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I've got a cat introduction question. Two weeks ago I adopted an awesome kitten. Did a bunch of reading (thanks thread page 1!) before bringing her home in regards to introducing her to my other 1.5 year old cat. I set up a spare room with a litter box, food, water, scratch post, toys, etc. I also set up a Feliway multicat diffuser about a week before as well. Brought the kitten home and immediately put her in the safe room. My resident cat was extremely not cool with this, as expected, and wouldn't go by the safe room door for a couple days, and then would growl/hiss when she got closer. Totally normal there so no big deal. I kept the kitten completely separate and switched their bedding daily, swapped their rooms, etc. Things were going awesome until my resident cat broke into the safe room and backed the kitten into a corner. I got in there and removed resident cat pretty quickly and nobody got hurt or anything, but it understandably spooked the kitten and caused her to hiss a bit when resident cat came on the other side of the door. That lasted a day or two. Since then they've both been super chill, swat each other under the door and resident cat looks for the kitten and sits outside the safe room pretty much all the time (except when she is screaming for food or play). I got this big mesh baby gate thing that attaches to a door and started allowing some visual peeks at each other while eating. This is going very well and there's no hissing or growling. I usually spend this time on the same side as resident cat and give her treats and pets and she seems quite chill. I think I'm at the point where I can introduce them without the barrier but I'm kinda scared that resident cat will chase down / go after the kitten again. I could always give it a few more days or a week or something but I feel like they're both as calm as they can be when they are face to face. Thoughts? Give it some more time or give it a shot? I just don't want to have an issue where either one of them decides to go "nope hate that bitch" for good.
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Nov 27, 2019 20:27
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 11:36 |
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Ok cool. When I adopted the resident cat I lived with my ex who had a 5 year old cat so I'm familiar with the process and how that worked out, but just don't want to traumatize one or both. Most likely an unfounded fear I suppose. I swapped their rooms a bit ago and both are now sleeping in each others sleeping spots. When they both wake up I think I'll play the poo poo out of them and maybe try when they're tired and calm.
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Nov 27, 2019 20:38
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Update: it went fairly well. The kitten seems to be the hissy bitchy one and basically hid under my coffee table while resident cat sniffed and took swats at her. There was no chasing or brawling so I'll call that a success. I'm going to keep feeding and playing with them on opposite sides of the barrier for a while longer but add in more of these supervised visits. Thanks all!
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Nov 28, 2019 14:38
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TMMadman posted:Like you will know when there is a serious issue because one of your cats will literally sound like it's been taken over by an alien, although it can be a little harder with a kitten who can't be as loud. I mean, the kitten flops on her side and SCREAMS when the older one tries to sniff her and investigate. It gets better after a few minutes though.
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Nov 29, 2019 18:04
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Deteriorata posted:Chasing and brawling are actually good, as those are a form of play. Posted a few pages ago about my resident cat (June) being a dick to my new kitten (Mila) and wanted to give an update. I've gone back to keeping them separated for the time being, aside from feeding them on opposite sides of stacked baby gates. This past Sunday I got home late from hockey and gave them a midnight snack on each side of the gate. Turned around for half a second and the Mila climbed up and over the two gates. June saw her from about 20 feet away, got all poofed and went full low cat mode. Mila ran under the coffee table and June ran over and basically started attacking her under the table. There was much yowling/screaming but no blood. I got them separated and put June back in the bedroom. Came back out, comforted Mila for a minute and checked for any wounds, then went to check on June. Both were fine. Came back out and Mila was back in kitten mode, rolling around kitty kicking her stuffed hedgehog. However, when I looked over by the battleground I found a small turd. June literally scared the poo poo out of Mila. They've been separated like I described since then and their interactions by the gates is fine. Mila ignores June for the most part. June stares a lot and will occasionally stand up against the gate and all that. Against the advice of everyone I got a cat bed a while back that June literally never touched. Mila's been sleeping in it in her safe room. When I swap them around, June now sleeps in that bed and will spend most of the night sleeping outside the safe room door. Basically what I'm saying is that I think I am being wayyyyy too cautious and should maybe let them dance a bit, as long as there's no blood?
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Dec 6, 2019 22:57
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TMMadman posted:Yes. Let them sort it out. They will figure their respective places and moods soon enough. Rotten Red Rod posted:This is gonna keep happening as long as you continue to separate them most of the time. They're past the phase of introduction now, they need to figure out how to live with each other full time. It worked! June was fine and just super curious. Mila is a bit scared still and a bit jumpy but they're totally fine. Thank you guys for alleviating my anxiety.
