# Introducing 1 yr old to 3 yr old



## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

My goodness how time flies. I looked at my last posts on here, back in 2011!, and so much has changed since then with my cat. 

I've brought another cat home yesterday (one that I've worked with for just under a year and know quite well) thinking that my current cat could do with some company during the day, as I spend up to 12 hours at work each day. Well he's not taken it as well as I'd hoped! Admittedly it's not even been 24 hours yet, but my nerves are already shot from the stress haha. 

The new cat has lived socially,is not in the slightest bit territorial/hissy (he's still quite kitteny) and is used to other cats, even grumpy ones. My cat has been an only cat for three years and is a little upset, hissing and growling at the new cat who has been in a safe room (my bathroom). He also keeps staring at the door when he can hear the new cat!

They haven't met face to face yet, to clarify, although they have smelt/possibly seen each other through a crack in the door. The new cat has also came out when my current cat was outside and had a wander around my bedroom, so his smell is around my cat's domain. Should I be getting my current cat to investigate the safe room after moving the new cat to another room?

But my main question, for those that have done this before, have you got any advice for me to make this as stressless as possible for my current cat? I have a feliway plug in and two feliway sprays, both boys are neutered and my current cat goes outside occasionally. 

I've read the 'intergrating cats' website too (WVcats), but anything you guys can say just so I don't feel like a terrible owner/that everything is normal would be great.


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

I think you are doing all the right things by introducing them slowly.
Changing the rooms is a good idea and also letting them see each other for very short periods is a good idea so they don't become frightened of each other.
What I did was to put the new cat in a cat carrier and bring him into the same room as your other cat for just 5 minutes each evening, So they could see each other. I did this for about four days leaving the time a little bit longer each time then after the 4 days I would open the pet carrier and let the new cat out just to see how they both react but only for a few minutes. Then I would put new cat back in his room. I would do this for has long as you think necessary.

If they seem to get on ok then I would try and introduce a little play together.
I would also try feeding them in the same room and each day move the bowls a little nearer to each other.

Hope this helps x


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Thank you for your reply Jill. 

If you don't mind me asking, how did your resident cat/s react to the newcomer in the cat carrier over the four days? I've heard about putting the new cat in a carrier and moving the carrier up onto something so that they aren't in each others eye lines, is this what you did? And I'm assuming you did this once there was no growling/hissing?


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Oh and a little update, my current cat went outside for a bit so I made sure he wouldn't see the newcomer through a window (he goes in and out through the kitchen patio doors and can't see through the other windows in the house) and let him explore the house. He's extremely confident, not at all nervous. We ventured downstairs and he said hello to the dog! Admittedly he was a bit taken aback by her (he's never seen a dog before) but didn't show signs of aggression or fear, a little hesitation yes but came right up to her at one point to walk right past her until she noisily licked her lips and startled him! She's a very docile golden retriever that tends to sleep through the entire day after her morning walk 

When my current cat came back in, he didn't even notice the smell of the new cat around the house, although now new cat is back in the safe room he's being quite vocal about wanting to come back out again!! Current cat is sat across the room watching/listening to the door.

Oh and current cat is eating his food a small distance from the door.


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

Furrball said:


> Thank you for your reply Jill.
> 
> If you don't mind me asking, how did your resident cat/s react to the newcomer in the cat carrier over the four days? I've heard about putting the new cat in a carrier and moving the carrier up onto something so that they aren't in each others eye lines, is this what you did? And I'm assuming you did this once there was no growling/hissing?


I put the carrier on the floor so it was eye line.
The resident cat did hiss a little but it soon stopped.
I have added many cats to the family as sadly when one of them dies we get another one to love.
I have added an 11 month old to two 14 years olds once without any problems, but they have mostly been British short hairs and they tend to be very laid back.
This year we have added a kitten to the two cats Archie is 2 and Chloe is 3.
They are all ok with the kitten but they do get fed up with him sometimes.
So we try and play with them each evening and wear the kitten out a bit so they can have a good nights sleep


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

jill3 said:


> I put the carrier on the floor so it was eye line.
> The resident cat did hiss a little but it soon stopped.
> I have added many cats to the family as sadly when one of them dies we get another one to love.
> I have added an 11 month old to two 14 years olds once without any problems, but they have mostly been British short hairs and they tend to be very laid back.
> ...


