Two weeks doing textbook new cat introduction, but little to no progress

[chat2008]

This is a follow up to an earlier thread since we seem to be making no progress.

We are now over two weeks since we began introducing our new rescue cat, a very friendly 2 y.o. male Russian Blue, to our (with us) laid back and gentle female 4 y.o. orange tabby... We kept them separated for a week while transporting their scents across the door and letting them eye each other and play under the door crack, then began short supervised sessions in the new cats temporary room, then allowed them to swap places for 10-15 minute spurts in the others' "world", and finally today, after two weeks, allowed the newbie and the resident to roam freely throughout our condo for 30 minutes.

We are frustrated though that our normally sweet Tabby is perpetually hostile to the newbie, who while bigger and more muscular, is normally the defender not the aggressor and is clearly making friendly overtures to no avail. Sometimes it seems as if it might just be play fighting, but by and large our resident is clearly being ultra territorial still, in spite of all our efforts to acclimitize her. The only sign of progress is that our resident doesnt hiss very often now- but she still has nasty body language and always tries to swipe the newbie hard when all he wants is to head rub a greeting. She attacks and ambushes him frequently. Shoukd we just resign ourselves to a much longer separation and cut back on these too confrontational get togethers for a few weeks, or should we just let them work it out? My concern is that both our resident (2 years ago) and the newbie (quite recently before we started fostering him to ultimately adopt) have stress related urinary tract issues and the last thing we want is to overstress these two wonderful cats and harm their health, or create permanent bad blood.

We are trying every trick in the book to see how we can break down the barrier that keeps our resident girl from accepting this male, but so far nothing seems to be working.

 

[p3 and the king]

Two weeks still isn't a lot of time.  I know it seems that way to you.  But sometimes it can take a month or a couple of months to notice marked changes in friendliness between cats.  Especially a little bit older cats... Young adults.  Kittens are usually easier to bring into a home with a cat or cats already there... They are not viewed as a threat.  But an older cat, it changes the demographics a bit.  Now they need to establish the hierarchy.  That can take time.  Plus, Russian Blues are not good with change.  They are notorious for being stubborn or not handling it as well.  They will eventually come around but sometimes it takes them longer.  But he seems to be doing well.  It seems to me the problem is the hierarchy.  Females are usually more alpha than males.  Males tend to be more passive and not really care in my experience.  She is letting him know that she is boss and she is alpha.  Perfectly normal.  Just let them work it out is my advice.  Once she feels he gets her message, she will calm down. 

If not, you can try the calming collar (on her) and feliway.  They help a lot in situations like this one.

 

[glenman12]

My experience was just the oppostie of yours...1 yr ago today I introduced a 6 month old male to my 4 yr old male whom I had for over 3 yrs in the same house..luckily they hit it off right away..but from the beginning the youngest one was showing signs that he was the Alpha Male..there was never any signs of real aggression from either but when they play, its when the younger one wants to play..when they play fight the younger one becomes the aggressor and the older older one "defends" himself from his back..but a year later they love each other...groom each other and often sleep cuddled together..but still things are done on the younger ones terms..

 

[chat2008]

Thanks P3 and the King and Glenman12. @P3 and The King- I think your observation is very astute re. our resident tabby wanting to be alpha and the new bigger but younger male simply not caring about status- it took us by surprise that our little (she is only around 8.5 lbs) 4 y.o. would insist on being an alpha vs. such a robust male but it now makes perfect sense- not only is she defending her 4 years of being queen of the roost but as you say, even a spayed female cares more about the whole hierarchy thing and she wants to give him the shock treatment- plus his own non-aggression sort of encourages her confidence in her own aggression. We sort of ruled out a male kitten as her stepbrother option because of her special urinary tract SO diet- a kitten could be in danger eating her special diet. @Glenman 12- that's great that yours integrated so fast- and hilarious that the kitten became Alpha.

I think we do indeed need to be more patient. We'll keep letting them meet regularly but I am going to restrict it more to the sleepier times of day for those two, and be quick to separate them again at the first indication of overly nasty behaviour by the resident. The calming collar approach may well be needed- we are using feliway plug-ins already.

Thanks in advance for any other new suggestions that pop up.

