Behavior cues when introducing a new cat

We recently obtained a stray 1 yo cat Buckley 3 weeks ago and have a resident cat Annie (4 yo) who has been an only cat since we got her at 8 weeks. She has been aggressive toward visitors (people) which I have interpreted as fear. She does not retreat but attacks anyone she deems unworthy. And prefers that any visitor not to touch her until she's made a full assessment of them. Buckley shows no signs of feral behavior and accepting of visitors but has a battle scar (missing piece of his ear) so he has had to defend himself from an animal. With those 2 different histories it makes me think this introduction will take patience and every "trick" anyone can offer.

Buckley has been vetted and neutered and set up in my husbands office as his safe room and my husband has slept in the guest room with him a few nights. Annie has full run of the house and is aware Buckley is in his room.
The past 2 days we've started putting Annie in our bedroom and allowed Buckley to investigate the house and he appears to be very comfortable. Today we started scent swapping with towels.
My question is what behavior cues from them should we be looking for that we can move to the next step?

My plan is to set up a gate between our kitchen and dining room, drape it with a towel and try feeding them snacks or a meal on either side and then return Buckley to his room.
I'm just not sure how to determine they've reached a level of comfort to start that.

We made a mistake last week and allowed them to together after they saw each other through the gate a couple days with snacks and the event put Annie in a state where she refused to eat or go to the bathroom for 3 days. That was 5 days ago and they have been segregated since. So we want to start over and not rush them in the hope that they will become life long friends. We just aren't sure what behaviors to look for that they are ready.

Good question!  It can be really hard to judge, can't it.

Honestly, I think it's just a case of slowly slowly and being very vigilant of all the signs.

I'm guessing you read this article:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

She mentions using a blanket in different ways that you may not have tried.

Hopefully you will have more people giving their thoughts and experience

The big clues are position of ears, tail and the fur on the back. When a cat starts to lay their ears back, they are getting ready for fight or flight. The tail being down between the legs means fear, but straight up means conficence. The fur on the back starts standing up with fear or aggression.

The perfect body language is ears up and forward, whiskers standing out to the sides, tail in the air and fur smooth and unruffled.

I have a guide to body language somewhere, and will try to find it and add it to this thread.

Edit - Check out the thread "Body language in cats - video"  I would link it, but right now my computer is hating me.

Thanks for the video. That is very helpful.

This is week 4 of Annie and Buckley introductions. Previous sessions we've kept Buckley in his room and tried to get Annie to investigate on the other side of the door. Tempting her with food didn't work as she would only get about 5 ft away from the door. She investigates all people and objects that come into the house but with Buckley she doesn't seem to know how to approach the situation.  She would go through times when she would drag her tail, refuse food and basically act depressed or hide under the bed. Then 2 nights ago Buckley got out of his room and chased Annie into our bedroom and they had a little squabble. Buckley is the aggressor to where I think it is bullying and Annie's cautious and apprehensive behavior seems to spur that on.

We've done a few things to try to boost Annie's confidence. We have a 6ft cat tree. From the cat tree Annie jumps on top of our built in shelves which are about 10 ft tall. My husband added a cat walk above the built-ins that will allow Annie to access the loft on the 2nd floor from the built-ins through the railing. This way neither cat should get cornered where we can't reach them. Annie hasn't quite figured out the cat walk but she will. Buckley hasn't quite figured out how to climb the cat tree to the top yet so we're safe from that happening right away.

Last night we had a milestone. We didn't feed them at their regular time 7pm. I decided we need to get Buckley to spend some energy. He spends all day in his room while we're at work and only an hour or so with full house privileges in the evenings. So last night I started harness training him. He didn't appreciate the contraption and did the typical rolling around trying to get it off. But we went outside for about 20 minutes and experienced that. He wasn't appreciative but he will be one day. Then I took Annie out for a walk. She's been harness trained since she was 6 months old. She'd rather go naked but she knows the harness and will go to the back door when she sees it and let me put it on her. We walked around the back yard for about 20 minutes. Then I put Annie in our bedroom and let Buckley have full access to the house. We played for a little while, he investigated around and chilled out on the coffee table. After about 2 hours, Buckley became focused with sitting by our bedroom door and reaching underneath. I could see Annie sitting close by on the other side but could not hear any hissing or growling. I let Buckley continue with reaching his paws under the door and doing back flips to get to Annie for about 30 minutes. I figured if Annie wasn't protesting the scent swapping would help her and the activity would help Buckley.

