Our neighbor upstairs found a stray a few days ago but couldn't keep it. According to the vet the cat is 7 lbs, and is about 6 or 7 months old. She has been in heat although it is calming down today. He said that cats are actually more submissive when in heat (making it a good time to introduce the cat to our other 2), but I have heard the opposite. Does anyone have experience with this?
We already have Paddy, an 11 month old cat that is about 10-11 lbs, and Teddy, an 8 month old cat that is probably only 5 lbs.
At first, there was a lot of hissing and growling from the new cat when our 2 would go near the bathroom door. She quickly became curious and from the moment we took her in, Teddy was trying to meet her. Teddy is VERY friendly, and I've never seen her hiss (until today).
The first time I let the new cat explore, Paddy followed her everywhere and kept hissing, while the new cat tried to ignore and continue exploring, trying to avoid confrontation. Today I decided to try again and this time put Paddy in another room so that Teddy (who is much more friendly) could meet the new cat without Paddy hissing at her.
They actually played chase a little bit, but this cat seems to play MUCH more rough with Teddy than Paddy does with Teddy. In fact, she was swatting at Teddy so hard Teddy hissed (the first time I've ever seen it happen). However, when Paddy plays to rough Teddy usually makes a squeeking noise and runs away, but she didn't do this, she just hissed. Afterwards, every time the new cat came near Teddy she backed away.
Is this new cat trying to dominate Teddy, or is it likely that she just doesn't really know how to play without getting too rough?
I'm very nervous about letting them interact more if this behavior is a warning sign that this new cat doesn't know how to live well with other cats. Teddy has never showed signs of aggression, and has been trying to play with the new cat since we took her in. But this cat got so rough Teddy actually stopped wanting to play, and even started walking away every time this cat came near Teddy.
Paddy was able to open the door after about 20 minutes, and she hissed at the new cat. The cat hissed back, so Paddy hissed once more and lifted a paw (but from about 2 feet away) and the new cat just walked away. Paddy then just kept following her from room to room, hissing when the new cat got near a toy, and would then just lay down where she could keep an eye on the new cat.
Should I take more time to keep the new cat in the bathroom? Does it sound like I'm letting them interact too soon? This new cat shows no fear of the sounds in our apartment, and no fear of our cats that already live here. She ignores Paddy's hisses, and just keeps exploring, rather than retreating to her "safe room" or bathroom where we've been keeping her since Friday.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? I'd really like this cat to work out, especially since Teddy is around the same age as this cat I hoped they would get along, but it seems like this cat may be too big/rough for her.
We already have Paddy, an 11 month old cat that is about 10-11 lbs, and Teddy, an 8 month old cat that is probably only 5 lbs.
At first, there was a lot of hissing and growling from the new cat when our 2 would go near the bathroom door. She quickly became curious and from the moment we took her in, Teddy was trying to meet her. Teddy is VERY friendly, and I've never seen her hiss (until today).
The first time I let the new cat explore, Paddy followed her everywhere and kept hissing, while the new cat tried to ignore and continue exploring, trying to avoid confrontation. Today I decided to try again and this time put Paddy in another room so that Teddy (who is much more friendly) could meet the new cat without Paddy hissing at her.
They actually played chase a little bit, but this cat seems to play MUCH more rough with Teddy than Paddy does with Teddy. In fact, she was swatting at Teddy so hard Teddy hissed (the first time I've ever seen it happen). However, when Paddy plays to rough Teddy usually makes a squeeking noise and runs away, but she didn't do this, she just hissed. Afterwards, every time the new cat came near Teddy she backed away.
Is this new cat trying to dominate Teddy, or is it likely that she just doesn't really know how to play without getting too rough?
I'm very nervous about letting them interact more if this behavior is a warning sign that this new cat doesn't know how to live well with other cats. Teddy has never showed signs of aggression, and has been trying to play with the new cat since we took her in. But this cat got so rough Teddy actually stopped wanting to play, and even started walking away every time this cat came near Teddy.
Paddy was able to open the door after about 20 minutes, and she hissed at the new cat. The cat hissed back, so Paddy hissed once more and lifted a paw (but from about 2 feet away) and the new cat just walked away. Paddy then just kept following her from room to room, hissing when the new cat got near a toy, and would then just lay down where she could keep an eye on the new cat.
Should I take more time to keep the new cat in the bathroom? Does it sound like I'm letting them interact too soon? This new cat shows no fear of the sounds in our apartment, and no fear of our cats that already live here. She ignores Paddy's hisses, and just keeps exploring, rather than retreating to her "safe room" or bathroom where we've been keeping her since Friday.
Does anyone have any suggestions or advice? I'd really like this cat to work out, especially since Teddy is around the same age as this cat I hoped they would get along, but it seems like this cat may be too big/rough for her.