Ok..so I rescued this momma and kittens..and now..need advice

[katluver4life]

Thanks all for the continued input and support. I have decided that since there is no chance of any immediate rehoming is going to accure any time soon, to give it a try of just letting them sort things out as long as no true injury occurs. What have I got to lose, I can always just separate them again. Thanks again and I'll keep you posted on how it all goes. *crosses fingers*
 

 

[bigperm20]

The wrestling can look quite intense, but that's in their nature. Cat's skin is way tougher than ours. As long as there is no blood you should be ok.

If they do end up being integrated, watch out for the more dominant one, hogging all the food. In such a case you would need to feed them seperately, but only in such a case.

 

[katluver4life]

Ok today went pretty well. Though Cali chased my male around the house a couple of times, she did not appear very aggressive doing it. He seems to be making most of the noise, hissing and growling at her while he runs away. Her fur isn't even on end. Her tail is a bit puffy, thats it. Now with my female there was a different encounter. Got a few pics. You tell me, does she look like she's looking for a fight?

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• katluver4life
• Jan 30, 2013

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• katluver4life
• Jan 30, 2013

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• katluver4life
• Jan 30, 2013

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• katluver4life
• Jan 30, 2013

Mind you now my female (the one in the box) is hissing and growling when Cali gets too close and a few moments after these pics, Cali did just that and there was swatting exchanged, but Cali backed off and jumped down. No one was hurt. I am actually thinking that Cali wants them to run, just to be able to chase them.

 

[bigperm20]

LOL! That's just cat behavior sweetie. There going to be fine. The main signs to look for are arched backs with hair standing on end, "bared fangs", lots and lots of hissing, etc. Like I said if there's no blood there's no problem. All your little momma cat is doing is establishing herself within the pecking order. It sounds to me like your 2 existing cats are pretty submissive, so she may well be the "queen". Who's to say? They will work it out though.

Question: This will cost you a little bit of money but it could really help the process... Do you own a cat tree? The bigger (lots of levels and hidey holes) the better. Cats will show levels of dominance (IE who is the top cat) by whoever sits on the tallest point, and so on, and so forth. Cat trees can really help to establish a heirarchy quickly b/c of their many levels. The only problem is they are expensive. a good one costs at least $250.

I don't know if you have that kind of money available but if you don't you might try some shelving at different heights all around the house.
 

 

[bigperm20]

Oh I almost forgot. According to the body language in the pictures (and I'm no expert) Cali is trying to challenge your female cat who is currently the top cat as she is on the highest point (your dresser). Does your boy cat tend to follow his sister around a little bit? Is the sister in charge?

 

[katluver4life]

Yes we already have 2 cat trees and actually the male is more dominate of the 2. They seem to share well and to my eyes doesn't seem to be much of a pecking order between them. They each share the high spots pretty equally. BUT.. I do notice when playing, he'll stand down when Baby wants the toy herself. Guess thats a sign she's more dominant?
 

 

[bigperm20]

Most likely, but I'd be willing to bet your momma cat "will rule the roost" before too long

 

[katluver4life]

I am encouraged knowing Cali is not being "aggressive", but seems my cats don't know this and are refusing to "move" at all while she is out.  They won't come down or out of hiding to eat or anything. I did end up putting Cali away for the night. Only then did my kitties relax and resume normal behavior. I made up extra litter boxs and left them near where they are staying out of Cali's reach. Not sure putting Cali away is a good idea though. My cats may just get used to the idea that she'll be gone (back in her room) and just wait it out.
 

 

[bigperm20]

I think introducing them slowly is the best way to do it. I'd start with a few hours or more a day until they all feel more comfortable. Make sure you praise, treat, and shower everyone with treats during this process as well. Help them to see (just like w/ strangers) that this is a good thing by treating them.

 

[duckdodgers]

In the second two pictures she looks more inquisitive than anything.  While I would still watch them very closely, if any serious damage were to happen I would imagine that they already would have tried it.  While my situation is different (introducing a young kitten to 17 year old) I have noticed that they go through bouts where they hiss and swat at each other and the older cat gets upset.  This passes relatively quickly though.  Stella (kitten) used to cower and act afraid when Alafair would lash out at her, but she has become more confident over time.  Your cats will learn that the threat is not as great as they perceive it.  Until you are comfortable that they can live together harmoniously I would keep Cali separated when you can't watch them.  I keep my kitten in my bedroom when I'm away and asleep, but I gradually worked my way to where I leave the doors open for the most part while I'm present.  You're making progress, so I would keep trying!

 

[sadiemaekitty]

I think things will be fine. From the pictures to me Cali looks like shes testing the waters with the female. I had a similar situation when introducing a 2 yr old male (Rascal) to my first three cats. It took a few months and we were ready to give up and rehome him. But we decided to just let them out together and pray. lol. They had alot of stand offs but no actual fighting. Also Taffi the oldest female would hide like yours. She wouldn't come out for anything until we put Rascal up. But after a few days I thought it would be best not to put him up anymore. And when she realized this, she came out, slowly... They will come out when they are hungry enough, and I believe that at that point things should be okay. You may have a few more weeks of occasional stand-offs or "arguments" but they will establish their order of dominance in time. Good Luck! And I also wanted to say that I applaud you for rescuing Cali and her kittens.
 

 

[katluver4life]

I agree that if she had wanted to hurt them it would have happened by now. I think she is just trying to find "her place" lol. I really thought she was being aggressive this whole time when she'd chase them. Now I know the signs, and she just isn't showing them. Now it's just getting the other 2 to realize they're not going to get hurt. Since the swatting event between the females, Cali has not tried to upsurp Baby. In fact I think she is deferring to her as the dominant. Big step today was Cali finding Baby on ground level and NOT chasing her when Baby went to her high place! HUGE step. Cali went near her under the bed, Baby gave her warning, and was able to turn her back on Cali and walk away without incident! OMG that's HUGE for whats been happening here LOL. But I will still put Cali in her room at night, give the other 2 all my love and attention, it's their usual playtime with me too.

Thanks so much to you all for all the input and suggestions. I don't know what I'd done without it. I'm sure I'll need more of it and will keep you posted on progress and more pics hopefully.
 

 

[katluver4life]

Ok things just wouldn't work out. My cats were simply terrified of her and she, though not aggressive, just bullied them to where they were not allowed on the floor. She had my male hiding in my bottom cupboard and my female could not leave any high area she parked herself. So...the good news is we found her a nice new home. Very nice retired man who lost his friend about a year ago to old age. She had been 20! And was now ready to have a new friend. He is also welcoming us to visit her at any time. It broke my heart to let her go, but I didn't see any other choice as it was so unfair to my kitties to feel so stressed at even the thought of Cali being out roaming the house. Thanks to everyone for all your input and help in my effort to keep Cali.
 

 

[bigperm20]

Ok things just wouldn't work out. My cats were simply terrified of her and she, though not aggressive, just bullied them to where they were not allowed on the floor. She had my male hiding in my bottom cupboard and my female could not leave any high area she parked herself. So...the good news is we found her a nice new home. Very nice retired man who lost his friend about a year ago to old age. She had been 20! And was now ready to have a new friend. He is also welcoming us to visit her at any time. It broke my heart to let her go, but I didn't see any other choice as it was so unfair to my kitties to feel so stressed at even the thought of Cali being out roaming the house. Thanks to everyone for all your input and help in my effort to keep Cali.

 

Congrats on finding her a new home. Sometimes, that's the only option as some cats just hate other cats. Good luck with the 2 u have.