Newcomer cat is aggressive towards resident cat...

[Julienyori]

Hi fellow cat people!

My man and I have a male cat who's about 5 years old, and has been with us for 4. He's a big cat and he's relatively calm save for the regular zoomies.

Now, we didn't really plan on getting a second cat but the cat distribution system delivered, and we fell in love with another male kitty, just about 1 year old. Both are neutered, the little one's procedure was about 2 weeks prior to us brining him home.

So, we read up a bit about intros, and separated them initially - old guy in living room, new guy in bedroom. New guy was very calm when we brought him in, didn't even try to hide or anything. However, he hissed at the door separating him and the older cat. About 3 days later, we let them see each other through a tiny opening of the door, and still, the new cat hissed. The resident was obviously afraid and backed off.

After a few more days, we slowly let them see more of each other, for short times. The hissing stopped and they tried sniffing each other, etc. We played with both of them together, gave treats and pets. We also ensured they have something of the other cat's to sniff so they could get used to each others scents.

Now we're at 2 weeks since we got the new cat and there's been fighting. It started out as playfull attempts from the young kitty to play - jumping, sniffing, running after the resident. Looked innocent enough, no explicit aggression. However, in the last 3-4 days they started to fight, with the new one getting vocal. Newbie bites oldie's neck, they have claws out, and they make themselves bigger. New kitty also chases resident when he tries to go away. Resident doesn't retaliate, but just runs away. When that happens we separate them, but then they start to meow through a door and I guess to look for each other. Doesn't it usually go the other way around? Resident cat chasing the newcomer and establishing dominance? We seem to have the reverse on our hands...

There's been some positive interactions as well, like them sleeping close to each other, eating together and sniffing without getting nervous, but the fighting discourages us and I'm worried we'll have to return the new kitten, which will honestly break my heart.

Is it too late to go back a few steps and start the introduction from the beginning? And how to calm down the new kitty so he gives the resident a chance to get to know him without fights? We've put feliway pheromone diffusers, one is the "friends" kind, and the other the "classic", but I'll order a second refill for the friends kind so both of them have it in theis rooms.

Thank you all in advance for whatever advice you might have. Anything will be appreciated!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! It never hurts to take a step or two back in an introduction process, and you don't always have to go back all the way to Step 1. But, from what you are describing, it would seem the newbie wants to play and when rebuffed by the resident, then it gets a bit ugly. Although, a lot of people do seem to think it is the resident cat that chasses the newbie, it all really depends on their personalities as to who does what. You have a calm resident who just doesn't want the play/physical part of a relationship with newbie. And, I don't know what you know about newbie's past that might attribute to his behavior. It is possible that newbie was never taught cat manners and doesn't understand how to play and your resident cat isn't the type to want to teach him, so you might have to.

Hormones could still be playing a role as it does take some time for them to dissipate after neutering.

I am not sure how this fighting occurs, since you said resident runs away. But, him running away could instigate a different level of interaction as newbie sees it as fun to chase him when he is escaping, not realizing the resident just wants to be left alone. Maybe a bit more information about what exactly transpires in their interactions - from start to finish - might help shed some light on possible solutions.

Two weeks isn't much time, so things could settle down the road. You could try distractions, like tossing a toy to newbie when he goes after resident so that he has something to play with. You probably also need to intervene when resident cat wants to get away by picking up newbie and letting resident find some place to decompress. That should also help newbie descompress as well.

I am sure other members will come along soon with some ideas as well. In the meantime, see if there is any helpful information in these TCS articles.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat [A Guide] - TheCatSite
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction - TheCatSite
How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight - Effective Techniques - TheCatSite

 

[Alldara]

Two weeks is a really speedy introduction. Definitely roll back and slow down

 

[Julienyori]

Thank you both so much for your input! We'll try to slow it down a bit and see where it goes.

The fighting usually occurs either when the newbie jumps on the residents back after chasing him, trying to bite on his back and neck and the resident swats him away or he just runs away...Or when the newbie just slowly crawls up to the resident, raises his paws and meows loudly. That's when they both start swatting at each other for a bit. And then the one-sided chasing starts again...

I'll definitely check those links you provided FeebysOwner ! Thank you very much

 

[Kwik]

Hi and welcome- congrats on your new addition

2weeks is far too soon so my advice is let's start over and I'll explain why and why your new child is the aggressor

When bringing in a new cat they must first feel the new unfamiliar place is a safe place and after roughly 30 days they've established the new place as their territory- now there are people who bring in new cats into multi cat households and it works out after a few scrimmages--- ??? Unecessary risks imo and we do our best to provide a safe loving home that makes the transition easiest on everyone,resulting in comfortable ,confident kitties that do not have to compete with one another to co-exist

Having Saud thst your new guy has no territory,thst makes a cat very anxious,defensive and they either avoid ( go hide) or confront and be aggressive- he has no territory and should be given a chance to establish one BEFORE introductions and he's not been given the time to do that

First things first,he is set up i n his own room- once he is calm,feels safe and established the room as his OWN territory he'll be ready for "scent " swapping before he will begin to expand that territory .... you'll have familiarized him of the scents and sounds beyond his territory before sight......

Does that make sense to you? Most importantly for a cats well being and in their best interest their territory is number one,relationships are of no interest to them - in a cats mind its competition,after they feel safe and confident they are curious to get to know other cats because they have no need to compete for anythjng----- during this time everyone should have there own food places,water,litter

Your residents intro at this point is sound,after a week or 2you can swap beds- let resident cat start to get used to new cats "stuff" with his scent on it well before sight---- they will hear each other and its quite enough for now

Helpful? Do you understand the reasons new cat is the aggressor? We are all here for you- some personalities are a bit more challenging than others but given patience and enough time cats always prefer to co- habitate peacefully and you don't have to consider anyone going anywhere but in their forever home- some kitties need alot of time to first establish an entire home ad their territory and to feel there is no need to compete for ANYTHING----- that's your job,providing what they both need and being patient

 

[JAL57]

No, it’s definitely not too late to start over. I have two cats, and that’s what I had to do. I listened to people who didn’t have cats and didn’t know what they were talking about, I rushed the introduction process and ended up with a nasty arm wound trying to protect my new cat from my resident cat.

Two weeks is way too quick. I know people who took a year to get two new cats acclimated to their resident cat. It really depends on the individual cats and their personalities. My little one has been with us over a year now, and the cats are finally starting to interact like buddies. But I still separate them with a gate much of the time.

There was a blog post on this website that said something really helpful about the reintroduction process: You’re basically trying to rewire the cats’ brains so they think “friend” instead of “foe.” And it takes time to rewire brains. Consider how long it takes you to change ingrained habits.

Try reading the blog post on here. There are also some good cat introduction videos online, including from Jackson Galaxy — although I found it’s not necessary or even advisable to follow his advice to stop free-feeding cats (unless they’re already on the chonky side, which mine are not). And I’ve been told the latest research shows cats need to feel secure about resources, so it’s better not to do mealtimes together when you’re introducing them.

But I have found it very helpful to give them treats (Churus) whenever they’re having supervised visitations through the gate. They look forward to seeing each other now. I’ve also heard you can try getting a soft goat hair brush and grooming each of them with it, which creates a shared scent and the sense of being part of a shared colony.

Good luck! Patience really pays off big-time.