About 9:30 we put Buckley in his room with dinner and let Annie out for her dinner. She walked out with tail up and chatting. (The crowd cheers!) We seem to have found an agreeable meeting scenario for both of them. I will not be able to harness train and walk them every night due to my schedule but will at minimum give Buckley more access to the house and keep Annie in our bedroom to see if the between the door episodes continue in a pleasant manner.

While we've done several things to boost Annie's confidence and I think the harness training will help Buckley expend some of his energy, does anyone have any suggestions on other methods to curb Buckley's bullying that I could try at this point in our process? I feel like if we could tone his aggression down some, that we could get both cats to similar energy levels where the introduction sessions would go smoother has we move through the introduction process.

Sorry for the long post. This has been so far a difficult process for us. More difficult than introducing our previous 2 cats. Hopefully someone else can get some ideas for their situation from my chronicles of the Annie and Buckley introduction trials and tribulations. I so appreciate all the information I've been getting off of everyone's posts. I hope mine can be as useful.

Since Buckley is an alpha cat, there isn't much you can do, other than using some flower essences. I think Jackson Galaxy has one for bullying. I the progress you are making. Sometimes it may take several months to fully integrate the cats. Don't give up, keep going slowly and you will most likely have a happy home fairly soon.

Yes I believe you are right in Buckley being the Alpha. It's a concern to me that Annie's disposition may change because of it even if I can get them to the point of co-living. She has always been very focused on her people, always in whatever room we are in, participating in whatever we are doing and playful. It would break my heart if she became distant towards us. I'm doing everything I can to reassure her, give her extra attention while trying to make Buckley a part of our routines. Unfortunately right now that means excluding Annie for some time so we can include Buckley.
I have seen Jackson's bully essence and considered getting some. I'm already using his peacemaker essence. I can't tell if its working but we're trying.

Annie will never be completely the same as she was. I think once they are fully integrated, Annie will go mostly back to the same way she was. It may take 6 months to a year, but she should get her confidence and attitude back. I have seen this happen many times in the years I have had a multi-cat household.

It is disheartening for me to see the changes in Annie. She rarely talks now, walks with her tail down more, shows less interest in her food, and hides even if Buckley is in his room. More and more I'm thinking this was a mistake and have been considering Buckley should be rehomed.
I ordered Jackson galaxy's bully, stress stopper and self esteem essences in desperation. I feel obligated to Buckley to try what I can but its my last hope. I'm not sure I can continue the hours each day I'm putting into this or the money for the next 6 months to a year and still feel that both cats are being neglected to a degree.
My husband thinks we should just put them together in supervised situations and forgo all the small introductions. So now we are at odds about it. And it leaves me doing all of the work myself cause he isn't bought in.
It's stressful in my once mostly peaceful and fun house and in the end Annie will probably not be the same.

Week 5- this evening we attempted feeding them together. I put a gate covered with a blanket between the kitchen and dining room and fed Buckley next to the gate and put Annie's dinner in her usual spot on the far end of the kitchen. I didn't try to move her closer to the gate cause she usually won't eat if i put her dishes other than where they're supposed to go. She came into the kitchen and immediately went to the gate to investigate the set up. She quickly realized Buckley was there and pawed at the blanket to see him. Then she tried to go around to see if she could get to the dining room the other way but I had blocked it off as well. She showed no interest in her dinner. So I sat in the middle of the kitchen floor and gave her dried salmon treats which she ate only about 3-4 feet from Buckley. Buckley was totally engrossed in his dinner and as long as he has food he focuses on nothing else. So my main focus was to reward Annie for being so close and not getting upset. It was a brief encounter only a couple minutes but I think it went pretty well. Once Buckley was finished I returned him to his room and allowed Annie to investigate where he was eating. Checking out his empty bowl was when she showed signs of stress, big eyes and her tail down. Then she started looking elsewhere is the house for him.
In my opinion I'm looking for Annie to go to her food and start ignoring the gate and what's behind the blanket before even attempting to move the blanket and allow either of them to see the other.
Any other thoughts on signs I should be watching for?

