Introducing cats

luci_sushi

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I adopted a new cat, Sully a intact male around 1 year old on Aug 15 and I'm having trouble introducing him to Luci a neutered 6 year old old cat. I also have a kitten Sushi who is almost 4.5 month old(Luci got along fine with his since he was soo much smaller), he already gets along with Sully and Luci.

Sully lived with 3 other cats while Luci was the only cat until I got Sushi in June. Luci is a bit skittish and he's the aggressor. Sully just lays down and meows sometimes. I think Sully being bigger than Luci makes it a bit harder too.

Sully has been living in his own room and been let out to roam the house when Luci is locked up in my room. His litter box is and there and gets fed in there.

First day my 16 year old brother thought it was a great idea to hold Luci and let him see Sully. Luci freaked out and ran into the room. Chase Sully around until I managed to catch Luci. Luci ripped one of his toe nails out!! His toe is much better now. Sully didn't get hurt just spooked.

Recently I have been letting Luci out on a harness with a leash (I tie it to something sturdy) to see Sully. Luci hisses and growls while Sully is scared and meows a bit. They actually got close to each other but than Luci tries to chase Sully when he leaves the room or runs away.

Sully just got neutered on Monday so hopefully that make it a bit easier to introduce them.


It is okay to put Luci in a harness when I let them out together? I don't want Luci to attack Sully but I also don't want it to slow down progress. Any other tips?


Luci's on the left, Sully on the right.
 

dusty's mom

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Sully is a very handsome guy. He seems totally OK with it, while Luci's ears are back, always a bad sign. I don't have any great suggestions either.

I have a resident 6 yr. old female and have a new kitten about 3 1/2 mo. old. My old lady isn't too keen on the new addition either, and the kitten is fearless and keeps pushing the boundries with Dusty, resulting in hisses and swats. So far no one has been hurt. Squeak just wants to be friends and play, but Dusty will have none of that! I wish I had an instant answer, but I don't. I've done the vanilla thing too. I think it just takes time.
 

fifi1puss

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Sounds similar to my situation with Fiona and Rocko! Fiona is fine with ReeRee, alot like Luci and Sushi are I can guess. When I got Rocko Fiona was NOT happy. She swatted him everyday, numerous times. She doesn't let him touch her without her making a very loud fuss. He is bigger than her also. He is mellow and leaves her alone for the most part. Sometimes he gets frisky and will chase her, thats when she will freak out on him.


Other than when he goes for her, they live their own lives. She'll swat him and hiss when they pass in the hall but its getting better. Its no longer an everyday thing. He doesn't care. She doesn't care either as long as he lets her smack him when she wants too.
I actually caught them sleeping together a few weeks ago! I was SHOCKED!

I think the fact they were so close to each other is awesome! Thats a huge statement!
I do think that him now being neutered will help. I also think that not harnessing Luci will help. I can only imagine she must feel a little inhibited and it makes her feel like she is not on equal ground with him. Like she is the one being treated differently when he is around.

It is important to act as usual with them. Be normal, casual. Let them be themselves and just hang out in each others presence. They can size each other up in a relaxed atmosphere with you being their grounding point. They will sense your feelings and feed off them. So relax and live.
They will do their thing. They will work out alot on their own in their own cat way.

I know I played alot with my three as a group. I believe having positive experiances with each other like that goes a long way. They have a nice play time and than TREATS!


I also make sure that Fiona knows she is still number one and that Rocko is not a replacement. I give her tons of attention, make a huge fuss. She has mellowed over time and I don't need to do that as much anymore. But I believed it helped quell her anxiety about this new rival for attention.
 
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