Introducing a blind cat to a stressed cat. please help!!

guardiansora

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Okay so to start out with, I'm mostly a dog person, but after the loss of my dog I just couldn't handle getting another one for a while.  To cope, I got my cat Abbie from the shelter about 3 years ago.  She's about the only cat that I've really had that I can consider mine.  I've had cats growing up, but I was little, so this is really the first experience I've had with cats.

She's not the sweetest cat, but she's a good cat.  She gets easily stressed out, but primarily keeps to herself and likes to be left alone and watch me and my boyfriend just kind of do our own thing.  She's been fine and everything was going well up until I found this blind kitten outside who seriously needed help.  After a surgery and a lot of TLC and keeping the cats away from each other, the new cat, Biscuit, is better than ever. 

I have tried introducing them several times, but here's where the problem comes in.  Abbie likes her space, but Biscuit is completely in love with Abbie.  I don't know if maybe because he's blind he can't sense her tone or whatever, but he just likes to get in her face and play with her.  Obviously that's not okay with Abbie who will growl and hiss and swat at him.  She'll get completely stressed out and will even run from him (of course that's a game, so Biscuit will chase her).  

I'm nervous to let them just kind of work it out since everything I've read tells me not to let them do that.  I've seen several tips, such as letting them play with their own toys in a room together, but just the sight of Biscuit will send Abbie at least to the point where she starts growling at him.  Of course the growling only make Biscuit want to go play with her and the cycle continues.  Do you guys have any tips for me?  I've thought about getting those shelves so that Abbie can climb around him and not be stuck on the floor with him, but I'm in an apartment and am not allowed to make that many holes in the walls.  Any advice that you guys can give me would be helpful!  As as said at the start, I've never really dealt with this kind of thing before.  Cats are really new to me.
 

foxden

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G guardiansora
Do you have a cat tree or condo?
That would give Abbie a space she can jump up to and away from Biscuit. Biscuit is obviously attracted to Abbie, and may be extra-clingy because he's blind and looking for guidance. I don't usually interfere if the cats are just growling. I try to read the rest of the body language and watch. Biscuit is still a kitten, and wants to play more, too. Maybe a wand with a crinkly toy that you can drag around would help him chill out.
Sounds like you've made a good start.
 
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guardiansora

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I have bought several cat trees just for that fact, but despite being blind, Biscuit is very adventurous.  He loves to climb and I guess just loves Abbie's smell because when he does have access to her tree, he will climb right up there and take a nap!  I try not to separate them unless Abbie just gets extra stressed.  I'm just worried that one day she's going to get so annoyed that she'll really start to attack him.  He's a sweet boy and he just wants to love her, so I'm just worried for him.  I've gone through several different types of toys specifically for blind cats, but nothing will stop him if he notices that Abbie is around.  Maybe I just need to keep looking for a different type of toy to keep him interested?

I guess this post was more for Abbie than it was for Biscuit.  Do you have any advice on how to calm a stressed cat? 
 
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