Hello all,
I'm quite at my wit's end, and I would greatly appreciate any help in a matter I am having between my new female cat and my existing resident male cat.
To start with some background information, I have had my male cat (Fred) for about eight months, and he is a great little guy at eight years old. When I went to the local shelter, I found an additional new little friend (Dusty) who is a seven years old female. Fred's personality is more reserved and prefers to be left alone, while Dusty does crave attention from others.
Jump to today, and the two are fighting and hissing at each other all the time. In most cases, Dusty (the new cat) will either swipe at Fred when he's near or in some cases will stalk him. The male cat (who is ironically larger, but walks away from confrontation) is visibly upset and is tired of Dusty being in the house. I believe it may have started out as Dusty trying to be playful by pouncing on him but this has quickly devolved. It is now to the point where they will either avoid or straight out swipe at each other. I believe Fred may have even drawn a bit of blood from Dusty's forehead due to a scratch.
I'm quite unsure what to do besides separating them and attempting to reintroduce them, but I have heard that once cats draw blood - it is over. Does anyone have any advice? I love both of them so much, and Dusty is a real cuddler at night, but Fred is my original little guy, and my heart breaks to see him this way.
Does anyone have any advice? And since the cats have drawn blood, is there any possibility of fixing the situation? I would hate to bring Dusty back to the shelter, but my top priority is our resident cat.
I'm quite at my wit's end, and I would greatly appreciate any help in a matter I am having between my new female cat and my existing resident male cat.
To start with some background information, I have had my male cat (Fred) for about eight months, and he is a great little guy at eight years old. When I went to the local shelter, I found an additional new little friend (Dusty) who is a seven years old female. Fred's personality is more reserved and prefers to be left alone, while Dusty does crave attention from others.
Jump to today, and the two are fighting and hissing at each other all the time. In most cases, Dusty (the new cat) will either swipe at Fred when he's near or in some cases will stalk him. The male cat (who is ironically larger, but walks away from confrontation) is visibly upset and is tired of Dusty being in the house. I believe it may have started out as Dusty trying to be playful by pouncing on him but this has quickly devolved. It is now to the point where they will either avoid or straight out swipe at each other. I believe Fred may have even drawn a bit of blood from Dusty's forehead due to a scratch.
I'm quite unsure what to do besides separating them and attempting to reintroduce them, but I have heard that once cats draw blood - it is over. Does anyone have any advice? I love both of them so much, and Dusty is a real cuddler at night, but Fred is my original little guy, and my heart breaks to see him this way.
Does anyone have any advice? And since the cats have drawn blood, is there any possibility of fixing the situation? I would hate to bring Dusty back to the shelter, but my top priority is our resident cat.
