Hello there,a couple of months ago my wife and myself decided to give a stray cat we had been feeding a home as he started to come regularly to our house.
After a few weeks of teathing problems, such as our new family member not being acustomed to using a cat litter tray (which he has figured out now), also having to go out and carry him in the house rather than him coming in of his own accord when hes out (he has now realised that our home is now his home too and he comes in himself now). The only real problem is that we already have an older cat (who is a bit spoiled) and he sort of rules the roost. Our new cat is only about a year old the vet tells us, and our older cat is about 8 years old. Both male cats seem quite afraid of each other as both go out of there way to avoid each other, but when they do end up in the same area they both start to get very nervous and spit and growl at each other with our older cat being the worst culprit, is there a way to help them get along better?
Answers:
I'm not sure if there is a right way to introduce cats to each other, they all have such different personalities , but the best thing to remember in my experience is not to make a fuss if they growl/hiss etc unless it looks like there might be bloodshed. They only do that to sort out pecking order.
Male cats will only REALLY fight if they aren't spayed as they will see each other as a threat for the attention of the ladies(!)
I have a 12yr old spayed tom (we lost his sister 2mths ago...) and introduced him to a 3yr old tom(also spayed) slowly starting off with the new cat in the carrier for about 30-40 mins so they each knew there was another cat around.
Then I let the new cat out right in front of the litter tray and in one room to start with and gradually gave a little more room as they adjusted to each other.
Feeding at first was on opposite sides of the room but at the same time and then gradually feeding them closer and closer together until they are eating from the same mat.
Now almost 2 weeks later and after only a few protests from my older cat for acouple of days (to which I answered by giving him the max attention to show he was still the boss!!!) they sleep together, eat together and apart from when the younger kitty goes a bit too far at "playtimes" and gets a telling swipe from the older one they've become quite pally with each other and as time goes on will probably be inseparable. -- Although some cats will just learn to tolerate each other...
So it seems softly, softly might be best and remember to let the cat you've had longest know he is still the top cat, it was his home first after all!
Good luck!!!
Scent sharing, stroke moggie 1 then stroke moggie 2 and vice versa.
Just let them work it out. My Dogs were the same way when my fiance and I moved in together. It took about 6 months. They still "fight" sometimes now but in a playful way. Animals take a while to determine who the dominant one is, just let nature take it's course.
My cousin LOVES cats and she says that with them BOTH being males, it's not such a good idea to keep them around each other. One of them could kill the other. But you could always find a new home for your new gest.
They may never get along. We brought a new cat into the house a few months ago, and our old cat (also 8!) has never warmed to her. In fact, she will pounce on her at any opportunity (they're both she-cats). At this stage, they will eat while near each other, and then avoid each other. The older cat will sometimes jump on the younger one for no good reason - for her own amusement, I think, because the younger cat reacts by screeching and hissing and it's all very dramatic!
Our dog is now the referee! She'll jump into the fray and seperates them and keeps them apart. (They both get on very well with her). We've given up trying to get them to be friends.
What is interesting though, is our older cat tries to play 'cute' a lot more since the new cat moved in! Rolling on her back, being playful with things, she had a passing interest before, but now we say she should get an Oscar! It's very funny to see. Obviously jealousy has a big part to play.
If you find out can you ley me know!!
I have been having this trouble with 2 females for a very long time. the second cat was even a kitten when bought and they have never got along things are getting worse.
I have tried vallium on the one who is the problem but that didnt work it just drugged her out and made her fall over. I am now using clomicalm tablets (so far not working) she has been on them for a month and i will continue with it to see what happens.
We tried feliway plug in and calming liquid in their water!
I am really afraid that we will have to give one away...which we dont want to do.
I think especially when there are two of the same sex you have to expect that they have to sort out who is the Alpha male/ female..one has to be boss.
But when it is constant pee and hissing and trying to kill...what do you do?
Good Luck I know i havent helped but wanted to let you know our experience. I would never again get another cat to keep another one company unless they were from the same litter and grew up together. Oh also i think our problem is that both cats are completely different personalities and temprements.
Cheers
Hi, I have 2 cat's who are just like yours they only tolerate each other, they hiss and spit and even at times have a little fight ( this never lasts long and is more of a handbags at dawn fight). We never show favouritism to one cat more than the other they are treated both the same. Sometimes when they think we are not watching they sleep near each other, and on the very rare occasion play with each other. So dont worry things will settle down, and they will learn to live side by side. They are both males one is 11 the other 8.