 

[txcatmom]

I just wanted to second the idea that two weeks isn't long at all (though I know it feels like it is when you are going through it.)  Like I mentioned before, Eko (our second cat) hissed at Leo (the third cat) for over a month but now they are good buddies.  (They are the orange and black cat snuggled up in my avatar photo.)  And they were kittens at the time (older kittens, but still...)  With adults it takes a little longer.  It sounds like you are doing a great job with the intros.  Hang in there.
 

 

[glenman12]

its amazing how these things work out..Im sure some intros will never work out and thats a shame...but I think the majority will in time..its just a matter of how much time..like I said I was lucky..did everything wrong and it turned out great..the TO just needs to keep trying..the two cats will figure out for her what the pecking order is and everything will be fine..

 

[chat2008]

Good stuff to ponder.. Latest is that now that the new cat is becoming more at ease in the new surroundings, he is starting to initiate more attacks and chases himself. It breaks our heart to see our sweet resident tabby seem to make progress declaring she will be the alpha, only to now get blowback as the new cat finds his confidence... We are time outing their together time whenever either starts to bully. My understanding is that the key is to keep the encounters positive and cut them off before any fighting happens- easier said then done though. I think i will try a calming collar on each of them. The wirst, almost unthinkable scenario would be that we'd have to refoster the new cat back into the systemif they never become friends- it would be heartbreaking as we have bonded with him. But we are months and months from facing that decision, I agree.

 

[ldg]

Ultimately they will have to work out who is alpha. :nod:

I'm not sure how you're reacting when there's a confrontation, but overall, I have some recommendations that may be helpful.

To help them associate each other with good, fun things, rub each of them with several clean rags (even better if they've been washed with unscented soap and no fabric softener). Put a resident-kitty scented rag under new kitty's food dish, and vice versa. ALWAYS give your resident kitty attention first. Give her food first, play with her first - make sure she feels confident that she is still your #1. Do not chastise her for initiating aggression. In fact - do not chastise either one of them for that. BUT... praise the heck out of either one of them (resident kitty first) when they're in the same general area and not being aggressive. And if you notice someone making a move, rather than a time-out, try distracting them with play - and draw attention to the wand toy by trying to engage whoever is being the aggressor in the confrontation. Try redirecting that energy into play. It may not work, but give it a try. If they redirect, again, praise the heck out of them!

The idea is to ensure your resident kitty remains pampered and confident that her "position" with YOU in HER home is not threatened. Then whatever scraps happen between the two cats is simply about territory.

If they do get into a scrap, don't break them up unless there's an actual fight where you're worried someone will get hurt. The "time outs" interfere with a process that needs to happen. But if you notice one of them doing that "stare," attempt to engage them in play, or distract them with treats. And if you catch "the stare" before it turns into anything, again, focus attention on the resident kitty first - whether with a wand toy or treats. End play sessions with treats, giving a treat to resident kitty first. Put her treats on a rag that smells like the newbie. Put his on a rag that smells like her.

Schedule play sessions. Having a routine will help. Play with resident kitty first, then newbie. These can be just five or 10 minutes several times a day. End them with treats - again, giving the treat to resident kitty first.

Have one-on-one time with each kitty. Do this by taking kitty into a room where you can close the door. Play, cuddle, brush - whatever they love or want to do. Again - give this "alone time" to your resident kitty first.

Rather than calming collars, consider having harp music playing in the house. And consider feliway spray or a plug-in.

Do you have much vertical space? If not, consider adding some - as much as possible. Either cat trees, or a pyramid of plastic storage boxes with holes cut in them so they can look out, go through them or up through them. Vertical space can really help diffuse the "alpha" fighting.

But basically, liberally use praise for "non-negative" behavior. (Praise resident kitty first). Ensure your resident kitty is confident she's still #1 in your eyes! Try to redirect aggression with fun and treats. MAKE those positive encounters happen! Set some routines for play - both together and alone. Create vertical space if possible so they can display "alpha" by going "up." Help your resident kitty understand this new kitty means all kinds of extra love, fun, games, treats, praise, etc.

And if you miss the signs, and someone is hissing or charging, and you missed the chance to redirect - do your best to ignore it, but keep an eye on it, and only break it up if it looks like someone is going to get hurt. Watch for that ears back, ridge-backed attack that means business. If it's just ears back and hissing or growling, let it go.

Oh - and to break up a fight, do NOT physically intervene: use a loud noise (coins in a can, or banging two pots or pans together). If that doesn't do it, and it is escalating, throw a blanket over them.

