My new kitty and my old kitty ren't getting along very well. I guess If I have to drug them up to make them friends I will. I've heard good things abnout feliway COmfort Zone, whatdo you guys think. I don't want my old kitty to be too stresssed out.
The new guy, Ripper, has only been here since Sunday night. Angus likes to hiss and spit at him, and they both have batted at eachother once but no huge cat fights have erupted. I have the new one lin the bathroom when I'm not home, do you think I should keep him there when I'm not home, or just let him out and hope all fares well? Thanks for the help and encouragement!Originally Posted by Andrea77
Hey.. how long has the new cat been there? There is usually a big situation for a couple days.. hiding, spitting, hissing and then it calms down and then its still a bit wierd for a couple weeks.. I have introduced adult neutured male cats to one another many times in my life, and I have NEVER seen it not work out. There will be a dominant cat, but they learn to live together. I say give it time! I am also interested in Feliway zone though.. I want to hear the testimonies.
SOmethign about rubbing vanilla on the back of both cats tails and neck so they smell the same.Originally Posted by huggles
whats this vanilla trick?
*just getting prepared if I decided to take in another baby*
Do you think it's too late to try the vanilla trick/blanket thing and otehr tips covered in that article?Originally Posted by Andrea77
HI, you are in the "SITUATION" phase.. give it time.. yeah.. I would leave him there for now because if you aren't there to break it up, it could be bad and one of them could get hurt and it could cost money. There is a good article on this site about introducing cats with blankets under doors, check it out!!
They ae'n't fighting but Angus (The older one) does growl and hiss.Originally Posted by patc
It's hard to say if you ruined their chances of being friends. I once brought a stray home and plunked him down at my female cat's food bowl. She hated him until the day she died at 17 yrs old.
Other cats may not mind. How are yours acting now?
If your cats are showing signs of aggression, then back up and start all over again and do it slowly this time.
Good luck!
Thanks :-)Originally Posted by LDG
Crescendo, because you figured out how to log back in as "Crescendo" and don't need to use "silentcrescendo" anymore, and there are two threads on the same topic, I'm going to merge them together for you.
Thank you! I will definately buy the feliway plug-in then.Originally Posted by LDG
No, I don't think it's too late, and I would keep him in the bathroom while you're gone for at least a while longer until you're sure they're getting along. The most important thing, apart from getting them used to each others' scent, is to have them associate each others' smell with good things. So while you're out for the day, leave a hand towl or something that's been rubbed all over the other cat underneath their respective food bowls. Since they've already been together(ish) while you're home, I see no reason to change this, as long as you're there to break up any serious fighting where claws come out. Fluffed tails, ears back are OK - so long as it doesn't progress from there.
The fighting is natural until an alpha is established and the other one accepts it. It can take a few days or a few weeks.
But even once they're both out and around all the time, make sure you have some play time with just one of them at a time (alone in a bedroom or something). Also, give your "original" kitty some extra love. Acknowledge him first, give him treats first - stuff like that to reassure him he's still your guy.
As to the Feliway. We started with one kitty, then rescued and brought inside his brother just a week later. They fought like the dickens for a couple of hours, but that was it. We brought in various kitties over time months after that - some were fosters, and three others became pets. But somewhere along the line we brought in Spooky, who was aggressively mean to new introductions. We live in an RV, so don't have the ability to separate anything other than very tiny kitties when we introduce new cats to our home. We bought both the Feliway spray and the Plug-in system. We almost doused the house with the spray (it gets sprayed on walls and furniture at cat cheek level, and it doesn't stain), and plugged in the other one. It made a real difference. There was still hissing and hitting, but living in such a small place it was so easy to see that overall the level of tension did dramatically drop.