Cat introductions - how long to leave it before giving up?

[detroitcatlady]

I think in time things will work out. When introducing cats I have learned that there is no time limit to help cats accept each other or get along. Some cats will get along pretty well after a few weeks, others will take months or longer. It all really depends on personality and what environment they are used to. In my experience the males have always been more easy going and accepting of other cats but I have also been pleasantly surprised by females. The talkative ones always seem to take longer to adjust, or just constantly let you know what they don't like, and sometimes this can be misinterpreted as rejection of the newcomer when it is really just letting you know that they are uneasy about the situation. It is definitely easier to introduce new cats when your resident cat is used to being in a multi cat household, and the more times cats are introduced I find that it gradually gets less stressful. Some cats will go through this period where they accept the new cat, even welcome it and play with it but still fight occasionally and need to be separated for a longer period of time. The issue of respecting space is hard because some cats will be more timid and others will not know when to back down, sometimes it may be necessary to watch and intervene to separate them if you see one cat getting stressed. However as I have learned after doing this many times sometimes the cats just have to work it out themselves. Sometimes the new cat will not learn to back down unless the resident cat puts them in their place.