Bringing home a dog when you have another one at home (or two or three or more) is one thing, but bringing a cat into a resident cat’s territory is another thing altogether. Besides litter box problems, most of my “cat clients” were about aggression between a resident and an incoming cat. Blending cat families can be almost as complicated and fraught as two adult people moving in together with a group of unrelated and relatively unfamiliar adolescents. Let’s just say that if cats could slam doors, they would.
But then, who needs to slam doors when you can hiss, spit and attack with five discrete weapon sites on your body? Yes, dogs too can fight and might not get along, but in general it is much easier to add a dog to the pack than it is to add a cat if you have one already.
This is not unreasonable when you think about it: Cats are both highly territorial and have a completely different system of greeting and becoming “acquainted” than dogs (and people for that matter). The closest living relative of house cats, the African Wild Cat, (Go here for a great video of one) lives on an overlapping set of territories called home ranges. Females each have their own core area, but their territories overlap to some extent. However, unless food is especially abundant, the females use a shared area only one at a time. Thus, a female will sit and look, smell and listen for signs of another cat. If the land is “open,” she’ll move into it. If it is occupied at the time being, she’ll wait, sort of like we’d use a rest room. The males have exclusive use of their territory, which usually includes that of two or three females.
Now you know why your indoor/outdoor cat goes to the door, yowls to go out and then sits in the doorway until you lose patience and insist it make up its mind. But it’s just being a cat: waiting to learn what it needs to know about the environment before venturing out. Cats also greet unfamiliar conspecifics completely differently than dogs and people. Some cats don’t read the books, of course, but if left to their own devices, most cats greet other cats by avoiding any kind of close contact, including eye contact even if a good distance apart. As a matter of fact, their behavior looks like they are doing everything BUT greeting: they sit far away from each other, avoid eye contact at all costs, and basically pretend there is no other cat in view. It’s hard to label that greeting behavior, but that is how cats get things started. Cats will sometimes spend days or weeks, and sometimes months, just hanging out on the edge of another’s territory, until the sight and scent of them has become familiar.
Understanding the ethology of cat behavior is thus the key to knowing how to best introduce cats, by accepting that cats do best if they can avoid being close together and in visual contact when they first meet. Based on that, here is the best way, in my experience, to introduce unfamiliar cats:
1. NEVER force an introduction. Holding one cat up to another is a recipe for disaster, and can destroy any chance of the cats ever getting along. First impressions are hugely important to cats, and in my experience, cats have memories like elephants, and tend to never forget aversive experiences or what they consider to be offensive behavior.
2. House the new cat in its own room, with comfortable spaces in which the cat can feel safe, with food and water on one side and a large litter box on another. Remember that cats want to be up high and/or in areas in which they can’t be attacked from behind. Under the bed may be the place a lot of new cats go for safety, but it is never a place that a cat will feel safe and relaxed. If a cat is hiding under the bed, it’s scared, pure and simple, and not relaxed. Provide as many safe areas as you can create to give the cat the best chance of feeling comfortable in a new environment, remembering that cats want to be UP in space, not down.
Make the new room as relaxing as possible. When I adopted Sushi from the humane society I plugged in the pheromone Feliway for three days before I brought her home, and ever after that was one of her favorite rooms in the house. Of course, there might have been many reasons for that, but I suspect that the pheromones from Feliway played a role.
If at all possible, prevent the resident cat from going to the door to the new cat’s room and sniffing or vocalizing. The new cat is trapped in the room and knows it, and has no where to go. It’s best to keep the cats as far away as possible during the early period of introduction.
3. After a few days, put the resident cat in a secure room (hopefully in a place it enjoys) and let the new cat explore the rest of the house for 30 or 60 minutes. This is exactly like the shared “home ranges” seen in wild cats, in which each cat gets to use common territory, but only one at a time. Give the new cats lots of treats in the new environment; partly as a way of classically conditioning it, partly as a way of evaluating its stress level. If the cat won’t eat chicken or some other wonderful food, then you know it is still relatively stressed and you need to proceed slowly. After the cat has done some exploring, take it back to its own “core territory.”
4. If things are going well, and the cats are both eating and show few signs of stress, put a towel that has been rubbed on the other cat into their living space. This is another way for the cats to get acquainted without having to be up close and personal. The more familiar the scent of the other cat, the more likely they will be to get along once they meet.
5. After a period of days or weeks (depending, of course, on the cats), begin to feed the cats on either side of the door. The cats should not be able to see each other, but able to smell and hear the other cat as they eat. If the cats hiss or behave fearfully, feed them farther away from the door until they calm down. Then gradually, over a period of days move the food closer and closer.
6. Once the cats are eating on either side of the door and are comfortable with the scent of the other on a towel, it is time to add in visual contact. (The best measure of their comfort level at this point is to see if they will sleep on the towel that smells like the other cat, a point well made by Suzanne Hetts when talking about introducing dogs and cats at ABS last month.) In this case, create a situation in which the cats can see each other but not get too close. Avoid putting one cat in a crate and letting the other come over to sniff, that is far too frightening to the enclosed cat. Ideally, the cats can be put in a situation in which they can see each other clearly but not interact, but it’s true that this isn’t always the easiest situation to set up. Many of my clients ended up getting screens to temporarily put across indoor doorways, so that each cat was in a room separated by screens and another room. At the least have a glass door or window between the cats, and give each cat the chance to move away from the door if they want to.
7a. If things don’t go well and one cat looks alarmed or aggressive, go back and few steps and take a deep breath. Introducing cats can try anyone’s patience, but patience is the key here. It can take cats up to 6 months to settle in with one another, that is not an uncommon period of time for unfamiliar cats to relax in each other’s presence. (Note: If they haven’t at least learned to tolerate each other after 12 months there is little chance that they ever will. Some cats learn to divide the house up into territories, upstairs one cat, downstairs the other. If that works for them, that might be just good enough.)
7b. If things are going well, it is finally time to remove the barriers and let the cats interact. Often it works well to begin feeding them side by side, but stay close by to ensure that one cat doesn’t take the food of the other. I wouldn’t worry if there are occasional hisses and glares, but I wouldn’t tolerate one cat chasing another more than a few feet and more than a time or two.
Of course, cats are famous for not reading the books, so you may well have had two cats who got along beautifully from the word go. That does happen, quite often considering their natural history, but I can cite you hundreds of cases in which two cats were forced onto each other and despised each other ever after. Thus, you are wise to go slow and be conservative. “Better safe than sorry” is not just a trite saying here, it should be your mantra.
Cats and Dogs? If bringing a cat into a household with a dog, follow the same procedure, but be sure that the dog is on leash when they first interact. If you are bringing a dog in, keep the dog on leash until you are positive it won’t chase the cat or frighten it in any way. Give the cat its own room where the dog can’t ever bother it, and teach the dog to look at you every time he sees the cat to prevent chasing. Granted, some dogs and cats play chase as a game, but it’s not a game to a cat until the friendship is well established, it’s just predator with themselves as the prey.
What about you? I love hearing cat stories: What has your experience been? Do you have any good ideas for others about how to introduce cats into a new household?
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: Willie worked sheep! Oh oh oh, what a wonderful weekend! Granted, I asked very little of him and it was ridiculously brief, but what a joy it was for both of us. Just thinking about watching him do his first outrun on Saturday makes me all gooey.
And since the topic is about cats today, how could I resist taking pictures of Nellie and Polly? Here’s Polly bunting against her momma, Nellie. Both of them made it hard to take a photo, because they were all over me, rubbing against my legs, it being dinner time and all. Polly is getting cuddlier, which I love. She is a year old now and is growing up to be a truly beautiful cat; what a bonus that she is getting to be as sweet as her momma.
Here’s a portrait of Nellie, showing the classic “black on one side of the nose, orange on the other” of tortoiseshells. We are so lucky to have her, she truly is one of the great cats of the universe, and she makes me happy every day when I call “Nellie!” in a high, loud voice and she comes running, running from the barn like a trained dog. She bunts all over my legs, I pick her up and purr and stroke her back and rub her cheeks, then put her down for her dinner. Polly dives into her own dinner as if starving, but Nellie won’t eat until I pet her first. So I do, then I go in the house and wash my hands lest my eyes puff up like soggy sponges and begin to itch as if I had poison ivy in them. But it’s worth it, they are such wonderful additions to the farm and they make me smile every day; I am so grateful to have cats back in my life.
Vicki in Michigan says
I have only introduced a cat to dogs once. She was a six-month-old kitten. I set the cat up in the basement (litter box, food, water), and put a baby gate across the top of the steps. The cat could get through the baby gate, but the dogs couldn’t.
The dogs were interested, but not TOO interested.
The cat sat on the top step and growled (I hadn’t known that cats would growl…).
When the dogs weren’t in the kitchen, the cat would venture through the gate to talk to the people. If the dogs came back, she went back to the stairs.
This was in 1982. I don’t remember how long it took for the cat to decide it was ok to live in the whole house, but not long. Days or a couple of weeks.
The dogs got yelled at for any indication that they would chase the cat. Until I saw the cat with the corgi, saying “nah nah na boo boo, you can’t catch me!” to the dog. Then I let the corgi chase the cat. They got to a point where they were both comfortable with a bit of wrestling after one caught the other. The cat was more leery of the bigger shepherd/husky we had, but I never was aware of either of them offering violence to the other.
One time a friend of ours came over, and brought his dog (who was the stupidest dog in the world. Nice enough, but stupid.).
I wondered what our cat would think of Ralph, who was bigger than our bigger dog. The cat walked into the room where the dog was, glanced at him once, and flopped down on the floor. It seemed to me that her conclusion was “YOU do not count. Boring.”
Not much experience, but it was easy. Reading your essay, I’m thinking we were luckier than we knew……
Dena Norton (Izzee's Mom) says
Oh, Trisha, I am so glad to hear that you found a way to still have cats in your life despite your allergies!
And what beautiful cats they are.
When I introduced George, the 6-week-old orange-tabby-and-white kitten to our spayed tortoiseshell, Ashley, she chased him all over the house, hissing and screaming.
So I backed up, and put him into a large dog crate with a bed, food, water, and a small litter box. He lived there for about a week, coming out to sit on laps and be cuddled a couple of times every day. One day, while Ashley was on my lap, he climbed up the leg of my jeans, lay down, and tried to nurse off of her! She hissed, then held him down with her paw and began to vigorously wash him!
For the rest of his life, they were commonly found curled up together. I have a wonderful series of pictures of them like that, starting with George about a third of Ashley’s size, and ending with one of him at his adult size, twice as big as my tiny tortie-girl.
Trisha says
Vicki: Impressive when cats growl, isn’t it? Makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck if the growl is directed toward you! I’m loving the dog-cat stories from you and Dena so far. When I brought Sushi home I had a child gate between 2 rooms, and when it was time let the dog in one room and Sushi in the other. Tulip, the huge Great Pyrenees walked up to the gate, at which time Sushi curled her paw, made a fist and smacked Tulip in the nose. Later she walked up to Lassie at dinner time, stuck her head in Lassie’s bowl (who looked at me like, “What am I supposed to do now?”) and then made another fist and popped Lassie in the jaw like a boxer. I ran over to rescue Lassie, but admit I was laughing so hard I couldn’t get a word out before I got there.
triangle says
Far too many people think it appropriate to just throw a new cat into the room and let them ‘settle it’ themselves. I had a friend who did just that, and the end result was a household divided for the next 15 years. It was an interesting case where the ‘newer’ cat took over the territory and confined the already established feline to one room. Any attempt by the cat to leave that room resulted in a full scale assault.
However, I will say that domestic housepets in my experience are unlikely to cause any actual harm to each other. While I often saw victims of dog fights at my vet practice, I can’t remember seeing ANY housecats with bite wounds or serious scratches…only unaltered indoor/outdoor cats or ferals, and in those cases the aggressor was never another cat in the household.
When I was younger, we kept new cats confined to a room for a few weeks and exchanged towels, but that was pretty much it. Our cats did all get along, and my old male Nic bonded VERY strongly to new kitten Heather. After Nic died, we adopted an adult female ‘for’ Heather (much as you, Trisha, adopted a dog with Willie in mind.) While they weren’t aggressive, the two females never really got along- it was more live and let live. When Heather was diagnosed with brain tumors, Robin, the other female, became much closer to her until her death.
Then we adopted JJ. Blind, pain-in-the-ass JJ, a feral kitten with ZERO bite inhibition. We took a LONG time to introduce JJ to Robin- following every step outlined in the post and backtracking at any sign of aggression. The end result was JJ showing strong interest in Robin and wanting desperately to play, but forever taking his wrestling too far and making her bolt. Robin seems to know he’s blind, and will typically run just out of reach, then watch while he walks in circles looking for her. He has a very particular loud cry that he does- he seems to be wondering where his ‘playmate’ (victim) went.
