A second cat - help!

[desperance]

Umm. I wasn't going to post about this till after the fact, whichever way the fact went; but actually I realise I'm no way ready, and I'm no good at improvised solutions; if a thing doesn't work straight off, I tend to abandon it entirely, which is not going to help in this situation.

So: a friend of mine needs to rehome a cat, and I've offered him a trial here, because sometimes I think what Barry most needs is a companion. Sometimes I also think it's the thing he'd like least, but hey. What do I know? I'm a human.

I said we'd try it anyway, take the youngster on approval with rights of return in case it doesn't work. But here's the thing: all the advice I've seen about introducing a new cat to an established cat-house starts with keeping the newbie separated for a period of days, maybe weeks, till everybody gets accustomed to each other's smells and presence. That's simply not an option (apart from the physical difficulties of keeping two cats separated in a small house where Barry can open every door); we don't have that kind of time available, to discover if the two of them will get on or hate each other irreparably. The new kid's coming on Friday, and I guess I have a few days after that to make a firm decision; but 'few' is the operative word.

So: tips, tricks, advices? How can I encourage them to love each other, how can I tell absolute hatred from temporary spatting? Give me of your wisdom, O LJ...

Details: the new kid is a neutered male, a rescue cat, a year old or a little more. A dark grey tabby, I'm told, and his name is Mac. Macavity, I said? Machismo?

Macadamia, apparently. Hmm. Perhaps we'll stick to Mac.

Yikes.

Comments

[fjm.livejournal.com]

You need to borrow a cat cage/or very large cat box and keep the new cat separate for quite a long time that way.

Also ask the vet for the spray hormones that say "relax" to cats.

Give the new cat a litter tray in a separate room, and try to feed separately, even if for the first few days that means holding a door shut with a chair.

[pogodragon.livejournal.com]

When jeremy_m and I moved in together we had two cats each - one boy and one girl each, all neutered. We read all of the stuff, all of the advice about keeping them separate, but... well, we were bad and didn't do it we just let them sort it out between themselves pretty much.

There was the incident where we had to more or less dismantle the kitchen to get Molly out from behind the fridge, but that was mainly a problem because the kitchen in that house was so small.

The two boys had reasonably regular spats with each other but not much in the way of serious damage (the worst wound was to my ankle one time).

What ended up happening was the two pairs of cats kept mostly to different parts of the house and maintained a polite but armed neutrality. Letting them work out the heirarchy whilst keeping an eye on them so that no limbs were lost worked pretty well for us.

[samarcand.livejournal.com]

You are such a masochist Chaz! I don't have any advice, I'm afraid, although the times I've done it, I've only ever kept them separate for at the most a day before introducing them. I think a neutered tom should be easier than a queen or unspayed (unspeyed? Or is that just not a Scottish river?) tom. Just keep an eye on them and give Barry lots of treats when introducing him to Mac. Positive reinforcement, you know?

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I've never had much problem introducing two unrelated male cats to each other.

It's the unrelated females that will make life hell for each other.

You might try rubbing some of Barry's litter or bedding on him so he smells like he belongs to Barry.

Also, when they've had a day or two, put something Barry likes on his head. You might get lucky and Barry will pin him down and wash it off. *g*

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Is this the cat I had an e-mail about yesterday? Or some totally coincidental grey tabby neutered tom?

[desperance.livejournal.com]

That's the one. Kevin C's late mum's orphaned kitty. What was I going to say, "No room! No room!"?

I may of course end up saying "Aaaargh! Take this unregenerate monster from my precious baby's vicinity!" or words to that effect; we wait to see.

[windsea.livejournal.com]

I've had cats all my life, serial invaders. Never, ever mucked about with keeping them separate; the worst that ever happened was when Emma Goldman, a 4 year old female, rolled Hillary, who was about 6 months old and the incomer, into a ball and sort of dribbled him down the hall like a soccer ball. Those two never did get along, but just politely ignored each other most of the time.

Current pair -- female Skitter was 3, a 6 lb ball of fluff, when Crispin, also 3, and *huge*, wandered in. Well, was carried in by my then 7 year old; he'd been abandoned by some bastards who moved away and left him on the street. Skitter took one look, purred, rubbed her cheek against his, swatted him hard across the nose just to establish who was boss, and they've been inseparable ever since. Sleep together, eat side by side with their tails entwined, wash each other's faces.

I could go on about the other cat introductions since 1960, but you get the point :-)

I was amused when we added The Dawg to the mix, a 65 lb husky- German Shepherd mongrel. We just walked in with her one day. The cats were on the hallway stairs with a priceless, shared WHAT THE FUCK expression on both faces. They tag-teamed teaching her immediately that she was at the bottom of the pecking order, but after they got that out of the way they all became Very Good Friends.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/windsea/sets/72157594183387651/

The three of them like to hang out on the back porch together, and if one of them is inside and the others are out, the one who's in gets very distressed.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Skitter took one look, purred, rubbed her cheek against his, swatted him hard across the nose just to establish who was boss, and they've been inseparable ever since. Sleep together, eat side by side with their tails entwined, wash each other's faces.

Obviously this is what I'm hoping for, I just don't dare imagine it'll be that easy. Thanks for the reassurance, though, I appreciate that. And I love the photos...

