Introducing adult cats.... any bright ideas?

[PriorityOne]

Thanks.

 

Cat was killed but at least it was outright so she didn't suffer. She was only about 5 but was a cat that wouldn't be kept in. Some are OK as housecats, some are miserable so you can't force it. All you can do is give them a good life whilst you have them.

 

I know she will miss her a lot. I can guarantee she'll be asking me to take her to the cat sanctuary for another one - hopefully an older one that is happy staying in or one that's had an hard life and appreciates staying in.

 

It takes a while to come to terms with.... so sorry

 

My rescue cats have always ended up being indoor cats.... my Mum cat is already. It is a worry when they prefer to go out but they have their own preferences, as you say.

[Jan4a]

Thanks, I will spend lots of time with her and she can visit mine. She calls herself their "grandma"!

 

Mine are all housecats - Norwegians were bred as showcats so they were used to it so no problems, kitten hasn't been out but does try it on so will have to be watched - hopefully having 4 friends will keep her occupied! Felix is 15 and isn't bothered what happens as long as he gets food/sleep so I'm lucky I don't have to worry about traffic.

 

They do have a big pen in the back garden with a couple of hutches in it that they can sit in if it rains though. Think I'd struggle without that! They love it and I get to hoover in peace/have the windows open in summer etc.

[PriorityOne]

Mine have the option of going in and out as they please, but I back onto farmland.... so don't have the worry of lots of traffic racing past. That's part of the reason I've taken Mum cat & kitty on... 'coz providing they get on with the others, they'll have a good life here.

 

I live in hope.... lol

[Jan4a]

Mine have the option of going in and out as they please, but I back onto farmland.... so don't have the worry of lots of traffic racing past. That's part of the reason I've taken Mum cat & kitty on... 'coz providing they get on with the others, they'll have a good life here.

 

I live in hope.... lol

 

they are very lucky cats! and I am sure they will be OK in time, if not best friends, at least tolerate each other.

[PriorityOne]

**Update**

 

Mum cat figured out how to get in through a locked cat flap ....which made life increasingly difficult because no one could get out once they were in!!.... so I decided to leave the catflap unlocked and just let them get on with it (during the day, that is).

 

There's been no flying fur so far, no cr*p on the carpet and the spooky face on my Ollie is not as bad as it used to be. The kitten is not a problem at all, but I dare not relax too much and/or too quickly because Mum cat still chases.

 

It seems to be better though....

[Jan4a]

Great news. Hopefully it will get even better in time.

 

Mine used to manage to bulldoze their way through a locked cat flap. The ones where you slide a piece of plastic in behind the actual cat flap to completely block it off stopped them in the end. It is a staywell. I haven't had one for years though as I have housecats nowadays.

[trundlecat]

Sorry to butt in so late in the procedings but after many years owning & fostering cats I've mastered the introductions technique: leave them to it. There will be fur flying, there will be upset, there will be times when you could sit & cry cos your once harmonious home is now a war zone but they will sort out the pecking order & things will calm down. Until they have had the inevitable confrontations & someone loses the tension will unfortunately remain.

 

I introduced a hyperactive, neurotic, stark raving mad, 3 month old oriental to two mature, laid back BSH's last year.... that was fun (not). They're fine now but took a good 6 weeks before all the hissing & growling stopped. Sometimes wish they'd all stayed the best of enemies as junior's managed to revert the 2 older ones back to kitten hood so it's like Heathrow terminal 1 in our house when playtime starts.

[hightail]

I wish I had £1 for every time an owner has come to me for help after just leaving them to it. There's a world of difference between bringing a kitten in and introducing adults. Even with a kitten there is very good reason to minimise stress for all your cats during the introductory period.

[trundlecat]

I disagree; there is little difference between cats & kittens.

 

The result of trying to make introductions in a stressless way more than often leads to more stress. Any mixing of territorial species will always be fraught. They absolutely HAVE TO sort out the pecking order & stopping them from doing that only delays the inevitable or makes for thoroughly miserable cats. As long as they are supervised there is no need whatsoever for sprays, intervention (within reason, if someone is getting an eye gouged out obviously you intervene) etc. The only difference I have ever found is between domestic & feral or elderly/disbled cats. Apologies if my views conflicting with yours doesn't sit well but that does not make them wrong.

[Jan4a]

It does of course depend on the temperament of the cats involved. I have always found that putting new cat in a room of their own to settle and then opening the door for an hour or so whilst I am around and giving them the option to hide out or wander at will works best - ie in their own time.

 

They do need supervision though - on one occasion I did have a ripped ear tip to deal with when one of my she's took exception to a 9 month old tom. He had already been here months though and I'd thought they were fine - he must have just annoyed her that particular morning.

[hightail]

I suppose it depends what you mean by stress. The stressors that matter for the health of a cat are not stress as we humans define it.

[Jan4a]

Agree. Stress was cause of my cat's FLUTD. I think it was down to catflap, they'd been OK for years but after my dog died next door's cat started to come in and stressed him out so much he got FLUTD although at the time I didn't think he was upset. Hard to tell sometimes. Closed catflap off though and everything went back to normal once he was better.

 

I think now that you need either a very tough cat or a dog if you have a catflap!

[hightail]

You're right. An obviously upset cat is not necessarily stressed and a calm, happy appearance is no guarantee of a lack of stress.

