Cat people I need your help introducing 2 new cats to each other?

Question

I adopted a 10 yr old neutered male cat 2 yrs ago. He is the most lovable cat I have ever had. I decided to adopt anouther one from the pound. I picked a sweet 1 yr old female(fixed). When I brought her home I let her lose and held my male cat. As soon as my male cat saw her he started to growl and hiss something he has never done. After that the female got scared and hissed back so now she is locked in the bedroom. I never let them get within 10 feet of each other as i'm afraid they will hurt each other. I really don't want to bring her back but how can I make this work without 1 of them getting hurt?

Answer 1

well, cats can be very territorial, i know my 2 cats, there brothers fight alot because of territory, i would only introduce them if one of your cats is a kitten, so they wont fight

Answer 2

What worked for us: getting an additional litter box and feeding dish, keeping the new kitty in the laundry room where the old kitty can smell her under the door (and old kitty's food/litter is out of that room for easy access). Let new kitty stay in the room for a few days, while we go play with her and she becomes accustomed to where the litter box is so there won't be any accidents later.

Old kitty and new kitty smell each other through the door, often playing footsies. :) In a few days, new kitty is let out to run around and old kitty has to figure out what's going on. Old kitty is mad, spits at new kitty. A fight or two ensues while old kitty establishes who's the boss. New kitty defers to old kitty, everything is back in balance in the house and before you know it they'll be curling up together for a slice of morning sun on the floor.

Answer 3

um put them in the same room

Answer 4

This happened with my cats. You can do three things, if you have a glass door put one of your cats on one side of the glass door and the other one the other side. Then let then look at each other and they can't get hurt in any way,  I read that in a book. Or you could watch them carfully whe they get close together and after awhile when they don't hiss or anything at each other you know that they got used to each other and now they like each other, that might take a month. One of the last thing you could do is put one in a crate and let the other one smell  it and get use to the new cat. Then switch the cat in the crate with your other cat.

              They do that because your older male cat doesn't want any other cats to take there property away from them. And they can smell the other cat's oder so they can tell if the new cat was on there toys.  I hoped i helped! :)

Answer 5

Copied from another question I answered:

Funny thing about cats is you can never predict how they'll react. Some cat introductions go smoothly, some don't. They'll vie for top cat in the new territory, but your male is the current "resident", so the new one may accept that he is boss. If one is accepting of the other's dominance and yields, then it probably won't take as long to get both settled into the new environment. Good thing is one is female and male, right?

Both cats will probably be freaked out about each other. But everyone involved will need to allow the kitties time to work things out on their own. Don't be surprised if a (pardon the crudeness) "pissing contest" ensues as both kitties may begin claiming different parts of your house. Be sure to start the new cat out in a closed room with her own food, water, and litter box. It would be a good idea to introduce each cat to the other cat's smell by using a towel or something. Place a towel in rooms where each cat dwells for a while and then switch the towels around so both cats will meet the other by scent first. After a day or two, open the door(s) and go about your day as normal. The cats will eventually come face to face. They may hiss, growl, and/or fight, but they'll work it out.

Don't get involved and don't get excited - this will stress them out even more and they may take out their frustrations on each other. You could also establish a third litter box in a neutral area with litter from each kitty's box mixed together. Over time, you won't need all 3 litter boxes. It just may help them adjust to the other's scent more quickly.

Patience & tolerance are key here. Once both cats are showing tolerance of the other, reinforce their being in each other's presence peacefully with yummy cat treats. It won't be long before everything will be settled.

Good luck.