[davidbarnett.livejournal.com]

Macadamia, apparently.

Because he's nuts, presumably. Yikes indeed.

No advice because I'm on my very first cats - brother and sister, acquired from rescue centre six and a half years ago. My missus is a cat lady, though, so I'll ask her.

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

My partner and I have never had the room to keep a new cat separate. They just got dropped into the muddle as soon as the vet certified that they were healthy. We've never really had a problem, whether introducing a new female or a new male cat.

In fact, when we introduced a new male cat (my partner's cat to keep her company when she was studying in another city) to a house of three female cats, he bonded so well with one of the females that we had to reconfigure the two households to get those two together.

There's a thing called Feliway in the US (and probably in the UK too). It's artificial cat pheromones in a diffuser that you plug into the wall. One of those things that yells safe, safe, safe at the cats. That helps matters along as well.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

There's a thing called Feliway in the US (and probably in the UK too).

Yup - and my vet sells it! Yay! Thanks for that, I'd never heard of it...

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

It's amazing stuff and it really works, even though we haven't a clue how.

Most of our friends use it temporarily to introduce new cats or, after moving, to introduce cats to their new place. We've used it for that in the past, although these days, we use for a different reason.

One of our current cats is a lovable but neurotic OCD street rescue who left alone will groom himself so much that he abrades his paws and belly until they bleed. We've also seen him go for 24 hours or so without sleeping.

The drugs the vet suggested to calm him down left him barely able to lift his head. We use the feliway diffuser instead and he's like every normal active cat we've ever had.

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Yay!! I've been tempted to suggest that you get a second cat a couple of times. Believe it or not two cats are easier to own than one. They entertain each other.

My opinion of separating cats is that no matter what you do, when they get together the first time they are going to spat. It's just something they have to do. They both want to be boss, but there can be only one... you know the movie. It can be very dramatic and scary to watch them go at each other or it can be one of those where they sit and stare at each other and then one of them walks off. Chances are some fur will fly at some point. Don't break them up unless you see blood. Just let them get it over with. As long as no eyes get gouged out or ears get shredded they are fine. It's all very dramatic and traumatic, but they don't usually do any real damage. Seriously, they will be fine. It's you who will freak out.

Before the new cat arrives you should cat-proof your house and leave it that way for the first week. Seal all the hidy holes even if you think they are too small. Secure all breakables including the TV because it's amazing what an 8 pound cat can send crashing to the ground.

If you want you can leave the newcomer in his crate in the room with the cat box for about a quarter of an hour just to make sure he's got that location firmly planted in his head before he meets the boss of the house.

Two neutered males are the easiest to introduce to each other, especially if the newcomer is younger. It will help if you can remain calm, not yell, try not to sweat fear. Just remember, they are cats, this is how they work things out. Chances are real good that nothing beyond some hissing and hiding will happen. Just let it happen.

Um, and check your shoes before you put them on. If Barry decides to blame you he might pee in one.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Um, and check your shoes before you put them on. If Barry decides to blame you he might pee in one.

Thank you - that's the kind of really useful advice I was hoping for...

[leela-cat.livejournal.com]

Also check your bed before you get into it, if the cats have access to it. One cat of ours occasionally left hairballs between the sheets if she was upset.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

Before the new cat arrives you should cat-proof your house

Eek. The same thought did occur to me, that it'd be a really smart move to clear the decks, give them space to squabble. But, um, if you had seen my house...

(Also, I don't know the fighting weight of the new boy, but Barry is a twelve-pound cat, and very little of that is fat...)

[wishwords.livejournal.com]

Then you should at least put away anything that would break your heart to have broken. Make sure holes into dangerous places, like washer/dryer vents, into walls are blocked. Be prepared to not be able to find one or the other of the cats and just don't worry about it. If one of them hides, it will come out when it gets good and hungry. If you happen to know where it's hiding then I'd suggest putting a cat box and food and water in the same room so it will be more likely to venture out.

Chances are very, very good that all they will do is hiss, stand off and possibly chase a bit. Don't stress out, but you should prepare for the worst before hand. Know what I mean?

[mallory-blog.livejournal.com]

I have cats - let's just say more than 5 - basically, the thing to do is rescue one or the other should they try to really kill each other - beyond that - they will be curious, hiss a lot, be curious, be jealous, hiss a lot, swat at each other to see who's boss, hiss a lot, make caterwauling type sounds till you tell them to shut up, chase each other around, tree each other and generally keep each other entertained or something close to it - eventually they will glower at each other and probably cuddle. Just keep an eye out for blood and guts - mostly what they do is SHOW how big and tough they are - then they go eat...

[devonellington.livejournal.com]

I just emailed you about the flood and the rescued cat.

He was a perfect gentleman with my three girls. There was some initial hissing, but no one fought. I had feeding stations set up in several locations, so they didn't have to be too close; extra litterboxes; basically, I ignored them, and stuck to feeding, playing, etc. routines (as much as one could in the middle of a flood with no power and no heat).

Within 24 hours, they were fine (which is unusual -- it can take up to 4 months). And, when the cat's owner turned up hearing I'd rescued a cat and hoping it was his -- my girls missed the big boy!

Best of luck!