Hi everyone!
I am having some issues integrating our new cat into our household with our existing cat and was hoping I could get some words of wisdom here.
Around the end of November, we decided to adopt a new cat that stole both our hearts. At the time, we had just one cat, Sweetie, who has been the sole cat in the house for about the last 4 years. Before that, she had a roommate, for about 6 years. Both of those cats got along, with the occasional little fight, but nothing serious. Sweetie is not yet taking well to the new guy, Squirt. Squirt is a VERY chill cat, and very affectionate, so we didn't think it would be much of an issue, but Sweetie is proving to be a tough nut to crack. Sweetie is a great cat with us, but she's never been super friendly to (human) strangers, and has taken a swipe a visitor once, but usually just does her own thing.
Before I get into the details, I *do* know that cat introductions can take a long time, and require a lot of patience. I am mostly looking to see if there's anything else we can try, or do better so that we can work towards peaceful household. It can be hard to keep our patience and spirits up (especially since my husband is starting to run out of patience) when the progress is so slow.
So, we definitely made some mistakes from the get go. The first time we did a cat introduction, it was over in a few days, so my husband did rush things, unfortunately. We started with putting Squirt in a safe room with lots of comforting things. Sweetie responded by puffing out her tail, hissing, and growling, and then hiding under the bed. My husband rushed things and we let Squirt out the second night, and of course it was a disaster. There was a huge, fur-flying fight. We went a little slower, but 2 more cat fights occurred. No blood, but lots of screaming and yowling. It was awful.
I then took control of the process. Again, I made a few mistakes, but I've kept them separated and only let them see each other under controlled circumstances, with lots of treats and praising.
This is where we are at now: I've set Squirt up in the basement (which is better than it sounds) with lots of toys, food, furniture, etc. I work during the day but visit with him for a little bit in the morning, and spend about an hour with him in the evenings playing and snuggling (we like to watch old episodes of House together on Netflix. ). Sweetie has the rest of the house. I have a Feliway difuser on each level of the house, near the cat's favourite spots, and the safe room. I feed her on the other side of the basement door, and she no longer seems bothered by Squirt. We've done room swapping and scent swapping, and Sweetie no longer seems upset or even interested by his smell.
We have done a few introductions by holding Squirt in our arms and Sweetie will look at him, but not get upset or all that interested in him. The problem is when we are not holding him. We have tried putting him in a large puppy crate (which is doesn't really enjoy), or by cracking open the door to Squirt's room, and that's when Sweetie gets really upset - hissing and growling, and running upstairs to get away. Most of the time, Squirt just lays there. He's never hissing or growled, unless they were in a brawl.
I've been off on vacation for the last 2 weeks and have been head counsellor at "Cat Camp". I spent my days setting up a room for Squirt in the top floor where he could spend the day, and watched for when Sweetie would walk by so I could give her treats and praise her and perhaps open the door a crack. Sweetie is sometimes a little tentative and spooked when eating by the door, but no hissing or growling. I've tried opening the door a crack. Usually if Sweetie sees Squirt, she will hiss and growl and I will shut the door.
So that's where we are now. It's difficult when we both work full time to do the crack-open-the-door sessions except in the evening, but that's my plan moving forward. It's awkward to do the sessions at the basement door, so it works better if I move Squirt upstairs. My plan is to do that in evenings. My biggest fear, though, is that the hissing won't stop, and I am terrified of another cat fight breaking out. I also have a husband who is, while supportive, just wanting to get on with it, and be able to enjoy our new guy, and have all of us living together peacefully. I worry that this may never happen as Sweetie just seems so resistant to accepting Squirt, and he just seems to want to be friends.
This was all over the place, but I'm hoping there will be some helpful advice here, or at least some words of encouragement. Glad to clarifying anything if it wasn't clear. Thank you all in advance!
I am having some issues integrating our new cat into our household with our existing cat and was hoping I could get some words of wisdom here.
Around the end of November, we decided to adopt a new cat that stole both our hearts. At the time, we had just one cat, Sweetie, who has been the sole cat in the house for about the last 4 years. Before that, she had a roommate, for about 6 years. Both of those cats got along, with the occasional little fight, but nothing serious. Sweetie is not yet taking well to the new guy, Squirt. Squirt is a VERY chill cat, and very affectionate, so we didn't think it would be much of an issue, but Sweetie is proving to be a tough nut to crack. Sweetie is a great cat with us, but she's never been super friendly to (human) strangers, and has taken a swipe a visitor once, but usually just does her own thing.
Before I get into the details, I *do* know that cat introductions can take a long time, and require a lot of patience. I am mostly looking to see if there's anything else we can try, or do better so that we can work towards peaceful household. It can be hard to keep our patience and spirits up (especially since my husband is starting to run out of patience) when the progress is so slow.
So, we definitely made some mistakes from the get go. The first time we did a cat introduction, it was over in a few days, so my husband did rush things, unfortunately. We started with putting Squirt in a safe room with lots of comforting things. Sweetie responded by puffing out her tail, hissing, and growling, and then hiding under the bed. My husband rushed things and we let Squirt out the second night, and of course it was a disaster. There was a huge, fur-flying fight. We went a little slower, but 2 more cat fights occurred. No blood, but lots of screaming and yowling. It was awful.
I then took control of the process. Again, I made a few mistakes, but I've kept them separated and only let them see each other under controlled circumstances, with lots of treats and praising.
This is where we are at now: I've set Squirt up in the basement (which is better than it sounds) with lots of toys, food, furniture, etc. I work during the day but visit with him for a little bit in the morning, and spend about an hour with him in the evenings playing and snuggling (we like to watch old episodes of House together on Netflix. ). Sweetie has the rest of the house. I have a Feliway difuser on each level of the house, near the cat's favourite spots, and the safe room. I feed her on the other side of the basement door, and she no longer seems bothered by Squirt. We've done room swapping and scent swapping, and Sweetie no longer seems upset or even interested by his smell.
We have done a few introductions by holding Squirt in our arms and Sweetie will look at him, but not get upset or all that interested in him. The problem is when we are not holding him. We have tried putting him in a large puppy crate (which is doesn't really enjoy), or by cracking open the door to Squirt's room, and that's when Sweetie gets really upset - hissing and growling, and running upstairs to get away. Most of the time, Squirt just lays there. He's never hissing or growled, unless they were in a brawl.
I've been off on vacation for the last 2 weeks and have been head counsellor at "Cat Camp". I spent my days setting up a room for Squirt in the top floor where he could spend the day, and watched for when Sweetie would walk by so I could give her treats and praise her and perhaps open the door a crack. Sweetie is sometimes a little tentative and spooked when eating by the door, but no hissing or growling. I've tried opening the door a crack. Usually if Sweetie sees Squirt, she will hiss and growl and I will shut the door.
So that's where we are now. It's difficult when we both work full time to do the crack-open-the-door sessions except in the evening, but that's my plan moving forward. It's awkward to do the sessions at the basement door, so it works better if I move Squirt upstairs. My plan is to do that in evenings. My biggest fear, though, is that the hissing won't stop, and I am terrified of another cat fight breaking out. I also have a husband who is, while supportive, just wanting to get on with it, and be able to enjoy our new guy, and have all of us living together peacefully. I worry that this may never happen as Sweetie just seems so resistant to accepting Squirt, and he just seems to want to be friends.
This was all over the place, but I'm hoping there will be some helpful advice here, or at least some words of encouragement. Glad to clarifying anything if it wasn't clear. Thank you all in advance!