3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[keyhole kate]

Hi All

I have agreed to foster a approx 14 yr old cat for the CPL at very short notice I have my own elderly Cat age 18 who has been pining for her sister who we had to have Pts six months ago Ideally I would adopt her if they could get on together as my Cat is so unhappy on her own. Any advice on how to go about introducing them ? I can keep them seperated in the house in the short term but it wouldnt be fair on either in the long term

[dancing cloud]

Most of the advice is around keeping them in separate rooms and letting them smell each other by swapping round bedding etc, then letting them have supervised brief mingling, before full introduction.

 

I have to say, all I have done in introducing new cats is put the cat carrier down in the hall and open its door . It may not be the textbook way, but I've never had a problem, other than with Loki territory-marking and that was stopped with Feliway. Puddy usually has a hissy-fit, but she does that daily anyway and soon gets over it.

 

All of my adoptees have come with their own blanket, and I have put that in a bed the others don't use, so the newbie knows it's theirs. I've also given them all their own bowl of tuna, as a treat to distract them for the first few minutes.

 

On her first night with me, Cleo watched me go in the bathroom and start turning lights off, before she skipped down the hall and sat on my bed waiting for me. It never even entered her little furry mind that she wasn't coming to bed with me! She still comes to bed with me ...

 

For what it's worth, my advice would be to see how they get on together and only separate them if you really have to. Feliway or Pet Remedy plug-ins work well to relax them and nice foodie treats always go down well

 

All the best and well done you for taking in a senior kitizen

[Daphne]

Its good to hear a success story Just to say I also did the open the cat box thing when we adopted 2 new middle aged cats but in our case it didn't work out so well. Resident male middle aged cat had been a wuss but then became quite bolshy and never accepted the new girl because she wasn't very good at being 2nd in command to him. The new girl thought everything was great and that she owned the place and us humans, she is a real little fighter when it comes to other cats. The new boy fled in terror and was always subservient to my original boy, and used to wee - although a Feliway fixed that. After some weeks they would all be in the same room and feed from the same place, with separate bowls, but it was never a harmonious household. If I had my time over again I would try to do it by the book, in separate rooms etc, but I have a feeling that my patience would give way and I'd end up mixing them together . I think quite a lot of it must be down to the personalities involved and so for you with your elderly cat I would just see how it goes. She might take to the newcomer easily, or not.

[Olly]

I highly recommend Pet Remedy plug-in, to calm frazzled feelings. I'd keep the newcomer in a separate room to begin with, try mixing smells by e.g. stroking them with a sock on your hand to pick up the scent. Let the new one settle in for a day or two, then gradually try leaving the door open and see if she/he ventures out - there may be a hissy fit or two, be prepared for that.

 

My two will never be the best of friends i.e. they will not curl up together, but they tolerate each other now. Food can be a flashpoint, so feed them in separate bowls and on opposite sides of the kitchen if possible at first.

[Eggasperated]

I introduced a lunatic 16 week old to a 13 year old using the separate rooms, blanket and smell swapping technique. I took a long time over it as I was also introducing the kitten to our dog (who knows that a cat will always be boss ) and I didn't have any trouble with the older one weeing indoors, she was just a bit disgusted to have to put up with a kitten who thought she owned the place.

It took a couple of weeks before we had a proper introduction and over a year before they would curl up together but now they both occupy the dogs bed and he has to sleep on the floor if he can't squeeze in.

 

I think a lot depends on individual temperament and that you often have to adjust according to the cats behaviour especially as you are dealing with two older cats.

[merlina]

There are about a zillion ways of doing it, and most of them will work some of the time!

 

When I ran an animal charity, this is what I (usually!) did

 

On the first night I would put the new cat in the bathroom with its food, a litter tray etc. This would mean it has a small space (cats generally find large new spaces very scary); give it a chance to get used to the new smells etc and give it some peace (scared cats don't like to be fussed - it can be counter-intuitive, but they really like to be left alone).

The bathroom is also usually easy to clean in case of accidents and gives me a chance to see if it really is litter trained .. And it's a form of quarantine 'just in case'

It also means existing cat(s) are not too stressed by having much of their territory invaded

 

After that it's play it by ear, as it were. Open doors and see where/if the new arrival wants to explore and pretty much take it at their own pace. I've had cats mingle almost straightaway, and others reluctant to leave the bathroom for a week or two

 

A water pistol is good to have on hand just in case things get tetchy!

 

Treats and special attention for existing cat are v important - they can feel very resentful/stressed otherwise