I’m convinced that very slow intro is why the two cats can at least coexist. If we had just thrown them together, Robin would have been terrorized. While true, dangerous aggression may be a rare outcome, I think stress related litterbox issues are actually a much more pressing concern, especially since they can be lethal if the owner isn’t willing to work with the cat involved. That probably would have happened with Robin if we hadn’t taken things careful and slow. She’s a nervous cat to began with, and she needed to learn how to cope with JJ in stages.
As a side note, Heather suffered from severe misdirected aggression, which I believe to be one of the most dangerous behavior problems between cats and dogs. The cat seems to truly be in an altered state and incapable of controlling their actions. I’m very glad neither JJ or Robin have this issue.
Life with Riley & Stella says
Our own tortie was not thrilled when we brought home a kitten. We did the introductions slowly and for the most part things were okay but occasionally the tortie would go after the kitten. Not ever hurting (biting, scratching) it but slapping around and intimidation were involved. Our yellow lab at the time appointed herself protector of the kitten and anytime there started to be conflict she would move in between to settle things down. It was fascinating to watch.
That was also the dog that loved to tattle on the cats. I always knew a cat was on the counter (which I couldn’t see from our living room) because Lucy would rush to tell me.
Emily says
Cats, oh my, how I could go on 🙂 but I certainly couldn’t top the wonderfully laid-out plan above. I’m reluctant to admit how many cats are in my life… In addition to the adoptable cats at the shelter where I work, there’s a long-established feral colony in the shelter parking lot, I manage a feral colony on my property and I have personal cats… golly, they really don’t read the books. I love to cat-watch and they always blow me away with unexpected nuances in social communication.
Two incidents that opened up insights for me… Years ago, within a week or two of each other, we got in two adult male cats (unrelated and from different areas) at the shelter. Lance was a big handsome tabby and white, around 6 years old; Otis was a big fluffy orange-and-white around 12. Both intact, and both, alas, positive for feline AIDS. But they weren’t symptomatic and they weren’t fighters, and we decided to try to find indoor-only placements for them. Every night, when we closed, we let them out in the cattery to have out-of-cage time. One night, I opened Lance’s cage, and he came out, stretched, and lay down in the middle of the room. Then I opened Otis’s cage, and he came out, stretched, and lay down in the middle of the room about two feet away from Lance. They didn’t look sat each other, they didn’t do anything that looked like “greeting.” They were just supremely comfortable hanging out in voluntary proximity, a couple of feet away. And I got it: they were buddies. That sharing of space, that willingness to be that close, was the expression of their comfort and liking of each other. So I stopped looking directly at “body language” per se and just started observing that in cats–voluntary proximity and spacial relationships–and everything started making so much more sense. (BTW, both cats were eventually adopted into good homes.)
The second story… the founding queen of my feral colony (she was finally trapped and altered) was a timid Siamese mix I called Bianca. One night, I heard a meow I didn’t recognize, went out to see if it was a strange cat… lo-and-behold, there by the garage was Bianca and she had caught herself a mouse. The meows were coming from Skitters, Bianca’s daughter from her last litter of kittens, also spayed… It looked like Skitters was begging the mouse off her Mum. The kicker–Skitters was now four years old! They had stayed together all that time, and yup, Bianca allowed her very adult daughter to have the mouse.
After watching cats colonies for over a decade… wow, I could just kick myself for not keeping field notes. Cats are just amazing, so under-estimated in their social complexity, and thank you so much, Trisha, for giving them and their behavior some much needed attention and respect.
lin says
When we got our Pupper dog, we (or at least I) knew we would have a cat in our future, so we had the dog tested for prey drive. Two years later we chose Mr. Kitty from the animal shelter where I volunteered. I had read up about introductions, so Mr. Kitty was settled in the laundry room (which got a lot of natural light from the sliding glass door), and we started a gradual introduction. After about week and a half we had progressed to the point of having a baby gate between the laundry room and the kitchen. One evening we heard a crash and rushed to the kitchen. Mr. Kitty had jumped the gate, knocking it over. He figured it was time to join the family.
Pupper was jealous of Mr. Kitty, and she would wrinkle her nose or occasionally bare her teeth at him (but never made a feint towards him). Mr. Kitty must have lived with dogs before, because he was occasionally wary, but never really scared. We have photos of him ursurping Pupper’s bigger bed, and drinking from Pupper’s water bowl in front of her. I think he would have liked to have been her friend if only Pupper would have allowed it.
We lost both of them almost a year ago, and now have a cat and plan to add a dog. So we will have the reverse style of introduction.
Margaret McLaughlin says
With cat/dog interactions, the earlier the better. I had 3 adult cats when I got my first dag, Cobie, in 1995. Asaide from establishing a few dog-free zones in my tiny apartment I let them work it out–he was a Keeshond, almost 3 years old, & low prey drive. Little interaction, no problems–my cats were used to visits from my landlord’s Lab, so they were not afraid of dogs. When Moggie died I decided to be much more proactive with the next kitten; I had read studies showing that under 7 weeks, kittens do not recognize other species as either predator or prey–they’ll make friends with dogs or rodents. I persuaded the breeder to let me bring Cobie to her house to meet the kitten at 3 weeks. It took some persuading–she had never had a dog in her house before, & all her adult cats were horrified, up as high as possible, with fat tails & lots of hissing. The kitten was another story. She pranced right up to Cobie, who was on a down-stay, plopped down between his front paws, & got a bath. A dog lover for life.
When Cobies died in 2003, I already had Elly, but she has always been indifferent to cats. Briar Rose had to wait until 2005 to have her own dog again. When I first saw Lia when she was 3 weeks old & her breeder’s cat was sitting on the side of the whelping box, supervising the puppies. Clearly a match made in heaven. Lia & Briar Rose were BFFs until Briar Rose died (along with both my other cats) at the time of the pet food recall in 2008. After a few months I adopted another Siamese from the local Humane Society, & Bramble & Lia bonded instantly. I also used Feliway, & I’m sure it helped smooth the transition–the shelter people told me that Bramble had been adopted twice & returned, but he slid into my household like a hand into a glove. I tell people that I have a cat (Nettle) & Lia has her own cat–Bramble. I just feed him. In truth, he is very affectionate with me, but Lia is his love.
What I find interesting is that the relationship is the same, but it is now between 2 different animals.
Alexandra says
My cat is deceased now, but she was SO MEAN to my poor dogs. She barely weighed 8 pounds, but she bossed my 68 lb lab mix around in particular. Kitty had two favorite “games” that she used to torment Izzy. One, Denial of Area where Kitty would sit in the hall or a doorway and Izzy would be stuck afraid to go by the cat and get nailed. We’d hear whimpering and have to go rescue the dog from the cat. Two, Chase the Dog Out of the Room where Kitty would stalk Izzy and then ambush her from somewhere sneaky and chase her out of the room. Izzy never appreciated any of these games and we had to keep an eye on the poor dog. We also belatedly realized that when we first got Izzy, Kitty would sit on top of her crate and poke her with her paws while we were at work. Poor dog! Kitty was also not to be bested when we got our border collie. He tried herding her a few times and got swatted for his efforts. He learned pretty quickly that cats have far more “eye” than BCs. The only dog she tolerated was my Lab who just isn’t particularly startled by anything. Once she realized she couldn’t intimidate him, Kitty decided she’d just have to tolerate him because, I think, the idea of a real fight sounded like too much energy.
ABandMM says
My first dog Morgan (shepherd mix) was a frustrated on-leash cat hunter. We lived in an area with a lot of outdoor cats and she knew all their hangouts. She would look for the kitties (and try to drag the human with her to check out under the bushes), but being on leash, I would never let her get one. I had to go out of town for ~ 2.5 weeks and didn’t want to board her for that long, and my only option was leaving her with my brother, SIL and their 3 cats.
Our vet’s technician had dog-adapted cats and offered to let me bring Morgan over to meet her cats and get an idea of how strong Morgan’s interest in cats was. Morgan was definitely interested in the cats (sniffing them, following them around) but nothing that seemed to indicate trouble (she didn’t corner them or try to attack them). So Morgan went to stay with my brother and kind of got put in her place the first night there when Ollie (a not so nice cat, the other two were mellow and kept to themselves) bopped her on the nose (and scratched my arm when I tried to pet it). I was quite surprised when I returned from my trip to find my dog lying in the hallway with 3 cats walking all around her! They said that she and the cats got along fine, occasionally napping together (?!).
I was at my brother’s a few weeks ago (sans my dog) and they now have 4 cats (only one from the Morgan years). Nice cats, friendly wanted to be petted and all, but their walking all over the table and counter tops freaked me out. And I’m not used to having things sleep on my head. The dogs I share my bed with don’t do that. So yeah, I’m a dog person.
Trisha, your kitties are gorgeous and I’m glad that they enjoy living in the barn and keeping the critter population under control .
Alexandra W says
I actually wrote about my dog and my parents’ cat interacting quite a bit on the last thread, so I will copy it over here:
Romeo is an only dog, but he has lived with cats for years; my parents’ kitten (well, 2.5 year old cat, now) absolutely adores Romeo, but Romeo isn’t so sure about the cat! It’s funny to watch them play, because both of them want to engage with one another, but the cat has no idea what Romeo’s play bows mean, and Romeo hates getting dive bombed without warning (aka how cats play). Romeo gets very possessive of the couch and bed around the cat in part because he knows that if he falls asleep in the same room as the cat, there’s a fair chance he will be woken suddenly by a sudden assault from his feline companion. This isn’t the kind of subtle dominance people are talking about upthread – Romeo just uses his superior size and strenght (30 lb beagle vs 10 lb cat) to push the cat off of the furniture and “escort him from the room”, and then he falls asleep. The cat doesn’t seem to mind though – he will try to sneak back in for a cuddle once Romeo is too tired to object.
How do we even characterize interspecies communication? Can you talk about a dog being dominant over a cat, or vice versa? While I sometimes joke that my parents’ cat thinks he’s a dog, as he was fostered with dogs and lived with Romeo ever since he was adopted, it’s clear that Romeo knows precisely what my parents’ cat is. My favorite example of this is that Romeo doesn’t offer play bows much, and usually they’re quite subtle. HOwever, a few days ago Romeo invited play from the kitten, and offered a deep, exaggerated play bow for an extended time, say 10 seconds, before ducking in to play. It was almost like an American abroad shouting his English in the hopes that the French sommelier will understand him. Romeo can’t speak “cat”, but he hopes that if he speaks “dog” loud enough the cat will understand him!
—
My parents have always had cats, and until recently I lived with my parents – it’s strange not having a cat in the house, I miss them! Growing up, my mother was always finding a cat at the shelter and wheedling my father into accepting it, and then doing introductions through closed doors. The procedure was not as elaborate as the one described above – mostly just separation for a few days or weeks, and then throwing them all together in the house. About two thirds of the time, it worked itself out fine. Several times, however, it worked out badly.
The earliest memory I have is when my parents added a young female to a household with two middle aged, bonded males (all speutered, none related). While one male accepted the female fine, the other, a black cat named Figaro, was so distraught he took to living in the rafters on the ceiling and projectile vomiting whenever the female entered the room.
The second, probably worst example is when my parents got me a kitten at the age of eleven. The kitten lived in my room for about two months before he began to wander the rest of the house, and in short order he was terrorizing the established, elderly female cat to the point that she would hide in tiny ground-level crawl spaces. Eventually she established her “safe space” in the walk in closet of the master bedroom, and essentially never left except to eat and use the litter box. This lasted for years – she was a very small cat, and the kitten outweighed her at six months and terrorized her mercilessly for the rest of her life.
Interestingly, when we added a neutered male several years later, after the death of the elderly female cat, he and the other male cat made peace in about a week and lived well with each other for the rest of their lives. They never took to a young female my parents added, however – but that was a cat with appalling feline social skills and a lot of “doglike” behaviors — they wouldn’t attack her, they just acted mortally offended by her presence, as if she were constantly committing faux pas, which indeed she did. She used to sound like a bowling ball when she’d come down the stairs – incredibly noisy! Eventually my parents rehomed her.
My parents’ current cat is indoor-outdoor and a very, very, very territorial young cat who has attacked and injured several neighborhood cats. My parents will probably not add another cat to their home while he’s with them for obvious reasons. I just wish they’d keep him inside!
Robin Jackson says
Living in semirural areas, we’ve always had lots of cats and lots of dogs. At one point 4 dogs and 9 cats on a 5 acre property, in a region where everyone else had acreage as well.
One habit I learned as a child which we carried on into even apartment life was to have a room with a Dutch door with a shelf on it. All our cats would sit on the shelf and decide when and if to go into the next room, and it kept the dogs from bugging them.
