Cat in large dog crate

I am at a loss and all the introduction steps just don't seem to fit when you have the cat in a large dog crate. He has been here a month, he moved from the basement to a crate last week. He gets to roam while my other 4 cats are in a room, and then he goes in the crate and they have the house. They see each other and are not fond of each other at all. When the stray is out, he spends a lot of time sitting outside the door of the room they are in, waiting for one of them to approach the door, and then he tries to attack them outside and under the door. When he is in the crate, they are afraid to come near, and if they do he gets ready to charge, and sometimes does. They are afraid of him, and they hiss at him. 

He has attacked my one female outdoors, before I brought him in had him fixed etc. She ran inside quickly after he charged her and knocked her over twice, I heard the commotion and placed a rake between him and her as he was chasing her, and she managed to get inside.

He attacked one of my male cats, bit and ripped off a hunk of fur and skin, drew blood, thankfully there was not a puncture.

He likes to be fed, and he is friendly with me, but I think there is too much history and he is too aggressive to ever be trusted not to attack one of my cats.

He is disrupting the whole house, and I hate to admit it, but on some level, I regret rescuing him. He is 3.5 years old, so he probably would have survived just fine. I should have just had him neutered and had his ear clipped and left outdoors, but when I say that , I know I couldn't do it.

I will give this more time, but I don't know what steps to take now, and Jayson galaxy and all the other introduction tapes do not seem to apply here. He is in a crate, they look at each other from afar every day. he has to be introduced to 4 cats, and he is a vicious attacker, no yowling, just swift fast charge.  I understand that it is his nature and he has had a tough life, but I feel bad for my other precious babies who have had their life turned upside down. I don't want 5 cats, and the chances of finding a home for this one are slim to none. None of the rescues will take him, they don't have room. Want me to foster him, which, in other words are, you are stuck with him.

Any thoughts besides the same introduction tapes that are available here. I have 4 indoor cats, and an aggressive stray that need to get along. I do not see how those videos apply in this situation. We had several weeks without seeing each other, now we see each other. Nothing has changed.  I know everyone will say it takes time, and I am willing to continue, but I don't see it happening at all, ever. This cat needs to go, but I don't know what to do with him.

I am growing weary and frustrated.

I certainly sympathize with your concerns, especially since this new cat has done injury to your other cats.

One month really isn't that long in cat time. How did the new cat react when he was in the basement? Did he stalk the door, or was he content? Do he interact with you? Does he accept pets or engage with play?

It sounds you moved too quickly, which is something many of us here are guilty of. We want everyone to coexist in a timeframe *we* are comfortable with. If you want to make this kitty part of your family, I suggest putting him back into the basement. Restart introductions and focus on scent swapping and positive associations with scents.

Also, if this kitty has had to fend for his own for 3.5 years or more and is not well socialized, it is likely to take longer to integrate than a cat that is coming from a shelter/rescue. Feral and strays that have been on their own have had to fight for their lives and defend their territory. It takes time for them to realize that they are safe, there are plenty of resources (food, shelter, etc...) and that they no longer have to fight for these things.

With all that said, you need to decide whether you are fully committed to transitioning this new cat into your home or not. Given more time and taking things slowly may allow him to adjust, or he may always need to be kept separate from the other cats. Only time will tell with this.

thanks for your input.

when he was in the basement, he was ok, and I would visit, but it is cold down there, however, he had a good warm bed, and a nice warm shelter which he never used. I would let him upstairs time which he liked, and then began crying at the basement door whenever I was in the kitchen, he wanted to be upstairs. He is friendly with me, likes to be petted, will sit on my lap, sit next to me on the couch, plays with the tail and other toys.

Do you think putting him back in the basement is really the answer? I guess I just don't get it. Someone told me having him in a crate so they can all see each other is the way to go. I would like to continue with that because going up and down the steps several times a day is hard on my soon to be replaced knee. I could keep the door of the crate room shut, but I thought they were supposed to see each other. But I can do that, and still allow him run around the house time, which he spends a lot of sitting outside the door where the other cats are and attacking the door if one of them gets close.

As far as scent swapping, they smell each others scents throughout the house. He gets a few hours every day, at least 2 times a day to have the entire place (except the bedroom where the other 4 are) to himself. I see him smelling their beds, litter, etc.

