Introducing New Cat, Lots of Fights

[dpaanlka]

I tried introducing a new adopt-a-kitty, 10 month old male to a female I've had for about 2.5 years. Both are spayed/neutered whatever the correct term is.

Upon bringing new kitty home, I kept it in a locked area of the house for about five days. The only option for contact with the other cat was under the doorway, although I never personally noticed any such contact. Inside the locked area were some favorite items belonging to the old cat.

Introducing them, at first, they seemed very cautious of each other, but now the male (new cat) seems to just viciously attack the female (old cat).

Anything I should try? I really like the new cat, he's way way more sociable than the old one ever was.

 

[iTeen]

if i were you, i would let it play out...my old cat always did this when i first brought my new cat home. now they are best buddys.

 

[rfrankl]

It just takes time.

 

[nhcowboy1]

It just takes time.

Not necessarily.

Where you have an older female, who may be naturally timid, and a young aggressive male, it is possible that the situation will never resolve.

That was certainly the situation in my household. The young male was a bully, and the older female simply didn't know how to defend herself. She ended up spending all her time hiding from him. And most of her hiding places did not include a litter box - so you can imagine what a disaster that was! I ended up having to get rid of the male. He (and his sweet little twin sister, who went with him) ended up in a lovely home the very next day after they were put up for adoption, for which I was grateful. He just couldn't live with us.

You might want to try helping the female along, by giving her more attention & feeding her first (with him crated, so he can't steal her food) - so that he learns that he's not the boss. But if she's naturally timid, there may be nothing you can do to change their natural pecking order. (And I guess it's possible that interfering could even make things worse . . . . )

Good luck to you!

 

[NewMacGirl]

We had the same problem and had to keep the cats in adjacent rooms for a few weeks. We then slowly opened the door but jammed it ajar so they could see and smell each other but not physically harm each other, We did this for a few more weeks slowly opening the door a bit more.

It took about two months but now they are the best of friends.

I found this just now and seems to say what we did (but we did it out of neccesity as they would have killed each other if we had not kept them apart)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-for-Introducing-Two-Cats&id=28033

 

[Abstract]

You might want to try helping the female along, by giving her more attention & feeding her first (with him crated, so he can't steal her food) - so that he learns that he's not the boss.

I agree with that, particularly the last part.

And honestly, if this doesn't work out and you have the urge to get rid of a cat, make it the new cat. I know you said you like your new cat, but getting a new cat and then giving another one up sounds quite cruel. Being "your" cat shouldn't be an ongoing interview process.

 

[Rodimus Prime]

it takes a while for cats to adjust. My friend says 2-3 months is not uncommon when introducing a new cat.

 

[LouisBlack]

My two still have some really vicious looking fights and they are brother and sister. It's sometimes very hard to decide whats playing and what is fighting.

I definitely agree that it can take a long time and they best way to do it is to slowly increase contact over the course of time.

 

[Lyle]

We'd like to get a new cat, but we've had our cat (a male) for almost 13 years now and we're pretty sure it would be a disaster if we tried to bring a new kitten into his house. I mean, our house.

 

[MattG]

Not necessarily.

Where you have an older female, who may be naturally timid, and a young aggressive male, it is possible that the situation will never resolve.

Yea..my mom has an older female cat, and they brought in another younger male cat probably about two years ago, and she still HATES him. She's downright nasty to him, swatting and hissing. I don't think it'll ever stop!

 

[P-Worm]

Not necessarily.

Where you have an older female, who may be naturally timid, and a young aggressive male, it is possible that the situation will never resolve.

We have the same thing at our house, an old female cat that was very shy - hates being touched - and we introduced a bengal - known to be very wild an "King of the Hill" - and they still fight all the time. In this case, however, the female seems to provoke most of it, but I don't think they are ever going to get along.

One of the cats has dominated the upstairs while the other lives downstairs for now to avoid each other. But every once in a while, the female cat will come upstairs looking for trouble and that's when the fur flies.

P-Worm

 

[dpaanlka]

Thanks everyone for all the replies so far

 

[mrocha7997]

I screwed up the new to old cat introduction

My boyfiriend and I screwed up the cat-to-cat introduction, we let them see each other right away. Needless to say, they chased each other and were tumbling around our livingroom for quite some time. They never stopped, not even for treats or the spary bottle. Is it too late to try the whole isolation approach? We live in a small one bedroom apartment, our old cat sleeps with us so locking him out of the bedroom is not an option and he is used to being with us when we get home. We were thinking of keeping our old cat in our bedroom with us at night and then switching him (and all his stuff) out to the livingroom when we are home. Is this going to cause more problems?