Something like this:
http://fineartamerica.com/featured/cat-on-a-dutch-door-emanuel-tanjala.html
LunaGrace says
Years ago, I considered myself a Dog Person, not a Cat Person. And I supposed that came from having a thundering herd of Siberian Huskies who would snatch-snap-spit any unfortunate cat who came within killing range of them. I just got tired of burying kitties so I told both my kids, “No cats!”. Until my daughter brought home a fierce little stray kitten with the “Mom, can we keep her?” and I caved in, telling her that SHE would be the one to bury this cat if the Siberians got her. Him, as it turned out, and Slash became the Ruler of the Household, putting the Fear of Cats into each and every one of the Siberians as long as he lived.
When my daughter joined the military, she asked if I would take care of Slash so she didn’t have to give him up, and I reluctantly agreed. Reluctantly because, after all, I wasn’t a Cat Person. Within 3 weeks, Slash moved his sleeping quarters to the bottom of my bed. An uneasy truce because there was always at least one Siberian on the floor beside the bed every night as well, but all the dogs had come to respect Slash and his claws. He came by that name “honestly”. Eight years later when my daughter had enough of the military and returned to civilian life, she came to pick Slash up. I told her she’d have to go find herself another cat because Slash was staying with me. Not quite a Cat Person yet, but a Cat Convert.
A few short years later, Slash was diagnosed with inoperable stomach cancer and I realized I did not want to be, COULD not be, without a cat in the house. Working on the same premise as I had with dogs, I figured Slash could/would help indoctrinate and “train” a new feline to the ways of the household if I found a similar one, so I began searching shelters until I found a promising candidate ….. 700 miles away. I did a little (very little) research and decided Slash was probably a Maine Coon Cat or MCC cross (which was a pretty good guess), and the shelter seemed to think the “newcomer” was a MCC cross as well. Case of mistaken identity as she turned out to be a Siberian cat or Siberian cat mix.
Knowing nothing about cat introduction and nearly next to nothing about cats in general, I went with the program that the shelter had outlined for me. Put a terry cloth towel (as cats are thought to find terry cloth comfortable or comforting) down in a room separate from the Other Cat for “a while”, along with her food, water, and litter box while she becomes accustomed to the sounds and smells of the household. This turned out to be the laundry room/second bathroom which had about a one inch gap under the door. Since Slash was an indoor-outdoor country “working” cat who kept a routine of making his rounds of my small acreage and the neighborhood after breakfast, I knew he’d be out of the house in the mornings, so I began opening the laundry room door to allow the newcomer, Bailey (pre-named by the shelter), to come out if she wished to. Most mornings, she just crouched at the threshold and watched. Just before noon when Slash finished his “rounds”, I’d pick Bailey up and carry her through the house, showing her the windows, the mirrors, the furniture (in my household, it’s called FURniture for a reason!) as much as she would allow before shutting her back in the bathroom again. It took almost 30 days of this before she felt comfortable enough to venture out of the laundry room on her own when I opened the door in the morning.
The day that Bailey and Slash gently touched noses for the first time in a “curiosity sniff”, it seemed like he was pretty thrilled to find himself sharing the household with a cute younger (spayed) female kitty; she was probably pretty disappointed to find the cat on the other side of the door was a lecherous old fleabag nearing the end of his days.
The day Bailey’s curiosity led her out through the “flip door” to the back deck, Slash happened to be enjoying his afternoon bath in the sunshine there while I pretended to read a book but watched them both for nearly an hour of interest and amusement. Bailey cautiously tiptoed down the steps and into the tall grasses near the edge of the yard, weaving her way in and out while stopping here and there to watch a bird or the clouds or just the grasses and trees move with the wind. Slash came alert instantly and marched down the steps to follow Bailey, but always kept 6 to 10 feet behind her, stopping when she did, nonchalontley looking the other way when she glared at him. Slash was definitely keeping his watchful eye on her while Bailey was nailing him to a certain distance away with her eye.
Although Slash and Bailey never became snoozing buddies who would curl up together in the 14 months they shared the household, I truly believe that her presence gave him a second wind, a new lease on life and extended it many more months than if he hadn’t had another cat to ‘watch over’. He taught her how to hunt, presenting her with a dead mouse which she seemed horrified with but she soon surpassed him in ability and brought him all sorts of dead or semi-live “prizes” to cheer him up with when he lost all energy. And I know that she missed him and mourned him in her own way for several months after he died too.
Slash had only passed away 6 months before I had the opportunity to make a 3 week trip to Europe. Not wanting to leave Bailey alone in the house for that long with just a once-a-day petsitter to look in on her, I thought the time was right to adopt another cat. Searching the shelters again, I found a likely prospect, a male Maine Coon Cat, 14 hours drive away and went out straight away to bring him home so he could have several months to settle into a new home, and Bailey could have a good long time to accept a Newcomer, before I left on my trip. The minute I brought “Baxter” home, she took an instant dislike to him even though we followed the same regimen of locking the New Cat in the laundry room for several weeks. I think because my “policy” is never to give up on an animal taken in, and because Baxter is such an easy-going cat, that he simply learned to tolerated the Queen Diva’s whims and wishes until he found his own niche in the household. Now, seven years later, Bailey almost grudgingly accepts that Baxter IS part of the household, comes and goes through the flip door, has his food bowl within 3 feet of hers, they share the same water dish, and but prefer to use to Outside Litterbox unless they are sick or recovering from teeth cleaning procedures.
The only remaining dog in the household after all these years is a Karelian Bear Dog, Yogi, who I was warned before I got him that ALL KBDs are cat killers; but I explained to Yogi when he arrived that “those cats can KILL you!” so he’s been very cautious around both cats, to the point where he will turn his head and not make eye contact when either comes into the same room. A real conundrum for him as Baxter has decided that Yogi is his Special Friend and makes a point to come over to greet Yogi with a head-to-chin-rub whenever he (Baxter) comes in from his patrols of the property. Yogi has occasionally tried to invite Baxter to play with a bow but seems most confused when Baxter falls to the ground and rolls on his back in acceptance of the invitation. Bailey, of course, would never stoop to acknowledging a mere dog so she continues to tolerate Yogi as a necessary piece of FURniture, whether he’s sleeping on the floor next to the bed or beneath my feet at the table or on the sofa. In a household where 3 languages are spoken, canine, feline, and human; we all still manage to get along comfortably, and I have become a Cat Person as well as a Dog Person.
Lorelei says
I have to giggle a little bit, because my crew is so inured to foster animals coming and going that adding another cat is generally a matter of pretty much turning it loose once it’s comfortable with me. That being said, I’d never ever recommend that somebody use that approach, because there is far too much risk for average cats.
On the other hand, I don’t tend to let loose the hounds on a new cat for some time, because mine are prone to wanting to chase kitties, and unless a cat is very dog savvy, it might result in injury, and not necessarily to the cat. Claws near eyes can be scary.
I think a good portion of it is the time I spent socializing my cats when they were younger, and adding in that the cats always have separate spaces where they can retreat from all other creatures, and they all seem to understand that when it comes to certain rules, *I* rule the house, period. I’ll let them work it out on their own, as long as certain rules are followed, and the unique personalities of the cats I have (well, had, I’m down from 14 to 6, and probably losing more or all of them quite soon unless I find fosters) definitely contributes to the peace as well. I’d love to believe it’s more me, but really it’s probably more them that makes it possible for me to add animals so easily.
Jenny says
We got Wysi as a tiny tortie kitten from a rescue organisation. At first she was a very clingy ‘people’ cat, but in her adolescence she started spending most of her day outside. I missed not having a cat who wanted to be around me, so we adopted another rescue cat, a 19-month-old boy who we were assured was home-loving and loved cuddling.
We probably didn’t introduce them slowly enough because separation was difficult in our small house, but the real problem was that Tigs didn’t seem to have any idea of proper cat etiquette. He would sneak up to Wysi when she was soundly asleep and start sniffing her. Of course she would wake up, see him looming over her and lash out at him. I don’t think he was in any way being aggressive – he was just curious and didn’t understand that was not the way to make friends. He was very slow to learn, and did that over and over again, even though we stopped him if we noticed in time.
They did learn to tolerate each other, but they never became friends. They established separate territories – my chair is hers, DH’s chair was his. Other areas were neutral, but they had to stay a paw’s length apart or one would bat the other as they walked past. Her behaviour had changed after he arrived, and she started spending most of her time indoors – protecting her territory? I was definitely seen as part of that. If I made a fuss of Tigs, Wysi would glare at me, sometimes sulk (which I ignored, of course, as nothing was going to stop me petting Tigs), but she didn’t care when DH cuddled him. As time went on, she would let me bring Tigs to my chair for a cuddle, as long as he didn’t stay too long, but even a few years after we lost Tigs, she will still not sit on the chair he shared with DH.
Wysi is 20 now, with CKD and hyperT. At some point we will lose her and then eventually we will want to share the house with other cats. This time around, we’ll get two cats at the same time. We may look for two litter mates, but more likely two older cats who need rehoming together, and we’ll check they really do like each other first.
CJ says
Thanks so much for posting this Trisha! My family had a cat growing up who was introduced as a kitten who got along great with the family dog, but I didn’t know about all the steps to ensure a smooth transition (we clearly got lucky). I’ve just got a solo dog now who may be too keen on chasing to add a cat to the family, but love that with my next dog there is a good protocol to use.
Yay for Willie on sheep again, however briefly, and delighted that Nellie and Polly are working out so well :).
Megan says
Many years ago, when my husband and I first moved in together, we both had cats. My cat, Christina, was absolutely petrified of all other cats, I had adopted her from family who had just dumped her in their living room with their resident cats and allowed them to “sort out their differences themselves”, which is how she ended up with severely impaired vision in one of her eyes. She was about 9 years old or so.
His cat was a very young 2 year old male aptly named Rascal who would jump on Christina on sight.
Neither of us were willing to let our cats go.
So we took a page from the pit bull rescue groups I used to volunteer for and did a version of crate and rotate. For a while, one cat lived in the bedroom and the other had access to the rest of our apartment and we’d switch every week or so. We eventually moved to an apartment in an old Victorian style home that could be divided off into equal room for each cat. We even picked up a couple of old screen doors from the local reuse center so that they could see each other without attacking each other. It took two years of this extremely slow introduction, but eventually they got to the point where they’d grudgingly tolerate each other. They’d even sleep on the same bed, although never right next to each other.
Christina has since passed away, but Rascal’s still with us and is now our resident old man cat and probably the best mannered of the 3 that we currently have.
While I’m glad we did it because we learned a lot about cat behavior in the process, I’m not sure I’d be willing to go to that level again and we’ll probably be pretty picky about any additional cats we bring into the house.
Kat says
My rotten computer has eaten my two previous attempts to post a comment. Here’s hoping it cooperates this time.
I’ve successfully added a new cat three times as well as two dogs. With the cats we follow much the same procedure outlined in the post except that I do use a crate at meal time after about a week. New cat and current cat are fed in the same room with new cat in the crate across the room. They gradually move closer over days or weeks, depending on how things are going. We also give the established cat priority access to all resources until we see how the feline status is going to shake out. I don’t ever want to be in the position of losing both cats in rapid succession so whenever I add a new cat he (and my cats are always male) is many years younger than the existing cat. My current pair are Meowzart, age 10, and The Great Catsby, almost three. My experience has been that a big age gap like that seems to predispose the new cat to a certain level of respect and helps to keep the older cat healthier and more engaged. Interestingly with the current pair, The Great Catsby controls priority access to all resources except territory; Meowzart controls all the territory and Catsby will not enter a room unless Meowzart is not there or gives permission.
When we added the dog Ranger to the menagerie six years ago we had Katzenjammer and Meowzart for cats. Katzenjammer was what we call a decorator cat, put him on the couch and he’d sleep there all day like a cushion. Meowzart was much more bold and active so my prediction was that he would be the one to explain the rules (cats rule dogs drool) to Ranger. I was wrong. Meowzart took one look at this dog monster and vanished. Katzenjammer, looking like the witness to an ax murder that can’t take his eyes off the horror of it all, followed Ranger (kept leashed at all times for the first week) everywhere growling and hissing at him. This went on for six days. On the seventh day Meowzart followed Ranger around growling and hissing. I’ve always imagined Jammers explaining to Meowzart that it was Meowzer’s turn. When I was comfortable with the notion that the critters would not harm one another Ranger was unleashed. That’s when the cats taught him an unshakable down stay. From across the room a cat could growl, hiss, and swat in a particular pattern and Ranger would drop like he’d been shot and would not move until the cat was removed from the room. It took me months to get a down stay that was anywhere near as reliable. Of course I was using positive reinforcement, the cats were threatening positive punishment.