As far as being committed, I am because I do not have a choice. If they do not adjust to each other, he will become an outdoor cat again. I cannot live like this, and it is not fair to my other cats.  I am trying, but I will get over the guilt of putting him out.  Sadly, you can't save everyone.

thanks again

Getting an outside cat used to being an inside cat and then introducing him to your other cats is going to take a long time.  When I brought my feral guy inside, it took him one solid year to adjust to indoor living and learn to coexist with my other cat and large dog.  He had a room of his own and spent the majority of the time there.  Yet, we worked on socializing and introductions multiple times each day.  It took every ounce of patience I had.  I cried many days and wondered what in the heck had I done.  My poor resident kitty was so stressed and the new cat was a terror.  I found a few things that helped:

1.  Feliway plug ins all over the house.  Yes, they are expensive, but they helped.  I noticed a difference and when they ran out, the stress went back up.  I bought them in 6 packs on Amazon to save on money.  You can also use Comfort Zone spray where you do not have outlets.  Yet you have to spray daily or numerous times daily.

2.  Composure liquid Max was the saving grace for the aggressive one I brought inside.  I gave him 1/2 t. in the morning wet food and 1/4 t. in the evening.  I also gave some to my stressed out resident kitty.  It made a big difference.  You can find this on Amazon or EntirelyPets. 

3.  I used a dog cage too for awhile.  Yet I covered the cage on 3 sides with a sheet.  I sat and offered both cats plain cooked chicken or canned tuna or salmon.  They needed to associate each other with something good.  Do not do more than one cat at a time.  Bringing them all around at once is just too overwhelming.  Start with the friendliest cat first.  If the new cat that is inside the cage is aggitated cover the cage completely.  If he is still aggitated then the cage is just too stressful right now.  Also the cage session should be very short.  I did them for less than 5 minutes at a time, feeding something yummy the entire time.  You want to always end on an up note.  I would do this routine 3 or more times each day.  Gradually as the cats adjust you can lengthen the time.  I would not advise just putting the new cat in a cage and allowing the others to circle around.  That is just too much too soon.

4.   You still need to swap space.  It allows new kitty some time out and for your resident cats to realize that the new one is staying and gets some time too.  I used to take the new cat with me into my office for awhile. 

5.  Have you tried the screen door trick? I bought a cheap wooden screen door from Lowes and attached it to the door frame with tension rods.  IT allowed the cats to see and smell each other safely.  I had a baby gate in the door way for extra protection.  This was only done supervised.  I have a picture if you'd like to see the set up.

6.  Keep your emotions in check.  I know this is really hard.  Once I realized that my crying and constant worry was upsetting the household, I had to get a grip.  One weekend my DS and DH took over for me to give me a break.  I then had to come back with a new set up expectations and really keep myself in check.  It made the world of difference.

7.  Try to think in very small baby steps.  It has only been one month.  That is hardly any time at all.  Yes, I know it seems like a long time, but if you have already worked your way through the intro steps in one month, you probalbly moved way too fast.  THis is common.  Most of us rush the process.  I would go back and start again.  Don't move to the next step until there is no growling, hissing, posturing, ears going flat or tail swishing.  Some steps could take a month or longer.  When you are ready for some face to face time.  Start with just one cat.  It is too much to bombard new kitty with 4 cats..

8.  Lastly, realize that you saved this kitty's life.  It may not seem fun now, but with patience it can be accomplished. I knew was the only hope this kitty had.  It was not going to be solved in a just a month or two.  There are so many factors to consider with this little one being brought into a home and a home full of other cats that own all the territory.  He must be very frightened.  Be sure to have lots of vertical space as well.  Cats need lots of high places to get out of the way.  Cats trees as well as simple shelving works well. 

I would still allow him time in the basement.  That is is safe spot.  Bring him up for some cage time and also for some time alone upstairs.  Could you use the screen door upstairs on a bathroom door or possible put it at the top of the basement stairs?

I agree with ShadowsRescue.  Let him have the basement. Even though its cold down there, if he has a warm bed and some sunlight, he should be fine.  Use all the intro techniques you can but honestly, him being inside and in the basement is better than being outside.

We have a cat with her own room.  She HATES all our other cats except her brother, who spends less than ten minutes with her and is howling to be left out.  If I'd known better, I would have found her a home as an only cat but ...

So, she rules her roost like the empress she believes she is.  All the cats are used to it now, although every once in awhile, our Alpha male decided he's going to take advantage of the open door (when we go in or out) to visit her .  The horrors!  All he does is stick his head inside her door and you'd think he was murdering her.  It's a little funny actually because she sits on the bed and just shrieks.  Once the door is closed, she has to rush toward it, as if telling him "stay out!"

What we put up with to keep our kitties happy!

Well, I returned him to the basement, and last night one of the other critters got the door open and he started attacking. I heard the scuffle, and he chased one cat through the room into the cage room.

I managed to interfere enough for the victim to escape and trap him in the cage room, put him in the cage, round everyone else up into the bedroom, and then get him into the basement. This is NOT fun. 

Later I noticed that someone had urinated on the floor in the dining room where they were cornered by him.

