Ness3103 Posted August 12, 2010 Share Posted August 12, 2010 hi all i've had my two beautiful snowshoe cats for 2 years now and they're nearly 3 years old. my daughter and her housemates have to move in september to a new flat and they aren't allowed any pets so i've agreed to take their 2 year old female cat. i'm not sure how to go about introducing her to my boys. she's quite a feisty young lady and my boys are so docile and soppy, i'm worried she might bully them. i'd be so grateful for any advice on how to go about this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 I'm no cat expert but have had cats all my life. I think you will have to resign yourself to a lot of hissing etc and just wait for them to accept each other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ness3103 Posted August 13, 2010 Author Share Posted August 13, 2010 i'm totally prepared for that as we had that when we introduced Bliss to Mali. just wondered if i should shut my boys out of the room and let her get used to her surroundings first or just let her out and see what happens? they are all housecats (apart from our newbie whose escaped a couple of times and got pregnant ) so my two never see other cats. i think it's going to be very interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted August 13, 2010 Share Posted August 13, 2010 whenever we've added a new cat or cats, we've tried to do it like this: keep the new one in a separate room with food/water/litter tray for a week or so. then when the other cats are out or shut in another room, let the new one out to explore. do this for a few days, then do a swap - put the existing felines into the new one's room, and let the new one go where they have been... continue for a few days. some people say the next stage is to have a mesh babygate or something to keep the new one in it's 'home' space, and feed them alongside. to be honest, I've always got bored by this stage, and let them get on with it!! the key thing, like with chooks, is to make sure that there are enough feeding/drinking stations for everyone, and ideally - if they are indoor cats - to have one more litter tray than you have cats. this is just one reason why I like them to have access to the great outdoors!!!! hope it all goes ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 Having introduced 2 new cats (middle aged brother and sister) to an older boy by just taking collection of them and letting them get on with it by having full access to indoors and outdoors at will, I wouldn't do that again. The 2 boys came to an understanding, with the older cat continuing to be top cat and the younger male being submissive. They would sit and snooze together. However, the girl and my older boy never hit it off and hissing, scratching and ignoring became the order of the day for 18 months. They did occasionally make friends and would gang up together to see off other cats but it was toleration at best. If I did it again, I would try a more considered approach like Beach Chick suggests. Having read up on it since, I think this is what you're supposed to do! Although I never had problems about access to feeding, the cats didn't like to share a sofa or whatever although they would be in the same room. I guess it also depends on the individual characters. My older boy was really people friendly and top cat in the neighbourhood. The new boy has always been a wuss, and the new girl is very human friendly but a feisty madam to all other cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ness3103 Posted August 17, 2010 Author Share Posted August 17, 2010 thank you both for your input i'll definitely try the seperation method, i'm sure it will be chaotic but will work out ok she's arriving on Bank Holiday Monday so i'll let you know how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 17, 2010 Share Posted August 17, 2010 A lot depends on the individual cats and their personalities, I think. I would follow Beach Chick's advice - the other thing I was advised was to wear a glove, or an old sock, when stroking one cat and then use it to stroke the other, so they get used to the smell of the other cat. It's over a year since I introduced Claudette to Welly, and unfortunately she has turned out to have some personality problems. She hasn't bitten me now for some weeks,in fact she is purring on the garden bench next to me as I type, but she still regularly bites visitors, and hisses and spits at poor Wellington every time she sees him. I don't think this will ever change, but since this time last year she wouldn't leave the spare room, and she now goes out into the garden and uses most of the house, I am happy with progress. They eat from the same dish at different times, and I doubt if they will ever get any closer - I had to break up a fight this morning. I know other people however who have had very successful introductions - just don't expect things to move too quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted August 18, 2010 Share Posted August 18, 2010 Using Feliway diffusers can help reduce the stress on introductions. They need plugging in for a while ahead of time though. Info [Here] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ness3103 Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 thank you all for your advice we picked her up on Monday and the plan was to keep them seperate for a while. we managed that for about an hour my twin boys forgot to shut the door and they all came face to face. as you can imagine there was alot of growling , screaming and clawing. we've kept them apart at night but during the day they have the freedom of the house and it's not been too bad. she will now tolerate them in the same room and today she's let them sit near her without growling. unfortunately she's on heat at the moment which probably isn't helping. my two boys are totally confused and seem to be getting bored with her tantrums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