After Katzenjammer died we added The Great Catsby. Catsby, then 10 months old, turned out to be very dog savvy as well as having excellent feline social skills. He slid into the household like he’d always been here. Ranger in his time with us had only known indoor cats. Inside Catsby could literally walk up to Ranger’s dinner bowl and Ranger would move aside to let Catsby eat his food. Very funny to see the 11 pound cat take bones away from the 90 pound dog. The first time The Great Catsby tried to go outside he met an entirely different Ranger. Inside, cats rule and dogs drool, Outside, cats are livestock to be herded back into the house with tremendous enthusiasm. Catsby, when greeted with the laser stare, slow stalk, and determined herding slowly backed back across the threshold and into the house. He still tries to go out which is Ranger’s favorite part of the day–herding cats is absolutely the best fun in the whole world. They’ve negotiated the front porch as being part of the house. Catsby will often tease Ranger pretending he’s going to step off the porch and when Ranger focuses his attention Catsby changes his mind.
A few months after adopting Catsby, in what I now know to be a fit of total insanity, we added another dog, Finna. She’s good with Ranger and with Catsby. She’s not very good at respecting Meowzart’s boundaries but she’s just interested in getting to know him with her nose not in chasing or harassing him. I’m lucky that Ranger and Catsby both have exceptional social skills both within and across species. With less savvy animals Finna could have been a disaster. I’m entertained that Finna and Catsby have become fast friends and partners in crime. Working together they discovered it was possible for them to open the refrigerator. Catsby’s claws can break the seal just enough for Finna’s nose to pop the door open. We discovered this the night they helped themselves to the package of steak. There’s now a child safety latch on the fridge, one that requires oppose-able thumbs to operate.
I could go on and on with stories of how the critters live together and their relationships but it looks like I’ve already contributed most of a novella so I’d better stop. 😉
Julie says
I wish I had known this last year when I adopted my new cat, Ginger. She is young, maybe about 2, and my “old” cat Callie hated her with a passion. I had only introduced dogs to cats and cats to dog in the past, with no problem, and was unaware of this cat difficulty! The shelter did provide instructions similar to above that I followed, but Callie still hisses and growls at Ginger more than a year later. It was a happy day for me when I walked into my bedroom and saw them both on the bed. This was after MANY months and still doesn’t happen very often. They have never actually fought to the point of injury– one of them will walk away or sit down and start grooming. The first time Callie saw me holding Ginger, she went crazy and bit ME! Callie still kind of “traps” Ginger. For example, if Ginger is in the basement, Callie will station herself on the landing so that Ginger has to walk right by her to come upstairs, and she won’t do this. Too scary to walk that close to Callie, because Callie will hiss and growl. Ginger is always wary about where Callie is, and gives her wide berth. Except there are rare occasions where Ginger won’t back down and may even chase Callie. They are each very interested in what the other is doing. They now coexist, I feed them about 3 feet away from each other, and the hissing is less — but it is not the happy picture I envisioned of them cuddled up together.
Beth with the Corgis says
We introduced our then-kitten Boo to two dogs three years ago using pretty much the method above, though it was truncated to a couple weeks because the cat was young and outgoing and the dogs were familiar with cats. We left the cat in her safe room for a week (she came to us with a cone from a spay, so obviously we didn’t want her to start meeting the dogs wearing that thing), then we would crate the dogs in the kitchen while we let her downstairs. We then moved to baby-gating the dogs. We would not leave them alone unsupervised until the cat was around 7 months old and had put on some weight.
Our Jack was raised with a cat and was very curious and cat-savvy. Maddie came to us as an adult and was not raised with cats. She was fine with the elderly cat we had when we brought Maddie home, but a day or two after we started letting the kitten loose in the house, I found Maddie apparently trying to run away from home; she’d be plastered in the corner behind the toilet (a tight squeeze), or all the way out by the door to the garage. She was so worried because THIS cat ran around and played. Worry soon turned to fascination and then obsession, so we really needed to work on getting her to ignore the cat QUICKLY. She was so obsessed that even waving food would not always break the spell (she would stare at where the cat disappeared for thirty minutes at a time) so I did spritz her once with a water mister from a plant and praised/treated like crazy when she looked at me in surprise. I only needed to do that twice before I got a reliable look for saying her name and things improved quickly from there.
We did have one bad experience where Boo scratched Jack right in the cornea. It was (of course) 11pm and it was (of course) a work night. We had to take a trip to the Emergency Vet in the middle of the night, and a couple hours later came home with a cone for 10 days and eye drops, which Jack assured me stung like the dickens. The worst of it was, the cat scratched him for no reason that would make any sense to a dog or person (but made perfect sense to the cat): he was lying on his side, half asleep on the floor with his eyes at half-mast. However, he was not far enough away from the bottom of the stairs for the cat’s liking. Controlling the stairway and the area around its top and bottom is very important to this cat (sometimes, in that unpredictable manner of cats), and she is a cat with a very low frustration threshold. So she scratched him, claws out, intentionally in the eye. I have never given up an animal before but I had very serious thoughts of giving her up that night. Scratching a dog in the eye for self-defense is one thing; an unprovoked attack on a half-asleep dog is another matter altogether.
Other than that, things mostly run smoothly. Jack and the cat actually get along well (which is why the event was so surprising and upsetting) and even play tag sometimes (always initiated by the cat). Maddie is still not good at reading cat body language and sometimes she and the cat get in a brief argument, which Jack will generally break up if I don’t get there first. But those are few and far between.
Beth with the Corgis says
I do have two cat stories that have nothing to do with dogs, one sad and one funny.
When I moved with my very shy cat Alice (she was a foundling as a young kitten and was an exceptionally timid soul who thought the sun rose and set over me and that everyone else was awful; I miss her terribly to this day) to an apartment, the prior tenant also had cats. I believe it was the smell of the cats that freaked her out (because when I later moved her to our house, she adapted in a day or two).
She went under the bed and would not come out at all, except in the wee hours of the night when she would pace and howl. She stopped eating and lost nearly three pounds, and no special food would coax her (I even tried feeding her under the bed at various times of day).
Terrified and heartbroken, I called my then-vet and got the worst advice ever (one of the reasons I switched vets was this experience): they told me to lock her in a small room with no place to hide and a litterbox, to force her to stay out in the open. Why I believed them I’ll never know, but I was desperate at this point.
I did what they said and went in a half hour later to check on her, and found her frozen in terror, crouched IN her litterbox. I started sobbing huge gulping apologies to the poor thing and promised her she could stay under my bed as long as she wanted.
Thankfully, she started eating soon after that but it took her many months to have the courage to leave the bedroom, and longer still to relax in the rest of the apartment.
The funny story is about my current cat, Boo. Other than begging for food, she is not much of a talker. She is always quiet when she plays with toys. However, she has one stuffed raccoon toy that she’s had for awhile. For the past two months or so, she will periodically pick up the toy and move it to another part of the house, singing to it (that’s the only way I can describe the vibrato yodeling she does) the whole time. I don’t know if she thinks of it like a kitten? Strangest noise I’ve ever heard a cat make over a toy, and it’s only this one toy and only when she moves it.
I also was once working in my kitchen and heard Boo making an awful growling racket. I looked up and saw a young stray cat out on our deck, right outside the big window Boo was sitting in. Boo was puffed to three times her normal size. Jack, of course, was on his way over to see what was troubling her and luckily I saw his intent and called him off before he got nailed in displaced anger.
I think cats are much tougher than dogs because while you can modify their behavior somewhat, they are not nearly as eager to please as dogs and the cat you have is pretty much the cat you will always have. I have worked for years on Boo’s frustration tolerance and while there has definitely been improvement, she will just always be a little explosive when it comes to not getting her way. Alice was shy and that never got better, and if you tried to bribe her with treats she was instantly suspicious and hid. It’s very hard to counter-condition a shy cat like you would a shy dog.
Mary says
Thank you so much for writing about cat behavior. I never had too much problem introducing a new cat until the last one. I always did the slow intro much as you outlined and in time, they would become friends. The dogs never minded but I always made sure that they were cat tolerate. I had 2 feral male kittens I tamed. At age 3, the more dominate one was killed and the other one (Jerry) went into a pretty obvious mourning period of some 6 months. They were in the basement when I was at work and the dogs were in the kitchen. After his brother died, he started pushing the door open so he could be with the dogs. At about age 6 for Jerry, a 3 month old female kitten literally followed me home from about a half mile away (Nissa – yes the place she started from didn’t want her – I checked). She immediately played long and hard with the 2 dogs – jumping up on the couch back and batting at them. I had to stop it when she started reeling from exhaustion. The dogs kept going to me to say this is the best toy you ever brought us! Instant love all around. I thought Jerry might like another feline pal since he was such a sociable cat. But Jerry was not very pleased and hissed at her and turned his back to her. She kept jumping on him and he kept slapping her down with a soft paw. He never hurt her but it took a good 3 months for him to stop being pissed she was there and another 3 months for real peace. After a year, they were best buds. He would occasionally park himself in her preferred place which wasn’t really big enuf for both of them. I think just to make sure she knew he was top cat.
Some 5 years later, a neutered male fully adult cat arrived. I discovered him hiding in some plants by my driveway with Nissa hissing and growling at him from some 6 feet away. The new cat had been looking for a home and hanging out at a neighbor’s place for months. They told me they did not want him and hated cats. When he saw me, he immediately came out of the plants and purred loudly at me acting very friendly. So I fed him and he stayed (yes, I have “sucker” written on my forehead that the cats can read). He has been a real problem ever since. No amount of gradual inuring the other cats to him helped at all. He fights the other cats and is a real bully to Nissa. Jerry never started at fight but he never backed down either. Blood was drawn several times and it was usually the new cat (Syl) had the bloodied nose. His behavior looked to me like he was trying to chase the other 2 cats away so he could be the only cat. He got along great with the dogs and would play with them but never got violent. Eventually, Jerry won too many of the fights and refused to budge his place so they reached a detente and the new cat stopped attacking him until Jerry got really old and was dying. Then, I had to keep Syl away from him to protect him.
The dynamic with Nissa is that Syl chases her and she always runs from him so he chases and if he catches her, there’s a yowling ball of cat fight. I’ve grabbed him by the scruff to separate them and sometimes there’s blood drawn. Nissa lands more blows than Syl but she is clearly afraid of him. His posture is very much that of looking for a fight. As soon as I see that, go after them and he runs under the bed from me until I chase him out of there. I have tried everything from feliway, isolation so he gets the opposite of what he is after, drugs from the vet, and nothing makes any difference at all in his behavior. I can keep the peace the best by having him spend a lot of time outside. If he is outside hunting and whatever else he does, he doesn’t bother her much. She still hates him and hisses at him and if you didn’t know the history, you might think she is the aggressor. I’m currently having more issues with his aggression because he has to be inside to heal from a nasty bite on his arm, likely from another cat who I have no doubt he harassed and started the fight. The week before he got another slash on top of his head. I call him the Evil Extra Cat. He is nice and friendly to humans and dogs but awful to cats.
The very weird thing is that I have a camper van and when we go traveling/camping in the van, the fights and aggression stop – in 89 sq ft. Nissa hisses at him sometimes but I find them both peaceably sleeping on the bed a foot apart. We have a bit of a litterbox issue so I have to have 2 of them for them. It is Nissa who does not want to be in a trapped position in the box. They often are at opposite ends of the van. Nissa sometimes wants to hop out to explore but Syl does not. I can have the door wide open and he might look out but declines to leave the van almost all the time. It’s like he’s saying you’re not getting rid of me that easily!
The original 2 dogs died before Jerry died and 3 years ago I adopted a new dog, an old fashioned smooth Collie at 5 1/2 months. They brought her to see my home and my condition was that the cats had veto power. The cats both met the new dog and just shrugged. They showed zero stress about her and she was just curious. The cats have shown a lot of stress upon meeting some dogs so I took their indifference as approval. She had apparently had a stray cat as her only playmate before she was rescued. Both cats never had any issues with the puppy and Syl will actively play with her, even starting it . He rolls over and bats at her. She gets noisy barking at him, I think because he doesn’t do the play bow and she gets frustrated with him – that cross species mis cue. When Syl has enough, he just runs off and she lets him, never chasing. The dog will do that nibbling on the cat with her front teeth and he doesn’t mind. Nissa doesn’t really play with the dog but she doesn’t mind the dog either. The dog barks at the cats when Syl decides to bully Nissa. This dog herds everybody in the neighborhood and raptors but she doesn’t try to herd the cats. They aren’t at all cooperative either.
Just this week, the dog curled her lip and growled at Syl sitting about 3 feet way from her and her lying next to my chair. I don’t know what that was about but I did the anti-violence shunning routine on her for that. And today, she growled at Nissa, so same thing. She just got diagnosed with spondyloses so maybe that has something to do with the sudden aggression. She hasn’t done this before. With Nissa, the cat was next to me with the dog sitting on the other side, I asked her if she wanted a bone and then she growled at her with a stare but no lip curl so it might have been some resource aggression. Needless to say, she forfeited the bone.
I think I wrote an novella too!
Pike says
The cats – especially Nellie – are gorgeous! It is so great that you found a way that you can have cats despite your allergies.
