New Cat - Resident Cat Scared?

[katnisskitty]

My husband brought home a kitten he found starving at a local skate park. He bought it food, flea treatments, shampoo, etc. and she has been keeping camp in the bathroom until our resident cat (she is 1 year and 4 months old) gets used to her smell, etc. Today we did a trial run and placed new cat (Meredith) in a carrier and sat her in the living room so that resident cat (Katniss) could see what she has been smelling for the past two days.

Katniss kept her distance for a while and we slowly pushed the carrier closer to her. We offered her treats but she paid no mind  to them. There were a few hisses from Katniss but nothing insane, in fact she did well! (Also, this is the first time Katniss has seen another cat) So then we unzipped the carrier and allowed Meredith to fly a paw out. Katniss growled and hissed but didn't pounce. We eventually opened the carrier and let Meredith out. Katniss didn't pounce, just watched her.

Once Meredith started walking around, Katniss got a little hissy but no pouncing. Then when Meredith got closer to her, she hissed and ran off! By the end of it, Katniss ended up under the bed! She didn't stay under there though. As soon as we put Meredith back in her safe zone, Katniss came out and is currently investigating the areas.

I was wondering, why is Katniss scared? and what can we do to help her transition? We really want to keep Meredith and give her a forever home! Should we keep doing the supervised visits? Any suggestions on how to get these two acquainted without Katniss getting scared?

 

[katnisskitty]

Also, idk the exact age of Meredith, she is a bigger Kitten though maybe 3-5 months old. Going to vet tomorrow and will know more

 

[Ms. Freya]

Congratulations on your new addition!

I'm glad to hear she's going to the vet for a check up - there are things she could pick up outside, so you're going to want to get her a clean bill of health before trying for full-on introductions.

Katniss may just be a timid cat. Some cats simply take a long time to warm up to other cats. When we still had our Freya, she was fearless around people but terrified of other cats. Also, if either of them aren't spayed, Katniss could be feeling a bit territorial.

If you haven't already, you may want to take a look through this article - it has some great suggestions for helping introductions go smoothly:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/how-to-successfully-introduce-cats-the-ultimate-guide

Good luck! I'm sure they'll be getting along before long.

 

[katnisskitty]

Katniss is a little timid, yes. Loud noises get her (thunder, vacuum, flushing) and she will jump and run off. We always call her a scaredy cat lol. I was actually happy that she responded this way and not trying to hurt Meredith. The article is awesome! Thank you for for linking that! I have bought some peacekeeper from jackson galaxy's website also it should be here Wednesday and I'm hoping that will calm Katniss.
I'm glad the article mentioned something over than eating times to introduce the cats as well. Katniss could care less about food if she is scared or alert. Meredith is starving and will eat a can of food in 2 minutes if I let her lol. Also Meredith is not spayed and Katniss is. We will be spaying her after she gets her shots, etc. Here, cats have to have their rabies vaccine before they are spayed.

 

[katnisskitty]

something bad has happened! new cat just used katniss' liter box and now katniss' is ticked! I'm off to buy new litter and meredith is back in her safe zone once again. guess we nee dot take his a bit slower lol

 

[katnisskitty]

So we are trying the whole feed the cats with the door separating them thing from my cat from hell. Meredith is fine eating near Katniss but Katniss was so curious about the noises behind the door she ignored the food and investigated then backed off. I tried for 30mons to get her to eat near te door with no success, even changing the challenge lines with no success. Then, I went to the bathroom (where Merediths litter pan is ) to ge ready for the day and heard some noises. I looked down and Katniss was in the bathroom with me!!! She has refused to enter or go near the bathroom for three days due to Meredith! She sniffed around her litter box and food bowl and bed and rubbed up against my legs and walked off ! I am going to consider this a mini victory! I am going to try to get Katniss to eat near the door again when I get home from the vet with Meredith and see what happens. I think Katniss knows something is up, she is very curious

 

[Ms. Freya]

That's promising.

It sounds like if you take it slowly, they will eventually get used to each others presence.

Fingers crossed that they keep taking steps forward.