Introducing a new cat - stressed!

roguebrogue

Hi all,
I know there's been loads of threads about this so hope you don't mind me asking for some advice.

Today I brought home a 6 month old kitten from a rescue centre. My resident cat, Alice, is nearly 3 and an indoor cat. She's very person friendly and loves being with people, especially me.

Anyway, I've put the new cat in the kitchen and left the door open a tiny crack and Alice has all her things in my room.
Since the cat got here, Alice has been VERY unhappy. She's been hiding all day and if I go near her she starts growling/hissing/spitting. It's really distressing for me because she's my girl and normally she's so loving. She's currently hiding under my bed (I think) and if I go near it she freaks out.

I know you have to give it time and it's not even been a day yet, but I guess I'm just looking for advice/reassurance.

I know they may never be best friends, but I'm scared Alice will change completely and may hate me forever.

rising_from_the_ashes

Firstly, congratulations on your new arrival!

Alice is bound to be upset .... there's a stranger invaded her territory, this is probably even more marked as she's an indoor cat so home has always been her safe place with no intruders!

TBH, I would totally shut the door where the kitten is just now - get a blanket (or similar) and leave it in the room for a while and then take this out and leave it where Alice can get used to the smells of the other cat (and do the same and put something with Alice's smell on in the new cat's room).

She'll be hissing/spitting etc as she's a bit freaked out - Mia does this to me if she's had a fright and it's horrible ... it's like they don't even recognise you as "mom".

What I do to try to calm her down is just gently speak to her and try to soothe her (don't touch her!) and she will eventually calm down & come for a cuddle. If Alice is under your bed, maybe lie on it and gently chatter away (about nothing in particular) and she should hopefully come out - but I would say the other door needs to be closed as if she thinks the other cat may come in the room, she'll probably stay put.

It will take a while for them to get used to each other but once they get used to the strange smells etc, it should help a lot.

Ohhhh and pics please!

mcja

Speaking from experience...dont rush it!! We got a 13mo rescue cat on Monday and introduced him to our current cat on Tuesday. Much hissing and hollering later and they are still no closer to being friends, although Willow (the older one) will tolerate him being in the same room now as long as he is not in her 'space'.

They will be ok, and will settle down but I have found that Willow seems to blame me for bringing the new cat into the house, so she wont come to be for cuddles, whereas before she spent every evening vegged on my lap.

I know its upsetting at the moment, but ENJOY your new cat.
x

spike7451

Yup,the last two posters are correct.I started in the ASSISI Animal Sanctuary 2 weeks ago working with the feral cats,My own cat,Daisy,freaked out when I came home on the first day as she could smell the feral clan off me,but she has since settled down & is back to normal (well,as normal as a furry owner can be!)
Maybe try a Feliway diffuser?

roguebrogue

Thanks for the replies
Alice is still in hiding this morning, but she's stopped growling and hissing which I guess is a good sign.
I'm sure she'll grow to tolerate the other cat eventually, but my biggest worry is that her attitude towards me will totally change

The new cat is called Portia, she's around 6 months old and came to the rescue from the vets: she'd been inside someone's engine when they started their car and as such lost her tail and broke her pelvis. She's all healed now and is a lovely little thing, purrs a lot and she seems pretty settled already.

Here's her stump:


And here's here this morning, she seems to have already claimed the sofa:

rising_from_the_ashes

Awwww what an absolute wee darling:D poor wee mite losing her tail & breaking her pelvis ouch!

So glad she's found her forever home....

Glad to hear Alice has stopped growling - she'll just need a lot of reassurance that mom is still mom IYKWIM.

It will take a while for them to get used to each other and set their boundaries but as long as they both have somewhere to escape to then they should be fine.

Mine only (just) tolerate each other and they each have "their" room which the other rarely ventures into (or there will be fisticuffs) and other parts of the house are neutral.

VeggieCatLady

From my experience (currently have 5 cats and have fostered 6) it takes time and yes it can be distressing to watch. There will be hissing and growling and maybe the odd fight. But they will get used to eachother. Make sure you have two litter trays in different areas and that there is more than one food bowl. They may not want to eat near eachother at first. Try not to let it stress you out too much-they will pick up on that too. Maintain the same routine as you did before you got your new kitty as much as possible. Also try and give equal attention to both cats. What I have found works well on numerous occasions is to try and play with them both together (once they will stay in the same room). Use a piece of string andswing it from one to the other. Not entirely sure why this works but it seems to get them to let their guard down a bit. Good luck and well done for giving a kitten a much needed loving home :-) x

nomnomnom

I have introduced new cats to my household over the years and seen some cats accept each other within a few days to it taking weeks. Currently I have a foster cat liviung with my two cats and it's taken 3 weeks for the female who is quite territorial to not be so aggressive towards the young new male. She still spits but she will tolerate him in the same room and sometimes on the same bed too. Hope your cat accepts the new arrival soon xx

roguebrogue

Another update and some advice please!

Update: Alice has stopped growling at me all together and only hisses if I get too close now, which is great, I think. I managed to edge towards her and leave a treat next to her so I think thats progress. She's not eaten properly since yesterday so I think she's throwing a strop.

Portia is fine and happy, but there's something wrong with her eye. It's a bit puffy and weeping and as you can see in the picture she's squinting a bit. I've been washing it with a wet paper towel and she's not flinching or pawing at it so it doesn't appear to be painful. Is there any special way to help her, like a salt solution? I've taken the next few days off work anyway to help both cats settle so I'm about to wash it a lot.
If it doesn't get any better, of course I'll take her to the vets, but I'm short on money what with my donation to the rescue and buying things for her. I wasn't expecting to have to take her to the vets so soon after getting her. If I do have to take her I'm sure my mum can lend me the money but I'd rather try and help her at home first.

Oh, and because I hate leaving her out, here's my baby Alice:

Buttonmoons

Ahhh poor kittys. I've always found female cats much more intolerant of newcomers than males, my female cat is just now adapting to the new kitten, and will let it sleep near her, but doesn't want to be near him especially, same applies to my other cat. She tolerates, she doesn't really want them there!

Where as my male cat was scared by the kitten (but he's scared of everything) and now they are best buds (within weeks!) and sleep and groom each other, and always fighting all over the house (playful) my poor sofa.....

gingin_2

I wrote the same a year ago and now my cats are both asleep on my daughter's bed together. It took a good 3 weeks for big cat to tolerate little one and stopped being off with me and probably 6 months before they became buds. Now they are like an old married couple.