 

[mimi3908]

I also second the suggestion to occupy their attention with playful games strategy. I think the whole introduction process is not only between the cats, but also between the cats and yourself. When I made my intro with the resident alpha and a newbie, we occupied the alpha with her favorite games when the newbie was around and played with the alpha, giving her treats and coddling her..it took time and after awhile, I think she realize she was still the number one in our hearts and the integration was quite smooth.  Also, I think it also helped that my kitties came from shelters where they played with other cats in the shelter so chances were they would accept each other eventually. Lastly, when I know I had a clear alpha in my hands, I kind of wanted a newbie that didn't display alpha tendencies so less personality conflicts - still if it turned out that I had two alphas, I would use the same ideas as many posted here including making sure of positive reinforcement through games, treats and lots of attention.

 

[ldg]

I also second the suggestion to occupy their attention with playful games strategy. I think the whole introduction process is not only between the cats, but also between the cats and yourself. When I made my intro with the resident alpha and a newbie, we occupied the alpha with her favorite games when the newbie was around and played with the alpha, giving her treats and coddling her..it took time and after awhile, I think she realize she was still the number one in our hearts and the integration was quite smooth.  Also, I think it also helped that my kitties came from shelters where they played with other cats in the shelter so chances were they would accept each other eventually. Lastly, when I know I had a clear alpha in my hands, I kind of wanted a newbie that didn't display alpha tendencies so less personality conflicts - still if it turned out that I had two alphas, I would use the same ideas as many posted here including making sure of positive reinforcement through games, treats and lots of attention.

:nod: Basically, I suggest that when introducing cats, the focus not be on the cats meeting each other at all, but on the play, the food, petting or brushing resident kitty while newbie's there... whatever. Fun, happy things. The rest will work itself out. :nod:

 

[chat2008]

Thanks so much for going into such detail LDG, and thanks also Mimi3908- very good suggestions. To be sure, we have implemented most of them already- eg we already had an almost seven foot tall cat tree and a four foot smaller tree close together in our condo in a central outdoor and indoor viewing spot- plus we got another four foot tree for the male newbies' temporary room and are going to get a second seven foot tree soon... We are trying our best to distract the two when they are out together, with individual play, but the playful, younger and more energetic newbie will tend to want to join in on whatever toy our female resident is playing with rather than his own, to the residents' extreme annoyance. Also, our resident tends to resist toys and just stare at the newbie and ignore toys when they are together.

The bottom line is that we kind of messed up- our girl was hostile to begin with when the new boy first was released from the room after a week, and his friendly overtures were repeatedly rebuffed with hostility. The girl repeatedly chased and attacked the newbie to assert herself as alpha, but now the newbie is suddenly gaining confidence in his new surroundings and has "learned" not to waste his time being friendly anymore to the hostile resident and to even up the ante by attacking her more often than she does- ironically just after after she started to settle down and get used to him being around... So they are out of sync in outlooks tiwards the other. Now they both will launch attacks out of the blue when the other is just lying there relaxing. So I think we need to step back and almost start the introduction protocol from scratch.

Anyway, all these suggestions are absolutely terrific. Its difficult going but failure is not an option- we are going to do whatever will work to get these two to start having positive associations, even with the bad blood already created. I was hoping we'd make progress to allow us to make some week or two summer vacations later with our catsitter visiting daily, but I definitely see things moving very slow now, and we might have to keep them separated for quite a bit longer, when unsupervised.

 

[ldg]

Going back to square one can't hurt. :rub: If he has a "safe" room, what you may want to consider is bringing her in there for a few minutes daily for her favorite treat. That's it. Just bring her in while talking to her, telling her how much she's going to love having newbie around, because he means all kinds of extra love and attention for her. Give her whatever favorite treat, toss something at him, and when she's done, tell her WHAT a good girl she is, and take her out. Simple as that.

Since he likes to play so much, when someone else is around to help give attention, whoever she likes pets or attention from most, that person should be petting or brushing her, and the other one of you should get a wand toy and play with him. If she stares, she stares.

FYI, one of our females, Spooky, took six months to stop hissing, growling, and batting at a new intro. Took her a full year before we caught her grooming Ming Loy on the head. When we rescued the next kitty, Billy, it took Spooky almost a year to stop hissing and growling at him. The last rescue kitty, Chumley, was two years ago. And Spooky is STILL hissing at him if he gets too close to her. :lol3: At least they're not being aggressive to each other.

But two weeks is a drop in the bucket. They'll get there!