Thanks again Jill. Did you do the peeking through a crack in the door stage before the carrier, or at the same time, or not at all?

Both of mine are domestic shorthairs aka moggies


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

I just did another peek through the crack of the door with some nice treats for my current cat and he didn't hiss, just peered at the door. It only lasted about five seconds but I wanted to end it on a good note, not with him hissing, and he got treats before during and after the door was cracked open. And now the new cat is bashing/scratching against the door because he thinks he can come out -_- On the plus side my current cat is just sat there listening to him. Not hissed etc yet!


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

I didn't do the crack in the door. Just the carrier
Sounds like things are going good:thumbup1:


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Thanks Jill, I'll keep my chin up and hope for the best  I'm not sure my current cat is ready to see the new cat so I'll do it through the door slowly before doing anything else.


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

keep lots of treats handy too , and after a while a dangler toy is good to get them interacting , do you have two litter trays and enough high spaces for them to have space from each other but still comfy in the same room , best wishes
my boy is 3 now i desperately want to get him a friend too so i ll be looking for advice off you soon i hope


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Hi Moggiemum, thank you. Both have their own litter trays and I have lots of shelves, window sills and a cat tower for them to go up if they wanted to, but I'm not letting them in together yet.

I've been treating my cat by the door to the new cat and it went well yesterday and for the first one today, the second time I tried to give him his breakfast (some yummy fish applaws) and kept the bowl further away from the door than when treating. I opened the door slowly and my cat kept stopping eating, so I had to keep reminding him to eat. I then sneaked a treat of a little applaws I kept to one side through the cat of the door for the new cat, for my cat to see him eating. I don't think he liked that  I closed the door once the new cat had been on show through the crack for a few seconds and current cat walked up to the closed door, sniffed and hissed twice haha, but no growling. Either that or he wasn't pleased that the new cat had a piece of applaws too! So I won't try feeding by the door again for a while. 

The new cat has roamed my entire room whilst the current cat was outside and neither seem bothered by the other's smell or scent markers. Although I am doing a scent swap at the same time (placing a shirt on my cat's current sleeping area and one in the new cats bed and swapping them) I don't think either are really interested.


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

aww that good , all the scent swapping ,

yes i think maybe a more neutral place for feeding is best

sounds like it wont be too long before they are forever friends


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Well in the latest viewing through the crack in the door session, my current cat starting growling at the new cat. :/ Previous sessions went without any growling or hissing. 

I decided he needed to have a good smell/look around the bathroom, so moved the new cat out in his carrier into another room whilst current cat ate and allowed him to look about. He had a look and sniff in the litter tray, left, returned to smell the bed and left again, didn't hiss or anything. 

I popped the new cat back in then and current cat then investigated the room new cat had sat in inside his carrier and seemed a bit more cautious in there, oddly! Walked about slowly and hid under the bed for a few minutes. I spoke comfortingly to him, left him to it and when he came back out I gave him praise and acted like normal. He's since played with me and seems back to normal.

I didn't think introducing a new cat would take so long or be so stressful! I've invested in some lavender candles and a lavender diffuser for me and the cats to destress haha, although I am still being liberal with the feliway!


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Well so far today I've done two through the door peeks, no growling or hissing from either cat, just a lot of staring at one another, and new cat quickly looks away or starts playing with things. Also got my cat to investigate new cat's room again, he's quite hesitant to go and take a look about in case new cat is still in there!

Everyone likes pictures, right? Here's new cat looking out of the window at the birdies.


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

oh my she is stunning , intros going well, her eyes are amazing  she looks very healthy does she have a name yet?


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

He's currently called Little John but my family don't like it.  So we're trying to think of another name. My dad likes Ben Turpin as his eyes go crossed a lot, or Groucho Marx!

Huge bit of progress today!! I did two intros this morning, as I mentioned earlier, then went out for a few hours and my current cat was dying for some dinner so I did another intro before feeding him. Well new cat was lying on the floor by the crack in the door purring away, and current cat (once all of the treats were gone) approached him and they sniffed each other, at a distance. Then new cat very gently stretched out a foot at my current cat, who flinched slightly but didn't back off or hiss!  It's put me on a bit of a high!!


