A few months ago I moved from the Seattle area to Boise, and brought my 4.5 year old cat Willow with me. She had always lived in a multi-cat household, but the other cats belonged to my roommates, so when I moved she came alone. She seemed a bit bored and lonely during the day while I was gone, so I decided to adopt a new cat to keep her company.
I did a lot of research online on introducing cats, and happened to run across this site. I decided to adopt a younger cat from Simply Cats, a no kill rescue/shelter in town. I brought home a 5 month old who I named Gizmo and did the slow introduction with Gizmo shut up in the bathroom for the first week. Willow spent most of the time hiding behind the TV. When she started coming out to greet me, I figured it was time for the 'cracking the door' stage of the introduction. Only the door to the bathroom had a crack that was too wide. So I put Gizmo in the cat carrier, and Willow went back to hiding behind the TV. Taking a chance, I decided to let him out and explore. Willow hissed at him when they spotted one another, but eventually came out to watch him from behind a box. For a few days I supervised them and put Gizmo back in the bathroom when I left or went to sleep.
Fast forward two weeks, and while they still aren't best best friends, both cats have the run of my apartment together and like to chase one another around the living room. There's never been any fighting beyond arched backs and puffed fur, but she sometimes hisses and swats at him (no claws) if he gets too rambunctious. Last night they both slept on my lap for the first time. Willow was on my lap first, and then Gizmo jumped up. She hissed at him, but he just flopped over and she went back to sleep. I'm fortunate that she's been so accepting. Thanks for all the good introduction advice.
So here's my babies.
Willow:
Gizmo:
I did a lot of research online on introducing cats, and happened to run across this site. I decided to adopt a younger cat from Simply Cats, a no kill rescue/shelter in town. I brought home a 5 month old who I named Gizmo and did the slow introduction with Gizmo shut up in the bathroom for the first week. Willow spent most of the time hiding behind the TV. When she started coming out to greet me, I figured it was time for the 'cracking the door' stage of the introduction. Only the door to the bathroom had a crack that was too wide. So I put Gizmo in the cat carrier, and Willow went back to hiding behind the TV. Taking a chance, I decided to let him out and explore. Willow hissed at him when they spotted one another, but eventually came out to watch him from behind a box. For a few days I supervised them and put Gizmo back in the bathroom when I left or went to sleep.
Fast forward two weeks, and while they still aren't best best friends, both cats have the run of my apartment together and like to chase one another around the living room. There's never been any fighting beyond arched backs and puffed fur, but she sometimes hisses and swats at him (no claws) if he gets too rambunctious. Last night they both slept on my lap for the first time. Willow was on my lap first, and then Gizmo jumped up. She hissed at him, but he just flopped over and she went back to sleep. I'm fortunate that she's been so accepting. Thanks for all the good introduction advice.
So here's my babies.
Willow:
Gizmo:
