- Joined
- Mar 26, 2015
- Messages
- 10
- Purraise
- 1
Backstory: During the cold snap (below-zero up here) around New Years, a small black cat (who we'd seen off and on in the neighborhood since last Spring) started to appear on our porch to eat. We put out a box and towel for her, because of the temperatures, and once she let me, I sat outside with her while she nibbled and she eventually crawled into my lap and let me pet her. The next night (NYE) we opened the door to feed her and she came trotting in like she owned the place. Long story short, we corralled her in a spare room away from the three resident cats while we tried to find her owner (unsuccessful). We took her to the vet to see if she was chipped, and since she wasn't, we wormed her and got her vaccinated and scheduled for a spay. She is estimated to be 2-3 years of age, and we have no idea how long she was outside, but she was obviously someone's cat at some point in the past (she knows about litter boxes and scratching posts). The vet told us (after she was de-wormed) that it was fine to let her meet the other cats, as she was desperately trying to get out of the room already and she was doing well interacting with my and hubster.
Other cats are 8 (female), 4 (male), and 3 (female). The 8-year-old is the head honcho (though the 4 year old gets a little uppity at times and has to be reminded of this), and she is very protective of "her" cats - just ask my parents' dog!
We started by letting the cats see each other through a small crack in the door (we'd already done the towel-switching-scents and all that good stuff), and once we felt it was safe, we started letting the door open so she could investigate. The 3-year-old is naturally skittish and hid, the 4-year-old was very curious (but she wanted nothing to do with him), and the 8-year-old was content to just watch. They had a few scuffles (our poor 8-year-old got herself a bloody nose one night after stalking the newcomer into a corner), but nothing serious. She was only allowed out with supervision, because we weren't sure how she'd react or how they'd react.
A few weeks ago, it was time for her spay surgery. Apparently, she was in heat (though she acted no different than she had the entire time she'd been inside - was she in heat the entire time?) and the surgery was more complicated than they anticipated, complete with sutures and 10 days in a cone of shame. She handled herself more gracefully than I would've, though she swatted at us a few times during the recovery process which I chalked up to a combination of pain/cone/sudden movements startling her due to lack of peripheral vision. The whole time she was coned, she was still trying to get out around the other cats. Once she was de-sutured and de-coned, we let her back out, but she and the other cats are still struggling to acclimate with each other. If one of the other cats walks across the floor, or the back of a couch, she wants to chase it. If she's sitting still being good, the other cats want to sniff her, and get whapped once she realizes they're there. Occasionally, the 8-year-old will take a swing at her, but usually the new girl is the aggressor. The new girl has even started to nip/swat at hubster and myself again since being back allowed out of "her room". She is still only allowed out with supervision, because I worry something will happen when we're not there to break it up.
So, all of that to ask this question: How can I achieve some sort of normalcy in my house again? How do I get the new girl to quit chasing and/or attacking the other cats? How do I get my resident cats to be comfortable around the new girl? All of my other cats I've had since they were very young, and integrating has never really been an issue as we've added critters, but none of them have had the new girl's "baggage". Mostly, I just don't want anyone getting hurt. Is it possible to integrate an older stray into a multi-cat household, or are we out of our minds?
Any help is appreciated!!
Other cats are 8 (female), 4 (male), and 3 (female). The 8-year-old is the head honcho (though the 4 year old gets a little uppity at times and has to be reminded of this), and she is very protective of "her" cats - just ask my parents' dog!
We started by letting the cats see each other through a small crack in the door (we'd already done the towel-switching-scents and all that good stuff), and once we felt it was safe, we started letting the door open so she could investigate. The 3-year-old is naturally skittish and hid, the 4-year-old was very curious (but she wanted nothing to do with him), and the 8-year-old was content to just watch. They had a few scuffles (our poor 8-year-old got herself a bloody nose one night after stalking the newcomer into a corner), but nothing serious. She was only allowed out with supervision, because we weren't sure how she'd react or how they'd react.
A few weeks ago, it was time for her spay surgery. Apparently, she was in heat (though she acted no different than she had the entire time she'd been inside - was she in heat the entire time?) and the surgery was more complicated than they anticipated, complete with sutures and 10 days in a cone of shame. She handled herself more gracefully than I would've, though she swatted at us a few times during the recovery process which I chalked up to a combination of pain/cone/sudden movements startling her due to lack of peripheral vision. The whole time she was coned, she was still trying to get out around the other cats. Once she was de-sutured and de-coned, we let her back out, but she and the other cats are still struggling to acclimate with each other. If one of the other cats walks across the floor, or the back of a couch, she wants to chase it. If she's sitting still being good, the other cats want to sniff her, and get whapped once she realizes they're there. Occasionally, the 8-year-old will take a swing at her, but usually the new girl is the aggressor. The new girl has even started to nip/swat at hubster and myself again since being back allowed out of "her room". She is still only allowed out with supervision, because I worry something will happen when we're not there to break it up.
So, all of that to ask this question: How can I achieve some sort of normalcy in my house again? How do I get the new girl to quit chasing and/or attacking the other cats? How do I get my resident cats to be comfortable around the new girl? All of my other cats I've had since they were very young, and integrating has never really been an issue as we've added critters, but none of them have had the new girl's "baggage". Mostly, I just don't want anyone getting hurt. Is it possible to integrate an older stray into a multi-cat household, or are we out of our minds?
Any help is appreciated!!