A few months ago I took in 3 cats that belonged to a relative. They moved and couldn't take all their pets with them so I am just temporarily keeping them. Although, at this point, temporarily could mean anything from 3 more months to permanently.
I've kept the new cats separate from mine and after 2 months put gates in the doorway so all the cats could get to know each other. So my youngest cats and the new cats all pretty much get along through the gates. They're was some hissing and growling on the part of the new cats at first, but now they're way over that.
My oldest cat is almost 12 and she wants nothing to do with these new cats. She doesn't want to be near them, to hear them, and has no interest in even checking them out.
I decided to pick her up and walk to the gate so she could at least see them since they've been here a couple months and she hasn't even bothered to look at them. She became very angry and started growling, snarling, huffing, hissing, etc. I thought she was going to bite me. When I let her go she ran into the next room. Ten minutes later she was still mad as she redirected her aggression to my other cats and she started smacking them around.
This behavior is not like her. She has never acted like this before. She used to be an outside only cat for about 7-8 years and was around lots of strays and she never acted like this. She was afraid and hid when she lived outside, she was never aggressive. She wasn't even aggressive when I first brought her to live inside with my other cats. After she got used to things I think she became the dominant, alpha cat and became a little more aggressive with my other cats. I always thought that was a good thing because she was finally standing up for herself.
The problem is that I can't continue to let these "new" cats stay confined to two rooms. The one isn't happy and is gaining weight despite the veterinarian's advice to reduce the amount of food put out. The cat needs more excerise than what she is getting being confined to 2 rooms.
I'm afraid my cat is going to start an actual physical fight with biting and blood with these "new" cats. I'm also worried about her emotional health and afraid she will become very unhappy. She seems to still be sulking from the loss of her brother 1 year ago. From what I've seen, this sulking behavior from the loss of another feline family member is common in her (biological) family. Her sister became extremely aggressive towards all cats (including her sister) after their mother died. She continued the behavior until her own death several years later. The other females in the family do have a natual aggressive streak. Her three sisters were very aggressive when it came to other non-related cats. They would actually start physical fights with other cats when they wandered into their territory.
Any suggestions on how to get my cat to get along with these new cats when she doesn't even want to look at them? I really didn't expect this behavior when I agreed to take in these new cats. But even if I had, I still would've said yes because otherwise they would've had to go to an animal shelter.
I've kept the new cats separate from mine and after 2 months put gates in the doorway so all the cats could get to know each other. So my youngest cats and the new cats all pretty much get along through the gates. They're was some hissing and growling on the part of the new cats at first, but now they're way over that.
My oldest cat is almost 12 and she wants nothing to do with these new cats. She doesn't want to be near them, to hear them, and has no interest in even checking them out.
I decided to pick her up and walk to the gate so she could at least see them since they've been here a couple months and she hasn't even bothered to look at them. She became very angry and started growling, snarling, huffing, hissing, etc. I thought she was going to bite me. When I let her go she ran into the next room. Ten minutes later she was still mad as she redirected her aggression to my other cats and she started smacking them around.
This behavior is not like her. She has never acted like this before. She used to be an outside only cat for about 7-8 years and was around lots of strays and she never acted like this. She was afraid and hid when she lived outside, she was never aggressive. She wasn't even aggressive when I first brought her to live inside with my other cats. After she got used to things I think she became the dominant, alpha cat and became a little more aggressive with my other cats. I always thought that was a good thing because she was finally standing up for herself.
The problem is that I can't continue to let these "new" cats stay confined to two rooms. The one isn't happy and is gaining weight despite the veterinarian's advice to reduce the amount of food put out. The cat needs more excerise than what she is getting being confined to 2 rooms.
I'm afraid my cat is going to start an actual physical fight with biting and blood with these "new" cats. I'm also worried about her emotional health and afraid she will become very unhappy. She seems to still be sulking from the loss of her brother 1 year ago. From what I've seen, this sulking behavior from the loss of another feline family member is common in her (biological) family. Her sister became extremely aggressive towards all cats (including her sister) after their mother died. She continued the behavior until her own death several years later. The other females in the family do have a natual aggressive streak. Her three sisters were very aggressive when it came to other non-related cats. They would actually start physical fights with other cats when they wandered into their territory.
Any suggestions on how to get my cat to get along with these new cats when she doesn't even want to look at them? I really didn't expect this behavior when I agreed to take in these new cats. But even if I had, I still would've said yes because otherwise they would've had to go to an animal shelter.
