New kitty in household

Gidge · ‎03-10-2010

I just brought my mom's adult female cat home to stay with us, and I'm wondering if anyone has advice to help make the transition easier for her, and my two adult male & female kitties? She is now sequestered in a spare bedroom & I have actually slept in that room with her the last 2 nites. She knows she is safe in that room.

All the kitties have seen each other and my two are pretty freaked out, and she hisses at them! I have let her explore the whole house but only while I watch her.

I look forward to any ideas from fellow pet lovers! Thanks!

Mz iMac · ‎07-26-2014

Some adult cats get along when a new adult cat joins the family & some don't. Cats are very territorial.

Years ago I took in my daughters adult male fixed cat during her last 3 months of pregnancy (something to do not being allowed to clean the litter box per drs orders). Her hubby is not a cat lover.

At the time I had a male adult fixed cat.

My cat was not a happy camper. Kept fighting w/my daughters cat who was extremely playful. Fur flying everywhere. For 3 months to avoid injuries, I had to keep them separate. It was easy since my cat was a 100% indoor cat & my daughter's cat was an outdoor/indoor cat.

I told my daughter never again. She would have to make other arraingements.

"Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference."

Lori Kaye · ‎03-14-2010

We have always had 2 female cats so when we lost our dear 18 yr. old we decided to get another one. It has been a long process but after 7 months the older cat is finally used to the younger one. There is still some hissing from the older cat but I think eventually they will be best friends!

jaxs mom · ‎04-18-2012

Go to Jackson Galaxy's website, he has a whole section called Learn that covers common cat questions, including introductions. If you want cats to get along, you need to do proper introductions and not just toss them together and let them work it out.

I have 7 cats and I've introduced new ones numerous times. The new cat starts out in it's own room and once it's feeling safe and acting normal ( I visit the new cat many times per day) I start swapping out items that have the scent of the other cats into the new cats room and vice versa. I also use feliway in the resident cats favorite area so help their stress level. Eventually I start site swapping them, take the new cat into another enclosed room and let the resident cats check out the room the new cat was in. I do that daily for awhile. When both groups get to the point where there is little to no hissing near the doors I introduce my most stranger friendly cat, Jackson. Eventually I will introduce the other cats one by one and later I'll move on letting them some share space in another room while I'm there for longer periods of time.

Don't Change Your Authenticity for Approval

beach-mom · ‎03-09-2010

@Gidge wrote:
I just brought my mom's adult female cat home to stay with us, and I'm wondering if anyone has advice to help make the transition easier for her, and my two adult male & female kitties? She is now sequestered in a spare bedroom & I have actually slept in that room with her the last 2 nites. She knows she is safe in that room.
All the kitties have seen each other and my two are pretty freaked out, and she hisses at them! I have let her explore the whole house but only while I watch her.
I look forward to any ideas from fellow pet lovers! Thanks!

Congratulations on the newest member of your family! We went through this too. My late brother's girlfriend gave him two shelter older kittens. My brother died in his twenties, and my mom took his cat (the other one died early of FUS). She was a beautiful black Persian, who lived a quiet life with Mom for many years. Then Mom died. We brought her up to a household with three other cats and young children. She was not happy. We "introduced" her the way we do all of our kitties - We put the open carrier in the middle of the floor, petting and loving her, and petting and loving the others. When she finally ventured out, we kept a close watch. There was a little hissing, but no physical contact. We had one that slept with us at the time, so DD took her into her room. She didn't want to be on a bed, but found a nice soft chair in the guest room. Our older male didn't like her, but the younger ones were OK with her. She established herself as the one in charge quickly, and would eat first. He would wait until she finished, then he ate. A few weeks later we had a major squabble with a lot of hissing and meowing. It started as play, and we think she got frightened. After that they "tolerated" each other. DS was one at the time, and as he grew he would delight in chasing her. She seemed to enjoy the game, never actually letting him catch her! But her beautiful tail was up! She lived until his 5th birthday, We think she was in her late teens.

Citrine1 · ‎03-09-2010

Awww, it sounds as if you are on the right track and doing your best. I have no advice as I come from a "dog" house, but I just want to wish you the best of luck and hope that, before long, everyone is living in harmony!

sandraskates · ‎06-26-2014

Building on what @jaxs mom said, you have to make them "think" that they've all lived together for a while.

You can rub each cat with a towel and leave the towels on the floor. If the new kitty is in the safe room, put the others cats towels in with her. Then rub her with a towel and put it on the floor with the other cats. Yes, they will probably hiss at the towels!

Do some searching online for more detailed suggestions.

It takes time. Be patient. And congrats on the new addition!

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

When I brought my kitty Bogey home, our dog Skippy was introduced to him slowly, over a week's time. Bogey was in a closed door room, and we'd bring him out daily and the dog and cat would just look at each other from a distance.

After a few days. Skippy would sit outside Bogey's room, at the door. Each day we'd let them get a little closer to each other, and they calmed down.

After a week, Skippy and Bogey were at either side of the closed door, with their little paws touching .... they were holding hands!

Now, they are brothers and best friends.

Gidge · ‎03-10-2010

Thank you all for your advice and good wishes! I just checked on her a little while ago, and again let her out of her room to roam a little! My male was sitting on a chair in the living room and she approached his chair and he seemed ok. I'm not sure that she knew he as there! I know it will be a little tense for a while, and I hate that she has to stay in that room by herself (not to mention I'd like to sleep in my bed again!), but, eventually I hope that they all become friendly with one another!