- Joined
- Jan 4, 2018
- Messages
- 2
- Purraise
- 1
Hello! I am hoping somebody might have some advice for me that I've not yet thought about.
In June my boyfriend and I adopted a 3 year old cat (Tallahassee, Tally for short) who was previously a stray. She had had a litter and was in foster care until her kittens were old enough to be adopted. In that time she also served as a surrogate mother for another litter of kittens whose mother was not well enough to nurse them. She is a total sweetheart, is not shy around new people, really affectionate and lovely. Given all of this info, we had begun to think about adopting a second cat after we had her for a
Fast forward to the beginning September and we are in the pet store picking up some food. They have shelter cats in the store and I fell in love with a tiny little male and we took him home and named him Pippin. We brought him directly into our spare room and set him up with all the supplies he'd need. We had done some research already about introductions so we knew about scent swapping, feeding by the door, etc.
We took it slow and did everything that most cat advice sites tell you. We did the scent swapping, feeding on opposite sides of the door, we had a makeshift baby gate set up so we could open the door and they could see each other. We kept Pip in his room and spent time with him in there while Tally had the run of the apartment. We did this from September - November and the whole time Tally had NO interest in Pip. When we opened the door with the baby gate, she would just hiss and run away. She was not curious about him in the slightest.
Towards the end of November, we started bringing Pip out and showing him to Tally, just for seconds at a time. She would just continue to hiss and run away. We did that for a while and then began taking Pip out and trying to play with both of them in our living room. We'd try to distract both of them with toys but Tally has never been into toys, so she would just hiss and growl, tolerating being in the same room with Pip for a few moments, and then she'd run away. Her body language never suggested any real distress. He ears never went flat and she never puffed up her fur, but she definitely had no interest in being in the same space.
In December, not really knowing what to do at this point, we just began letting Pip out of the room while we were at home and awake. He had also begun tearing up the carpet under the door in his room any time he was in there and we were home. Tally now hides constantly if Pip is not shut in his room. She won't come out to eat or use the litter box if Pip has the run of the apartment. She hides in our closet under a footstool. Pip will go in and sit by her and she will growl a little but they often sit together quietly for good stretches of time. She will swing at him if he gets too close but he seems to know to back away. Overall he does not push it. There isn't any violence and I would say they tolerate each other, but I am really concerned that she won't leave the closet. We have a litter box in there for her that she doesn't use if Pip is out. As soon as we put him in his room for the night she bolts out and uses the litter box in our bathroom and eats her food. If we even go near the door to Pip's room she runs into the closet.
I don't want Tally's life to be miserable and spent entirely in a dark closet. I would be fine if they weren't friendly but could coexist, or even if they totally avoided each other but she felt confident enough to come out of the closet. At this point I'm worried about trying to do a reintroduction, because Pip does not handle being closed in that room very well any more.
I'm sorry for this novel length question. Any advice is extremely appreciated.
In June my boyfriend and I adopted a 3 year old cat (Tallahassee, Tally for short) who was previously a stray. She had had a litter and was in foster care until her kittens were old enough to be adopted. In that time she also served as a surrogate mother for another litter of kittens whose mother was not well enough to nurse them. She is a total sweetheart, is not shy around new people, really affectionate and lovely. Given all of this info, we had begun to think about adopting a second cat after we had her for a
Fast forward to the beginning September and we are in the pet store picking up some food. They have shelter cats in the store and I fell in love with a tiny little male and we took him home and named him Pippin. We brought him directly into our spare room and set him up with all the supplies he'd need. We had done some research already about introductions so we knew about scent swapping, feeding by the door, etc.
We took it slow and did everything that most cat advice sites tell you. We did the scent swapping, feeding on opposite sides of the door, we had a makeshift baby gate set up so we could open the door and they could see each other. We kept Pip in his room and spent time with him in there while Tally had the run of the apartment. We did this from September - November and the whole time Tally had NO interest in Pip. When we opened the door with the baby gate, she would just hiss and run away. She was not curious about him in the slightest.
Towards the end of November, we started bringing Pip out and showing him to Tally, just for seconds at a time. She would just continue to hiss and run away. We did that for a while and then began taking Pip out and trying to play with both of them in our living room. We'd try to distract both of them with toys but Tally has never been into toys, so she would just hiss and growl, tolerating being in the same room with Pip for a few moments, and then she'd run away. Her body language never suggested any real distress. He ears never went flat and she never puffed up her fur, but she definitely had no interest in being in the same space.
In December, not really knowing what to do at this point, we just began letting Pip out of the room while we were at home and awake. He had also begun tearing up the carpet under the door in his room any time he was in there and we were home. Tally now hides constantly if Pip is not shut in his room. She won't come out to eat or use the litter box if Pip has the run of the apartment. She hides in our closet under a footstool. Pip will go in and sit by her and she will growl a little but they often sit together quietly for good stretches of time. She will swing at him if he gets too close but he seems to know to back away. Overall he does not push it. There isn't any violence and I would say they tolerate each other, but I am really concerned that she won't leave the closet. We have a litter box in there for her that she doesn't use if Pip is out. As soon as we put him in his room for the night she bolts out and uses the litter box in our bathroom and eats her food. If we even go near the door to Pip's room she runs into the closet.
I don't want Tally's life to be miserable and spent entirely in a dark closet. I would be fine if they weren't friendly but could coexist, or even if they totally avoided each other but she felt confident enough to come out of the closet. At this point I'm worried about trying to do a reintroduction, because Pip does not handle being closed in that room very well any more.
I'm sorry for this novel length question. Any advice is extremely appreciated.
