I could have sworn that I started a thread about this months ago when we were first thinking about it, but don’t see it anywhere.
We lost one our Siamese cats to kidney stones in May. He was only 7 years old. It was a real shock and a real shame. We still have his brother, Junior. Four weeks ago we adopted an 8-week old orange tabby, Nemo. Since then we have been following the steps of slow introduction that we found with a bit of research, essentially keeping Nemo separate in the dining room and gradually exposing him and Junior to each other.
From the beginning, Junior exhibited only mild curiosity in Nemo, sniffing under the dining room door occasionally, but no great interest and no antagonism. We are now allowing Nemo out into the rest of the house for a couple of hours a day. Most of that time Junior is closed into one of the rooms, but not always. Sometimes we allow them both to roam freely in the house under supervision.
As before, Junior is not particularly interested in Nemo, but the opposite is not true. There is nothing in the world more interesting to Nemo than Junior, and the moment he sees Junior, Nemo makes a beeline and attempts to pounce on him (in play). He REALLY wants to play with Junior.
Junior will usually sit still undisturbed unless Nemo really gets close, then he will hiss at him and maybe growl a bit. And only when Nemo is actually trying to play bite him will Junior show any physical response. Yesterday he swiped Nemo in the nose, leaving a scratch. But this is only defensive. Junior has never shown any aggression, only defense. In fact Junior will often walk or run away when Nemo is running after him.
I think this is pretty normal so far, but I am looking for advice on what the next steps should be. I would like to completely release Nemo from the dining room and to allow the two cats to interact normally. Everything I have seen so far suggests that there won’t be any real fighting. Do you think this is a good idea? As I mentioned, it has been four weeks so far. We are not in any particular hurry, so if it is better to keep going slow, that is fine.
It sounds to me like it’s going well. The kitten will eventually settle down a bit. I’d give him free rein, and just keep an eye on things if they get a bit too hissy.
You’re just delaying the inevitable — they’re going to gang up on you eventually and seize control of your residence. Cryin’ won’t help you, prayin’ will do you no good.
Best thing for an adult cat is a kitten, in my experience. Like any adult, the adult will initially tell the kitten to get lost. However, kittens are cuuuuuute and persistent, and even the oldest, crustiest cat will eventually whip out its tongue and give the kid a bath. Then you’ve got a dangerous pair. Only time I’ve ever seen one cat try to hurt another involved a pair of adult males.
Over the years I have introduced a number of new cats, some of them full-grown and some as kittens, into the household, and I don’t think I’ve ever followed any of the advice about isolating the new feline and gradually introducing them to the other cats. I don’t remember ever having had any serious problems with them fighting.
the funniest story was the time we took custody of two three-legged kittens to prevent them from being sent to a shelter, where we were sure they would just be euthanized. We set the carrier down in the middle of the living room and opened the door. When they came out one of our male cats came over to check out the new arrivals, and the male (who couldn’t have been more than a third his size) hissed at him. I swear I saw the older cat shrug and walk away. I looked at my wife and said, “Well, now we know who’s going to be in charge.”
I’d start by leaving them both loose whenever you’re home and awake. Unless something really out of line happens, after a few days of that just leave them both loose. An occasional hiss, growl, and/or swat is nothing to worry about.
I once had to keep a pair of kittens separated from a resident older neutered tom for a couple of months; because when I first tried to introduce them he first let out a clearly murderous wail and then proceeded, for what to the best of my knowledge was the only time in his life, to have an asthma attack from stress. But they eventually became great friends who would sleep curled up together.
Once in a while, some particular combination of cats just won’t work, even in the sense of reaching just tolerating each other. But that doesn’t read like what you’re dealing with. And usually they’ll work it out.
I’ve known an adult full tom try to drive an adolescent male kitten out of the household, and try to rape that kitten’s recently spayed littermate sister — I had to pull him off her. I had to rehome that one (he’d shown up in my barn wailing at me for assistance, and I couldn’t find out where he’d come from.) The friend I gave him to got him neutered, after which he made friends with her other fully adult already-neutered tom.
I’ve also known full toms who behaved nothing like that. Depends a lot on the cat.
No, the best thing is 2 kittens.
Then when they are being rambunctious, they will play/chase/wrestle with each other and leave the adult alone. The adult will interact with them when he/she wants to, but can walk away when tired of it, and the kittens will go after each other and leave the adult alone.
That is the most peaceful type of cat household.
There is considerable sense in that. Although there is a slight risk that, if they are older kittens, they will gang up on the older cat. Again, depends a lot on the particular cats.
So this weekend went well with the two cats. We let Nemo loose in the house for most of the day both days, while we kept half an eye on them. There were no major events. It seems that after the nose swipe a few days ago, Nemo has learned to be slightly more careful with how he approaches Junior.
I think that part of this is also due to the fact that when Nemo is free for hours at a time, there is less novelty and he becomes calmer. Less frantic running and jumping and fewer bum rushes at Junior. At one point they even napped at the same time about five feet from each other. So that is a good sign I think.
I actually thought of the second kitten idea, but the idea of three cats seemed like too much of a commitment for us. Also, what my family really wanted was a dog, and to get two additional cats would be hard to justify after having nixed the dog idea.
We currently have 3 cats, and it’s not much harder than 2, so long as they get along okay. But it sounds like your two cats are going to work out fine.
my concern was more economic. During the last couple of years we have spent over $25,000 on medical expenses for the two siamese plus the outdoor cat that adopted us!
Yikes! I’ve had expensive cats, but never that expensive. When they are healthy, i just spend on food, litter, and an annual vet visit.
The old lady who passed away recently got more frequent vet visits, and drugs. But the drugs weren’t very pricey. And one of the boys needs professional grooming from time to time, because he has long fur and doesn’t groom himself, so he gets matted, despite my efforts to brush him. His nickname is “stinky butt”.
We did once pay $1000 for one night of hospital care for a kitten, and we’ve had the occasional surgical procedure come up. But i don’t think any individual cat ever cost us more than a couple of grand in lifetime vet bills. Maybe my vet is very cheap? He’s awesome, and i dread the day he retires.