Week 6 - well the feeding together didn't go we'll the rest of last week. I put Buckley on one side with his food and Annie in her spot but Annie would get totally focused on Buckley being on the other side. She tried to move the blanket then would just jump the gate. Buckley remained focused on his food while Annie would sit there watching him from a couple feet away growling and hissing. Sometimes she would try to get close to him and smell his tail. At one point this weekend they faced each other around the corner. Annie would try to smell Buckley. He calmly stretched out his paw towards her and she reached out and touched him with much caution. I interpret Annie's behavior as fear. She doesn't like Buckley coming up from behind her. She walks around with her head low and tail dragging as soon as she's sure he's in his room she's back to normal. He acts more playful. Pouncing towards her. I don't think it's extremely aggressive. Maybe slightly but he doesn't growl or hiss. Whenever he's out of his room he seeks her out even to engage her under the door. I even trying to play with Buckley more to tire him out so he's not to excited hen he sees Annie. But he has more energy than me. I don't know what I can do to help Annie get over her fear of him. Any ideas?

It sounds to me like you are doing well.  Annie just needs patience to come around in her own good time.  Trying to wear Buckley out more is probably a good idea; especially right before you let him out to see Annie.  You don't want him to rest and "recharge his batteries!"  

Well the introductions have just spun into another direction. My husband was losing patience. Week 7 we were letting Annie have the house during the day and when we got home from work she would go in her room for dinner and the rest of the night and Buckley would get run of the house all night. That seemed to be working out ok. Buckley would get upset being closed out of the bedroom but settled down after 20 minutes of crying and several nights my husband slept on the couch with him. Annie acted as if she was still the only cat in the house and had no problems with this arrangement. There would be occasional combat between the bedroom door in the evenings with hissing and growling but that was about it.

Then this past weekend my husband decided that this was too much and they just needed to be put together and insisted they would figure it out. We were home all weekend so we spent the entire time listening to Annie hiss and growl at Buckley and get in a few good sucker punches. She never really retreats or hides, sometimes she choses to just watch him, wants to make sure she knows where he is at all times. The best way to describe her state is tense - 24/7. She's always on alert. Buckley doesn't really attack her. He stares at her. He follows her. He will sneak up behind her and pounce but never come in contact with her. He doesn't show any signs of distress when they're together. It's almost like he's the annoying little brother and enjoys finding ways to make Annie upset.  He will strategically chose a place to sit so she can't sit on the couch, get to a litter box or get to her food. I noticed during feeding time, Buckley will be swarming around me as I prepare their food. Annie sits on the complete opposite side of the house where she's still able to see me. Before she would be right in the kitchen with me. She will not come into the kitchen. Sometimes I can coax her to come eat but she's started refusing her favorite snack. So at week 8, my husband insists that we leave them together all day while we're at work. He has the impression that the cats will work it out themselves. I have conceeded to this arrangement only if Buckley is not let in our room at night to give Annie a space of her own and some time to herself.

I am pretty certain that Buckley is working to be alpha cat with his behavior and either Annie hasn't accepted that he should have that position yet or he's just a pushy alpha that wants to harrass her. I'm using the Jackson Galaxy spirit essenses and feliway plugins. If they're helping, it's hard to tell. Annie's stress level is pretty high. They have small moments where they're both in close proximity and it's fairly peaceful. Annie is tense but not hissing or growling, just waiting for Buckley's next move. Is there anything that I can do to help make this a better adjustment period? Or anything we can try to redirect Buckley's alpha rule? I do not want Annie to start avoiding situations she would normally participate in because Buckley's decided to impose an alpha rule. Is there any other stress reducing activities I can try with Annie? I've been taking her outside for walks on her leash and trying to make sure she has some time when she doesn't feel like she needs to be on alert. I'm not sure what else I can do to change the dynamic.

I took this Sunday. This is one of their quiet moments.

Buckley’s expression, “What? Me? I wasn’t doing anything.”

Annie’s expression, “Don't turn around and see me here. I wish I had laser eyes to kill you with."

I took this Sunday. This is one of their quiet moments.

Buckley’s expression, “What? Me? I wasn’t doing anything.”

Annie’s expression, “Don't turn around and see me here. I wish I had laser eyes to kill you with."

