How can I help my cat adjust to the new cat

[MoochNNoodles]

Wohoo!  I love positive updates!  

 

[stewball]

Two weeks is not long enough for some cats.  Cats have very unique personalities and are very territorial creatures.  I had to redo introductions from start to finish on my two after having them in the house together for months.  I am now going on almost one year of them living together and we still have spats here and there.  They just really do not like each other, but have learned to coexist. 

Introductions need to be done slowly and at the cats pace not the humans.  Slow down and give them time to adjust.

I had two cats who coexisted for 15 years.

 

[robicraig]

Hi there. Just read your thread & it's given us some relief. We adopted a 14 week old ginger tom a few weeks ago. We did the whole recommended introduction but our 7 year old black girl just wants away from him. She hisses & growls but doesn't try to attack him but we're getting guilty that Luna feels she has to stay out the living room & bedroom. She'll come in, see him & just want out again. Hopefully just a matter of time (fingers crossed). Glad your 2 are getting there. Craig

 

[shadowsrescue]

Hi there. Just read your thread & it's given us some relief. We adopted a 14 week old ginger tom a few weeks ago. We did the whole recommended introduction but our 7 year old black girl just wants away from him. She hisses & growls but doesn't try to attack him but we're getting guilty that Luna feels she has to stay out the living room & bedroom. She'll come in, see him & just want out again. Hopefully just a matter of time (fingers crossed). Glad your 2 are getting there. Craig

Welcome to the forums.  It would be best for you to start a new thread so you can get some ideas that pertain to your situation. 

How long did you take to do introductions?  Remember your sweet Luna has ruled the roost and now she has to share territory.  That is a huge adjustment.  My resident cat was 5 years old when I brought a ginger tom(!) into my home.  My resident cat was freaked.  Introductions took forever.  Unfortunately I rushed the steps and had to start all over.  It was very difficult to watch my sweet resident cat be afraid in his own home.  It took a solid year for all to be well between the two.  They are not buddies, but they do exist together. 

 

[robicraig]

Hi Shadows. I'll start a thread but thought I'd reply to yourself as well. We had an older boy who had to be put to sleep a couple of months before we decided to get a kitten. Although they were never buddies they coexisted quite happily so Luna has lived with a cat before. We took a couple of weeks with wee Jones mostly kept to one room with occasional access to the landing. We allowed them to smell each other on our hands etc & they were definitely aware of each other. After that there were short meeting with Jones in his box. Luna seems to get bothered when he wants to say hello so goes to the room we only let her in or she goes out. We are going to start putting Jones back in his room at night so hopefully Luna will spend more time around the house. Any other help from other people's experience is welcome. Mod note: This is robicraig's thread if you wish to offer any advice.

Thanks. Craig, Stef, Luna & Jones

 

[cbowdidge]

What's really interesting is looking t the dynamic between Merlin and Martini and comparing it to Sotches and Merlin. With Sotches, the two of them often jockeyed for dominance. Sotches was the dominant cat and MErlin would try to challenge him (unsuccessfully), however, with Merlin and Martini, there really isn't much interest in dominance. The two are best friends and equals. They take turns eating first and the other cat waits while one has his meal. Martini is a super sweetheart (as this new puppy is showing) and isn't the dominant type, neither is Merlin. They also play together, which is one of the main reasons why my sister got Martini, he was young and playful (he's about two) so a good match as a fur friend with Merlin.

Both cats get along will with Tucker (our new Havanese puppy), too. Now that he's growing up and calming down they seem to like him,