[PriorityOne]

I've heard a few stories about cats barging through a locked cat flap over the last few days.... lol.... but I've had no noticeable problems since starting to leave it unlocked, so I'm starting to feel a bit better about things. Mum and kitty are always in when I get in from work and my original 2 are always out though. However, they seem to know that Mum and kitty get put somewhere else during the evening because they come in then and settle.

 

Mum cat seems to be top of the pecking order at the moment, but we'll see how things go....

[PriorityOne]

**Update**

 

Mum and kitty cat are in the house all day now until late at night. My other 2 cats are still not happy about this, but Ollie (male cat) has stopped hiding from them now and will sit in the same room as them... but under protest! There's still some growling going on, but no more chasing.... which is a relief.

 

My other cat Tiggy (female) is a moody b*gger anyway and doesn't come in that often, but I'm hoping this will get easier as time goes on. She comes in to eat because the food disappears.... but won't settle indoors. She'll just sit there and dare anyone to come near her until an opportunity arises for her to go back out through the cat flap.

 

Fun times...

[Jan4a]

it is slowly getting better though ......

[PriorityOne]

Well, after months and months of living in next door's shed and refusing to come in, my older female cat seems to have given up the protest and decided that she loves me after all. She came into the house for a look around last night and then settled on the bed and stayed there all night!! She is still fussy beyond words this morning! Very strange....

 

S'pose they must have sorted out there differences outside....

[Undercover-Elsa]

LOL they are strange. The way they can hold grudges for ages is amazing, but part of their charm

Glad it's all settled down now!

[PriorityOne]

I would never have believed it.... one extreme to the other!!!

 

I need to give her a good comb now though.... she's let herself go a bit

[imaginarynumber]

Companies such as Naturvet do a range of products that are suposed relax the cats and make them more comfortable (I think they are pheramone based). Such products may have helped to ease the process

[PriorityOne]

Companies such as Naturvet do a range of products that are suposed relax the cats and make them more comfortable (I think they are pheramone based). Such products may have helped to ease the process

 

Yes.... I did look at these and they're quite expensive. A friend of mine had shelled out to get one but said it made no difference which put me off.

 

They've all settled quite well now though, although one my originals (a Tom) likes to show who's boss from time to time.

 

I thought I was mad for having 4 cats..... and still do from time to time, especially when we also now have a regular visitor through the catflap as well. I know he lives somewhere nearby but doesn't get enough to eat. He's gorgeous but was very, very skinny when he first "visited". Mine accept him or not depending on their mood but I'm a little worried that he's not been neutered and seeing as he's not my cat, it's giving me a dilemma. He hasn't sprayed anywhere or even gone to spray anywhere.... and he's so furry down there that I can't see to tell if he's been done or not...lol... but I don't think he has, so don't want a stinky cat in here when the Spring stirs his loins, so to speak....

 

Suggestions anyone? Please don't tell me to close the catflap. 'coz I can't..... I hate trays and won't have them in the house.

 

[gatecrasher007]

Looks like you want to make it 5!! And will make it 5.

 

I have 6 they are all typical really, they put up with each other as I think all cats do. The girls do take a bit of a battering and know their place you know the usual they eat last, pull back if a male pushes in on the food side of things. Generally Priority, I find if they are fed in close proximity to each other that is all together lined up they get along OK. I have the usual biting session if one is sat where another wants to sit but in general they know whats what and find their own pecking order.

[PriorityOne]

Looks like you want to make it 5!! And will make it 5.

 

I have 6 they are all typical really, they put up with each other as I think all cats do. The girls do take a bit of a battering and know their place you know the usual they eat last, pull back if a male pushes in on the food side of things. Generally Priority, I find if they are fed in close proximity to each other that is all together lined up they get along OK. I have the usual biting session if one is sat where another wants to sit but in general they know whats what and find their own pecking order.

 

Thanks for your reply Gatecrasher...

 

I'm not sure if I have a choice over making it 5, to be honest. If it was a dog, it would be different but cats are free agents and this one just wants to be here. My oldest Tom cat squares up to him at times but not to have a go; just to tell him off. They are inches away from each other at times and he gets a good telling-off and then mine just walks away triumphant.... lol!

 

You're right about the pecking order and it's been well-established now.... I'm still amazed that I managed to get them all living alongside each other so well; remembering the problems in the early days. These days I often get 4 in one room all sleeping happily.... and they often all eat together now as well, altough not too close. In fact, they are no trouble at all these days.

 

Cat no. 5 bothers me though because I know he's not a genuine stray but whoever he belongs to really needs classes in how to care for animals, IMO. I've decided to take him to the vet at some point and have him checked over. If it means me paying to have him neutered, then I'll just have to do it. It's not a big issue for me 'coz I work.... but there are times when I seriously question my own sanity with these creatures!!

 

Edited February 23, 2011 by PriorityOne
typo

[Undercover-Elsa]

Also the vet would do a free scan to see if he's microchipped

[Undercover-Elsa]

Strange thing cats, with their pecking order. They make their own rules up!

I have 3 ducks and it's very straight forward with them..top female, second class female and male who "thinks" he's the boss. (But even the low rank female is much brighter and runs rings round him, she always finds busy busy things to do out of his way at the bottom of the garden when she knows he's in the mood for luuurv).

Sounds familiar