Issues Introducing Resident And New Cat

[Greedy Lizard]

We have a female resident cat named Coconut whom we have had for quite a long time. She came with the house we live in so her age is not certain, but she is definitely elderly at this point. A month or two ago we managed to trap a young male feral cat that we had seen in our neighborhood frequently, brought him to the vet to get neutered, and afterwards put him up in one of our attic rooms to let him recover and see if he could become friendly. He turned out to be very playful and friendly once he got over the initial shock, although poorly socialized (still working on teaching him to not swat people), and we named him Keats. We eventually left the door to his room open, and he didn't REALLY come out for a while, but a week or two ago he learned the delight of hanging out with people, and now follows me around almost obsessively. The resident cat usually liked to hang out with me the most, so she was rather upset by this turn of events. Coconut has been hiding under my brother's bed and almost never coming out except for food and using the litter box. We have had several issues with the cats peeing and pooping outside of litter boxes though. Keats has stopped with some more convenient litter box placement, but Coconut just today ended up urinating and pooping under my brother's bed, which makes me nervous that she is too scared to come out. She tends to run away after tensely staring whenever she sees Keats, so I think he terrifies her. We just moved Coconut to my mom's room, which has more space and had an attached bathroom where a litter box can be placed, but I don't know what to do to get them tolerant of each other. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[abyeb]

It can take some time and patience to introduce cats, but it definitely can be done. There are some standard introduction steps that you can take, which are nicely outlined in this article: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

 

[ArtNJ]

You can try calming products like Feliway Multicat which is a spray that comes in a dispenser. There are also various calming collars. YMMV though.

You haven't mentioned how Keats is acting towards Coconut, makes it a little hard to put everything in context.

A formal introduction process involves a few things that you didn't really do, links below. You might need to back up and do that; no guaranty it will help, but its worth a shot.

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

Given where Coconut is at right now, its likely not going to be quick or easy, but generally time does improve things if there is no actual fighting. Still, there are no guaranties, and improvement may not go all the way to toleration.

 

[ArtNJ]

Also, did you take Keats to the vet, and is he neutered? Important to do that ASAP if not already done. If Keats' aggression is part of the problem, it could be a big help. If Keats is spraying urine, could also help.

 

[Greedy Lizard]

Keats sometimes stares back at her, but by and large seems to ignore her presence. There was one time where they were both staring at each other and both bolted at the same time, scaring each other even more. Beside that, not much of a reaction at all from him. The links seem helpful though, I didn't see all of these tips when I looked it up before. Sorry if some details were vague in the original post, I didn't want to create a wall of text, haha.

 

[Greedy Lizard]

Just to be clear, neither of them have acted aggressive towards each other. Coconut seems fearful and Keats seems oblivious (he's like that in general). Coconut used to be extremely timid when we first got her, to the point where she would run away if we were petting her outside and a car went by on the distant road. She also never liked the 2 guinea pigs or the rat I used to have, and would run away from them usually, so I think in general she isn't fond of other animals.