I have never introduced cats before - my last cat passed away a year ago, I had her since I was 5 and she was the only cat I knew. Shortly after she passed, I adopted 2 cats and luckily they got along almost immediately, it helped that one was a kitten.
Unfortunately I've had to move back in with my parents, who have their own cat (they just adopted her 2 months ago). I may be here for a while so it's important that they get along.
The resident kitty is a 1.5 year old female. I have a 2 year old female, and my other one is a 1 year old male. They are all spayed/neutered.
It's been 5 days now and this is how it's gone:
The first 2 days I kept them in my room, where they have their litterbox, food/water and cat trees.
For the last 3 days I would close Resident kitty's door and let mine explore the house, for a few hours.
Yesterday, I tried putting mine in a kennel so Resident kitty could inspect them, but mine get very upset being in a cage, and Resident kitty doesn't want to get near them, she stays a good distance away and hisses/growls. Mine don't reciprocate, they just seem very curious about her.
So, today I decided to leave Resident kitty in her room and put a gate at the door so that she can watch from afar. She still hisses and growls if they come to the gate, but she seems comfortable and isn't hiding under the bed like she was. I figure I will do this for a while everyday, and hopefully she will eventually take some interest in my cats and want to check them out.
I know everything online says I should do it the other way around, but Resident kitty is very shy and still pretty new to the household, so I think it's best to leave her in the room that she's comfortable in.
Does this seem like a good plan? Is there anything else I can be doing to help this process?
Unfortunately I've had to move back in with my parents, who have their own cat (they just adopted her 2 months ago). I may be here for a while so it's important that they get along.
The resident kitty is a 1.5 year old female. I have a 2 year old female, and my other one is a 1 year old male. They are all spayed/neutered.
It's been 5 days now and this is how it's gone:
The first 2 days I kept them in my room, where they have their litterbox, food/water and cat trees.
For the last 3 days I would close Resident kitty's door and let mine explore the house, for a few hours.
Yesterday, I tried putting mine in a kennel so Resident kitty could inspect them, but mine get very upset being in a cage, and Resident kitty doesn't want to get near them, she stays a good distance away and hisses/growls. Mine don't reciprocate, they just seem very curious about her.
So, today I decided to leave Resident kitty in her room and put a gate at the door so that she can watch from afar. She still hisses and growls if they come to the gate, but she seems comfortable and isn't hiding under the bed like she was. I figure I will do this for a while everyday, and hopefully she will eventually take some interest in my cats and want to check them out.
I know everything online says I should do it the other way around, but Resident kitty is very shy and still pretty new to the household, so I think it's best to leave her in the room that she's comfortable in.
Does this seem like a good plan? Is there anything else I can be doing to help this process?