A little advice to help with kitty introduction

[stellakitty]

Hi all,
So I will try to not make this super long!
I currently acquired a new kitty. Cayenne is a Male neutered orange tabby cat. Around 9 months.
Vetted and got a clean bill of health. I already had a calico female Stella she's going to be 2 in July. Cayenne has his own room litter box food and water and I have been keeping him in there when we aren't home. Stella has been my first and only cat and we've had her since about 2 months.
I did the scent swapping with a sock and placed it in each others room. I let them see each other through the door. A little hissing at first and a few growls. Then cayenne went in the carrier and Stella observed him. She was kind of freaking a little staring growling etc.
we kept them separate for 3 weeks then slowly let them have supervised visits. During those 3 weeks they would play paws under the door. No hissing. And they even ate treats on either side.
So I finally let them meet and it went ok. Stella hissed and growl and swatted cayenne. Cayenne just runs away.
They do ok most of the time but Stella gets really upset bc cayenne will chase her and try to jump on her. I'm pretty sure he is jut playing. They have never hurt each other. They will chase each other as well.

So my question after that huge post and run-on sentence is: any other suggestions to maybe not make cayenne jump on her so much? I just ordered a feliway diffuser to see if that helps. I just worry about Stella getting stressed out too much. I've pretty much done everything I read on here. I guess I'm looking for insight as well and others experiences.
I love this site and appreciate all your tips!

 

[catspaw66]

Cayenne is testing the boundaries with Stella.  When he crosses the line, Stella's "tortitude" will kick in and she will swat the pepper out of him.  Keep the claws trimmed to minimize the chance of serious scratches and keep on doing as you are.  The feliway will probably help - I have never used it so can't speak from personal experience.

 

[stellakitty]

Thank you for your reply. I do keep the claws trimmed. And Stella has already swatted the pepper out of him! I tell my husband it's like that game they used to have where you bop the gophers on the head and they go down!
She's been smacking his head and nose but he still goes back for more. I just want them to both be happy and get along! Hopefully in time it will get better.

 

[catspaw66]

If you saw all my cats playing rough, you would think they are trying to kill each other.  But then, a few minutes later they are snuggling and grooming each other, especially S&S.

 

[stellakitty]

Oh wow. Well I mean I guess I really can't complain then! It's been a little over a week and the worst thing I've seen is cayenne jumping up to try and bite Stella's butt then she hisses and growls and swats.
When he isn't trying to get all over her there are really no problems. I've even caught them sitting in the window together one time. So I guess so far so good. Would you say it's going ok?
Thanks!

 

[katluver4life]

I'd say it's going great. If either had a real problem with the other you'd notice it for real. You could try and burn up some of Cayene's energy with some vigorous playtime, wear him out a bit and he'd less likely go after Stella so much. But they will find their way around each other in time.
 

 

[stellakitty]

Thanks Katluver4life!
Like I said I'm new to cats as pets so it can be tough determining what's going on!
I think they will be fine. Cayenne is a real sweetie and Stella is too.