Calling all Cat Lovers - Advice needed....

[tiger104]

Hi

We have recently lost one of our lovely cats, we had two sister cats from kittens....

We were devastated when one of them was killed on the road....we have now installed more safety measures to prevent our cats from reaching the road again, we have a beautiful massive long garden with all trees and bushes (cat heaven)....but being the cat lovers we are and that we didn't want our other one (only just over 1 year old) to be lonely, so today we have bought another kitten (female like our other one) any advice on how to get them used to each other ??.......we've introduced them an hour ago and our cat hissed at her......and didn't take her eyes off the kitten which is to be expected as they've only just met, but please has anyone any advice on how to get our older cat used to our new arrival ?? Thanks

[allotment10]

i would put them in separate rooms for a couple of hours, then swop them over to let each other get the scent of each cat, meanwhile stroke each cat & allow the other to smell the scent off your hands, hope this helps :-) good luck.

[sinnoc00]

Cover the new kitten in butter.

[drgnrdr]

If you want some expert advice read this link..
http://www.hssv.org/LIBRARY/PDF/Behavior/catto cat.pdf
it is in pdf form so I hope you can open it..if not go to
http://www.hssv.org/index.htm
roll over "Behavior",click on Cat behavior and look under "adult and you'll see intro cat to cat...they have a really informative website and the are one of the Human society affiliates so they deal with millions of cats so I would consider them experts.

[tiger104]

Thanks Allotment10 for your sensible answer, yes I am trying to do the sort of thing you are saying.....we are sitting with them both closely and stroking each of them while they are in the same room, but will try the separate room thing too..

You know some (other) people like sinnoc00 need to get a life........Do you have a job or do you just sit like a right sad a*** all night just trawling through everyones questions, putting divvy answers....no actually, i feel very sorry for u...really...............I do

Cheers

[sinnoc00]

Yes, I do have a job, and I also have a sense of humour - shame you have neither !

[Dizzieblonde]

They'll get used to each other in time - it's just a matter of the new cat learning respect for the older one's territory and standing in the household. It sounds terribly cruel, but one of our older cats sulked and disappeared for ages when we had a new cat join him, but he soon came back when he wanted feeding and got used to it eventually.

[tiger104]

Oh but i do have a job, bog off and cover yourself in butter, you might have someone to spend time with then, instead of sitting in front of your PC all night !

[allotment10]

just ignore people like sinnocoo, ! i really hope you'll keep in touch to let us know how the cats are getting along, x

[wendilla]

Just ignore the newcomers been on here long enough to know they dont last long they soon get ignored not worth answering back to them. I to have had the silly answers like when I started a question MY DAUGHTER HAS JUST HAD 2 KITTENS and I got silly answers back like congratulations ect. ignore them and they will go away or get in with there own crowd. Hope it won't be long before your kitten is accepted by your other cat and also sorry to hear what happened to your other one as a cat lover I know what you went through.

[sinnoc00]

I can't understand why you're all so hostile !!! Is this how you treat all newcomers ? There was a tiny bit of seriousness that my original answer was based on by the way - the traditional way to get a cat used to a new home is to butter its paws, I just took it a step further ! (And yes, I KNOW that buttering a kitten won't work as it'd just lick all the butter off itself before the other cat got to it ) Was it really so offensive as to provoke a full on personal attack though ? If so, I'm immensely sorry and won't make the mistake of trying to have a laugh with people who seem to have a closed exclusive clique with no sense of humour - no wonder newcomers leave so quickly !

[tiger104]

Sinnoc00 ... I really have got a wicked sense of humour and spend half my waking day keeping everyone one entertained at work, but we've just lost a twin cat, who had so much affection to give and only 1 year old, we've just had all of our garden beauitifully done, one twin cat on the decking, one now buried decaying up the garden....here one mintute and now gone forever, and i was in such a rush when I went to work that morning, i didn't even notice she wasn't in and never got the chance to stroke her, now i'll never see her again, and her twin has already changed, not the same cat...so I'm sorry if I went off but I wasn't in the mood for jokes, but if your not a cat person, you wouldn't understand that....maybe just a bit more sensitivity next time and think before u pick on someone......

No hard feelings..

[sinnoc00]

I agree, no hard feelings.. I am sorry you lost your kitten, and in retrospect I shouldn't have made a joke - I was just a bit shocked at the reaction it got. I am a cat person by the way - I've got two of my own, and I have lost two cats to road accidents myself, albeit a number of years ago now. Sorry for the upset, and again, no hard feelings.

[drgnrdr]

tiger104 did you get a chance to visit the website I listed?
We posted within a minute of each other....hope it helps, let us know how it goes.

[allotment10]

hi tiger104, glad you and sinnocoo have made peace & i sincerely hope you're feeling better today, i've been thinking about you & twin cat all day, are things settling down a bit now with your new one ? hope you'll let us know, lots of luv x

[tiger104]

Hi Allotment10,

Yes I have done what I can for Brandy (older cat) to get used to the smell of Cacey the new one, I think were making progress (a little) , Brandy was was sniffing all around the room where the little one had been, and later we were all in the room together and the little one (brave little sod) went right up to Brandys face (in full supervision of me of course, in case she went for her) and Brandy did hiss (only the once) when she got right up to her face, which I didn't think was too bad at all seeing as she was right in her face, then I soon calmed her down and then she went off outside, thats enough for today I think, but I'm sure that they will make progress, I will definatly keep letting you know, thanks for your concern, its very nice.....yes no hard feelings with Sinnoc00

Cheers Shel

[wendilla]

Glad everything is ok now I am sorry I had to fire off too but it does make me angry especially in your circumstances you didnt need it .Just one other thing to watch for if your elder cat is male watch he don't wee where the kitten has been as this is a sign of marking his territory.I didn't get a cat within 20 yards of my garden when i had my male even though he was neutered and after I lost him through age I have all the cats passing now I should have buried him in the front garden instead of the back I think he would still have haunted them.I think you will find they will be ok in a few days but keep making a fuss of the older one. Good luck

[tiger104]

Yes thanks drgnrdr - I printed some useful information that I am now putting into practice, thanks loads......great websites......

Shel

[PurplePixie]

I've always had great results in introducing cats when I've got a really exciting game going...especially as your older cat is still very young itself.
Something like a whole box of straws all over the floor & a bit of string being dragged around will take the focus off too much eye contact & in dashing past eachother it seems to give them both the opportunity to get a good sneaky sniff without any pressure. It's worked loads of times for me anyway!!
Just a thought, there's a company called Securacat (if you are in the UK) that provides info & materials to cat proof your garden. I did it & It was pretty simple to do...just an idea.