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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028

    * EEK! Pet Advice Needed

    Hello all,

    I'm looking to get some hints or tips as to "how to properly adjust our new third cat in with the other two"!?

    Just tonight we received a 6-10 year old male cat from my fiancee's grandfather. This is the male cat's second home in as many weeks as he could not properly adjust to his home at her aunt's (HER female cat hissed and clawed at him for 7 days).

    Now I find myself in the same situation already! My two female cats of 1 year are hissing, clawing, etc at this new cat. I understand that it's change and it will take time to get used to things, but how do I do this the best way?

    At the moment, I have the new male cat in the office with me (with the door closed). I've moved his food, litter and bed into here and plan to spend the night with him on the Futon. Would this be my wisest choice at the moment... keeping the cats apart?

    Thanks everyone.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    BTW, I should definately mention that both my female cats displayed quite the hissy fits while at the Vet getting spayed. When I arrived to pick them up, the Vet wished me luck and left for a Coffee. I spent almost 15 minutes getting both to calm down enough that I could handle them into their cages. For some reason, I think they might be associating this new cats smell with that event.

    LMAO, I hope I'm not going nuts

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    1,272
    Not sure it'll go well at all but have a look at this Link for some help!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Azn,

    Wow... thank you so much. Stupid me forgot to search I'm printing this now!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    1,272
    No problem...! Since he's an older cat...he will probably get really stressed out over the experience/circumstances. So he'll most likely need a lot of care.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Actually, and I know this sounds a little odd, he's so damn loving that I really don't think he minds. He used to live with 3 dogs and 6 other cats (we used to call her grandparents place the zoo!).

    He's seems quite fine with the other cats and is likely a little stressed and scared over the location change, but that's to be expected.

    I've already moved their food dishes and we'll begin this process right away.

    Here's hoping

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    San Francisco, CA
    Posts
    1,272
    It'll work out! Just don't be surprised if they never truly "bond"

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Sunny California
    Posts
    1,679
    One thing that I've found that helps is to give all the cats a bath and dry them off with the same towels. That way the same cat shampoo scent is all over all of them. This helped my two cats get used to each other. Now they're like sisters.
    Erica Douglass, Founder, Simpli Hosting, Inc.
    »»» I founded Simpli Hosting, and sold it in 2007 to Silicon Valley Web Hosting after over 6 years in the business.
    Now I'm blogging at erica.biz!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Erica,

    I was thinking of this but wasn't sure if it would help. I'm going to see how the next 48 hours work out in regards to trading scent and we'll go from there.

    I hate bathing my cats and would love to avoid it if possible!!!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    7,954
    Keep the cats seperated at first. When you are home to supervise start small times for interaction between the cats. When you are not there keep them seperate. This will take some time. Time is the most important factor in this case. Expect at least a week for teh ugliness to stop. After that it will take more time for the cats to develop relations and bonderies.

    Also remember that cats are not pack animals like dogs. Sometime cats will form close bond with the others, sometimes it becomes a relation of bounderies and respect. Three of our four cats will pile up on the bed and groom each other while the other is a loner cats.

    Just give it time and all will be fine. I have been through this plenty of times with foster cats. It is never pretty the first week.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Thanks Odd.

    Since my panic post last night, the cat's have been seperated and are currently still rather pissed at eachother. The scary thing is my two female cats began hissing / clawing at eachother last night but that has stopped which is great.

    I think I'll get through today with them seperated and tomorrow we'll do a blanket switch and see how things go.

    Like anything, this will just take time I guess!

    Thanks again.

  12. #12
    Dogs im sure are different then cats....

    I brought a new puppy home about a month ago. I already had a dog that is about 6 years old. I just put them in the back yard, let them chase each other and fight it out. All in all it took about 3 weeks for them to get use to each other. My dog was always growling and barking at the puppy. but now they play together and sleep together. They seem to have bonded nicely. Again I know dogs are different then cats, but maybe just let them hiss and claw and get it out of their systems, they should adapt to each other sooner or later.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Lansing, MI, USA
    Posts
    1,548
    Maybe we're just lucky. We had one cat, and a friend had her alergies further develop, so poof we had three. One had no problem with the current resident while the other, just once, let out this amazing hiss and yowl. After that... they all got along fine.

    Then we introduced the ferret. This is the fun part.

    The origional resident, loves him. Chases him around the house and they have a great time playing.

    The first out-of-towner really couldn't seem to be asked to care one way or the other.

    The second out-of-towner... runs! If the ferret comes near him... he goes to the other side of the room. The ferret has never attacked him, only tried to sniff him... what a scardey cat!

    We have lots of fun over here... LOL. I'm sure your cats will be fine... just give them some time and make sure you keep giving them equal attention.
    Jacob - WebOnce Technologies - 30 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - Over 5 Years Going Strong!
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Thanks again everyone. It's frustrating keeping them in seperate rooms as I'd just like to see them all get along.

    A couple of minutes ago I tried to prop the door open just to get some air flow into my office and sure enough the hissing began.

    As for WebOnce, your ferret sounds awesome. My buddy has two of them and they make me laugh everytime I see them!

    Now back to the "cat fight" for me

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