Had to make one of the HARDEST decisions....

[ping]

Originally Posted by Liza24

i let her out. at this point its been aviodance on both parts. but there has been one instance of hissing ans slapping, but i let it happen, no swipes, no blood, guess thats good.

Thats a good sign yes.

 

[liza24]

well, maybe because i did a smudging it helped ( using sage as a *smoke* to clear negitivity)

i seem to feel *stoned* after a smudging, maybe they do too.lol

 

[krs1071]

three years ago, we did a TON of research. We got the right age, right sex, how to introduce - everything. It took three years for them to be any closer than across the room - now they sleep on the same couch, in the same bed (granted they are still on opposite sides of said couch and bed). One thing we definitely followed, was if there was any trouble, we put our new kitten in a different room. Our resident cat had full run of the house when we brought the new one home - nothing changed there. I wish you all the best of luck with your cats, and hope that you get a bigger house soon. A one bedroom place is almost too small for two cats, let alone the number that you have - IMHO.

 

[catsarebetter]

Okay, I'm sort of an advocate for Liza here... IMO, the point here is to get the cats to all live together. If it doesn't work, one or more of the cats are going to get rehomed, and honestly, while it's not the opinion or the choice that other people here would make, ultimately what it comes down to is ... if she can't make it work then she's going to have to rehome cats. Period. Some kitty, no less deserving than another kitty, will have to find a new home. I also don't think it has anything to do with the breed.. she stated early on that it has to do with who is being the aggressor.

I don't think you need to talk to the vet about it more than you already have, unless it's to discuss medications. He's not going to be able to help with behavior. IMO, you need to talk to a behaviorist. Since they are slightly expensive, I'd personally try putting some of those soft paws on the attacking kitties, to avoid injuries to the newbies.. and then I'd probably try to use some of Kerry's techniques. A lot of similar situations to yours were covered in the thread I linked in earlier on.

One of the solutions offered there was to split up the two fighting kitties, not to scold, yell or otherwise give them any attention, positive or negative.. then put them in separate rooms for half an hour. There was another solution offered as well.. to me, if you want to look for it under my post in that thread.


There is also this, although I'm not certain whether it will help or not as it's about kitty aggression to an owner, but it does involve other animals, and it might be useful. http://www.thecatbehaviorist.com/ Click on the aggression tab.

 

[emmylou]

Since it has only been six weeks, I would hang in there... especially since you say that you'll be in a bigger house in only half a year.

I believe your vet is wrong in saying that if they don't get along now, they never will. Six weeks is nothing, in terms of new cats adjusting. You should expect it to take a few months for the cats to settle on a pecking order.

Even though the bathroom is small, the best course of action is to keep the new cats in there when you aren't around. They'll be fine in there... it's no great hardship. Then you can let all the cats mingle together, little by little, when you're there to make sure it goes well. It really helps cats adjust to each other when they are able to have some private time (and space) away from each other in between.

Eventually you'll be able to let them out longer and longer. And you'll be able to judge when they are all getting along well enough to be together permanently.

It also helps if the humans stay calm while the cats are interacting -- no yelling if they start to fight. Just quietly and firmly separate them back into their two areas.