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Dec 7, 2019 04:40
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I posted a bit ago with a couple questions about integrating my new cat after my resident cat broke in the safe room, cornered and kinda attacked the kitten. Things are going well now! They can spend time in the same room (supervised) and the resident cat is no longer in bitch mode and happily trills and chirps and runs to the kitten when I let her out into the rest of the apartment. I did talk to the vet and she prescribed a low dose of cat Prozac for the older one. We’ve been on that a little over 2 weeks and i can’t be sure it’s the reason things are better but it seems to be taking effect. Problem now is that the kitten is still somewhat afraid of the older one because of a couple of those attacks. She kind of hisses, swats and cowers a bit when she gets sniffed most of the time. Other times she looks like she’s about to do some play wrestling but then gets spooked. The resident totally takes this in stride and walks away without any issue. I’ve been doing joint play / treat sessions with them a few times a day for 15-20 minutes and it seems to be helping. Is that the proper procedure in this case? Keep doing fun stuff and handing out treats to both of them until peace happens?
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Jan 18, 2020 02:07
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That’s pretty much what I’m doing today and this weekend. The older one just really wants to play with the little one but we aren’t quite there yet. Older cat did spend a couple mins grooming the other one with no issues. Things are looking up! E: in the course of like 8 hours the small one has become the bold one and is now launching kitten attacks at the resident. I think we’re good. Thanks to you all for soothing my anxiety. SixPabst fucked around with this message at 02:51 on Jan 19, 2020 |
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Jan 18, 2020 21:00
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Organza Quiz posted:I'd just try letting them out whenever you're home/awake and seeing how it goes. If the adult cat isn't bullying the kitten then they should be fine. They just played for a good two hours and now they're curled up together in the sun on the couch. Most stressful two months ever and I can't believe that it's finally over.
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Jan 20, 2020 22:04
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Agent355 posted:More cat feeding questions. Feed wet food on a schedule?
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Jan 21, 2020 00:35
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Organza Quiz posted:That's so great to hear! We will all need pictures as proof though please understand I really wanted to snag a pic of that the other day but my phone was in the bedroom and I knew if I got up to get it they’d move. I’ll post one the next time I catch em snoozing.
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Jan 22, 2020 01:39
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TofuDiva posted:Smaller can sounds right. I found that my cats could enjoy and keep down a half of a 3-1/2 ounce can, but not more at any one time. Same. Any more than that and they won't eat it and it gets gross and I end up wasting it. I just feed them 3 times a day instead of two. The one also goes absolutely ballistic for tuna juice. Will absolutely not touch the flakes but screams for the sweet nectar of the sea when a can of tuna gets opened.
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Jan 24, 2020 19:44
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Fleta Mcgurn posted:Aleta likes to drink water out of cups more than her bowl, so I have to be careful not to set down water glasses and walk away. June does this as well and I've learned the hard way not to keep glasses of water on my nightstand.
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Jan 25, 2020 14:52
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Len posted:I picked up the feather on a string and now I feel like a wizard because I summoned a cat from the abyss I can't even open a plastic bag of chips or snacks without the cats bolting into the kitchen like they've been shot out of a cannon from whatever spot they're hiding in because they think it's the treat bag. good cats.
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Jan 30, 2020 04:29
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Fartington Butts posted:
Hell yeah! Mine just recently started to get along too. They're at the cat lodge right now while I'm out of town for work and I was a bit hesitant to keep them together in one suite but then I logged in to spy on them the other day and saw this 
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Feb 3, 2020 18:20
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Boogalo posted:Full reset is keeping one locked up, swap bedding between the two so they get used to each other's scents, move food and water near the door, then closer and closer, eventually right on each side of the door. Once that's peaceful, let them get a peek, maybe supervised separated by gates. Scrapping a little bit is ok as long as there's no blood and it ends on its own. Did the baby gate thing too and it helped. Also I found it really helpful to not just put them together and see what happens but instead give them something fun to do in each others presence. When it was just me I'd bring them in the bathroom, feed them a few treats each and then separate them before any major growling or hissing. Then I had a friend help me and she would play with one cat in the living room and I'd bring the other cat in a play with her in the kitchen where they could both see each other but were distracted by feather wands or whatever. Tried to make it seem like "other cat here = fun things and/or treats"
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Feb 5, 2020 17:16
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My 8 month old little one seems to have a bit of dandruff. It doesn't seem to bother her and she's not itching all the time or anything like that and maybe it's just more obvious because she's black, but is this anything to worry about? I feed her Wellness Core wet food and a bit of the same dry food. She drinks a normal amount of water too. Brushing helps but it kinda just comes back.
