Hi everyone. Like many other other cat owner I'm having trouble introducing a new cat to the household. I'll give the background of each cat and what has transpired and then ask some questions.
The resident cat is "Mack", a 8 year-old neutered male with no health issues. I've had him since he was 7 days old, so he was not socialized as other cats commonly are. About 4 fours ago I attended a college that allowed cats. My room-mate did not have a cat, but the door was open for 6-8 hours spans of time and other cats would come and go. He did well with the other cats, there was one pushy "alpha" cat he did not like. Overall he is a laid back guy, he does get the crazies occasionally (he and I have an animated form of hide-and-seek that we play together).
The new cat is a now 5 month-old female kitten, she was spayed 2 weeks ago. "Eris" was abandoned at about 5 weeks old, I adopted her from the animal hospital that she was brought into and that I work at. She is a very active kitten and does not take discipline well. I do *not* hit her, but firm "No's" and scruffing are ineffective. I do what I can prevent her from having an opportunity and hope that she grows out of it. This is not my main concern, I'm just stating everything that may be pertinent.
Eris first came home the end of March. She was immediately placed in my very small bathroom as quarantine and to begin introducing Mack to the idea gradually. He reacted as expected, fearful and defensive. She remained in the bathroom for about 2 weeks then I barricaded the kitchen and gave her a few weeks in there. Mack was able to go in and out of the kitchen. He was nervous around her, but not aggressive and appeared to be coming more tolerant of her. About a month and a half after initially bringing her home I let them loose together. They were fine for nearly another month, chasing and playing with each other. Then Mack started becoming upset, growling when he had to walk by her and not wanting her to approach him. This is a speculation: I think they were playing and Eris hurt him (even baby teeth hurt in the right areas!). Even when play-fighting, he was not overly aggressive/rough with her, while she *really* got into it. After that it spiraled until I felt the need to separate her when I left. It had reached the point where if he saw her he would try to bully her away and yowl. I'm a technician, I've worked with cats for a long time and I know what a playing cat and what a I'm-thinking-of-taking-a-chunk-out-of-you cat sounds like.
She was placed in my bedroom. If she stood in front of the door he would approach and attempt to reach under the door, while growling and hissing. He did not display any of the wary curiosity from when she was in the bathroom. Since then she has been spayed and placed back in the bathroom, mostly because Mack loves coming under the covers with and he hadn't been able to do that.
So, right now Eris is in the bathroom, which she is trashing everyday (it's really gross getting up at 3:17 in the morning to pee and stepping into a crunchy pile of cat litter). Mack is slightly more tolerant of her in the bathroom versus the bedroom. He will sit and quietly watch if he can see her shadow, if she cries to come out or sticks her paw under the door he will growl and swat at her.
He is a wearing a pheromone collar and feliway plug-ins have been running since she initially came home. For the past month he has been getting composure chews (anxiety supplement from work). He is very treat oriented and I've started to clicker train him (it's fun to do and it takes his mind of his sister)... he's doing well, I'm impressed.
From what I've read I should treat this as a brand-new reintroduction. Even with her in a separate room he can becomes agitated, so I'm not sure what to do/try next.
Any suggestions? If you give a suggestion, can you please give me the rationale behind it... I've heard some really weird advice from fellow pet owners before.
The resident cat is "Mack", a 8 year-old neutered male with no health issues. I've had him since he was 7 days old, so he was not socialized as other cats commonly are. About 4 fours ago I attended a college that allowed cats. My room-mate did not have a cat, but the door was open for 6-8 hours spans of time and other cats would come and go. He did well with the other cats, there was one pushy "alpha" cat he did not like. Overall he is a laid back guy, he does get the crazies occasionally (he and I have an animated form of hide-and-seek that we play together).
The new cat is a now 5 month-old female kitten, she was spayed 2 weeks ago. "Eris" was abandoned at about 5 weeks old, I adopted her from the animal hospital that she was brought into and that I work at. She is a very active kitten and does not take discipline well. I do *not* hit her, but firm "No's" and scruffing are ineffective. I do what I can prevent her from having an opportunity and hope that she grows out of it. This is not my main concern, I'm just stating everything that may be pertinent.
Eris first came home the end of March. She was immediately placed in my very small bathroom as quarantine and to begin introducing Mack to the idea gradually. He reacted as expected, fearful and defensive. She remained in the bathroom for about 2 weeks then I barricaded the kitchen and gave her a few weeks in there. Mack was able to go in and out of the kitchen. He was nervous around her, but not aggressive and appeared to be coming more tolerant of her. About a month and a half after initially bringing her home I let them loose together. They were fine for nearly another month, chasing and playing with each other. Then Mack started becoming upset, growling when he had to walk by her and not wanting her to approach him. This is a speculation: I think they were playing and Eris hurt him (even baby teeth hurt in the right areas!). Even when play-fighting, he was not overly aggressive/rough with her, while she *really* got into it. After that it spiraled until I felt the need to separate her when I left. It had reached the point where if he saw her he would try to bully her away and yowl. I'm a technician, I've worked with cats for a long time and I know what a playing cat and what a I'm-thinking-of-taking-a-chunk-out-of-you cat sounds like.
She was placed in my bedroom. If she stood in front of the door he would approach and attempt to reach under the door, while growling and hissing. He did not display any of the wary curiosity from when she was in the bathroom. Since then she has been spayed and placed back in the bathroom, mostly because Mack loves coming under the covers with and he hadn't been able to do that.
So, right now Eris is in the bathroom, which she is trashing everyday (it's really gross getting up at 3:17 in the morning to pee and stepping into a crunchy pile of cat litter). Mack is slightly more tolerant of her in the bathroom versus the bedroom. He will sit and quietly watch if he can see her shadow, if she cries to come out or sticks her paw under the door he will growl and swat at her.
He is a wearing a pheromone collar and feliway plug-ins have been running since she initially came home. For the past month he has been getting composure chews (anxiety supplement from work). He is very treat oriented and I've started to clicker train him (it's fun to do and it takes his mind of his sister)... he's doing well, I'm impressed.
From what I've read I should treat this as a brand-new reintroduction. Even with her in a separate room he can becomes agitated, so I'm not sure what to do/try next.
Any suggestions? If you give a suggestion, can you please give me the rationale behind it... I've heard some really weird advice from fellow pet owners before.