He is upstairs all day so far today, because I am doing laundry, so have to go up and down into the basement.  When he comes upstairs, he immediately runs to the bedroom and tries to attack them under the door. Now I have a baby gate in front of the door so he doesn't accidentally get someones nose that might be in the way when he starts clawing under the door.  I distract him playing tail, but he goes back to the door, sits and waits.

I am not going to keep him if he cannot get along with others, I do not have a room to give him exclusively, nor can I keep juggling cats and rooms. 

I will keep trying to get him adopted, and I will keep him in the basement without anymore slip-ups. Now the basement door is blocked with a screen and two heavy paint cans that they can't move. He attacked last night with a full dose of liquid pheromones. Not sure that stuff works.

I can deal with hisses and howling, this is full out vicious attacks. I was so frightened last night that he would get a hold of my other cat. It was so lucky that my cat got to the door and I opened it a crack for him to run into the other room. There was no stopping this guy. I flipped the futon mattress up to rescue my guy and get him out the door. If there had not been several plastic storage boxed under the futon, this guy would have nailed Spike, the victim.

I like all the steps shadow rescue placed above. I got the pheromone, and I put him back in the basement. I cannot fathom how I am going to have face to face time with one of the cats. They are scared to death of him.

This is really breaking my heart. I know that come spring I will have to throw him out. I will feed him, but he will not be coming back in. I am not that much of a hero, there is only so much I can do.

\

I hate to be so negative, and I really do appreciate all the advice, I know you guys are really trying, I do appreciate it, and I will keep using your suggestions the best I can.

thanks so much.

You are not to be blamed for how you feel, especially after all the effort you've put into helping this cat. So do not feel guilty.

One thing I would suggest. Before you put him outside, can you construct a small catio for him? It need not be large. A dog kennel sized enclosure is big enough. You can equip it with a shelter, feeding station and potty.

It will keep him safe and you other cats can get back to normal.

do you mean an enclosure where he never gets out?  I am not sure how I would do that. It would have to be on grass, how would it get mowed? Not sure what you mean. Even if I could do that, that seems a little cruel. Caging him outdoors, all alone. Have to think about that.

Well, if he wants out and you want him safe, that's a compromise. Make it large enough for him to feel comfortable.

We live on a busy road and I have counted at least 20 cats dead. We had an irresponsible neighbor who let his cat breed and breed for many years before the poor thing did. Those 20 cats were all her kittens.

Four of our cats are her kittens, too. Two are inside - we found them young. The other two were a little too feral (plus we already had a full house by the time they arrived). So we built them an enclosure. It is pretty big - 15' x 40'. We do not mow in there because they love to hide in the grass. We have part of the ground covered in gravel, though, with a raised feeding station and shelters.

If you attach it to you house, he can come and go as he pleases. You can have a concrete floor if mowing is an issue.

Do a search here or on the Internet "cat enclosures". You'll be surprised at all the ideas.

That is great that you did that. I do not have the space or the means, nor the inclination to do that. I will put a warm shelter outside and provide food. He has lived outside for 3 + years, I will search, as you suggest, but anything that costs more than 50 dollars will be out. I do have a protected area next to the entrance to my basement door, that is concrete. It is around 5 ft. deep, 4 ftl hight, and maybe 3 feet wide. I would have to remove the firewood and gardening tools, but that would be a shelter, but I would not enclose him.  thanks for that idea~

The area you describe will work, then.  He will soon adopt it as his own "room".  Just providing him with food and shelter is way more than his original owners ever did, so thank you!

I would like to update this thread, I brought in "Ed" after he was neutered, etc. Unbeknownst to me, Ed HATES other cars, successfully escaped the basement 3 times, drew blood once. My life has consisted of rounding up my 4 cats into the bedroom, letting Ed out of the basement two times a day, or a variation of that routine. Ed has become a very sweet, somewhat vocal, guy, who REALLY does not want other cats around. We tried a crate for a while, and everyone got pissed off, so I put him back in the basement. I intervened for 4 cat-fights, one was outside before I brought him in. I should have known then. 

Fortunately, a friend from my hometown is going to adopt him. She has no other cats, and lost one a year or so ago. Thank the heavens! Not sure how much longer I can keep up with this routine, up and down the basement steps with my soon to be replaced knee. 

I will really miss him, because we have bonded, but he will be much happier with a human to call his own. We might have been able to get integrated, but it is much more work than I want to invest.

Tomorrow Ed leaves the building! Bittersweet, but happy for him, and me!

Ed is a beauty!  And a very lucky kitty because a human (you) took the time to neuter him, try to integrate him and then find him a human he can monopolize!

Thank you for all your hard work for him.