How do you get two adults cats to get along in a new living situation?

Question

My cat Gracie (11yrs old) and I are moving in with a friend temporarily who has her own cat Piper (4 years old).
Both are female and declawed. We tried introducing them and Piper flipped out. How do we start introdcing them so they can live in the same house and not hate each other?

Answer 1

It takes a bit of time. Give them brief "introductory" sessions where you bring them both together. Bring them together into one room with the both of you there for a short period of time (5-10 minutes), then let them go back to their own "rooms". Give them their own space. Add more time for each "introductory" session, like adding 5-10 minutes each time. Some cats won't get along... but they can learn to "tolerate" one another.

Make sure to have one litterbox per cat (3 litterboxes isn't a bad idea either) because some cats get a bit upset if another cat uses "their" litterbox.

Make sure to give each one undivided attention and alone time!

Good luck!

Answer 2

There is no reason why the cats cant live together happily - after a period of adjustment. As you are moving them into a new home for both (I presume), neither will have home ground advantage, so will be easier for them to get on together. Make sure they have a litter tray each and bowls each. They may use each others, but give them the option to use their own. If one of you is moving in with the other then the resident cat may get his nose out of joint. Shut the new cat in a small room or a large dog crate, with food and water and litter tray in a neutral area so that the resident cat can get to smell him. After a couple of days, put the resident cat in the crate and let the newcomer loose and have a sniff around. Under supervision you can then let them out together and see how they go. Don't be surprised if there is hissing and spitting and swiping. So long as there isn't any fur or blood flying and it remains at spitting and hissing, don;t worry about it. Put them away after a while. leave them out together for longer and longer. They should settle down okay. They may even decide to pretend the other doesn't exist! lol The main thing is patience and don;t rush them. One of my cats pretends the others and the foster kittens don't exist. She is 11 years old. The latest (besides the fosters I have here) that I introduced into the house was a 8 year old female in January. Before that a 4 year old male in September last year, and a kitten this time last year. She just gives me a dirty look and continues on her way.b

Answer 3

Well, first of all it somewhat depends on the personality of your cat. Some cats simply won't tolerate other cats in the house no matter how hard you try, however a lot of cats aren't like this but appear to act hostile at first because they are defending what they see as their territory from an intruder. You can help this by keeping the cats in separate rooms for a few days, so the new cat can get accustomed to his new home and the old cat can soak up the new cat's scent and presence without being forced to fight. You can also help by keeping their interactions limited for the first few weeks. In most cases after a little while your cats will probably be acting like best friends and the hostility will be forgotten.

Answer 4

Treating your own cat as special is the most important tactic, and making sure each has her own 'area' and goodies, exclusively. The more than necessary catbox is also an excellent recommendation. But the most important things to remember are 1) don't push--they are naturally both social and exclusivistic--and 2) don't intervene unless they are doing damage to each other. There'll be some posturing and display, this is natural; once they have established who's the top cat, they'll probably get along fine. At least most of the time. Bear in mind that nobody gets along all the time with anybody else, and your cats won't, either.

Answer 5

You should take a number of steps. Put each cat in a separate room for half an hour. Then put Gracie in Piper's room and Piper in Gracie's room for half an hour. After that, try putting a favorite toy of each cat, or at least something that the cat plays with a lot, in with the other cat. After that, try introducing them from a distance. Don't leave them together until you are sure that they won't attack each other.

Answer 6

I was told that you put the new cat in the bathroom and close the door. By doing this they are getting acquainted with the smell of each other, but not outright face to face. Then work up to having them together for longer amounts of time. It will take a while to acclimate them properly.

Answer 7

Time. That's all you can do, just give them time. My roommate just got a new kitten and our cats hated him at first but now they're the best of buddies. That's all they need is some time to adjust. Just watch them, if they growl at each other too much just bop them lightly on the head and tell them to knock it off. Eventually they'll get over it and grow to like each other.

Each is no longer the dominate one in the household so they have to get over that.

Answer 8

You need to separate them initially, introduce them gradually, and make the introduction a positive experience for them.

This article explains the process:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=cattocatintroductions

Answer 9

Patience Lots of Patience

Answer 10

just leave them alone to the house. they'll eventually get along. they might start out hiding from each other. thats what happened when i brought a new cat into the house with my other cat. it just takes time, so don't worry they'll warm up to each other