Introducing a new cat

I've read all the articles about slow introductions and they make sense.  I'm just struggling a bit with how to stick with it.

I've had Woody for about 3 months now and he's a sweetheart ... very friendly, affectionate and playful.  VERY playful.  He's 4 but he acts like a kitten.  If I had a chandelier, he'd be swinging from it!  I decided he needed a playmate so 2 days ago, Jessie came to live with us.  She's just a little over a year old and although she's still a little timid, I can tell she's going to be a sweetheart too.  I have her set up in the home office and she's doing fine.  In fact, she's starting to get a little restless and acting like she wants to come out.  Woody, is basically camped out by her door chattering to her and shoving his paws under the crack in the door.  He's  desperate to get in and see her.  They met briefly yesterday and he was so excited.  She wasn't as thrilled and hissed and swatted at him.  He immediately backed away and kept a respectful distance until I took him out.  She's starting to talk back to him and stick her paws under the door which I think is a positive sign.  So far so good!  They both came from the SPCA and both have lived with other cats ... he came from a hording situation and she came to the shelter pregnant and raised a little of kittens.

The plan is to keep her in the office for a week.  Then comes the stage where I'm supposed to let them see each other through a screen door or baby gates.  Which, for a lot of reasons (I rent, the door is a weird size and in a corner, etc etc) just isn't possible.  Propping the door open a couple inches isn't even an option because of the way it's situated in a corner.  So the door is either closed or it's open.  Which finally leads us to my question ... how terrible would it be if I kept her in there for a week and then let her out for supervised visits?   I'd keep her in the office while I was a work and at night but she'd be out with him for 4 or 5 hours in the evening.  

Scent swapping is something you could do now. A great way to do this is to swap them over for a few hours. This would allow Jessie to leave her scent over the place. She will feel more confident (making everything hers)  and Woodie would get used to having her scent everywhere.

I used feliway (fake friendly cat hormones), it may help Jessie.   

I live in a tiny flat, my kitten was a slippery little thing, she got out and separation was soon a thing of the past after about three days. I let them stay out for just a short time after that when nothing disastrous happened and gradually increased the time allowed. I do however recommend the full five days for Jessie.  

It took my cats about eight months to feel fully comfortable with each other, it takes a lot of patience because one moment you think it's all worked out and then they start fighting again.  

Good luck~

Thanks for the advice!   Every article I read is concerned with the established cat accepting the newcomer and my case is just the opposite.  Woody, the established cat, is dying to be friends and Jessie wants nothing to do with him.  Lol!  She's getting restless in her safe room and trying to bolt out whenever I go in.  She made a run for it tonight and they were both out together for about 45 minutes.  Every time he approached her she growled and swatted and he immediately backed away.  I was really proud of how good he was.  When she started to get too hyper, I lured her back to her room and she settled right down and was friendly and affectionate when I check in on her later.  So it wasn't perfect but it went okay.  

Honestly? It sounds like it went great. Let Jessie out for awhile tomorrow and put Woodie in the office. I did it when my resident cat was ready for a sleep.

I've been doing supervised visits and it's going well.  They're nowhere near being friends yet but definitely starting to relax a bit.  Woody isn't pestering Jessie quite so much and she's not as quick to hiss and swat at him ... though that still happens pretty regularly.  This afternoon's feeding session went really really well. That's Woody on the left and Jessie on the right.  And yes,that's a doorstop holding the water fountain in place.  Woody saw Jessie playing with it and now he won't leave it alone either.  Sigh.

That's major that they eat together. Good job!

Thanks!   They still have a long way to go ... he got jealous when she played with his toys! ... but I see slow progress.  Their first face to face meeting was less than two minutes and today they lasted six hours before I felt like they needed a break from each other.  

It's been a week since their first very brief very hissy meeting and this morning I get to enjoy this!  It's hard to tell from the angle but they're not more than a foot apart and both sound asleep.  Feeling very hopeful that they will end up as friends.  And how cute is Woody's fuzzy butt?!

Awwww I'm happy for you.

Two weeks and two days since Jessie came to live with us and there is peace in our little kingdom.  She's been out of her safe room full time for about five days now and they're going great!  Woody is so high energy that he gets a little too rough sometimes but she just puts him in his place and he backs right off.  Earlier today he was trying to wrestle and she wasn't in the mood and she just walked right over him ... planted a foot in the middle of his belly in the process ... and went off to take a nap.  And he just laid there and watched her, then rolled over and went to sleep himself.  

I'm so happy to see your kitties getting along so well.  We too have recently introduced a new cat, who was a stray to our home with a 3 year old resident cat. I had feared our resident cat would be the one we needed to worry about because he is a tad bit spoiled.   However, he wants to play with our new cat so badly and she hisses and growls at him lots!  I'm praying we get to the point you are soon.  It's been a week and a day and it hasn't been easy.  The will eat together, one on each side of the gate.  We are doing scent swapping by letting them use different rooms at different times. She will let him get about 4 feet from her and she's hissing and growling away but other than that, not aggressive like scratching, biting, or attacking him.  I so just want them to get along!

SheriLynnC said:

I'm so happy to see your kitties getting along so well.  We too have recently introduced a new cat, who was a stray to our home with a 3 year old resident cat. I had feared our resident cat would be the one we needed to worry about because he is a tad bit spoiled.   However, he wants to play with our new cat so badly and she hisses and growls at him lots!  I'm praying we get to the point you are soon.  It's been a week and a day and it hasn't been easy.  The will eat together, one on each side of the gate.  We are doing scent swapping by letting them use different rooms at different times. She will let him get about 4 feet from her and she's hissing and growling away but other than that, not aggressive like scratching, biting, or attacking him.  I so just want them to get along!

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It will happen organically, but it takes time & patience. Don't stress out about this because the two cats will both pick up on your stress. They have to work it out for themselves. Be aware that they may never be friends, but as long as they can tolerate each other that should be good enough.