HELP!! We have a new CAT in the house~!!?

Question

My daughter's unable to care for her cat for 6 months, so we're babysitting. Our 5 yearold cat doesn't seem overly menacing--she wants to get close, but the baby 7mo is being fierce--spitting, hissing, growling. I don't think she really wants to fight. I think she's scared.

I need some ways to introduce these two to each other without anyone getting hurt.

I'M SICK OF PLAYING MUSICAL ROOMS!!

Answer 1

i do hope this will help u

* The new cat and resident cats should have no face-to-face interaction for the first week. This will allow the new cat time to get comfortable with his new environment and family. The stress of a new environment can cause a cat to show signs of an upper respiratory infection (watch for sneezing, eye or nose discharge) or diarrhea. Watch to make sure that the new cat is eating well, drinking and using the litter box. In almost every case, a cat that does not use his litter box is suffering from a medical condition. Any instance of inappropriate elimination (outside of the litter box) should be followed up with a visit to the vet.

* After keeping the new cat in a room of his own for the first week, start introducing the smells of each cat to the other. You can do this by brushing all of the cats with the same brush to get their scents on each other. Also, try feeding them each a special treat on either side of the door. Doing so will help each cat to associate the smell of the other cat with the positive experience of eating the treat (usually wet food works best). You may want to have your resident cats go into the new cat’s room (and visa versa) when he is not there to help them get acclimated to his scent.

* After introducing smells for a few days, when you are ready for the first face-to-face introduction, put the new cat in his carrier and let the resident cats come into the “safe room.” This will give you an opportunity to observe the interaction among the cats while the new cat is protected in his carrier.

* Usually with this initial meeting there will be some hissing and/or posturing. If the interaction seems as though it could lead to aggression, you will need to do this controlled introduction using the carrier a few more times before removing the barriers and allowing the cats to meet face-to-face. If the cats all appear to be curious or simply wary with no outward signs of aggression, then you can open the carrier door and let the new cat walk out into the territory of the resident cats. Do not rush this process. It is very important to the long term harmony of their relationship that the introduction process proceed at a pace comfortable for each of the cats.

* Monitor all interactions closely during the first weeks. Do not leave the cats alone unsupervised until you are comfortable that there will not be aggressive behavior displayed by any of the cats. During the first few weeks, the new cat should stay in his “safe room” when no one is home to supervise.

* If interaction among the cats deteriorates instead of improving, return the new cat to his “safe room.” At this point you will need to start the introduction process again, this time, taking more time at each stage.

Answer 2

What you see happens a lot when there are new cats involved. Kitties are territorial animals, so you will see dominance issues- and it looks like the baby wants to be top cat.

Try keeping one in a separate room for a while where they can smell and hear eachother, but not see. After about a week, switch out.

After that, let them fight it out- but watch them so they don't actually injure eachother.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I had this problem when i got my 3 month old and introduced her to my 7 month old. They hissed and spit and everything else. I just let them be. If they start like really fighting, and believe me you will know, split them up. But mine were fine after about 5 days.

Answer 4

When I introduced a new cat in my home last fall I used flower essences on my cats. It helped reduce stress and made the adjustment go smoothly.

Go to http://www.spiritessence.com and read about their use. I used Dr. Hovfe's "New Beginnings".

Also at http://www.littlebigcat.com Dr. Hovfe has an articled in her article library titled "Cat to Cat Introductions". You can get some good tips for making the adjustment there too.

Answer 5

The baby cat is just scared to her new environment. give her a little time until she'll get used to it. What she needs now is TLC from you, likewise, from the older cat. they will get along very soon.
Dog and cat now can possibly be friends when they stay in one roof, how much more with this 5-yr old and the 7-month old cats?

Answer 6

get a kiddie gate and let the scared baby stay to one side until she is able to handle things in her own time....

they will introduce themselves when they are comfortable, don't force it....you could get hurt.....

Answer 7

mine do that allll the time. lettem....they arent hurting eachother. just LOUD.

i sometimes kick BOTH of mine outta my room because theyer so LOUD.