Here is the deal.
We have had two cats (brother and sister) for the last 6 years. The female, Nikita, always seemed more antagonized than the male (Osiris) if one of our kids brought in a neighbors kitty or puppy. The two have almost always gotten along fine with only an occassional issue, which should be expected.
About 5 months ago my wife found an abandonded, very recently born little ball of fur outside our complex. Even at such a young age, about 8 hours, he (Cole) was just too cute to possibly give up. We had him checked that night at the vet and we were told everything was fine. While little Cole was bottle feeding we kept him upstairs in our bedroom in a box that the cats were able to look into. They usually would creep up to it, sniff a little, and then vanish from the room.
We did not follow the steps that are recommended on this site, unfortunately. This was mostly caused by the fact that we didn't find this site until now. We did use a towel with the kittys scent to acquaint the cats with his smell, but that is about it.
So when the cats started mingling a little bit, Nikita and Cole had a couple of run ins. These amounted to Nikita reminding kitty Cole that he should calm himself and remember who the big cat was. They now have no problems.
Osiris, on the other hand, has not been amused. We allowed them to confront and avoid each other for a while. Then Osiris basically attacked Cole. He pounced on him and rolled up on him to the point that I couldn't even see Cole. I immediately stopped this. It has continued to happen for the last few weeks, but usually to a lesser extent.
I am worried about the following. Should we have allowed the fight to happen? Would it have taught Cole his place in the hierarchy of the house and also calmed Osiris in allowing him to exert his dominance? Cole recently is acting quite cocky towards Osiris, which I think is further precipitating fights. We are trying to ensure we know who the initiator is each time, but this is a hit and miss thing.
How do we fix the errors we have committed in bringing the cats together? I have read a lot about how to do things from day one, but how do we do them from day 150 to correct our prior mistakes? Please help, I am at nerves end and I don't like seeing any of the kitties unhappy or apprehensive.
Thanks
Chris
We have had two cats (brother and sister) for the last 6 years. The female, Nikita, always seemed more antagonized than the male (Osiris) if one of our kids brought in a neighbors kitty or puppy. The two have almost always gotten along fine with only an occassional issue, which should be expected.
About 5 months ago my wife found an abandonded, very recently born little ball of fur outside our complex. Even at such a young age, about 8 hours, he (Cole) was just too cute to possibly give up. We had him checked that night at the vet and we were told everything was fine. While little Cole was bottle feeding we kept him upstairs in our bedroom in a box that the cats were able to look into. They usually would creep up to it, sniff a little, and then vanish from the room.
We did not follow the steps that are recommended on this site, unfortunately. This was mostly caused by the fact that we didn't find this site until now. We did use a towel with the kittys scent to acquaint the cats with his smell, but that is about it.
So when the cats started mingling a little bit, Nikita and Cole had a couple of run ins. These amounted to Nikita reminding kitty Cole that he should calm himself and remember who the big cat was. They now have no problems.
Osiris, on the other hand, has not been amused. We allowed them to confront and avoid each other for a while. Then Osiris basically attacked Cole. He pounced on him and rolled up on him to the point that I couldn't even see Cole. I immediately stopped this. It has continued to happen for the last few weeks, but usually to a lesser extent.
I am worried about the following. Should we have allowed the fight to happen? Would it have taught Cole his place in the hierarchy of the house and also calmed Osiris in allowing him to exert his dominance? Cole recently is acting quite cocky towards Osiris, which I think is further precipitating fights. We are trying to ensure we know who the initiator is each time, but this is a hit and miss thing.
How do we fix the errors we have committed in bringing the cats together? I have read a lot about how to do things from day one, but how do we do them from day 150 to correct our prior mistakes? Please help, I am at nerves end and I don't like seeing any of the kitties unhappy or apprehensive.
Thanks
Chris