Take one, or both, to the vet, and get it neutered. Or find another home for one of them.
Well I have four cats, two of them i got within a couple of months of each other and they have never got on, one of these is the mother to my other two and these all get on pretty well. You can never force a cat to do anything so be patient with them and pay them the same attention, they may not like each other but they may be able to eventually live together without being bestest friends.
never unless they are sisters or brothers
This situation is almost identical to what has been happening in my home with my two cats, except the older cat is female not male.
She was quite spoiled, but has become a very jealous and a bit mean, and no longer plays or even sits on my lap.
We became very concerned and eventually worried that she seemed almost depressed, so I took her to the vet. He has given me a medication called 'Clomicalm'. She takes half a tablet per day and it calms her. These tablets are not very expensive per dose, although we had to pay for the whole course up front, $40.
She has gradually started to become more like her old self, she again on my lap, and will play if the new cat is not in the room. Her aggressive attitude toward the new cat has also decreased. The vet said once she is finished a course of tablets she should have learned to behave more calmly. If not, she can have a second course, after which she will have to go it alone!
We have also put a product called 'Feliway' in the lounge room. It comes in a plug-in dispenser and it is made of cat pheromones, which give cats a calm, happy feeling in that room. So the lounge room has become a stress free zone for both cats (and humans!). We purchased this product from EBay fairly cheaply, and it is pretty good.
It is also good if each has their 'own' litter tray, and some space of their own. This can be hard to organise in some homes, but can be done ~ at night, we take the old cat into our bedroom and close the door so the new cat cannot get in (the old cat has a littler tray in the en suite bathroom). This is about our fourth thing we've tried, but at least it works!
The old cat therefore has a place where she is free of the new cat, and she has been responding very well to this. The new cat meanwhile has his own blanket on a chair where he can lie and he is very comfortable and happy, he does not try and get in and we think he likes having some time and space of his own, too!
He (the little ex-stray) has put on weight and although sometimes I think he might be a little unhappy because the other cat does not like him, I know that in reality cats are NOT people and have different feelings and motivations to us.
After four months, I believe it is unlikely they will ever 'love' each other, but they both seem fairly happy in their own individual lives, and that is fine. They often sleep uring the day in the same room without troubling each other, although they do not play together. So, we have two happy cats ~ they are just not happy with each other!
Sorry to be so long ~ but it's difficult to watch the cats being unhappy. Anyway, I hope this was useful for you and that your cats will soon relax :-)
REDFROGGGIRL! Sorry about the caps :-) The clomicalm takes about four weeks to really start to see some effect. We noticed our cat was just more whacked out than anything, but after six weeks she is really starting to get with the program, and the 'whacked out' effects are lessened. With two females it is also a bit harder because of dominance issues, but they will calm down, my sis had this same issue with two females and it took a while but did work out. Good luck!
Mother in law has a cat called Penny, she went missing, two days later we found a Kitten stuck in the wall, we kept her she was then only two weeks old. We named her Milli, amazing Penny came back home and now only almost 5 months down the line, are they two kittens playing together, we just left them to learn to like and understand each other..
hope it all works out for you.
Roll the new cat in the cat litter so they both have the same scent, we done this with our new kitten and they still fight but they get along ok now after 5 months!
I don't think there's a lot you can do,weve got two Tabby female cats and theyve got there place,one is around 10 and the other around six in fact their mother and daughter they both have there own space,best of luck with them.
my two are the same. the best thing you can do is just give them both their own space feed them seperatly and let them sort it out in their own way. mine have been together for a year now and its still an uneasy truce. yours may never really be friends
I have 7 cats that I rescued at different periods. Each one that comes is there is uglyness amongst the other cats or the new comer is agressive towards them. Be very patient and athoritive when they engage in violence towards each other (never hit a cat). I also find that giving them a lot of your attention helps stop the insecurities. Eventyally the cats get tired of fighting and then ignore each other with the occasional swipe. Don't get rid of you new cat. I took it as a challange. The main thing is giving them attention but don't show the other. Your situation sounds exact to mine. Just give them time. Put yourself in their situation.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment