What Do You Do When Your Cats Are Getting Along? Add Another One!

[duncanmac]

So, the saga of Duncan and Barry turns the page and starts another chapter. For whatever reason, I have been wanting another cat and my wife agreed. We had been looking for the perfect cat for a while. Not too hard, but would look at the kittens whenever we went to Petsmart. This past Saturday, a kitten chose us and she's been home since Monday night.

So, here is Paisley Park:

Paisley - Hello

• duncanmac
• Oct 18, 2018

Paisley - Tunnel

• duncanmac
• Oct 18, 2018

Paisley - Window

• duncanmac
• Oct 18, 2018

Paisley - Spring

• duncanmac
• Oct 18, 2018

She has already figured out how to play fetch with a spring and is an absolute love bug. She's got a squeaky meow and purrs, really loud, from the moment we walk into the safe room until we leave.

Duncan is not happy and hisses and growls at her whenever he sees her through the baby gates, then he either runs away or into our bedroom where he can watch her door from as far away as possible. (the safe room door is across the hallway from our room).

Barry sat outside the baby gate watching her this morning with no reaction either way, just perky alert ears. Barry is very social with other cats, so I expect he will love her quickly.

Tonight, the plan is to put her in our bedroom for a while and let the boys explore the safe room. Depending on how Duncan settles in, we might do a limited introduction on Sunday.

 

[betsygee]

What a cutie--congratulations. Good luck with the introductions--do let us know how it goes.

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... she's adorable. Hope she and Duncan and Barry become best buds.

In case you haven't seen it, here's an article on How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

 

[duncanmac]

Awww... she's adorable. Hope she and Duncan and Barry become best buds.

In case you haven't seen it, here's an article on How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

Thanks - Barry and Duncan are about 2 right now so they are both energetic enough to handle a kitten (I hope) and are both big boys. Paisley is a tiny little thing - two pounds or so. Hopefully they will not see her as any sort of a threat.

She is also one of the most affectionate cats I have ever met. Duncan is super friendly and loves being around people and being pet but he's not a rubber. Paisley cannot get enough of being pet and is constantly rubbing and bumping against us. Hopefully she's like this with the boys too.

 

[duncanmac]

Did a 20 minute site swap this morning. Dropped the kitten on my wife while she slept and closed them in the bedroom. I was curious how I would get the boys into her safe room, but they drifted in there on their own. The boys cautiously explored the room and when I carried Paisley back in the scooted out of there with no hissing.

Duncan still gives a hiss and runs away when he sees her through the baby gate, but he is coming back to peek at her quicker.

There might be a brief face-to-face introduction this weekend to test the waters. We'll see what the cats think.

 

[vince]

It took about 10 days before the hissing stopped entirely between my two and the kitten I took in. Five weeks later, they're all getting along well, except that Sir Eats-A-Lot is still a bit of a grump. He climbs up on furniture more so the little one can't get to him.

Don't forget the dynamics between Barry and Duncan. In my case, Chester has become quite fond of the newcomer, and it has affected his relationship between him and Sir Eats-A-Lot. I've tried to comfort Eats-A-Lot with extra cuddle time and "fussing-over," but I can still tell he's somewhat out of sorts.

 

[duncanmac]

The team dynamics kept us from getting a kitten quicker. We had two happy cats that got along pretty well.

Duncan is "the boss" and Barry is his adoring flunky. It also took a long time for Barry to really warm up to me and he is just starting to warm up to my wife (he was feral or abandoned very early in life). I expect Duncan to assert his position over Paisley and try to stay the boss. Barry I'm not so sure about.

re: Hissing: It was never bad, but it is much less just since Monday. I view hissing as a defensive action, so I am assuming that with less hissing that Duncan is getting more comfortable with/less scared of the kitten.

 

[vince]

It wasn't much of a choice on my part--she was alone outside under the car, dirty, crying and hungry, so I fed her. Four hours later, no mama, still crying and hungry again, so I took her in.

Both my other cats were closely bonded. The introduction of the kitten stirred up a stable condition, which hasn't gotten too bad all things considered, but Sir Eats-A-Lot still feels a bit left out, that's all.

It did take 10 days or so for the two guys to stop hissing. I think the two were actually a bit afraid of her. She's quite feisty and attacks them (and me) a lot. I felt safe letting her out all day with them about a week after the hissing stopped.

The two guys have been good about giving her behavior lessons. She's not as wild now and her bites are "calibrated" so they don't hurt much. She was perhaps 4 weeks old when I took her in, so she didn't get much opportunity to learn from litter mates, if she had any. I think you won't have as much of a problem with that since Paisley seems older.

 

[duncanmac]

It wasn't much of a choice on my part--she was alone outside under the car, dirty, crying and hungry, so I fed her. Four hours later, no mama, still crying and hungry again, so I took her in.

Both my other cats were closely bonded. The introduction of the kitten stirred up a stable condition, which hasn't gotten too bad all things considered, but Sir Eats-A-Lot still feels a bit left out, that's all.

It did take 10 days or so for the two guys to stop hissing. I think the two were actually a bit afraid of her. She's quite feisty and attacks them (and me) a lot. I felt safe letting her out all day with them about a week after the hissing stopped.

The two guys have been good about giving her behavior lessons. She's not as wild now and her bites are "calibrated" so they don't hurt much. She was perhaps 4 weeks old when I took her in, so she didn't get much opportunity to learn from litter mates, if she had any. I think you won't have as much of a problem with that since Paisley seems older.

Paisley is about 4 months old right now. Although she might be a little feisty she's very friendly and very curious so we're definitely ahead of the game than you were.

This morning I just got a Vibe the Barry was open to seeing Paisley so I locked Duncan up in the bedroom and just let the other two cats wander around together. Paisley ran up and down the hallway in a much bigger space than she was used to and Barry and her played chase. Overall the two of them were together for maybe 10 or 15 minutes a lot of chasing but the chasing went both ways and whenever Barry freaked out he ran away but pretty much came back in just a minute. No hissing at all and Barry only batted at Paisley once when she got in his face a little too much. I'm calling that a win for now and we'll try again later this afternoon and maybe get Duncan into the mix

 

[duncanmac]

Paisley out of a box

• duncanmac
• Oct 21, 2018

Last night I let everyone loose to see what would happen. I kind of expected Duncan to try to dominate her and beat her up a little bit, but except for a little bit of hissing from Duncan and a little bit from Paisley, last night was pretty uneventful. I locked her in her safe room over night and woke up to her crying like made at 4:30 (our usual wake up time, during the week). It is after noon and they have been getting along fine all morning.

There's no grooming or sleeping in one big ball, but there is only occasional hissing, play chasing and no fights. If this lasts, she will be loose for overnights.

Paisley out of a box

• duncanmac
• Oct 21, 2018

All Three

• duncanmac
• Oct 21, 2018

 

[rubysmama]

Pretty good update, I'd say.

 

[duncanmac]

Pretty good update, I'd say.

I agree - I'm surprised it has gone this quick. I expected a lot more push back from Duncan but he has been surprisingly laid back.

 

[duncanmac]

Yesterday marked two weeks with Paisley. The boys are still a little leery of her and I can tell they don't quite know what to do, but they are not doing anything bad. There has been a lot of butt sniffing, a lot of chasing and some nose sniffing. It is hysterical to watch Paisley, a little peanut, chasing 12 to 16 pound cats around and a little scary when they turn around and chase her.

Napping Overhead

• duncanmac
• Oct 24, 2018

 

[rubysmama]

You'll have to get a video of them, while she's still little.