A & B 090113.jpg

• kim r
• Sep 4, 2013

Click to expand...

That's funny (I wish I had laser eyes...) 

But I know this process is no fun.  I've been trying for six months to integrate the four cats we inherited with the three we already had.  It's been a slow frustrating process.  Basically we've done everything you're doing, everything that's recommended to do, though I eventually gave up on the feliways and essences.   I felt terrible watching my cats change from confident and happy to easily startled, irritable with each other, and stressed. But I'm happy to report it didn't last.  It just took time for them to get used to the new cats' presence, and now they're back to their usual playful brat selves.      We did with them what you're doing with Annie--made sure they had plenty of our time and attention and reassurances they weren't being replaced.  LOL 

I think the fact you got a photo of Buckley and Annie so close together peacefully (even if it's temporary) is a great sign after only a couple of months!  Awesome progress.  I hope it works out leaving them out together without supervision--you're not worried about them physically fighting?  

So it's been almost 4 months in the Annie and Buckley saga. About a month ago we started letting them together in the house during the day. It seemed to be going ok with a few scuffles now and then. Recently the scuffles have escalated into fighting and chasing. There's lots of hissing and growling, both cats block the other out of areas and it's a constant back and forth between them. I'm losing hope that peace will come between them. The introduction process was not working very well and I don't know what else I can do.

Oh, Kim, I'm sorry to hear that.  We're in the same boat with one of our inherited cats.  I just don't see him ever really integrating.  His moods are totally unpredictable, at times he's a bully and gets really nasty, even with his own 'tribe'.  

We get him out for human attention, brushing, etc. when our primary cats are shut in a different room and I give him a 1/4 dose of acepromazine when he's getting too mean and I'm afraid he'll hurt one of his 'buddies'.  At some point we  may try a behavioralist--that's about the only thing we haven't tried so far.

I've read other posts here about it taking MONTHS for cats to get along.  I can't remember who it was who said she'd had one cat a year and he still couldn't have the run of the house with the other cats!  So maybe there's hope for our kitties, and it will just take more time.  Hang in there!  And if you come up with any miracle solution, be sure to post!  :-)

(And yet--here he is, sitting on my lap right now as I write this, purring and just wanting to be petted....he can be so sweet sometimes!)

I brought a stray into the house the very end of May.  My resident cat, Jake is 5 and has been the only inside cat the entire time.  The stray, Marvin had been neutered in March and was estimated to be around 3.  I had him in his safe room with no contact with Jake for about a month.  Marvin was to the vet for all shots and tests during that time.  After a month, we did some scent swapping and gradually moved to seeing each other through a gate.  The very slow intro process lasted until mid August when we decided to try and allow Marvin some time out of the room.  It all went very well at first.  In fact we had about 2 weeks where things were going well.  Then all heck broke loose.  At first it was both cats hissing and growling.  Then it escalated to chasing and finally all out attacks with fur everywhere.  I was beside myself.  They needed constant 100% of the time supervision.  After another week of no progress what so ever.  I decided to take a step back and separate them completely again.  I did a total reintroduction.  I even used a large dog cage this time around.  It seemed that things would get better for a few days, then once we hit the 4-5 day mark, more attacks.  The attacks happened through the cage.  Marvin would just fling himself on the cage. 

Marvin is the sweetest most gentle cat when he is alone with us.  I think he would be a perfect only pet.  Yet in my household we have Jake and my large dog Misty as well as 2 ferals outside.  I decided to use my dog to my advantage.  She is quite gentle and loves Jake to pieces.  Anytime anyone comes to the house or other animals come over, she stands guard over Jake.  I told her it was her job to protect Jake.  She will chase the cats, but only playfully.  She thinks it's a game.  Jake loves for her to chase him.  Marvin is still learning about her.  I have had all 3 animals together all week and so far things have gone pretty well.  I did have to use the spray bottle on Marvin's rear end 2x and he did not like that at all. 

I can only sympathize.  I just try to take things day by day.  If there is an incident someone gets their rear sprayed and then put away.  I figure they will never ever be buddies, but they can learn to coexist in this space.  They have already worked out areas of the house that they each hang out in.  Some areas are designated to a certain cat and other areas are neutral. 

