Cat to Kitten Introduction

cheshirekitty

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Okay so I have a 3 month old kitten, Ruby, and a couple weeks ago we found a 1 1/2 year old cat outside. Long story short we located the owner of the cat and she was not welcomed back, so now she is living with us too. We named her Nova. Basically I am now looking for some advice on how to proceed with getting them to accept one another.  I separated Nova into her own room with all the kitty essentials and Ruby gets the run of the house as the resident kitten. I have done scent exchanges via towels under each of their food bowls and also socks which I then put near their respective beds. We've also done site exchanges so that Nova is not cooped up in one room all the time. She's not really enjoying solitary confinement and cries at the door A LOT  
 They've also been eating nearer and nearer to each other via the door trick I found elsewhere in the forums. The scent exchanges went well, there were no negative reactions to either the towels or socks and each cat is willing to eat treats off the scented socks. And the site exchanges were successful in my opinion as well, as when I went to go switch them back out Ruby was sleeping on Nova's bed. Where my trouble comes in is with meal times. They will eat peacefully near each other, within less than a foot, as long as they are not directly facing one another. However, if Nova so much as looks up in Ruby's direction it immediately elicits a hissing/growling reaction from Ruby. She will also do this if I put their dishes too close together, so I have been just putting them as close as she will allow and usually in opposite directions. I also let them out together last night for the first time. It started off pretty well, Nova went to go sniff Ruby's nose and while it didn't look like she overly enjoyed being sniffed, Ruby only responded by sniffing back. Then there was a bit of pawing at each other, it didn't look like either of them had claws extended though and the exchange was still relatively silent. And eventually it escalated to chasing. Ruby instigated this the majority of the time. She would lock her gaze onto Nova and prepare to launch herself in her direction and then a chase around the house would ensue that usually ended with Nove climbing into an alcove in my desk in her safe room. She would come out shortly after as Ruby turned her attention to something else in the room and they would go back to watching each other. Nova only returned this attack and chase behavior once and at the end of the chase Ruby hissed at her when she got too close. I separated them after it calmed back down and made sure to give them both positive attention to try to show I wasn't punishing them. I guess I'm just not sure what to think of what happened. I don't really know whether they were being aggressive or just playing or if one of them was trying to play but the other was being aggressive. And if it was aggression, I don't know how to proceed next. Should I keep letting them out together at this point or slow it back down? I can probably let them run around again tonight and try to record it so I can post a video of what they're doing in case that is helpful. If anyone can lend any insight into what I should be doing next, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks, 

CheshireKitty
 

red top rescue

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I would suggest wearing Ruby out by playing with her BEFORE letting her out with Nova.  Ruby is younger and probably more energetic.  Work her hard with DaBird and/or the laser light toy.  Run her to exhaustion.  Then let Nova out.  That should equalize their energy a bit.  As for feeding, there is no reason not to put their dishes at opposite ends of the room at this time until they are totally comfortable and relaxed with each other.  It sounds to me like it's going well and you have been doing everything right with the introductions.  A little hissing and growling is normal, I have that even with very young kittens.  They don't really wrestle with each other until they are very, very comfortable with each other.  Until then, it'smostly "Tag, you're IT!" and off she goes.  And THANK YOU for adopting Nova when her first owners basically abandoned her.  She is a lucky cat.
 
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shadowsrescue

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Thank you so much for rescuing Nova.  How sad that her owners did not want her back, but how wonderful for you.  First off, has Nova been to the vet for a clean bill of health?  Also is she spayed and is Ruby spayed yet? 

Here are a few links to some great ideas for cat to cat introductions.  The key is to not rush the process if you feel that problems are arising.  Hissing, growling, yowling and chasing can quickly turn into full blown fights.  Here are the links and one video.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

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

http://jacksongalaxy.com/2010/10/01/cat-to-cat-introductions/


I brought a feral/stray into my home last year.  I had one other cat living inside.  Introductions were difficult.  It took a lot of time and patience, but it can be done.  One trick that really helped me out a lot was to buy a cheap wooden screen door from Lowes ($20) and a fix it to the door with cheap tension rods ($4).  The cat inside the room can see, hear and smell the happenings of the house.  I put a baby gate in the door jam for a bit more stability.  I have pictures of the setup if you'd like to see.
 
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