New cat introduced with resident cat (Trouble)

[aermoid]

A cat was given away by a friend so I took it, he said it was really friendly and liked to cuddle and stuff.
We brought it home along with all its stuff, litterbox, carrier, food plates, scratches pads and it's toys.

Now, as soon as it arrived, it stayed in the box for 5 minutes and began to explore.
Then the resident cat(my cat) noticed and came closer..
Immediately the new cat began to show aggressive behavior and began hissing and growling.
It ran away to its carrier to where it's stayed for 2 hours hissing and growling to whoever comes by.
I've put the litter box,it's dry food, water and some wet food near it.
I've also separated the two cats.
They are both neutered males.
What do I do now?
I really want them to get along..

 

[missriss]

You have to do a slow introduction with cats. Can't just plop them in a room and hope for the best. 

Easiest and most effective is to keep the newcomer in a separate room for a couple of days for adjustment. The resident will know something is going on. Feed both cats from opposite sides of the door at the same time. They will link food/reward/happy the each other's smell. I would get a baby gate and use that and the feeding method (start far from door and work closer).

With my cats we would put the resident cat in a room and let the new cat explore for an hour or so then put the new one back in their room. Also brining things that smell like each other (beds/ toys/ scratching things) helps the cats too.

It can be a really slow and steady process. Took 4 to 6 months for all the cats in my house to co-exist without fear.

Don't give up!

 

[aermoid]

Every time anyone gets near the new cat she hisses, I don't think she's even used her litterbox or ate her food.
This morning she went and explored a new room but still hisses. My resident cat sneaked out and played with her toys, sniffed her carrier and pooped in her litter box.

 

[mani]

MissRiss is quite right.  I takes time and patience to introduce cats, and patience.

We have a really good lot of information on how to do this.. have a look through it:

 [article="32680"]How To Successfully Introduce Cats The Ultimate Guide​[/article]  

 

[laura mae]

Your new cat had its home and life changed. It will be happier in a separate room for a while. It's easier to adapt to a new home if its first days are in a smaller, safe space where it is the only one there. 

The hissing and growling are because its afraid and doesn't really understand what happened. The growling between the cats is totally normal but you don't want it to come to blows. It could take quite a long time so the key will be to let them each be themselves, and not rush it. Maybe it will go fast, maybe it won't. It could take weeks. 

 

[aermoid]

He keeps hissing at anyone who comes near, should I just give him his food and litterbox and close the doors in his little room?
How would I know when to approach him?

 

[duncanmac]

He keeps hissing at anyone who comes near, should I just give him his food and litterbox and close the doors in his little room?
How would I know when to approach him?

Take this with a grain of salt - I have done ONE cat introduction (there's a thread here that I started that you can search for)

It takes time and every cat is different.  He is probably hissing because he is scared and nervous.  Put him in a "safe room" so that he can take ownership of that space.  What I did with my shy cat was just sit in the room for four days reading and talking to myself.  After two or three days he came out of hiding and stayed as far away from me as possible.  Another week of tossing treats at him got him to take treats out of my hands.  It was baby-steps all the way.

I read a lot of people's issues with new cats and introducing cats, and it really seems to boil down to time.  They have to come to trust you on their own terms at their own pace.  Its maddening because you follow all the advice and the videos and the forums - doesn't the cat know what he is supposed to do!!??

Oh secret weapon:  food.  Spend time at meal time with him.  Sit quietly for a while with the food bowl reasonably far away from you and after a day or two his stomach will win out over fear and he should eat around you.  He might run away as soon as you move, but each time he will come back to eat quicker.  You will slowly progress from "scary" to "neutral" to "dinner bell."

Its going to boil down to food, baby-talk, time and treats.