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Should I let them work it out?

post #1 of 3
9/18/08 at 5:48am
Thread Starter 
I recently added a 1+ yr old neutered male to my already 1+ yr old neutered male. For the most part they get along just fine, eat together, etc. The new cat does bully the previous cat some though. He's clearly trying to dominate him because he will pin him down and bite the back of his neck, etc.

I generally leave them alone, but sometimes Riley will start screaming to get up and Xander (new cat) won't let him, so I break them up. Do you think I am just adding to it, or prolonging the fight for dominance?
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post #2 of 3
9/18/08 at 6:43am
When adding a new cat, please, everyone... take your time. The newcomer needs to be separated from the resident cat sometimes up to a month or longer, depending on the cat. While the cats are separated, you encourage positive experiences between them by engaging in activities they both enjoy, while separated by the closed door.

When people introduce cats to each other too quickly, it can appear for the first week or so, that everyone is getting along. The cats are essentially sizing each other up. After they get the lay of the land, conflicts commonly occur.

I do have a .pdf I'm very willing to give everyone on how to introduce cats to each other. I just don't want to spend hours sending to multiple addresses. Maybe one way I can do this is start another thread and copy the contents into the thread. I don't know if that will work because of the formatting in the document.

In your particular case, I would probably re-introduce the cats to each other. Also, you want to make sure that you have plenty of tall cat trees, at least 6 feet tall that have lots of wide shelves on them.

Marilyn Krieger, CCBC
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post #3 of 3
9/18/08 at 7:24am
Thread Starter 
Just wanted to clarify that xander has been with us for 2 months now. I didn't mean a recent addition as in days!

They eat, sleep, play and do pretty much everything together. It is only a couple times a day, usually first thing in the morning when I get out of bed, and right when I get home from work, that Xander jumps on Riley and holds him down. These are also the times that I feed them wet food, but they do eat side by side with no scuffles or plate-stealing, etc.

ETA: they also groom eachother on occasion.
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