Oh Boy, what did I do?

Soooo, I take in this 9 year old 25 lb cat from a friend of a friend who got married and the new wife was highly allergic. We have 2 other cats that blended well together with our combined households and been living in peace for 7 years.

When I went to pick him up, I was told he was a real chilled out kitty. He was adorable and the old owner was able to scratch his belly and this cat was seemingly pretty relaxed.

I got him home today and let him out of his carrier, yes with the other two roaming around. My mistake, one of my kitties went after him and chased him. Now there's growling on both sides.

I did put him in another room with litter box and food/water all his toys that I got from his previous owner. I opened the window so he could sit (screened in) and enjoy being alone for awhile since this first meeting was so stressful. (for all of us)

I've been going in checking on him and he seemed pretty happy sitting in the window.  I now heard some banging on the door and found him pretty stressed out, growling and hissing at me. There was a wooden cat figure on the floor he was looking at, so I removed it. Of course he laid against the door and wanted out of the room and I couldn't get out. LOL, I literally had to climb thru the window, he was hissing and growling at me.

This poor cat, I felt so bad for him, the owner was going to put him into a shelter and I couldn't stand it, so I took him in.

Have I ruined the good introduction by this incident??? Should I start with the basics now, letting him out while the others are locked in another room? I'm almost afraid of this beast! He's sooo huge! LOL

Sincerely,

Scaredy Kat in Phoenix 

hi and welcome! 

First, I totally understand your impatience, but you have to understand you just got him today.  A successful introduction is going to take time- perhaps even months. That does not mean the situation hopeless or bad- far from it.  What it means is just that cats hate change as a general rule, and can take their own sweet time adapting.

Review this article if you haven't already. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats This is how best to introduce the cats to get a positive result.  Do not be tempted to rush any of the steps.  It is better to go slowly and be sure they have accepted each step before trying to move onto the next one.  If you try to rush it, you will probably just need to start over again, meaning that it will take longer than just doing it right the first time.

Regarding new kitty's interactions with you and needing to climb out a window   (I'm not laughing at you, more just at what we do for cats), you again have to keep in mind that you just got him today.  He has literally had his world turned upside down.  he is in a new place away from his territory, his people are not there. He is stressed out, frightened, and unhappy.  This is only to be expected. He's going to need time to feel safe and not stressed out there.

A few things you can do:

-spend what time with him you can.  Talk to him quietly.  Offer treats and interactive toys.

-If he won't let you out the door, toss some treats away from the door.  I assume he's food motivated.

-be patient.  It will take time.

Good luck! Keep us updated!

Oh Tulosai!
U are a love for responding so quick!
I let him out and locked the other 2 cats in their rooms and so far has been playing with this string n a stick toy. He's been chilling and very talkative when I go over to scratch his head or whatnot.
So he's getting lots of attention.
I know he doesn't like being locked up. But I will need to overnight
I feel so sorry foe th little (big) guy. So far he's not interested in treats or food.
He has drank water and has used the litter box so that's something.
I will be patient and he will be a family member for many years to come.
Any good prices on a kitty treadmill???

Elizzy said:

I feel so sorry foe th little (big) guy. So far he's not interested in treats or food.
He has drank water and has used the litter box so that's something.
I will be patient and he will be a family member for many years to come.
Any good prices on a kitty treadmill???

Click to expand...

 I wish... my own chubby cat could probably use one.

While it is normal he may not have eaten yet, are you feeding him the same food his old owners did? Some cats are very picky about their food... you may have to buy a bag or some cans of his 'usual' food and transition him to the food you want him to eat slowly.  While I wouldn't worry if he doesn't eat for 24-36 hours after such a big adjustment, if it goes longer than that it really can become a problem health-wise, so be vigilant about it.

Please keep us updated!! I look forward to good news from you about your kitties progress!

I got some purring out of him with some chin scratching. So there's hope
Thanks again and I will keep you posted.

Last night went smoothly, Sonny (the big guy) slept peacefully in his room. He met my hubbie when he got home from work last night and he was okay with him. Sonny sat out with us all evening while we watched tv and even played alittle bit.

This morning, the other two cats in their rooms, I've left Sonny's door open so he can wander around, but he's not really interested. He's just lying under the futon couch in there. He ate a couple of his cat treats, but left the rest.

Missy, my hubbies cat. Is still full of herself whenever she goes near the door to his room. She's the one that went after him last night.

Here's hoping for a nice calm day

So happy you are making some progress with Sonny.  He really does sound like a gentle soul.

Keep us updated on how today goes! 

Some great news, he finally ate some of his treats I left in a bowl for him. He's currently taking an afternoon siesta, and I feel he's more comfortable today. He has his own room, and he's safe from any stalkers or attacks

When I go in there, he purrs while I talk to him and give him some lovin! I followed the advice and left a radio in there with some soft classical music playing.

My Lil Missy tho, has been perusing the doorway on and off all day. She camped outside of it for awhile, but her hunches were up. I fed her some of her treats by the doorway as suggested and praised her.

We'll see what happens tonite when all of them arise from their naps LOL

So I let mister big roam around the house earlier today with the other two locked in their rooms, he was everywhere exploring. When I finally let the girls out, after mister big went back to his room, they were highly intrigued by the scents left behind.

Missy, the attack demon had tail twitching and at one point hissed at my other girl, Jasmine. Jasmine is 17 years old and could care less, although she quite intrigued by what's behind the door. I'm not too worried about her because she pretty laid back.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to get him to have some treats with the other two on the other side of the door with theirs. I have a small light throw rug in mister big's room that he's been lying on, so I'll slide that under the door. I'm hoping to do a room swap too, so they can get a real good idea on what his scent his like.