Way back when, tiny eight week old Gremmi (“His Grey Eminence”) was introduced to 2 adult dogs and one adult cat in my household. I was doing the appropriate things with the dogs – but not with the established cat. For some reason, it never crossed my mind that the adult cat could possibly be afraid of the small, new kitten. So, before I even realized that there was a problem, she had moved out and became an outdoor cat who would only come in at night to eat. That was very sad.
With the dogs, all went fine for about a day. Then a friend came over with her Border Collie (about twice the seize than your common one) and somehow he managed to open the door to the kitty room when we weren’t looking. There was some commotion and by the time we rushed over, things were being settled: Gremmi was crouching on top of the extra large dog crate, all few ounces of him hissing, spitting and growling down at the Border Collie – with my two dogs (I had a hound and a Portuguese Waterdog then) watching from a safe distance. The Border Collie was more than happy to be called away from this situation. Shortly after the dog slunk away, Gremmi jumped off the crate and walked through the open door to finally check out the rest of HIS house.
Him and the Portie became best friends and played for many years when they were younger. It was so, so cute to watch them. All other dogs were quickly trained to be respectful of this cat’s space as Gremmi was very smart about it and only needed to be aware of a dog in his house to set himself up for success.
One of the funniest first encounters, was with my friend’s Miniature Pinscher. Fritz rushed into the office yipping something that sounded very much like: “Hooray, hooray, a cat to chase!” Then the yipping turned into shrieking and out he came again, running as fast as he could, through the kitchen, through the store, up the stairs – with Gremmi right at his heels. No dog was physically harmed in the process, and they have never had any problems since.
Now, Gremmi is 16 and still a tough big boy. Much to my current hound’s chagrin. Try as she might, Ronja can not boss him around and though they usually do get along fine, they sometimes still behave like two-year-olds, who first pester each other, then fight, before eventually complaining to me when one or the other gets too rough. Needless to say that he is as sweet as can be to my little Pom who is not even half his weight and would never dream of crossing him. Thankfully, he is no longer a street fighter, but has settled into a nice old guy routine where he is mostly just watching the outside life and all the neighbor’s cats peacefully from the steps of my bookstore before eventually heading back to a sunny spot for snoozing.
Like Kat, I, too, could go on and on. Cats and dogs are so much fun!
Frances says
After a disastrous experience accidentally “introducing” two adult cats (I should have made sure cat number 1 was not in the house before letting cat number 2 out of the basket – his greeting was so exuberant it took her years to forgive him) I have only introduced young cats to kittens, and adult cats to puppies. I adopted Pippin and Mallow as kittens – siblings from the same litter. When they were around 7 months old, Mallow vanished one Sunday morning, and despite the efforts of the whole village was never seen again. Pip missed him dreadfully, but by the time I began to accept that Mallow was not coming back it was Christmas, and not the best time to be rehoming a kitten. Pip and I spent Christmas with my parents, and as soon as the rescue centres reopened I began ringing around – kitten needed, preferably ginger, anything suitable considered… One had a kitten for rehoming that was being fostered just a short distance from my parents house, but she was “not your usual kitten’. She had been returned by her first home for being “wild and feral”. Her fosterer brought her round next day, and explained that she was rather nervous, but much improved around humans, and we watched as she carefully explored the kitchen. Then we let Pippin in (I know – !!). He was thrilled, she arched and spat, he sat back, she approached, within minutes they were following each other around, then playing, then curled up on a chair for mutual grooming. Some things are just meant to be. He gave her confidence – the archetypal big brother – she was the playmate and companion he craved for, and she quickly grew into the sweet natured, happy little cat she was meant to be. They became less close as they got older – but still hang out together and are content to share a sofa or a bed, just not in close proximity.
With the pups (Papillon and Toy Poodle), both were raised around cats, and they were so tiny when I brought them home they presented no risk. I put them on the floor, let the cats sniff them, accepted the horrified glares thrown my way (“A dog! You’ve brought a DOG into our house?!”), and that, more or less, was that. But the cats are very dog savvy, had long since made friends with the nicer neighbouring and visiting dogs , and I was very certain that they would be able to cope.
I’d be a lot more careful about introducing another adult cat – in fact barring very unforeseen circumstances, I think it will always be kittens. The “baby licence” does seem to often make things much easier, even cross species.
Trisha says
I am loving the short story fest that has resulted from the post! I am so glad others love talking about cats, even those of us who are serious ‘dog lovers.’ I love both species, and celebrate their differences. Keep the stories coming, I’m thinking of these like a book of short stories, and will read them every night on my way to sleep. By the way, I suspect that, unlike me, Willie dislikes cats intensely. He responds to them as if they are livestock, but seems to understand that somehow they are in a different category. It drove him crazy when Sushi lived in the house and she could jump up on the counter or go anywhere she wanted. With Nellie and Polly, he either ignores them, or begins to stalk them until I say “Willieeee…..”. He occasionally glares at them with a look somewhere between an irritated valley girl, a confused adolescent boy on his first date and Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
Amelia says
When I was a kid, I had the two best cats who ever lived, mother and daughter. They were my neighbor’s outdoor-only cats, and when I met them I was a somewhat rude little 7-year old (I grew up with sinfully tolerant cats). I was fascinated with them, but of course they wanted nothing to do with me. I spent a little (sometimes a lot) of time every day feeding them, talking to them, and sitting at a respectful distance near to them without staring at them. What I thought was so funny reading your post is that as a kid I introduced myself to the cats somewhat like another cat! It was a great learning experience for me at the time, because I wanted so badly for the cats to let me pet and hold them, but had to do things their way for years to earn that privilege. Once they trusted me, they trusted me a lot. I would lay with them in the sun most every day, falling asleep in the driveway for all the neighborhood to see. When my neighbors moved, they left me the cats. When I started middle school and had to take the bus every day (which I hated), both cats would walk me to and from the bus stop every day, even though they had to travel through the territories of other, larger cats to do so. I lost one of them to a pair of loose Huskies, the other to illness and age. They were among the best friends, regardless of species, that I’ve ever had.
I appreciate your kitty posts so much, because people (often dog people) love to talk about how cats don’t like people very much. It always bothers me because my experience has been that a relationship with a cat is a precious thing, and requires work to build. Just like, you know, human relationships.
em says
I have been reading these stories with such interest and joy and thinking to myself, ‘gee, I must have gotten very lucky, because I’ve introduced two young adult cats in quite short time frames (a couple of days, rather than weeks) and had no freak outs,’ but then I realized- both my new cats came into my home after months of camping outside it as feral and stray, respectively. So, duh, they DID spend weeks seeing and smelling one another before making contact. Plus, there is a definite self-selection factor, since these are cats who ‘chose’ our household, not cats that I chose from elsewhere.
My feral kitty, Fiona, was at least eight to ten weeks old before we even saw her, outside with her feral mom and littermates, and close to four months old when we took her in. I already had one cat, Sophia, whom I adopted as a tiny kitten. Sophia is my Difficult Cat- she was a lovely, playful, snuggly kitten who developed a second persona at adulthood- ‘There is no kitten, only ZUUUUUULLLL’. Joking aside, she isn’t really hard to live with- she doesn’t want to be handled, tolerates only limited petting, and required weeks of focused positive reinforcement training to permit herself to be picked up, but she is very attached to us, in her own way. She follows us around, will bunt up against us, will happily and fiercely play a game of ‘pounce on the teaser toy’, greets us at the door and generally keeps herself in eyesight at all times. But violate her personal space and look out- she will cut you, man.
When we brought Fiona in, it was something of an unplanned event- she turned up one morning with an injury and I was forced to make a decision. I kept the cats isolated from one another until Fiona’s health tests came back clear (less than a week), but that was it. To my surprise and relief, Sophia decided that while she didn’t LIKE the new cat (and expressed this by smacking with soft paws and growling whenever the kitten approached her), she didn’t hate her any more than she hated everyone else. Fiona was welcome to be in the house as long as she didn’t actually try to touch Sophia. Fiona respected that, and they lived peacefully (and occasionally play together), but never became close friends.
A year later, Sophia had the exact same reaction to my big tom, Creamsicle Cat (he was supposed to be temporary and never got a real name), who respected her wishes to such an extent that he’d be walking through a room, spot her, and circle waaaay around so as not to pass too close.
Fiona the feral kitten is, without exception, the cuddliest, friendliest, sweetest cat that I know. She lives for lap time, she’ll jump to my shoulder (very bad- her claws are like needles and she has extra toes) if I don’t pick her up for a cuddle after my shower (official cuddle time), loves to be carried, comes when she’s called, and has never, ever hissed or growled or swatted at a human for any reason (well, once- but my husband was sitting on her tail. She didn’t even get upset when he sat on her, she only meowed and slapped him with a soft paw after he failed to notice her struggling to free herself for several seconds). She is everything that a late-socialized feral cat should not be. When I brought Creamsicle in, I did not anticipate problems from Fiona.
Technically, I suppose, there really weren’t any- the cats never actually fought, and there were no puffed up freakouts, so I guess the introduction went pretty well. After few days of keeping him isolated, he figured out how to release himself (he was much stronger than the girls, and could pop open doors that they couldn’t) and we just went with it. They “knew” him already from the months that he spent all but permanently affixed to our front porch, so I didn’t worry too much. Sophia ignored him, only slapping if he tried to approach her, but Fiona was so jealous of him she was fit to be tied. She wasn’t afraid of him, it didn’t seem to be personal, but if he was being petted, she’d cross the room to smack him in the face.
Fortunately, he seemed to be in love with HER. Unlike his reaction to Sophia who was both smaller and less generally hostile toward him, he didn’t give up and respect Fiona’s space. Creamsicle followed Fiona around. He reacted to being slapped (she generally didn’t use claws), by closing his eyes and moving his head away a little. Eventually, he grew bolder and would treat the slap as an invitation to wrestle, throw his gigantic (Creamsicle was 20lbs- broad chested, pumpkin headed,-a late-neutered big boy) arm over her and hold her down while he licked her head. She would protest-meow, hiss, and smack him, but she never really had her heart in it to fight with him for real. Eventually she learned that if she was close enough to smack him, she was close enough to grab, and he was much, much stronger. She hit him less, then eventually not at all. After a couple of months, she’d grudgingly lick his face in response when he groomed hers. She never entirely got over her jealousy, but she (and Sophia, who never ceased to look at him like he was something unpleasant that she’d stepped in) evidently became accustomed to his face, relied on his companionship, and mourned him when he died.
Creamsicle, by far the most passive of my cats with other cats, surprised me tremendously by playing the heavy when I brought Otis home. I arranged that the cats had safe-space for their food, beds, and litterboxes, and initially leashed and crated Otis in the house until I was sure that he was well-behaved with the cats. They coped with surprisingly little trouble. They scattered at first, but Creamsicle marched out of his safe-room on the first day and stalked up to the dog. Creamsicle was a 20lb tom cat, but Otis was a (desperately underweight) 11olb dog, yet the cat fixed him with a steady glare and took three very deliberate steps forward. Otis stepped back, and that was it. Relationship established. They were cool together ever after, if not exactly snuggle buddies.
Sophia, my Difficult Cat, shocked me by eschewing her typical prickly reaction, and deciding that discretion is the better part of valor where Otis is concerned. She came creeping out of hiding after a couple of days, owl-eyed, and evidently decided that FINALLY, an creature worthy of respect had come into her life. He ignores her, but does not defer to her as he did to Creamsicle. She bunts up against him, follows him around, and sleeps peacefully in the same room, but if he gives her ‘the look’ she immediately responds. If I tried to scoop her off the couch or herd her inside, I’d get my hand slapped, but Otis gets no back-talk.
Fiona, predictably, is jealous of Otis. She was the most afraid of him, and spent the longest (though it was only a couple of weeks) avoiding him. She would sneak out to sniff him when he was sleeping, that first week, but if he made any kind of move, she scurry back to the safe room. Eventually she started standing her ground, and moving about the house normally again but usually with a bit of bluster whenever he came near her- a hiss or growl, a bit of arching or puffing. He mostly ignored her, but sometimes needed to be redirected for staring at her, which he didn’t do with the other cats.
It took nearly four years, the death of Creamsicle (her protector), and a lifestyle change -( we moved to a house where it was safe for her to go outside, and Fiona, indoor-only for ten years, was in HEAVEN- she had never lost her desire to go outside, and doing so bolstered her confidence and reduced her anxiety in almost all other areas of her life)- but Fiona has finally fully made her peace with Otis. She’ll flop down near him and let him sniff her without getting upset. She’ll never love him, I don’t think, or even play chase with him as she does with Sophia, but she no longer is bothered by him.
