Unexpectedly got a new cat...introducing to existing cat

rin68nyr

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Making a long story as short as I can...about 6 weeks ago, I discovered a cat was living in our cellar. Tried to find his home, managed to lure him to a dog crate, and found a rescue to get him...in the meantime, my son was literally in the dog crate with this cat, who seemed mighty pleased with the whole thing, he had ticks, and blood in his urine. The rescue couldn’t find a microchip, and couldn’t find his home. Blood tests came back negative for all tests you’d want them to, but he did have bladder stones, which he had surgery for. Estimated age is 7 years old, and already spayed. The rescue called us when he was ready for a home because she saw his well he and my son got on, and We decided that since he’s an adult needing prescription diet, not very high on most adoptees lists, so we took him home. Our current cat is 14 years old (spayed). So far (almost 2 weeks now), we’ve kept the new cat, Lion, in my son’s room, but when Dobby settles herself in a room with a door, we shut it, and let Lion roam. If Lion is happy somewhere else, we bring Dobby to his room. We trade off blankets and cushions each has used. Each cat is definitely aware of the other. Lion is curious, and seems to want to meet Dobby. Dobby hisses at my son’s door, until we intervene with pets and cuddles, and sometimes treats (we never let the hissing continue...we just distract)
My question is...do we wait on feeding on either side of the door until Dobby seems more accepting, or will starting that now help her be more accepting? Any advice is welcome. Because of Covid, our older son us home every day, and our youngest (the 14 year old whose room the cat is in), goes to school 2 days and theater on another afternoon...so someone is always home...two people most of the time.
Thanks for any suggestions!
 
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rin68nyr

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P.S. Dobby has a sister, and both lived with us from 3 years old on...but Winky passed away almost 2 years ago.
 

rubysmama

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Oh, what a handsome boy. Thanks so much for rescuing him, and giving him a home. :catlove:

About introductions, it sounds like you're doing things the right way. Some hissing is totally normal. About feeding on either side of the door, I can't see how it would hurt.

If you haven't seen it yet, TCS has this article on How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite which has tips, as well as pictures of how to set up baby gates at a doorway so that cats can see each other during the introduction process. Maybe something like that could work for you.

Good luck. Keep us posted. :redheartpump:
 

ArtNJ

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rin68nyr rin68nyr I take it you have read Jackson Galaxy's guide since you are asking about feeding on opposite sides of the door. I like our guide, posted above, better than Jackson Galaxy's tbh. We have a bunch of people come here, they get so worked up about feeding on opposite sides of the door, and it seems to cause a lot of problems. And does it even really help?

As we say in our guide, the main idea is gradual desensitization. That is the same thing they do with human phobias, like with spiders. The therapist starts with a spider in a cage 12 feet away. Next session, its 10 feet away on his hand. Therapist ups the ante only when your ready. You know what the therapist doesn't do? He doesn't say, ok, I know this spider on my hand is kind of stressing you out, but I want to link this to a positive experience, so you are going to eat some ice cream while the spider crawls on my hand.

Now I'm not saying that having the cats eat on opposite sides of the door is as silly as that, or that its useless. BUT it is a fact that a lot of people come here with questions about it because it causes problems. And I don't know if its worth the fuss. If you are going to do it, do it with gradual desensitization in mind. In other words, if they won't eat, back the dishes further away from the door -- you can get them closer later. Or just do the step later -- the process isn't supposed to be rigid, its just about gradually upping the ante as the cats get more comfortable.
 
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rin68nyr

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I love your analogy 🙂. Perhaps feeding together doesn’t make much sense, seeing how they can’t eat together anyway, with a Lion being on a special diet...
 

ArtNJ

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BTW, its not a big deal to let the older cat hiss. Seems like, if they hiss for a good while and nothing bad happens, they can work it out of their system. Sort of the whole idea of gradual desensitization -- a little stress at each step is expected. Once they get used to that step, they move on. So I don't think you have to or should distract, just let the process do its work. That said, one mostly can't distract a cat really stressed about a newcomer, so I think its a good sign that you can.

Hissing is just a communication really. "I'm upset about this new cat. Is it going to eat me? Don't come here, I'll fight you! Stay away!" Then, 20 minutes later, "wait, what was I going on about? I think its lunch time. Is it lunch time? Hooman!!!"

Just make sure your son is careful, escapes can set things back if the cats actually fight. Heck, make sure you are all careful, its not easy to prevent door darting.
 
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rin68nyr

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Yes, We've tried to be careful, and so far, the worst that's happened is Dobby didn't know Lion got out. He's funny...he'll meow to get out of my son's room, we'll check to see where Dobby is, and close the door to the room she's in, open the door for Lion....and then he'll stay in there. We just leave him be...he will usually venture out at some point...still not sure about the rest of the house yet. but he's definitely a people cat! If my son is not in his room, and I go to hang out in his room, Lion is right there on my lap.
 

pam10144

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This seems similar to the 2 I am trying to introduce. The younger cat (7 mos) doesn't seem to bother eating ANYWHERE. My older cat (6/7 years) does not really want to eat in front of the door at all times. We leave the food there and she will eat it. They are both more interested in scratching at the door and now the older one hisses when she can see his shadow underneath. We are still working through the steps of desensitization, 3 1/2 weeks in. Such a tough process.
 

lizzieloo

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Whenever I was introducing kittens to my cat I found the food on either side of the door was a good way to gauge how comfortable my cat was at progressing to the next step, or if she was comfortable at that stage. Cats don't usually eat when they are stressed - sometimes I would think she was ready to eat with the door open a crack but she would be too stressed to eat and I knew she needed a bit more time.
 
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