how do I introduce a new cat to my grown cat. My grown cat is very unhappy about having another cat in house?

Question

I have a 3 year female house cat. I brought in a 9 month only male (both fixed). My female is very upset and growls, and hisses. She has not attacked the male but she gets him so scaird that when she walks past him his goes after her and it is all out war. How can I help with this transition or is it a losing battle?

Answer 1

Cats are territorial animals and not all of them are happy sharing with others. Introducing a new cat into the home of an existing one always needs to be done carefully. Ideally the new cat should always be younger, smaller and the opposite sex, and your new cat seems to fit that description perfectly, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long for her to accept him. As he is still a young cat, he may just be wanting to initiate play but until she knows him better, she may be misinterpreting his advances as a threat. Be patient and give her time to get to know and accept him.

The web site below offers practical and help advice on how to introduce them.

http://www.tulsa-animalshelter.org/tips/...

Good luck

Answer 2

Anytime I have brought home a new kitten I leave them in a cat carrier for at least 15 minutes so the cats can sniff at each other without being hurt. Then I open the door of the carrier and wait. The kitten comes out eventually and find a place to hide where they can see most of the place. When they feel a bit safer they start exploring on their own. It takes cat a little while to get use to one another. Kittens are use to being hissed at and smacked by their mother and won't want to fight. Instead they will back off. If the cats get into it either spray them with some water or throw a cat toy towards them to take the attention off one another. I have done this with five cats and have never had any problem. I also brought a puppy in and the cats get along with her.

Answer 3

If you have a kennel or a cat carrier place the new kitten into the carrier and allow the older cat to smell the kitten. Once they have each other scents allow the kitten out and let them meet face to face. This meeting should be supervised and if they get aggressive seperate them for awhile and try again. Meetings take a while and I am sure they will get along eventually. Cats don't like sharing their space with new cats and they will have to establish an order of dominance. Since the male new kitty is older there isn't as high of a risk of him getting hurts like there would be for an 8 week old kitten. Just give it time and watch while they play. Getting them to play with a toy together could also help. Good Luck!

Answer 4

I recently got a 1 yr old cat & introduced him to my 5 yr old female cat. She did not like him at first and would hiss and swat. I made sure that I took her into a room where the new cat would not be and spent some time with her alone each night. That way she didn't resent the new cat so much. She still does not like him but she tolerates him. They stay out of eachothers way. They don't always become best cuddly friends.

Answer 5

Try keeping them in separate rooms for a few days, so the older kitty gets used to the kitten's smell and the fact that there is a new cat in the house. Then once you let the kitten roam around by himself, the older cat will probably still hiss and growl but for the most part they will work it out on their own. They will establish "roles" so that they get along better.

Answer 6

My sister and I moved in together and she had 2 adult (male and female) cats and I had 2 adult cats (also male and female). We initially seperated them together, my cats in one room and her cats in her room for a few days (both with litter trays). Alternating letting each set out to explore the house and get use to the smells. We then moved on to supervised visits. Letting the cats meet at their own pace and letting them sniff and hide if necessary. Sometimes it was ok, they were cautious but calm and other times started hissing. When they hissed we seperated them for a bit of time out. Another tip is to get those cat wipes (like baby wipes for cats so you can clean them without water). If a cat hisses, they let off a scent (almost like the smell of fear). If you wipe all the cats down, they all smell the same and familiar.

I would keep the cats seperated at night and mix them when home and can safely seperate. If a fight does happen (and on occassions we still have that, I spray them with a water bottle to seperate, wipe them down and put the offender in a room to calm down).

This should not take to long for them to adjust. Also try throwing around some treats occassionally to get their mind off the new member of the house hold and focus on food (doesnt food help every situation??).

Good luck, the more cats the better I say!!

PS a good tip is to train them to use the human toilet, find the below link.

Answer 7

Keep them in separate rooms for a while, IE if your older cats favorite room is the living room, put the newer cat in your bedroom with food, water and a litter box for a couple of hours, then let him out and place your other cat in the room with her own food, water etc. For a couple of hours. One, when you first put her in the room make sure to love on her so she feels comfortable. This way she can become familiar with the new cats scent. Cats are creatures of habit and anything different, especially a new animal can make them feel threatened, and because of her age chances of them ever becoming best friends is slim, but she will eventually realize that he is not a threat to her as long he learns she is ultimately the dominant cat in the house. He is still technically a kitten and because he is in new surroundings he is driven by his curiosity as well as the fact that he is attempting to acclimate himself to his new surroundings, but if you are uncomfortable with him invading/going after your girl just firmly tell him no, pick him up and love on him and place him somewhere else before he gets to close to her. As well it would be a good idea to keep him off of her spots, like where she always sits, sleeps etc.

Answer 8

Cats identify by scent. Pet your 3 year old cat, then pet the 9 month old male, and vice versa. If the cats smell each other's scent on each other it might fool them in to thinking they are both part of the same "cat family". It would have been best if you had done this right away, but try it and see if it works.

Answer 9

Best way to say it is How do I introduce my existing cat to the new cat --slowly-- let them spend time when and where they want in the process. Some people say put new cat in bathroom where they can sniff under the door for scents. My way hold one and let the other approach if possible. Remember this is a timely process and extra time should be given to the first pet

Answer 10

I have a cat and I have had him for 9 years I had another cat and something was terribly wrong with her, she got sick! My cat Magz that I have had for 9 years has been used to being alone for the past 5 years so I have a neighbor who had a cat and he used to throw him against the wall and couldn't afford to buy him food/litter etc. I got sick of hearing him throwing the cat and I went to him and I said give me the cat, and he did. His name is Oreo and he came into my house and he was very mean and bit me and the cat's didn't get along, but Oreo had been very sick and had hairballs and I gave him the right medicine and got him well and now he is healthy and happy and the both of them get along just fine it took them like 4-6 weeks to get used to each other but Oreo has been a part of our family now for almost 4 months and he is doing great! They are both male cat's and they are both neutered and Magz is trained very well and I am working on Oreo......Give them time and they will adjust to each other!