I now have four cats and the little cats have been introduced to the big cats with great effect. ( click for a short video of the introduction of little cats to Leo, my big stupid cat) The little cats, though they're two, play constantly, like kittens. I think maybe they'd been feeling poorly since they were babies and haven't ever had a chance to have this kind of energy to play with. DHD is a toy hoarder and will collect up all the toys and any scraps of paper at the end of our bed and then she'll bring them out and play with them. She and her sister, MALP, wrestle all the time.
At first, Leo seemed very confused by the babies and didn't know how to deal with them. He followed them around at a distance and stared at them. He'd sit by the hour, watching them play and explore. Now he's started trying to get involved in their games, but I'm not sure if he's succeeding or not. He hasn't had another cat to play with since kittenhood because Shini, our other big cat, hates everyone and everything. He puts his ears back, which I think of as an aggressive thing, and sits nearby and swats at them. Very rarely is he actually close enough to make contact, but they'll come over and swat him back. They actually do make contact. No claws are extended. Is this play, or do they hate him?
I've also noticed that he isn't napping nearly as much. Most of his day is now spent following the babies around, whereas he used to spend most of it napping. Is this a normal change in his behaviour or does this reflect unrest? Does this show he's upset?
It should be noted that we DID find Leo curled up sleeping on the bed with the babies yesterday, but we aren't sure if he snuck in after they were already asleep.
Shini, the other big cat, has always spent most of every day hiding. Always. As I said before, she hates everyone and everything (except my partner--she LOVES my partner and will come out when he's home to crawl all over him, then goes back into hiding). She's now spending long periods of time following Leo and the babies. She hasn't attacked Leo in days and that's been her favourite hobby since Leo and I moved into her space. She gets a little nosy into the babies' business and DHD swats her into submission, then she crawls to a corner--in full view, which is significant for a cat that we sometimes don't see for days--and just sits there. Is she mad? Is she uncomfortable? Is this her way of playing? Is this her way of joining our little 'colony?'
I've had cats my whole life, pretty well, but never dealt with introductions very much, other than Leo and Shini and Shini is, in my opinion, a special case because she hates everyone and everything.
At first, Leo seemed very confused by the babies and didn't know how to deal with them. He followed them around at a distance and stared at them. He'd sit by the hour, watching them play and explore. Now he's started trying to get involved in their games, but I'm not sure if he's succeeding or not. He hasn't had another cat to play with since kittenhood because Shini, our other big cat, hates everyone and everything. He puts his ears back, which I think of as an aggressive thing, and sits nearby and swats at them. Very rarely is he actually close enough to make contact, but they'll come over and swat him back. They actually do make contact. No claws are extended. Is this play, or do they hate him?
I've also noticed that he isn't napping nearly as much. Most of his day is now spent following the babies around, whereas he used to spend most of it napping. Is this a normal change in his behaviour or does this reflect unrest? Does this show he's upset?
It should be noted that we DID find Leo curled up sleeping on the bed with the babies yesterday, but we aren't sure if he snuck in after they were already asleep.
Shini, the other big cat, has always spent most of every day hiding. Always. As I said before, she hates everyone and everything (except my partner--she LOVES my partner and will come out when he's home to crawl all over him, then goes back into hiding). She's now spending long periods of time following Leo and the babies. She hasn't attacked Leo in days and that's been her favourite hobby since Leo and I moved into her space. She gets a little nosy into the babies' business and DHD swats her into submission, then she crawls to a corner--in full view, which is significant for a cat that we sometimes don't see for days--and just sits there. Is she mad? Is she uncomfortable? Is this her way of playing? Is this her way of joining our little 'colony?'
I've had cats my whole life, pretty well, but never dealt with introductions very much, other than Leo and Shini and Shini is, in my opinion, a special case because she hates everyone and everything.
