We're moving into a house with a cat. We have a cat. We've let our cat and the house cat both sniff around without seeing eachother. Yesterday we, briefly, introduced them. The cat of the house seemed timid, afraid and mewed. My cat growled and hissed. Should we keep trying at once a day intervals?
Basically we've been supervising them as they are in a common area. We don't force them together.
2007-02-25 02:26:44 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
Sounds like you're doing the right things. Keep it up, and eventually, they will come to tolerate each other, if not become friends.
Good luck.
2007-02-25 02:34:40 · answer #1 · answered by Meg M 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Introducing adult cats can take some time and should be done gradually and carefully. With kittens it can take as little as couple of days or a week, however with older cats it's another issue. The introductory process can take 3 weeks and more and is influenced by multiple factors (cat's personalities, their previous experiences and other).
You are doing right to keep them separated in the beginning. If you have your cat in one room, the other cat will come up to the door and sniff. It is important they get familiar with each others scents first.
After a few days you could open the door just a tiny bit, half an inch or so (so that the cat cannot squeeze in), sitting inside with your cat. Expect a lot of hisses, that's normal. Do this for a few days and then open the door a little more so that they can just see each other. Don't worry about hissing.
Do this for a few days and then leave the door opened and sit inside with your cat. See how they interact. Don't expect them to be buddies at this time, there will be still some hissing. If all goes well, start to feed them in the same room but not to close to each other. Like this, their attention will be on food and not on each other. Also, feeding will create positive association (cat will associate the food with the other cat). After a couple of days you could move bowls closer. Gradually there should be less hissing as they establish their territories and eventually they will learn to tolerate each other.
Hope this helps a little.
2007-02-25 11:01:01 · answer #2 · answered by Cicko 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We just acquired our eigth cat and they all intergrate differently. We have had a lot of hissing the last few weeks and it is calming down and they are all running together on the night shift. You know the hours you are sleeping and they are making a ruckus. One of my female cats was grooming him last night and that was a big step forward. He is coming in and sleeping in the bed room at night whereas he was off by himself. I have two cats that it took six months before they would go near any other cat or us for tha matter. They are all different. When they realize they can have fun together that is when they intergrate. Good Luck
2007-02-25 10:43:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's normal for strange cats to hiss at each other when they are getting acquainted. They will probably avoid each other for a while. then they will probably learn to get along. However, if one cat is physically aggressive with the other, you should try to find the house cat a new home.
2007-02-25 10:40:04 · answer #4 · answered by mariepphm 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your doing exactly the right thing, just try and supervise them initially, they will quickly get used to each other. They many never exactly get alone, it depends on the cats, and even friends squabble from time to time, but unless they are actually intent on doing each other serious damage you needn't worry too much. Cats are quite adaptable.
2007-02-25 10:52:58 · answer #5 · answered by gerrifriend 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It takes cats time to establish their "pecking" order when they come to live together. You are taking the right approach by giving them time to adjust to one another.
You might want to go to www.littlebigcat.com and read Dr. Jean Hovfe's articles titled "Cat to Cat Introductions" for tips on successful "combining". Don't be discouraged - the time it takes to achieve harmony will vary with the individual cats. At Dr. Hovfe's site you might want to link over to the Spirit Essence site and consider trying some of her "New Beginnings" to treat the cats and help with their adjustment to one another.
2007-02-25 10:47:44 · answer #6 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
keep the cats in seperate rooms with blankets and beds and stuff the can get their scent on. every day, keep switching the stuff around so each cat gets used to the other's scent. then keep going with the introductions, only a few minutes a day until they get used to each other
2007-02-25 11:58:04 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