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

Well just to update everyone, I spoke to the cat behaviourist I work with and at the end of Tuesday night, I had two cats that rather liked each other! I'm still keeping them apart when I'm not about to supervise but they really get on well now and I'm sure their relationship will go from strength to strength in more time.


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## jill3 (Feb 18, 2009)

Glad to hear that they are getting on well.
Lovely cats.
He looks like he has a moustache How about a name of a famous person with a nice moustache?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with Jill - it really does look like he has a moustache!

Some names of famous owners of moustaches of similar shape to your cat's marking:


Groucho (Marx)
Kevin (Kline)
George (Orwell)
Micky (Quinn)
Burt (Reynolds) 

and my favourite : Zappa (after Frank Zappa, musician)


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

A couple more!  Thanks for the name suggestions!


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## moggiemum (Mar 28, 2013)

aww i love the name kevin , it suits him , i love kevin kline too, but zappa is a ledgend, 

maybe you should do a poll


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## PinkEars (Jun 4, 2010)

you sound like you are doing really well. I wish i had seen this thread 10 days ago when we bought our new cat home. We have gone to fast and are now having to go back to day 1 where he is in his room on his own. We just got the Feliway yesterday so am hoping it works. Its our resident boy persian who is not liking him, lots of hissing and growling. the new cat 9 out of 10 was backing off which we thought was progress but then all of a sudden a mini scrap happened! So we are back to day one going very slowly indeed! Lots of scent swapping and not seeing each other. Our resident cats seem more relaxed already with the Feliway so hopefully that will help to.

Very stressful for everyone though!


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## Furrball (Mar 13, 2011)

PinkEars said:


> you sound like you are doing really well. I wish i had seen this thread 10 days ago when we bought our new cat home. We have gone to fast and are now having to go back to day 1 where he is in his room on his own. We just got the Feliway yesterday so am hoping it works. Its our resident boy persian who is not liking him, lots of hissing and growling. the new cat 9 out of 10 was backing off which we thought was progress but then all of a sudden a mini scrap happened! So we are back to day one going very slowly indeed! Lots of scent swapping and not seeing each other. Our resident cats seem more relaxed already with the Feliway so hopefully that will help to.
> 
> Very stressful for everyone though!


Hi PinkEars, I was very stressed at first but the cats can pick up on your stress, so I got a load of lavender candles and a diffuser alongside the feliway to chill me out too!

My existing cat was hissing and growling at first too, it's just their way of communicating haha, as horrid as it is for us to hear!!!

Best of luck to you


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## PinkEars (Jun 4, 2010)

so a little update..sorry for gate crashing your thread but it seems appropriate. 

We went back to square one for about 10 days just had the new cat in the bedroom on his own, swapping things with each other scents on. We let him out into other rooms but when the resident cats were locked away. We have now for nearly 2 weeks been using the dog cage. the new cat in the cage and the resident cats in the room. We were making progress, the resident cats were coming up to a metre or so within the cage and not hissing. Sometimes the boy cat would even sleep within that distance from the cage. We gave them treats close to each other and played with the lazor with each of them. Also the resident cats had started going into the new cats room when he wasnt in there which they werent doing before. Eating food, drinking and using his litter tray. The new cat has also meowed a couple of times which seem friendly towards the cats.

the problem we are having is the new cat whilst in the cage is still really focussed on the resident cats and when they move he gets down low and kind of stalks them. If the resident cats do get close enough for the new cat to touch them they hiss and run away.

We have not intentionally let them have contact yet but when they have the new cat is running at the resident cat in the same way he was at the beggining and the resident cat is getting cornered hissing and growling. He is really eager to get to them all the time so we have to be really careful.

We thought we were making lots of progress until that incident decribed above. Did we take it to fast at the beginning and ruin it? We've had him for about 6 weeks now and still dont feel like we can let them actually meet because of the stalking, hissing etc

We have feliway everywhere and it did seem to have an affect atleast on the girl cat but we just dont know where to go from here.

We cant have this situation for much longer as my baby is due end of April and we dont have the space or time to keep them seperated from March onwards so we really want this to work!

He is gorgeous and getting on really well with the dog, they are playing together and although a bit nervous of each other there is no fighting or stalking they just seem to have a totally different relationship.


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