I'm still worried about the aggression Missy has towards the newcomer. I'm just so sorry they had that altercation on the first day, it's going to be awhile I think before I can let them meet.

So last night I felt so bad for Sonny being locked up in his room, I purchased one of those cat window ledges so he can lay by the window. We set it up last night and he was in heaven!

My two other kitties are being fed by his door and there's been no hissing or growling.

I think I'm going to purchase one of those screen doors and gates today and when my hubbie comes home we'll try and see what a face to face will be like, or at least let them see each other again. It's been 3 days, and everyone knows there's a new comer. There's been no growling, but a lot of curiosity in the spots he's been laying in around the house when I've let him out.

oh and Sonny has been eating his regular food and using the litter box, I think he's starting to feel more comfortable, although I can tell he gets nervous at times.

It sounds like things are going well. I think Sonny seems to be adapting well to his new home. I think the challenge will be Missy. I would continue to take introductions nice and slow.

Update:
Sonny is doing well, still keeping him in his room and hubby and I are continuing to swap out cats from room to room, so everyone gets a chance to sniff what the other left behind, so to speak LOL.
He get's onto his window perch in the evenings when we open the windows, he's eating, not very much but stil some. He uses his litter box, but he still has a habit of hiding in small spaces when we let him out. He looks for spaces between the walls and couch, behind the tv, etc... I don't make him come out of there, because he doesn't tend to linger too long. I just go about my business, I talk to him and let him explore the house uninterrupted.
Today I think was a positive moment when Missy was by his door as I came out of the room, Sonny was in the middle of the room eating some treats and they looked at each other. Missy did the rubbernecker thing looking in the room. She didn't growl or hiss. I stood there for just a few seconds, then closed the door, just in case LOL Her back fur stood up a bit, but wasn't full blown! I hope that's not a warning sign. I then fed her some treats by the door as well. She was slightly hesitant, but she did eat them.
It's worth going slowly with this, Missy and Jasmine linger around the doorway constantly, there's no growling or hissing. I do have a Feliway difuser in the hallway. Not sure if it's working, but it's definately a calmer environment.
I'm hoping tomorrow, while hubby is home, we can put up the baby gate and screen door I bought so at least Sonny can start to feel like a member of the family. Wish me luck

That idea with the screen door is a good one.

I have an enclosure for my foster cats and I feed them and my own cats together, each on "their side of the fence" so to speak. So they can see and hear and smell each other while they are eating.

Had this setting for 2 or 3 weeks now and just started to let the foster cats out of the enclosure under supervision. Feeding is not a problem any more, they are too busy eating. When done eating still some tension (hissing) between two cats, all other combinations are fine now.

I'm encouraged by last nights events. While I was at work, my hubby put Sonny in our room and allowed our 2, Missy and Jasmine to inspect his room. He just left the door open and they both wandered in there. There was no aggression at all between the two and they soaked up the scents inside. Missy was more intent on sniffing everything. Jasmine, who is 17 years old, nosed around for a bit then left the room.

Afterwards, there was no aggression toward each other.

Tonight we might try the gate, screen door technique and I'm hoping there won't be any incidences. Missy still lingers around his door, but no hissing or growling. It's as if they really want him to come out so they can see him.

LOL

I'm going real slow with this. Sonny is adapting well. He licked my fingers while I played and scratched is head. He's sooo submissive, like a big dog. He lied down and rolled onto  his back so I could scratch his belly! I've actually never seen a cat enjoy that before!

Update:

The screen has been in place since last night. Sonny is still wary with the other two, found him this morning stretched out in the middle of his room and the other two have visited many times at the door. There's been no aggression between any of them. Sonny is slowly becoming more comfortable, but still hides in the closets at times. He will slowly make his way out on his own to explore when the other two are behind closed doors.

I'm just tickled.

I've been feeding and giving treats to each of them as it goes well. I will continue to keep them separated though, until they touch noses between the screen and I feel confident there will be no aggression.

Missy is still wary and walks slow over to the door when he is out from the closet  LOL.

I believe the Feliway diffuser is making a difference. I have it in the hallway directly outside his room.

So we are moving in a positive direction. I can't wait til the day I can let them all out at the same time

Woohooo!  That's great news! 

Well, I'm a bit disheartened.

My oldest, Jasmine was sitting on my desk with me while I'm at the computer, when Sonny started crying he wanted out. So I closed up the other kitty in our room and thought maybe this would be a good time to see what happens.

So far there's been no hostility between the screens, Jasmine is probably has a little eyesite issues since she's 17 and hasn't gotten a real good look at him. I let him out while she was on my desk, and he wandered in squawking up a storm. He talks a lot.

Jasmine was not thrilled at all. There was some growling, hissing and I took jasmine as quick as I could to the other room and locked her up. Sonny stayed out until I put him back in his room and put the screen door back up. I've been leaving the baby gate off so they could really see each other and so far there's been no aggression.

Now it's not so good. Sonny is back in his room, with  the gate and the screen door. Jasmine went over to him while he was laying near it and there was hissing and growling on both sides now.   Sonny is pretty laid back, and usually just looks at them and turns back to what he's doing.

They really haven't been up close and personal, so maybe it was too soon to "try" it.

*sigh* I don't know.

It's been a week since he's been here, and he's getting more comfortable. Honestly, I've never had this much trouble socializing cats before.