Second cat introduction advice!

[hybriseris]

Hi all -

I posted a while ago about adopting my Grandmother’s Maine Coon mix, Shadow. It’s been about six months and altho I call him my “little gremlin” due to him being an adorable jerk, I’m considering a sibling for him. He’s had friends in the past, and is very excited by and friendly with my parent’s cat, so I am confident with the right match and slow introduction a buddy will enrich his life. He is 9, but extremely active.

I have been discouraged by some advice I’ve received, such as that a cat his age will not accept a new cat despite good evidence he is social. Overall everything I’ve read has made it sound very hard to integrate cats and I’m a little concerned.

I have a guest room that new kitty could get acclimated in, and a bunch of baby gates to keep them separated once the door is ready to be opened for them to see each other. I’m wondering if the hivemind of cat owners here have any great tips for making the process as smooth as possible for both parties?

[Larksmom]

It really depends on the personality of both cats. When I lost Gatsby, I picked up a kitten at the vet’s. Dickens, the cat at home, is very friendly, and loved newbies as he has actually made friends with the neighbor cats, took to him but the kitten, Bugaboo, is a bit of a terrorist. Bug likes to play rough and Dickens doesn’t. Sad thing is, Bug adores Dickens, but he has a bad way of showing it and drives Dickens away.
It is a good idea with the right kitten.

[hybriseris]

Yes I’m definitely trying very hard in my search to find a cat that sounds like Shadow, to give it the best chance of success! I would describe Shadow as a bit of a terrorist, just sleeps more than a kitten terrorist would LOL. So I’d like to find an equally playful cat. Even then I do understand that no matter how good it looks on paper that they may just simply not like each other, but I want to make sure I make the introductions as good as possible to set them up well.

[NancyM]

You won’t know for sure until it’s already a done deal. Cats are often territorial, and can be jealous- of sharing their space, and sharing their human. But USUALLY, they will get over that adequately to be able to co-habit. Cats are as different as humans are about what they like and dislike, we have one here, who came to us as a feral tom, who simply LOVES all other cats, always. Even before gelding, he was just the same… just kind, loving, accepting, and wanting to be friends with everyone. He started out in the barn, and was claustrophobic in any enclosed space, but slowly, he’s got over most of that. He still sometimes thinks that someone is going to kick him, and he doesn’t like strangers. But he is just the most affectionate cat ever. He is appreciative of his home with us, and our other cats. He likes to sleep curled up with other cats (and me), so we do that together. He also befriended my young cat, looks after him when outside, goes with him and keeps a watch out for any intruders or danger- he does that for both the young cat, AND for me (he also likes to garden, so is often with me in the garden- he stands guard). If he sees anything… he lets me know. A coyote, a deer, or something imaginary elicits a “cat on guard” stance, and a lot of growling. Other cats are less social, and less socially responsible.

Since your current cat has shown himself to be a social guy with other cats, all you can do is find another cat who you THINK is pretty laid back, and introduce them. There may be a few scuffles, as they come to terms with each other, and mark whose territory is whose, and how much they can share your lap. But with luck, they will get it figured out somehow in a few days or weeks. Happy cat shopping!

[Simkie]

Most cats do fine with friends. Under the door and then baby gate intros work great–you can stack gates in the doorway to keep them separate.

I’ve only met one cat in all of my cat keeping that absolutely cannot live in multicat house…she was a starving stray I trapped and is just so very defensive that her go to strategy is attack. But you should really be able to find another kitty friend for yours, I’d just confirm that new kitty has met others before & is okay with that.

Have fun!!

[B_and_B]

Since you know he has been around other cats in a positive way, that is a big step forward. Make sure they both have their safe spaces to retreat to. The new cat needs ‘their’ space, but the current cat also needs to have ‘their’ space. Hopefully the guest room is not a favorite space of Shadow’s? Also, the multiple litter boxes…they really are necessary. Usually one per cat is sufficient. But they don’t like to share, can’t say I blame them.

[hybriseris]

Hmmm… good point. Shadow does prefer to sleep in the guest room at night, though during the day he sleeps on my bed. The guest room is the most low traffic area otherwise which was my thinking for using it as new cat’s intro room.

My other options are the bathroom which is pretty small, or my bedroom since I can close that door, but I don’t know if it’d be disruptive to the process for me to be sleeping in the same room as the new cat while he’s trying to acclimate? I could sleep in the guest room, how funny would that be to be kicked out of my bed by the new cat.

[candyappy]

You just never know until you try? We have had an old cat accept a kitten and a young cat react negatively to a new addition. Each situation is different.

Not what you wanted to hear but I would give it a try if you want another cat.

Just give them time and their own spaces and don’t rush anything.

[hybriseris]

Well I guess my intention with the thread wasn’t to ask whether or not this WILL work, but to see if there are any good tips for making it as positive for both cats as possible. But if the answer is just, there aren’t any, that’s fine lol

[Simkie]

What you’re already planning is about all you can do: slow intro of two cats that are known to tolerate other cats.

[CanadianTrotter]

You know what you’re doing and and it will work out fine.

A few things I’ve tried that may have made things go smoother while they’re separated…

Give the new cat a toy to play with or hold it and let the cat rub its mouth on it to leave its scent, then get a toy from current cat and exchange them so both cats can get used to each other’s scents faster. Try exchanging cat beds for a little while, that will also let them get used to each other’s scent faster while they’re separated.