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Feb 22, 2020 15:34
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Boris Galerkin posted:I see her sitting or walking around with the very tip of her tail shaking a lot. At first I thought she was cold cause she’d lay in front of the open door and it’s somewhat chilly outside but she lets me close the door now and still shakes the tip of her tail. Google says it’s anxiety? Could be that or she's very excited to see you. My little one does this when we're playing fetch. Every time she comes back and drops her mouse in front of me her tail is vibrating like crazy. She does that when I get home sometimes too.
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Mar 9, 2020 16:29
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Boris Galerkin posted:Is Feliway (the plug-in diffusors, not the spray) a one-time thing to jumpstart making a cat feel at home or is it something I need to use for the foreseeable future? It's hard for me to say for sure but I put one in the safe room when I got my second cat and she seemed pretty chill in there, plus the vet recommended them for the integration period. I keep two of them plugged in with the multi-cat bottles. Refills are like $16 on Amazon for 2 vs $40 or whatever at the store. I figure it can't hurt.
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Mar 20, 2020 15:17
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Boris Galerkin posted:Alright thanks. It’s just really frustrating (and stressful) for me because I just want the two to live happy lives. From my perspective, if I were being forced to live with someone that scares me (I’d be Molly in this case) I would absolutely hate my life and everything about it. So that’s why I joked about locking them into the same room until Stockholm syndroom sets in cause at least then they’d be happy even if it’s not real. Yeah if you go back and read some of my posts in this thread I adopted a second cat (Mila) and the older one (June) HATED HER. They couldn't be in the same room together for like 2 months because June would chase down and attack Mila. I spent a good amount of time associating treats and play with each others' presence. That, along with Feliway and putting June on Prozac for a few weeks worked like a charm. Now all they do is chase each other around and play tag and wrestle and battle over the best window perching spots. They'll eventually figure it out and at least tolerate each other. Trust me, Mila would just cower, hiss and growl with her ears pinned back at the sight of June. Now: 
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May 4, 2020 19:44
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pidan posted:Thank you very much for all the help and reassurance! I'm pretty anxious about all kinds of things with this new cat. Trying to make myself less anxious and more in tune with nature was a big part of my motivation for wanting a cat in the first place. But as you see I'm taking some time to adjust. That cat is extremely cute. One thing you can do when she's laying all sleepy like that is just kind of massage her paws, lightly press to extend the claws and all. It will get her used to having her paws touched and pressed while she's in a super chill state and less likely to turn into a blender. I did that with both of mine when they were young and they both purr when I clip their nails. Most of the time. SixPabst fucked around with this message at 18:43 on Jun 4, 2020 |
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Jun 4, 2020 18:41
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InvisibleMonkey posted:I think I used a staple-gun to tack down the ends, glue would work fine but if you're planning on replacing the rope eventually def try to just glue down the ends. What's that old computer up there? One of those Apple SE's or something?
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Jun 4, 2020 22:26
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Buff Hardback posted:but there's only so much poop they can make in a day. it's an astonishing amount
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Jun 16, 2020 16:53
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No Irish Need Imply posted:I wanted to foster some cats during quarantine, but there was a long wait list. I realized, Wait a minute... you're an adult with good steady income. Why don't you adopt a cat like you've always wanted? where are the drat pictures
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Jun 17, 2020 15:16
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Spray bottle with water and a bit of lemon juice works well for teaching cats not to eat plants.
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Jun 21, 2020 21:53
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 11:36 |
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I came in here to ask if anyone has any tips for getting cat used to a harness so this is good timing. My idiots are 1 and 2 and I’ve been trying to get them both to accept the harness lately but the older one just tips over drunk and the younger one goes into spaz mode and then tips over. We play and have treats during the session but really no progress being made. Loud cat chat: older one meows and barks all the god drat time so I do the same as others have mentioned and tell her about my day, tell her what I’m up to etc. works pretty well. The young one hardly ever meows unless she’s screaming at a fly or moth out of her reach but she is a masterful triller. Trilling at me. Trilling at her toys. Scream trilling when I throw a toy. It rules.
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Oct 14, 2020 23:07
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