Both cats were Totally Unimpressed when we brought Sandy home. Creamsicle was gone by the time she came into our home, but Sophia and Fiona were already Over It, when it came to Otis. Sandy, half his size and afraid of cats, made almost no impression at all when she moved in. Sophia will torment her by guarding doorways, and Fiona will sleep actually touching her on the couch (enjoyable for Fiona, who likes the warmth, not so much for Sandy, who is not QUITE nervous enough to move away, but isn’t exactly relaxed, either). Sandy’s fear comes from the fact that her former household included a cat named Spiteful. It is apt.
After two years, she still can’t quite believe that the cats won’t attack her- even Sophia, who enjoys blocking her away from things, won’t actually hit her for anything less than a real invasion of personal space, (and she won’t hit Otis even for that-he can LICK her), but Sandy is timid around them, which makes Sophia wickedly gleeful and Fiona comfortable enough to snuggle, much to poor Sandy’s chagrin.
So that is my personal saga of cat introductions. If my cats, and the hours I spent watching the feral colony near my old apartment have taught me anything, it’s that cats truly are a law unto themselves. Unlike my dogs, whose behavior I can predict nearly 99% of the time, the cats never cease to surprise me. They are so complex and subtle, I never tire of watching them or of hearing about the cats of others.
Bianca Arlette Schmid says
We had both kind of introductions. First we introduced adult cat Stanley to our 2 adult resident cats Zeus and Fabs. We rescued Stanley from a former “friend” of ours who had been made homeless. She had already moved Stanley through at least 4 different house shares before she contacted us and begged us to take him “temporarily”. Despite knowing that this “temporary” would most likely be permanent, we agreed. And after seeing how this once confident kitten had become a very shy cat who was afraid of anyone walking into the room (especially men although as a kitten he used to prefer them), we decided that we would not return Stanley to a person who would never be able to offer him a secure and permanent home even if she asked, she did not.
We closed the lounge door and let Stan have a good sniff around, although after 10 minutes he jumped on the windowsill and more or less stayed there for the next 2 months. He would jump every time someone walked in, even more so when my partner walked in (or any other male person) but he showed no real interest in the other cats. Zeus and Fabs did a lot of sniffing, there were a few warning hisses and growls, but no altercations. We kept everyone indoors for 3 weeks and then introduced Stanley to our garden while on the lead a few times. Less than 2 months after he moved in, Stanley was secure enough to sleep on our bed occasionally although he does prefer the top of our wardrobe or the cool shadow under our bed. 2 years later, Stanley is the king of the neighbourhood. He has rediscovered his love for cuddles with men (my partner is thrilled as the other 2 cats and our dogs are more mommy’s boys & girl) and although he is not cuddly with Fabs or Zeus, he will always come to their rescue if a neighbour’s cat thinks they can attack them.
Then, 1 year ago, we introduced a 8 1/2 weeks old Staffordshire Terrier cross puppy Amaya into the mix. Considering that the puppy would grow into a relatively powerful dog, we wanted to make sure that she would learn to respect the cats as equal members of the family. We had Amaya in a crate when we brought her in and the cats (Stanley first) had a good sniff around. There was a lot more confusion and hissing than when we brought Stanley in because none of the cats had ever met a dog before. We waited for the cats to become “disinterested” and as they had taken their usual places on the cat tree and windowsill, we let Amaya have a sniff around the lounge for the first time.
For the next few weeks we made sure that cats and dog never had unsupervised contact. Obviously, sometimes the puppy was just a little too quick to bounce after a cat but it took one swipe across the nose from Fabs (no claws used) and the approaches became much more careful. Both dog and cats learned how to read each other’s body language much better now. For example, Amaya now knows that waving her paw as a play invitation is not going to get her anywhere and she tends to just nudge the cats if she wants to initiate play. Zeus is the only one who will allow her to pin him down, but then he turns onto is back and pats at her.
1 year down the line: Stanley, still being the loner, will tolerate Amaya as long as Amaya keeps her distance. Fabs often tries to steal Amaya’s dry food and we have to rescue our “powerful” dog from the food thief, but they have been found sleeping next to each other. Zeus and Amaya are definitely closest. They play with each other, Zeus always rubs himself all over her and loves getting his doggy kisses.
And Amaya will ALWAYS try and run into the garden if she hears one of the cats scream outside as there are so many cats in this area that disputes are not rare. She will even try to come to Stan’s aide because despite them not being friends, he is family.
Laura says
wow guys, all these stories are just great. My sister, was always a dog person, but ever since adopting Howard the wonder cat, last March, she has become a cat nut. Tricia, I’ve already pointed her to this post and hope she reads it. When I had to go over to their apartment with Seamus, I told them to just let Howard do whatever he needed to so that he would feel safe. Seamus was leashed and even in harness for the first introduction to hopefully reign his excitability around cats in. Seriously, this dog goes completely bonkers around cats. he doesn’t want to hurt them, but his ears prick forward, he becomes very tense, just as if he were going to chase them and I think he is, and if I don’t let him off leash to see the kitty he cries like a child having a tantrum. My sister suggested after several introductions with Howard, that we let Seamus off leash to see what he would do. He sprang from his down position like a bullet and I thought, oh no, here we go, but instead of going for the cat, who was high up in his cat tree and watching all of this, he went for all the little cat toys scattered about. He was running around the apartment in absolute manic joy. “Mom Mom Mom… look! Cat stuff… cat things! Oh boy Mom… cat smell cat smell cat smell! Ooh, water bowl… gulp gulp gulp. Hey! left over cat food on the floor! oh yeah, TOYS!”I wish I could explain it better visually, but that’s what I believe he’s thinking as he’s zooming around the apartment, checking out everything. After Howard came down from the tree, Seamus approached him, tail wagging big. My dog is wonderful with other dogs, but he thinks Howard is another dog and, after a gentle nose to nose sniff, Seamus play-bowed and Howered boxed his face with soft front paws. I admire How’s inhibition. He could’ve scratched seamus very badly and didn’t. Seamus clearly thought this was still playing and moved in closer to the cat. I called him, and he came to me, which is a good sign, but I wish he would just relax around cats. I’ve never seen him practically vibrate like that around any other animal. I can’t tell if what I am witnessing is prey-drive or just play? Anyway, I will always put the safety of Howard above Seamus’s fun level and will keep him leashed if that’s how Howard the wonder cat feels that day. the stories are wonderful… keep ’em coming.
At Tricia, that’s awesome that Willie is working again, however short a time and I love the pictures of the kitties. 🙂
ABandMM says
“He occasionally glares at them with a look somewhere between an irritated valley girl, a confused adolescent boy on his first date and Jack Nicholson in The Shining.”
I’d love to see a picture of that look!
allergy free cat owner says
When I introduced my new kitten to my 3 year old female, I had a hard time getting them in the same room together. I started introducing them a little each day and after about 2 weeks, I got the trusty, old fishing pole play toy. The older cat(Sadie) forgot about the kitty and they both played with me, swinging that string around. I did that for a few more days and things settled a bit. Sadie(the oldest) always rules the roost and will hiss at the baby (Sophie) but they get along pretty good and on occasion, I’ll even catch Sadie giving Sophie a bath. So cute!!
Kat says
OK, I can’t resist, one more story. Many years ago while I was in graduate school I adopted a kitten. Management at my apartment complex had not been able to solve my mouse problem so they agreed to waive the no pets rule to allow me to have a cat. I adopted a seven week old kitten that was named Roguespierre after an almost right answer on a test about the French Revolution (Robespierre would have been the right answer) At Christmas he flew home with me for the holidays. My parent’s two cats Dotty and Bear had raised generations of kittens so I didn’t anticipate any issues and blithely released Pierre into the house. Dotty, an older black tuxedo tom about 15 at that point, took one look at my kitten and headed for the door with an unmistakable air of tell me when it is gone, I don’t do kittens anymore. Bear, a huge lilac point Siamese looking cat of about three saw this kitten and fled under the bed for the next three days. The kitten looked around, decided that he’d put both these huge adult cats to route and had an over inflated opinion of his own toughness ever after.
Pierre put up with a lot of changes in his life, flying back and forth across the country, living different places, adding a husband, baby, and after the baby a new kitten. We called him the crazed killer attack cat because he savaged everyone that ever cat sat for him. Yet he never once hurt a small child, or my husband. In his later years after he’d become an insulin dependent diabetic we had a professional pet sitter take care of him while we were on vacation. I was very clear with the sitter that if he tried to be familiar with Roguespierre he would hurt him. They managed nine days when the sitter thinking they’d established a rapport attempted to pet him (strangely Pierre would tolerate being scruffed and injected with his insulin while he was eating). When we came home the sitter admitted he’d ignored what I said and showed me the gash on his thumb. Pierre was happy to be treated like an equal and equals don’t try to pet one another without express permission. I still miss Pierre three cats and more than a decade later.
Frances says
Wonderful stories! My neighbours had two Spinones, now sadly deceased, one of which was in love with my cats. She would sit outside the back door, behind a barricade of recucling boxes to remind her not to wander, and yearn. If ever a dog wanted something to love and hug and pet and call George, this one did! My neighbour usually had chicken on the go for her dogs, and the cats quickly learned that batting at her door around 7am got them a share – that’s how they learned to read dog body language.
I find the interactions between my cats and dogs fascinating to watch. The cats were adults when the dogs joined the house, and had been used to having a small dog around. Tilly made a habit of giving a gently smack to any passing puppy – nothing malicious, just a reminder that she could if she would. She is the one who will sometimes deign to play with them – almost unbearably exciting games of Tom Tiddler’s Ground, where she hides under the skirt of a chair and pounces unexpectedly, or chase across the gardens, and she also brings home rabbits to share. Pippin has always been rather cautious, and as far as the dogs are concerned invites bullying, which I have to watch for.
Poppy, my toy poodle, is more at ease around the cats than Sophy (Papillon) – Sophy likes her own space and routinely warns off a cat that approaches too close. I can now say “Hush – he’s allowed” without waking up when she tells me Pip wants to get on the bed at 3am… But Pippin always wins the Battle of the Lap – he will settle himself on top of Poppy when she is already in possession and just get heavier and heavier, until she gives up and moves over. I think if it were not for the cats’ habit of kneading with claws out the dogs would be more prepared to share sleeping places with them – those needle like claws hurt!
One of the great pleasures in life is to look around the room to see all four animals sprawled and relaxed, or to wake in the morning to all of them on the bed, and to know hey have chosen to be there, despite any minor spats and quarrels they may have during the day. And they will all sit in a row to take treats in turn – the dogs have learned to wait while the cats take theirs more slowly. Head butting and nose touching are usual greetings, and if Poppy too often appears after a game looking the picture of innocence with a wisp of unmistakable pale ginger fur on her muzzle, it doesn’t seem to bother Tilly in the least!
Nic1 says
“He occasionally glares at them with a look somewhere between an irritated valley girl, a confused adolescent boy on his first date and Jack Nicholson in The Shining.”
Oh boy that made me laugh! Keep your camera handy Trisha as that would certainly be a look worth capturing. 🙂
Interestingly, Kubrick in most of his films included a shot of the male lead adopting that very look that you describe. Tom Cruise does it in ‘Eyes Wide Shut’; Keir Dullea in ‘2001’; Vincent D’Onofrio in ‘Full Metal Jacket’. It’s the whale eye, head slightly lowered, mouth open stare?
Donna in VA says
DH is more of a cat person, I am more of a dog person. We had cats for many years but from 2003-2005 we were without pets. I got my Sheltie Max in 2005. In 2011 I found a dog-savvy shelter cat (they used her to test dogs for cat-friendliness) and convinced hubby we could make this work. Max is not a chaser, does not go after squirrels so I did not feel he would be a problem.
We brought the cat home and installed her in a quiet “apartment” which consisted of my office and a bathroom in the bottom floor of the house. She became depressed after a few days and hid under a chair for several days. We had to hand-feed her a few times, but she came out of it. I think it was around the 10-day mark that we introduced Max on leash. He did not know what to make of her. The cat did a “smell through the mouth” thing I had NEVER seen before. I thought it was a horrible face to scare the dog off. She remained high on the desk and although Max sniffed upwards he did not put his paws up or try to reach here (and was treated for his good behavior.) Max spends almost all his time when I am home with me or sleeping when I am not home (he is now 12). So he really does not go looking for the cat as entertainment.
Although the cat had free access to the rest of the house after about 2 weeks, she did not choose to come upstairs by herself until 4 or 5 weeks elapsed. I think she was looking for hubby, who she has chosen as her person. On the 2nd night after she had decided to come upstairs, she decided to sleep in the bedroom with every one else.
This cat had lived with a dog and another cat prior to the shelter. I say she was dog-savvy because she has a very quiet demeanor in general. If she is walking across the room and dog seems to be in an excited state, she just freezes and then casually strolls over to jump up on the nearest high perch. He gets goofy and tries to initiate play with her sometimes but she just just looks at him like “go away, you stupid dog.” Sometimes she raises one paw as in “keep it up and I will smack you”. She does like to play one-cat soccer on our wood floors with a sparkly stick-on bow. Max just observes her when she is galloping around with her bow. I can see they are not going to be BFFs.