[OzarksRider]

A veterinarian once suggested I rub a sock over the new cat and then over my current cat so they can get used to each other’s scent, but I like CanadianTrotter’s suggestion to use toys or bedding. A Feliway diffuser might also help smooth the introductions.

In my experience, it’s always been easier if the new cat is the opposite gender of the current cat. I’ve found it especially difficult if the new cat is a mature male and recently neutered. His tomcat instincts make him want to fight any existing male. So if your current cat is a male, maybe look for a kitten or young adult female.

Don’t be discouraged if your cats don’t accept each other right away. It can take months for cats to integrate a new housemate. The last cat I adopted was a young male, and it was over a year before he quit picking fights with my other male cats (and I have the vet bills from treating bite abscesses to prove it). OTOH, he bonded immediately with my young spayed female cat–he was in love!

[pony_grandma]

I’ve been told new cat needs own space until they bodily pick up the house smell. You know it’s a something we can’t appreciate.

[CindyCRNA]

We had 6 month old Lewis when we adopted 2 year old Oliver. Oliver is a big, gregarious orange cat. When I was looking to adopt an adult, I got a cat that was in a foster home that had other cats and he liked other cats. Lewis has zero aggression ever and neither does Oliver . Their first into went great and they have been best buds ever since. A lot depends on the individual personality of the cat. I introduced 2 cats that liked other cats. When we brought Ozzie Osbourne home, Lewis was fine but Oliver’s world was turned upside down and he hid for 2 days under the skirt of a chair. He eventually warmed up and they chase each other everywhere.

[DMK]

look up some of Jackson galaxy’s suggestions, territory swapping really is genius for making a smooth transition.

also when Atticus Finch went from foster to foster fail I took the clear tespo panels I use to create a kitten pen and zip tied 4 together to make a clear doorway that allowed for see/smell introductions. But you just never know with cats. it was an extremely slow introduction because it wasn’t really an introduction in the beginning just foster mom and kittens. but Zazu had an opinion and his opinion was that it was unacceptable. I thought for sure he was never going to accept another cat in the house. He hissed so long and so hard I’m surprised he didn’t break his hisser, but when the big cat fell, he fell hard. Meanwhile Ruty was indifferent until the day he realized the little thug wasn’t leaving, but I’m pretty sure that’s because he is now on the receiving end of the behavior he has been dishing out for years. #ifyoucantstandtheheat

[chestnutmarebeware]

In addition to all the great suggestions above, I recommend talking to your vet, because there are short-term meds that can be given to one or both parties to smooth out the rough spots.

I can tell you to be prepared to have your original cat furious at you for days, even though they’ll come around to being good friends with the newbie in most cases. For me it usually shows up as them sitting ostentatiously with their back to you at every opportunity. Talk to them, and they’ll flatten their ears without turning around. It’s kitty drama at it’s best!

[hybriseris]

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions! I am currently working with the Humane Society closest to me to find the best potential match for Shadow and I’ll be incorporating all your experience.

@chestnutmarebeware LOL! I will be prepared for disdain! However I’ll be kind of interested to see how it goes because Shadow is so excited about other cats. I consider him oddly social for a cat. And in all honesty while I do want another cat, I wouldn’t be considering it right now if I wasn’t so sure he’d be happier with company. So I’m actually anticipating him being the more excited of the pair, though I’m also ready to be proven wrong and be hated.

[foggythistle]

I have done senior/junior introductions a few time. They have all been mixed gender intros. The latest two were

1. 2 female kittens to 14-ish year old male. He was pretty laid back and generally was a black speed bump on their highway of sprinting. When he passed, I was back down to my cat-max of 2.
2. When one of those two females passed at age 14, I introduced a youngish male (3-6 years old). She is very much a mama’s girl and she considers him an invasion and gives him what-for (hiss and a swat) whenever he gets to close to her. She’s not above chasing him, and he chases her as well (she can still outrun him!) She rules the roost. The only obstacle he hasn’t been able thwart is a closed door, which I still do because it’s the only way she can eat in peace.

You might want to add to your list of wants is a cat with similar eating styles. My elder cat is a nibbler. The young’un is a vacuum. His food is gone in under 5 minutes. She grazes throughout the day. Food management is a pain.

[BatCoach]

Oh I hope that Shadow get a buddy match!

Some cats are just more friendly to other cats than others. I have one cat who LOVED my foster kittens and desperately wants to be every cats best friend - with the exception of our dowager resident weirdo female - he hates her. She is 12 years older than him and he seems to enjoy terrorizing her, so she in turn hates him and the cycle continues. So even the nicest cats can turn bully if they flat out decide that they do not like another kitty.

Feliway can be helpful, and Royal Canin makes a prescription “calm” kibble that helped our situation.

I’ve heard that adult cats are rarely threatened by the presence of a younger kitten, so that might increase your chances for success. It worked with my 2 adult boys, they readily accepted kittens into the home, but would tail puff and growl at the outside ferals.

[skydy]

I’m know almost nothing about cats. I’m curious. If they were given catnip at some point in time (after they were sort of used to each other) would a shared catnip experience help, or do they not socialize while stoned?