. No bottle tail before- but he definitely has a bottle tail after he tussled with Beckett. I’ll try and catch a screen pounce on video later tonight.
 

Kris107

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Some people have a piece of cardboard or something handy when they do intros - to sort of block a charge too. Sounds like he's just over eager.
 
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Cheeky_Moose

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Posting videos seems to be an issue for me at the moment sorry but I do think Dude means well. I just can’t figure out how to stop him charging the others without a barrier. I just want them to start tolerating each other haha.
 
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