We only had one altercation that was really my fault. Cat was on the kitchen counter (verboten) and I yelled at her to get down over-emphatically (long day, I was tired). Max was apparently trying to back me up and had a barking jag right in her face on the floor. She raked him across the nose and he backed off. I think she left in a hurry. It was my fault because Max gauges his reactions off of mine.
Kelly says
My cat Archie was my first (adult) pet, I adopted him from a local shelter at 4 1/2. His first introduction was at my parent’s house, we set up a baby gate he could get through but the dog could not. He’s a pretty outgoing fellow, and manged pretty well after a few weekend visits. He settles really well, so is able to travel with me quite a bit. I then did a bit of fostering (both service dog puppies and rescues), and with every dog that comes through he seems to adjust better and better. My last puppy he actually played with!
Two weeks ago I brought home a new kitten. Morgan lived inside a large dog crate for most of that (we just gave the crate back to the dogs last night), coming out for brief periods until we were sure he would be respectful of Archie and the dogs would be respectful of him! When Archie first realized “hey, there’s another cat here” he would just sit in front of the crate and growl at him. It took 4 or 5 days until they were loose together. After that, if the kitten started bugging my older cat (he’s now almost 10) or chasing him, he would go back to the crate.
Now they are pretty good, Archie will even tolerate a certain amount of rambunctiousness from the kitten. I think it helped a lot that he was used to other animals coming in and out all the time. And my two aussies love the kitten, he always curls up with them on the couch and plays with their long fur. So cute! And worth the work in the beginning.
Laceyh says
Although I’m far too allergic to have cats, I do have one anecdote from placing a dog. I had an older Cocker in foster, strikes against her being minor medical (cataracts starting) and one bad placement experience. She had gone home with some folks who immediately decided to add a free kitten to the home, and went out for dinner leaving the two pets confined to a laundry room. When they got back the kitten was dead.
Now this was a very mild, sweet foster dog, rather low in prey drive. I quickly became sure that her trouble with the kitten was a fluke resulting from ignorance. So, after full advance disclosure, I took her to a home visit with a lady with several Cockers – and an adult cat. Naturally for the first while I kept my foster on a short leash and watched.
Eventually, after everyone had met and sniffed (including the cat) with no antagonism shown, at the urging of the applicant and her friend, I let my foster loose. She walked over to the cat. The cat paused, then batted her firmly on both cheeks. My Cocker looked sad, turned tail and went to walk away. Then the cat hit her hard on the rear. My Cocker turned around with a roar and “treed” her.
The lady and the friend decided in her favor, filled out the paperwork and kept her on trial. I got an email that evening – about how cute it was to see new dog and cat sleeping close on the sofa!
Vicky says
We adopted a young male cat about a year and a half ago, thanks to my now 14-year old son. Not sure how to introduce Simon to the resident border collies, we simply used a baby gate to give the cat access to the downstairs family room and allow the dogs to see the cat, but not get too close. The gate stayed up for about two weeks as we all got used to each other. Simon is incredibly social and is, according to a cat lover friend, the perfect “first” cat for new cat owners. He quickly started to initiate contact with the dogs, especially Hobbes, the youngest of the dogs. Once the gate came down, we had no issues and Simon seems to think he is a border collie. He and Hobbes are best friends, sleeping and playing together. The other two dogs are very good with Simon, greeting him with wagging tails. Simon is mainly an indoor cat, but enjoys outside time with the dogs. It is quite a sight to see the three dogs lazing in the shade and a cat in their midst. And since Simon is a tuxedo, he even fits the family pet color scheme! He has been a wonderful addition to our family and we cannot imagine life without our friendly, sociable “border cat.”
maryanne says
I have two black female kitties…Ember (about 4 years) who is sleek and bossy…and Severen (about 1 year) who is fluffy, shy and sweet… they get along great and my household is very peaceful…I have always loved Persians and decided to take in a “retired black smoke beauty queen”…she is 3 1/2 years old and extremely shy…It has been 4 days now and I am doing what you have suggested in your post…I was careful to sneak her in the house and she is in an upstairs room…but when Ember got a sniff of me she went crazy…it has now been four days and she has decided to let me live…although I have not been forgiven for my betrayal..Severen hissed at me once then was over it…
my plan is to do much as you describe in your post…Ms.owl -the new kitty- is beautiful and settling in well …she was a ‘run and hider’ and I did not want to have to drag a g frightened cat out from under furniture so I put her in a large dog carrier (with room for a litter box and bed and food and water) in a room alone…I would go in every hour take her out and lay down with her on my stomach…I would pet her and talk to her and not allow her to get off me for about 15 minutes, then return her to the carrier…at first she was right at the back when I would reach in and very quickly she would be at the front and calm…after about 5 times she started relaxing, responding and purring…I told her that after she used the litter box she would get her freedom of the room…that took about 24 hours…
I also agree with the cats loving height thing and have extensive places for them to climb…I made sure Ms.owl had a table, a dresser and a higher shelf that was partially enclosed so she could feel safe…by the time she was out of the carrier she was fine when I came into the room and would allow me to pick her up and would purr when I pet her…I did not like keeping her in the carrier but it certainly made a difference in how confident she was around me…Now I am taking her into another room to play and explore-still no other cats…
before I got her she would startle and panic at any sound…It was suggested I leave my shoes and keys before meeting her because she was so afraid on any sound…now if she hears an outside noise she runs to the window with curiosity to see what is happening…I am grateful that what I am doing is working so far and would appreciate any tips from anyone about getting all the cats together…My plan is to screen one of the two doors into my TV room ( the room with the cat runs around the room 16” from the ceiling)…I did that once before and it worked very well…then I can switch the two kittys with the Persian on either side…
but Ember is a bit of a bully and I am not sure how to change that…she is also very vocal and loud and tends to state her opinion about everything…which is fine…I just don’t want anyone to get hurt and want to do what I can to return peace to the house…
what have I done…
Donna in VA says
to maryanne re “what have I done…”
That was what I thought the first night I had my dog! I had leashed him beside my bed for the first night. Hubby was sleeping in the guest room because I did not anticipate getting much sleep. He (d0g) smelled awful, having been in the shelter for 2 weeks and not being brushed or groomed in that time. Well, things did turn out fine and all was good within a year.
Can you use treats to train cats the way we do with dogs? high-value treats only in the presence of the other cat? That is what I did with the dog – he had low confidence and was over-reacting to other dogs to drive/keep them away from himself. He was rewarded for no/good reactions only. He got “time outs” for bad reactions.
Nic1 says
http://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2013/sep/12/neuroscience-psychology
A nice little article in The Guardian today with some references to research.
Connie says
We adopted two cats that came from the same home 2 years ago. We lost one to cancer and now are wondering if Victor, the cat left behind, is experiencing some anxiety over the loss of his pal. He has become very vocal and clingy. He paces and at times bellows. He used to bellow when he was looking for his friend, and I am wondering if he is still looking for him. We are wondering if we should get another cat as a companion.
Trisha says
Connie: I’d be careful about getting a second cat unless you know that Victor loves cats in general, rather than just his best friend who died. So often I’ve had clients get another animal to replace the one that they lost, for the sake of the remaining pet, and things didn’t work out well. If Victor misses his friend, it doesn’t necessarily mean he wants another, different cat to come into the home. The bottom line question is: Does he like all other cats, or just the friend he lost?
Megan says
I am introducing a kitten what if my cat feels left out and doesn’t want to spend time with me is there an easier way for neither of my cat nor kitten be left out? And run away?
Tricia says
Hi, all. I was extremely relieved to read that it could take months for my cats to tolerate our new addition, as various forums I’ve read have done nothing but make me worry that I might have to give up my new little guy after the first three weeks. I have two, 5 year old, resident female cats and I introduced a male about 3 weeks ago. We kept him in his own room for a few days where they were able to smell each other through the door. After 4 days, we let the girls see him. He would be in a common area with them for an hour or so with some hissing from the resident cats if he got too close. Things seemed to be progressing well until 2 nights ago, when the hissing swatting, and growling started again (even through the door). I guess I’m just wondering if anyone else had experienced this regression. I’ve been reading a lot of ” if it’s not working by now, you should find a new home” comments, and that just doesn’t seem right to me. I feel like there’s got to be a way. I love this little guy too much to bring him back to the shelter after only a few weeks.
KatZ says
I recently rescued a senior cat. I currently have a dog and another cat in the house. After two days the cat wanted to come out of her safe space so I leashed the dog and let her explore. Everything went great. The next day I let her out again, this time the dog wasnt’ leashed. I was sitting at my desk in my room and wasn’t supervising closely enough. BIG MISTAKE. The next thing I hear is the running in place on the hardwood floor and the dog is after the cat. I pulled the dog off, and the cat hid under the bed for hours. I was finally able to get her out and put her back in her safe room. She now has NO interest in leaving it.
Will she recover or do I now have a bathroom cat. I feel so bad and it’s my fault for for taking it too quickly. My dog does have guarding issues and I should have know better.
What is the best way to get things back on track?
clarence says
I recently took a new cat home and me and my boyfriend didn’t know what to do in terms of introducing them. I guess I should’ve researched it first because what we did might just have cost us them getting along. When the resident cat met the new cat the first time she hissed and ran away. After that she’s just been in her own spot the whole time unless she needs to eat or use the litter box. We couldn’t take having to try and please each cat one at a time and we wanted them to get along so bad. We kept them in a room for a few hours and came back and it just got worse. We don’t have enough rooms to give them their own space. How can we reintroduce them? Will they get along still after all that has happened?
Fran says
I am heartbroken because my two Himalayan boys, together since birth, are at odds suddenly. I made the mistake of taking one of them to the vet without the other and since we got home a few days ago there has been hissing and growling from the one who stayed home. The one who went to the vet is just bewildered at this treatment from his lifelong friend and brother. I understand it is probably because of the smells picked up at the vet clinic but how long does it last? I have tried all the things I’ve read about – rubbing each of them with the same towel, etc. but nothing seems to be helping. Surely this will not be a permanent conflict. I don’t think I can stand it! They have always been so loving and attached to each other.
Trisha says
Oh Fran, I’m so sorry. This usually does turn around, but it can take a few weeks. Keep the cats seperated and keep up the towel rubbing. Try treating them like cats who have never met (which is how they probably see themselves now, at least the one who is the aggressor), following all the standard protocol. If things don’t improve after a few weeks (or if you would rather, hopefully no harm in trying?), take them both back to the vet clinic and have them boarded overnight. That seemingly radical idea did help one of my clients, but no guarantees. Good luck!
Nur says
I recently brought a new kitten into my home about 2 weeks ago. I was hoping that she would be good company for my resident cat, Amber, who doesn’t like being left alone. Unfortunately she disliked the kitten from the beginning. She has become very hateful towards our whole family. I did my best to introduce them properly; I have the kitten in a large room, closed off from the rest of the house. I feed Amber and the kitten on either side of the door. Amber will start eating, then realize the kitten is there, hiss, and leave. She will wait 10 minutes or so, then come back and finish eating (in between hisses and growls). When I gave her a blanket smelling like the kitten, she became very upset and started growling at me. She won’t let us pet her anymore. I was hoping she would have started calming down by now. If they don’t integrate within the next few months, I will have to find a new home for the kitten. Is there anything else I can do to help them get along?
Kimberly G. says
Hi,
I am an owner of 2 Persian cats, one female and another male. The female (Silver Lady) is the resident cat who is roughly 3 years old whilst the male (Edward) is the newcomer in the situation, currently 8 weeks old.
I read a lot of information on how to properly introduce cats and made sure that I followed each step. I initially placed the new comer cat in a separate room with enough space to feel comfortable and safe. The resident cat immediately noticed that there was someone new in the house and started it’s personal investigation… I didn’t really let them see each other for the first 2-3 days (to let the new comer settle in). Afterwards I started the introduction by putting the new cat in it’s carrier and letting the resident see/smell him for short minutes. The re were times where the resident growled and other times where she was disinterested. I then proceeded by trying the food step (placing food near the separating door) to see how the cats react …. it didn’t really make that much of a difference. I continued on with the procedure until finally after 3 weeks I decided to let the cats interact under supervision, allowing the separating door to be left open. The resident likes to observe the newcomer a lot. Unfortunately the newcomer is very playful – he constantly wants to go near her. She smells him and sometimes responds back by playing a little (if she’s really playing cause I have my doubts) but still growls/hisses. She doesn’t attack him but only hisses when he’s too close or when he continues to tease her.
What I don’t understand is why the resident continues to search/wait for the newcomer and then when he’s finally near her she moves away or hisses to back off.
Giving up the newcomer is not an option. I just want to know if there’s a solution to how I can reduce the hisses and make her accept him and how I can make her understand that she’s still loved.