I have found that Composure Liquid Max helps to take the edge off.  I give Marvin 1/4-1/2 t. in his morning food and then another 1/4 t. in his evening food.  I am also using some flower essences.  I figure if things don't improve, we will have to go to the vet for medication for Marvin.  I try to remember that he lived outside on his own for quite some time.  He was used to fighting for food and territory.  He needs to realized that he no longer needs to fight for those things. 

Thanks Betsygee. I'm sorry one of your inherited babies isn't coming around. Has the acepromazine helped any?
Annie went to the vet this past week for her check up and her eye had been watery. She has FVR either she had it or contracted it from Buckley and stress caused a flare up. So now we are treating with eye drops and lysine. The vet said we could try giving her Prozac to help with the stress. I'm apprehensive about medicating her so I haven't gone in that direction. I'd like to step back and separate them again and only have them together when we can supervise. Yesterday I was home all day so any time Buckley started stalking Annie I would put him in time out. This seemed to work but he was in time out about 20 times. My husband doesn't agree with separating them and he has taken to using an air horn when scuffles ensue. So I have all sorts of crazy going on in the house. I might need Prozac and the air horn might mysteriously disappear. [emoji]128521[/emoji]
I've started using the bully flower essence on Buckley again in hopes it makes him chill out. Deep down I really wish we could find Buckley a new home. But my husband loves him and he is a super sweet cuddly boy when he's not trying to chase my girl away. I wish there was a miracle solution.

The acepromazine has helped Jake calm down a lot.  In fact, I've hardly had to use it at all for quite awhile.  But we're not letting him out with out other cats, either!  We've been focusing on building a catio on the back of the house so if he can't be integrated, he'll at least have a place to play and exercise. He can get up close to them through a small mesh outdoor enclosure and doesn't seem to be bothered by them.  He's mellowed to the point that I think we are going to try bringing him out with the other cats again--but we'll definitely give him a dose of the ace. first.  

I can understand not wanting to medicate, but sometimes....it helps.  I like your idea--YOU take the Prozac and lose the air horn.  LOL  That sounds awful.  Part of the problem we have with Jake is that we've discovered he's mostly deaf so clapping hands or things like that to distract him from fighting doesn't work.  Crazy.

Like your Marvin, ShadowsRescue, Jake would be a perfect "only cat".  But at this point, I dunno--he's attached to the other three he came here with, and we're getting attached to him, too.  I haven't given up hope entirely--I just don't know that he'll ever be a free-roaming member of the house.

Well, Jake's doing pretty well.  This weekend we had two different sets of friends here to see the catio we built.  Both couples were in the enclosure with Jake and the other cats.  Jake was not only non-aggressive, he was affectionate with strangers!  He actually noses with one of my friends.  One couple has dogs so I know they smelled like dog, and the other has cats and of course smelled like their cats--and Jake was fine with them.  

Whew!  A few months ago, I'd never have let people be in a closed in space with Jake for fear he'd attack them!  Today is another big test--I found a mobile grooming service and am getting him bathed.  Even though he's been really well behaved, I did give him a dose of the ace. before the groomer got here, just to be safe.  I haven't heard any screaming coming from their van LOL so--so far, so good.  

How are you doing with Annie and Buckley?

That is awesome news about Jake! I'm so excited he's taken to strangers and sounds like he really enjoys the catio. Hope he came out of his grooming with the same success.

I wish I could get my husband to build a catio. Annie loves to be outside. When Buckley arrived at our doorstep I had him build cat shelves above our built in bookcases so the cats can jump from their cat tree on to the built ins then up in the cat shelves and get through the railing to the loft upstairs. They both like being up there.

Annie and Buckley are still not good. Annie hid all day Sunday under the dresser in the guest room. Whenever they're together Buckley chases her away and without intervention a fight ensues. There's little to no improvement and we've gone back to keeping the separated for the majority of the day and night. We've decided we've tried and they're just not going to be good for each other. I've started looking to rehome Buckley which breaks my heart. But today I spoke to a lady that said she was interested. We had a long conversation about it, her life style and family and my first impression is she is a good candidate. Her kids are grown and it's just her and her husband so it's similar to us. We've made plans for her to come over this weekend and meet Buckley. Say a prayer this works out for Buckley. He's such a sweet boy even when he's being a little tyrant and chasing my girl.