Introducing Cats (to each other)

MatticusMania · #1 01-26-2010, 12:42 PM

I guess I could google this, but I always like getting info from my TB brethren.

So, I have a new roommate moving in this weekend. Along with his deposit he asked if he could drop off his cat, as he doesnt have a place to stay for the week and is going to Vegas. I told him that was fine, and he dropped off a litter box, food, and all that.

Now, we have a ct of our own. She isnt fixed yet, but will be soon. This other cat is also a female, but she's already fixed and all that. The new cat, Miss Kitty, has taken to the house pretty quickly. She seems comfortable and has been walking around exploring and is very friendly. Our cat, Bunny, has been rather territorial, hissing at Miss Kitty and running away/avoiding her.

And for the question, are there any good methods for introducing two female cats to each other in a friendly manner. Miss Kitty has been nice to our Bunny aside from a little intimidation. I would like Bunny to accept Miss Kitty as a friend. Im picturing a 'Step Brothers' situation where they hate each other at first but quickly become best friends and get into all sorts of mischief together. Is this possible?

guroove · #2 01-26-2010, 12:45 PM

Yikes, the best method for introducing cats to each other is to keep one of them locked up for a few days and to let them get used to each other's smells before they get to actually meet. It's a little too late for that.

This link might be helpful. I did this with an alley cat and the cat we adopted from a shelter, and now they are the best of friends.

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

**Horny Toad** · #3 01-26-2010, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guroove

the best method for introducing cats to each other is to keep one of them locked up for a few days and to let them get used to each other's smells before they get to actually meet.

This.

But since you're beyond that, they will most likely get along ok, or at least tolerate each other shortly.

coreyfyfe · #4 01-26-2010, 01:02 PM

The usual rule of thumb (IME at least) is that as long as they don't outright brawl as soon as they meet, they will eventually get along. Get along =/= be best of friends, though. Our cats tolerate each other, they will both lay on the couch with us or in bed with us, but that's about as far as it goes.

DeluxeRed · #5 01-26-2010, 01:13 PM

Move some furniture around. That disrupts the current cat's territory, and both cats have to stake out new ground. That usually keeps them occupied and not so worried about each other, and it's also not a matter of "a new cat on my turf". Works for both genders.

MatticusMania · #6 01-26-2010, 01:46 PM

Thanks, those seem like some reasonabble tips for sure.

There isnt much furniture to move around, we hardly have any, and the little we do isnt really our cat's turf. She mostly likes to hide behind the sliding door curtains, or on top of the fridge.

They dont seem to be fighting, so I guess they'll end up tolerating each other at least, which is good.

Now, as far as feeding them goes... we normally feed our cat in the kitchen, should we feed the new cat elsewhere, or in the same place?

StyleOverShow · #7 01-26-2010, 01:55 PM

Food is the ultimate territory. Feed them simultaneously, and at Bunny's regular time with some distance between them.

Cats are funny creatures, sleepy predators who are vicious to anything smaller than them and cautious with anything larger.

kesslari · #8 01-26-2010, 01:56 PM

Introducing cats - like when Miles met 'Trane?

Good luck - cats seem to tolerate each other at best, with rare exceptions. But the stuff outlined above should make tolerance possible.

We feed ours in separate rooms, but that's because they have to be on different foods (medical issue for one).

Relic · #9 01-26-2010, 02:16 PM

2 cats, one plastic storage tub. Shake well for best results and do NOT forget to poke holes in the lid. Give it about 6 hours then release. All will be worked out by then.

MatticusMania · #10 01-26-2010, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relic

and do NOT forget to poke holes in the lid.

I always forget this part... oh well, off to the pet store. Thank god I took those pics.

playinpearls · #11 01-27-2010, 05:52 AM

you'll definetly know if they aren't getting along. We took a cat in, a very nice one, but he didn't get along too well with my older female cat. we dont know if he was playing or attacking her, but it got so bad that she wouldn't come out of the room to eat. She would spend hours under the bed hiding from this other cat.

One night about a week in she had to use the litter box and they "met" each other in the kitchen. He scared her so bad that she had jumped up onto the window sill above the sink and did her business right there on the sill (a 2" ledge). then we knew it was time to get rid of him...

once he was gone it took 3 days to get her to come out of the room on her own..

Buslady7803 · #12 01-27-2010, 07:30 AM

Pretty good advice here. They'll have to work out each other's place in the home, just keep an eye on them. I would feed them in two different places if they're on different diets. If not, I'd keep their food near, but not next to each other. They should get used to each other's presence and place at the dinner table.

My cat Jinks accepted Sharky immediately, but I think it's cos he met Sharks as a kitten and simply remembered him. They're inseparable now.

MatticusMania · #13 01-27-2010, 11:49 AM

Well, its been 4 days and Bunny is beginning to handle the situation a little better. She's now capable of letting Miss Kitty come within a few feet of her without resorting to growls & hisses. I moved their food dishes a little further apart. Bunny seems to be acting more like her old self now. Miss Kitty has been great, she's a very well mannered cat.

Bunny went through a similar situation last summer, after we had only had her for about a month, when we took in a stray kitten that needed help. Eventually she warmed up to the kitten, and even acted the same way beforehand, with the hissing & the growling. I presume after a few more days she'll take to Miss Kitty a little better, at least to the point of indifference, as she'll see that nothing is really changing for her aside from the presence of this foreign kitty.

kissmybASS01 · #14 01-28-2010, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Relic

2 cats, one plastic storage tub. Shake well for best results and do NOT forget to poke holes in the lid. Give it about 6 hours then release. All will be worked out by then.

Two cats enter...one cat leaves! Two cats enter...one cat leaves!

geeza · #15 01-28-2010, 03:09 PM

Matticus - you were lucky. Cats expect formal introductions, usually with invitations and tea (and kitty finger sandwiches). Anything less is considered barbaric and will cause at least one of the cats to act snooty and aloof.

rr5025 · #16 01-28-2010, 05:36 PM

Ok what you need to do is pretty simple. First you need to wait til one cat gets stuck in the wall, it will probably flatten itself out like a pancake and slide under the wall (don't worry about the physics behind it, cats don't obey the laws of physics). Now once cat one is in there you're gonna need to open up a hole in the wall and drop the other cat in there, make sure a string is tied around it (this is essential). After awhile the two cats will become codependent. Once they're codependent you can yank the second cat out and the first will follow. After this they will be the best of pals and inseparable, maybe even follow you around.

Note, this will work much better if one of the cats involved is a calico cat (its a fact that all calico cats are female).

MatticusMania · #17 01-29-2010, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rr5025

Note, this will work much better if one of the cats involved is a calico cat (its a fact that all calico cats are female).

Yeah, I didnt know that until a little while ago when my gf told me.

Well, its the 6th day now and it Bunny is much more accepting of the new situation. The cats now follow each other around a little bit, and seem to be bonding. Looks like they may end up being pals after all.

coyoteboy · #18 01-29-2010, 10:25 PM

Ugh similar Sitch with my cat (F) moving into my GF's house with her two fixed males. After a couple months she still wants nothing to so with either of them and she stays in the bedroom all the time. Thought about putting he two in a cage in the living room while she roams free for a proscribed amount of time.

kingpin2512 · #19 01-29-2010, 10:56 PM

We kept our new cat in a seperate room like somebody else said. They tolerate eachother and thats about it. My bigger cat enjoys the dog of mine much more. Glad to see its working out.