Thanks. Your feedback would be appreciated.
Ginda says
I have greatly appreciated reading all the different outcomes of these various new pet introductions. Thanks! I have an situation to deal with in a week that I haven’t read about yet. Here’s how it goes. I took in an unaltered, year old, black female cat from a couple who were breaking up and couldn’t take care of her. She had only been an indoor cat and moving to my one room apartment she did quite well with my 4 month old pit mix puppy. She is quite small, between 5 and 6 lb but brave and fearless. They soon shared my bed and the cat had many high places to go if the pup got too rambunctious in his play. We moved two times over the next two years and settled in a wonderful place in the country my parents had bought where they could both go outside. I got Ariel (the cat) spayed before I let her go outside and she immediately let her latent skills as a huntress shine by catching mice, rabbits, voles, young squirrels and the occasional bird. She and the dog didn’t play as much as they were older but they would occasionally play a cat initiated game of chair swatting. This is where the cat, laying in a kitchen chair, would get feeling a bit froggy and start lashing her tail quickly and lay over on her side trying to get the dog interested. If he felt like risking getting a muzzle of claw (usually he pointedly ignored her invitations) he’d try to poke at her through the slats of the chair with his paw or nose and she’d try to slap him. She’d never puff up or yowl, it was always clearly a game. Thunder, the dog (named by his rescuer without knowing his deep and abiding fear of storms), then darts around the chair to attempt to snap at the cats tail. Ariel spins to make sure only her claws are there to receive him. They will keep this up, Thunder trying to bark in the cats face to try and spook her into leaving her fortress of the chair, Ariel trying to grab his jowls with her claws. Both seem to have agreed that the game ends when the cat manages to get her claws in him. He stands perfectly still after it has happened and her tail stops lashing and (depending on her mood) she lets him go after a second or 10. Then she starts cleaning herself and he comes over to me looking all sad and defeated and needing a cuddle. “You can never win at a cat game,” I always tell him kissing his face where she has hooked him and petting him until he is satisfied that no matter how fast the cat’s paw is, he always wins the most kisses and cuddles. This is fine with Ariel; she’s never been a very affectionate cat. My brother has worked very hard to get her to accept being picked up. She sleeps with him but if he pets her too much she’ll stretch and slink off a foot or so to let him know she likes his presence but not too much touching, thank you very much!
A year ago I moved with my husband to another state and felt bad taking the cat from a place she loves so much. She was 8 years old and had established her territory well among the local cats and my brother was quite attached to her. I left her there knowing she’d be the happier for it. My husband had gotten lonely waiting for me to move so he’d adopted a 13 pound, year old, black, neutered, male cat a month before I moved up there with Thunder. He was super playful and very loving with humans it seemed from watching them together on skype.
Thunder was excited to see a new cat but I kept him leashed so he realized he wasn’t supposed to sniff or bother Atticus. The initial reaction from Atticus was complete, territorial aggression. Thunder (all 55 lbs of him) was freaked out. The cat would chase him around, growl deeply while puffing to twice his size, try to keep him from going up or down the stairs, sneak up and bite him when he was sleeping. Plus he was very aggressive in his play with humans. He’d pounce and bite me hard on the back of the arm while kicking with his back feet when I was reading or doing house work. This is hunting behavior; not acceptable to do to humans or polite dogs!
We bought some water bottles and started squirting him when he acted badly. He would immediately stop the behavior and run away. But it didn’t lessen his desire to initiate the incorrect behaviors. We were living in a big structured neighborhood where cats weren’t allowed to roam outside and dogs weren’t allowed off of the leash. Despite this, I saw six or seven cats outside sitting peacefully in the sun on my morning and evening walks with the dog. My husband wondered if the cat’s bad behavior was due to not being allowed to engage in the hunt and have enough territory to run around. The shelter had picked him up somewhere outside and so we knew he wasn’t used to being confined to the indoors. We decided it was either break the rules of the neighborhood or take him back to the shelter.
He was a very interactive cat. So different from Ariel! When he cuddled he’d flop into your arms like a big baby and lay and purr for 15 minutes. But he was just too mean when he played and no one likes to have to live in fear of being attacked! We let him outside. He’d come meowing at the door when he wanted back in. Sometimes he’d be gone for 30 minutes others he’d be gone for half the day. He didn’t try to pounce me or the dog after that. He’d exchange breaths (I suppose he wanted me to know what he’d caught) and when he played (properly initiated games) he’d use soft paws. He became downright docile. Atticus would come and lay next to the dog on the couch or the dog bed when he found him sleeping. If the dog came to lay on the couch and Atticus was on it he’d get up and leave. The dog has growled at him 2 or 3 times for getting near his food bowl but other times I’ve watched the dog stand there watching while Atticus ate his dry food. It has been a year and we’ve moved again. They are friends now and have their own dog and cat game they like to play. The dog will chase the cat down the hall into the office and then the cat will chase him back down the hall into the living room and then get on the kitchen chairs. The dog then pretends he no longer exists. When Atticus comes inside in the morning he butts his head against the dog’s front legs and then trails his tail along his back as the dog sniffs him and tries to give him a lick or two. I have read this is something cat who are friends do to greet each other after one or the other has been absent. Atticus doesn’t much care for kisses but is perfectly content to be sniffed.
So my brother is leaving the country house soon to move to another state for a job and my dad is rarely there. My parents got a divorce a few years back and my mom lives in a no pets allowed place. My dad spends most nights at his girlfriend’s house an hour away from his house plus he doesn’t really like cats at all. I have agreed to come and get Ariel when I visit next week.
They seemed to remembered each other last time they saw each other but while Thunder was thrilled to see what he considered old pack-mate, she slowly puffed up while sniffing him and then hid for a few hours. I’m not sure what that meant. She never invited him to play and despite his friendly advances she mostly stayed in other rooms or outside. She sneaked close and watched him doze a few times. Perhaps she simply wanted to cede territory first and would have become friendly again if we’d have stayed longer.
I don’t know what to expect. Ariel is a small, 9 year old female; Atticus is twice her weight and only 2. He has a well established routine for being outside all night and inside all day. I fear she’ll pine for my brother and her territory. I hate to take her away from that but I don’t want to leave her in a place where she might be left without food or forgotten outside for days. I so hope she integrates well. I know it took Atticus and Thunder a good four months before they had reached an understanding and respect for each others’ personal space. I plan to leave her in the office with her own litter and food and whatnot for a week (as Atticus has his litter box and safe place in my sewing room). I will try to let her have the run of the house at night after atticus is out on the prowl and she has started eating and using her own litterbox. The dog sleeps in our room at night so she’d have the house to herself. We have a sliding glass door so Ariel and Atticus will get to see each other if they wish for a while before they actually meet. In the morning, it’s back to her room and let Atticus smell where she’s been. I’m thinking I’ll try to keep that up for at least two weeks before they are allowed to meet. I’m going to let her be the one to decide when she’s ready as I know it’s impossible that she’ll bully a cat as big and boistrous as Atticus!
Anyways, please wish me patience and good luck at keeping things peaceful!
Brian says
Thanks to all who have posted! I have a slightly different scenario to ask about. We live in a row house and will begin having tenants in the basement unit beginning next month. They have an indoor/outdoor cat that will be joining them downstairs. While neither we nor the tenants will share any common space, we will be separated by a locked door.
We are considering adopting two young kittens but I’m worried that there might be friction/awareness between our “downstairs” solo cat and the “upstairs” pair. Does anyone have a similar experience of neighboring pets that share close quarters?
Elizabeth James says
thank you for this post! It was very important for me to find so detailed information, because I’m soon moving together with my boyfriend and we both have cats. He has a male and mine is a female and we hope ‘they’ll fall in love’ like us. We have no idea how to introduce them, and your article was quite informative for us. We are moving both cats to a completely new place, and may be this will be a problem too, but hopefully it will go better than we think it will. Thank you for the information!
Anthony says
Hello have a 5 year old female cat that has been a indoor cat without any interaction with another cat her whole life and now we are introducing a male kitten in the house. Unfortunately I introduced the cats holding my female cat so she would not harm the kitten, I skipped that step after reading this article after a complete disaster were the female cat was being very aggressive. Could I try putting the kitten in the room for the recommended time? Also the best way possible to help with helping my cat ! get along with the new member of the family
Tracey says
Hello, I’ve introduced new shelter cats to my home now on several occasions over the past 25 years and have met with success each time. I also have introduced a few rescue beagles to this mix of 3 cats, with success. I follow the directions you’ve mentioned and each time have success.
Recently however, I introduced a 4 month old SPCA male cat to my home & my 5 yr old female continues to try to kill him, 3 months later. He was neutered at 1.5 months old & I believe that may be the issue. The 5 yr old has a nose that is beyond expressive where the kitten is concerned so his scent is a big issue for her. I’ve purchased a book by Michelle Nagelschneider & followed a few of her plans, to no avail. Nothing is working. Any ideas would be appreciated
Trisha says
Tracey: Well, that does sound like a quandry. I agree that scent seems to be the issue here, and that it might relate to an early neuter. But it well could be some other physiological process that is making the kitten’s scent problematic. I wish I had some magic potion to send you, but all I have are a few ideas. Have you tried the classic “scent transfer” where you rub each cat with a towel and then transfer the scents back and forth? I’m guessing you probably have tried that already. I’m wondering if something is going on physiologically with the kitten that makes his scent threatening. I had a case once in which a dog was being attacked by the other dogs in the house, and it turned out she had a bladder infection. Once that was cleared up the dogs went back to being friends. Worst comes to worst, might be this is just an example of 2 cats who will never get along, but hope that’s not true….
Joyce Layman says
Hello,
A friend’s father passed away and he had a 4-year old female named Macy. Macy was raised with a sister who was taken away after she killed a bird. This wasn’t her owner’s decision but an irate neighbor who didn’t understand cats so Macy became an only girl. Her owner passed away a month ago and Macy lived in his apartment until the estate was settled. She then went to live with his son, Troy, (my friend) who has a 17 year old female. Troy runs his own business so didn’t have time to integrate the two and Macy lived in a bedroom.
A friend of mine lost one of her male cats recently and the other was grieving so we thought this would be a good fit as the cats are the same age. I brought Macy home to her last night. She purred a little in the car so all seemed to be fine. Once inside we had her in her crate on the floor before taking her upstairs to the big bathroom where she would stay . Finley approached her and she started hissing. We immediately moved her upstairs. She’s continued to hiss and meow loudly ever since. She actually went after Janet with claws while we were arranging her things in the bathroom.
Janet text me this morning to let me know Macy is still hissing and growling even when alone. I have three cats of my own and know it takes time to integrate them. Mine were all rescues from the barn so I had a chance to interact with them. Of course the cats weren’t too happy each time someone new came home but they never attempted to claw me.
I’m now wondering if Macy needs to be an only or if it’s just going take more time than usual for her to get accustomed to her surroundings? Poor girl is really stressed. Janet had catnip on hand so put some in the bathroom with her. I suggested pheromones and time alone. Any advice would be appreciated!!!
RM says
There is a fellow down the road who has a colony. One male was hurt and his litter mate who is now the dominant male ( they are no over than two) is now beating the injured one up. I was upset and went to speak to the fellow. Be told me he would be glad if I keep the injured cat in my area. I have been feeding the injured cat but suddenly I am seeing what appears to be the brother by my house. I have come out to feed because I see a black cat and when I see the wrong one I retreat and take the food away. My husband chases him. What can we do to keep them separate? I will get no assistance from the fellow.
Ami says
Hi All,
wondering if someone could help.. In a few weeks I will be moving my city cats to the farm… I am terribly stressed they may wonder too far / get lost with all this sudden space….. I am also away for the Christmas holidays ( this was not planned, life throws you hard decisions sometimes) This means my babies will only be in their new farm home for 25 days before I go away for 10. I have looked at catteries etc and feel this may just stress them out way too much… I normally keep them indoors for up to a month ( yes I’m paranoid) before leaving them to roam on their own. SO I’m thinking of leaving them indoors a few extra days this time as its a farm and I will be away …… They will have 2 daily visits from my mom and dad over the 10 days… any advice / tip are appreciated !
Judy says
Very helpful to hear everyones experiences!
Judy says
I help the neighborhood strays and have3 indoor cats of my own. There is one female who is especially attentive towards me and wants in. She was born In My garage and is just 2 years old. She comes to the kitchen window and I open it to let my cats smell her and they seem to get along fine. I recently opened a bedroom window so she could come in where it’s warm,the room has a glass pane door so they can see each other. There is no aggression whatsoever. Can I feel confident in letting this beautiful cat into the rest of the house with my house cats?
Trisha says
If everyone gets a long I say go for it! Lucky “garage cat”! (BUT do be sure to get her to the vet for a check up before letting her mingle with your house cats…)
PetCatGuides says
I made a window in my main door to let my cat move freely in and out. That movement looks so cute.