We brought the new cat home 2 days ago. Our old cats are not fighting him, but they hiss and growl every time he gets within a few feet of them.
Answers:
If you have the space, I would put the new one in a room, away from the original ones who are just being territorial. This way they can smell each other and they can get used to the smelll. after a few days and only under supervision you can open the door and let the new one explore 15 min at first and then extend the time. This will take a little bit and their still may be hissing but this way is least stressing for the cats old and new. Good Luck!
That is very common and all the cats will settle down with time. You could get a bottle of Dr. Jean Hofve's "New Beginnings" flower essence. That's at www.spiritessence.com. It's easy to treat cats with the essences, you just shake the bottle well and put it on the fur between the cats' ears. The bottle is $16.95, no shipping or handling and is sent with instructions. I like to put the essences right on the cats when I treat - putting it in water or food doesn't give the cat enough I feel.
We did this with a kitten a few years ago. You have to do it in small steps. Change only one thing at a time, wait 4-5 days, and then progress to the next step. You have to make this a gradual transition.
We kept the kitten in a bedroom with food and water, and spent time playing with her. The 2 adult cats could smell her under the door, and they could smell her on our hands and clothes after handling the kitten. We didn't let them get together for several days.
After 4-5 days to get used to the fact that there was a new animal in the house, we started bringing the kitten out into the rest of the house several times a day. We still held her or stayed close so that the other 2 couldn't fight with her. But now they could see her in "their" territory. There was still hissing and spitting, but no fighting.
Next we put them close together - one person holding an adult on their lap while sitting on the couch, and the other would sit down next to them while holding the kitten. They could sniff noses, etc, but still no fights were allowed. Usually the adults would hiss and jump down and leave. Again, do this several times a day.
Finally we put them all down on the floor, and watched what would happen. Sometimes the adults would hiss and leave, sometimes they would approach and sniff. By this time the adults were used to having someone new around, but didn't get too upset about it. There were moments when they would come up to the same corner from opposite sides, and scare each other, but all told after about 2 weeks, they were getting along. After a month, they were eating together, using the same litter box, etc. There was still some hissing and spitting for awhile, but things settled down.
You will want multiple litter boxes. Our vet recommended 1 box per cat, plus one extra. We only have 3 set up at the moment, (with 3 cats) but it seems to work OK for us.
Gradually.
How gradually depends on the purrsonalities of the kitties in question.
Since your established cats and the newbie have already met, you've already bypassed the usual recommended steps. Since they're not actually fighting it seems like you got away with it. (I've always suspected that the "usual steps" were overly cautious for most cats anyway.)
Not fighting and letting the newbie get within a few feet before they hiss and growl is really doing quite well after just a couple days! Maybe you don't have to do anything but be patient and let them get acquainted at their own pace.
One thing that might help is to rub them all with the same towel or wet wipe to mingle their scents.
Do they happen to be due for flea treatment? An application of Advantage or Frontline would be another way of getting them to smell alike.
Be sure to give the established cats a lot of love and affection, so they don't get the idea that there's any reason for them to be jealous of the new one.
Meanwhile, if you're not seeing any fights, they aren't engaging in "scent wars" (competitive spray marking) and nobody's so shook up that they're having litterbox issues, then I'd say you're off to a great start!
In 24 years my family has raised 26 cats. All different ages, both sexes, different litters. And from different States across the U.S. We've found (this works for us, it may not for you) that putting the newcomer in an area, that is not a favorite of the current residents, and semi-restricting access helps. Also shower the current residents with lots of love and don't treat the newcomer any differently, just like one of the gang. Our pets always seemed to base thier actions on ours, treat them like everyone else and so will your pets, eventually. Feed the newcomer in the same general area as everyone else but not next to them. In time everyone just seemed to work it out. There have been the normal personality conflicts, but no outstanding issues. Hope this helps some :)
It will just take time. I was going to suggest that you keep them in separate rooms with the doors closed for a few days so they'd get used to the new cat's scent being in the house. Just let them go. They'll figure it out.
You need to separate them at first.
Put the new cat in a separate room with his/her own litter/food etc. and don't let them see each other at first.
They need to get used to the new smell and pique thier curiosity at first.
They will probably (on both ends) congregate around the door and smell underneath. Let the new kitty become comfortable before bringing him/her out.
slowly, bring out the new cat and supervise what goes on, at first you will probably have a hissing match, if they fight, separate them in different rooms again and try it again in a few days.
The hissing will eventually stop as they all feel threatened by the newcomer and the newcomer is naturally frightened.
make the supervised visits longer and longer until you feel confident they will not fight then you can show the newbie to the other litter pan and food and thats it.
Why do you have three cats? are you some kind of crazy cat lady/person?
Your suppose to keep them in separate areas and let them smell each other for a few days before putting them together. It is harder to introduce a new cat to older cats. My experience has been it depends on their personality. A passive aggresive cat will do ok with a agressive one as in my household. It will take a few days for the hissing to stop. As long as they aren't fighting and hurting each other you should be fine. Keep in mind they don't have to be buddies to live together. As long as they tolerate each other your doing good. I have three and they really don't like each other but do tolerate each other. They will play and have their tiffs, but each has their own turfs and they know it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment