Ug Kitty Nightmare.... HELP

[DiamondSmitten]

So you all read about my beautiful lil Hallie that I adopted about a month ago. She is all healthy now, no skin issues, putting on some weight, happy as can be... but lonely. Tonight I brought Rocky, my 18 month old cat who has been at my parent''s since I moved in August, to my new apartment to meet Hallie and live here. Well..... its going VERY POORLY. I can''t get near Rocky, Hallie is following him EVERYWHERE... and he keeps HISSING SO LOUD and trying to scratch etc. She is such a sweet and won''t give up... totally determined to make friends. Not one hiss from her. He hasn''t hurt her yet... and she doesn''t seem afraid because she won''t run away from him. But I can''t get near him.... he has attacked me every time I try... he is so pissed off and super aggressive. I already have two wounds. I am trying to get him to clip his nails b/c my mom forgot before she brought him here. Any advice is appreciated. I know they have those Feliway plug ins and stuff to calm cats down.... DO they work? Has anyone else introduced pets and had some difficulty? I know there are lots of cat lovers out there and I will take ANY advice. I''ve had Rocky since he was a sick 4 week old kitten.... I bottle fed him... gave him meds round the clock.... I love him.. and he is furious.

 

[DiamondSmitten]

ok... I have now had to apply steri strips...... help

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Yes, sometimes it goes really badly; it took a month for us to leave our kitten out with our older cat when we first got her.

First, is his fixed? This makes a HUGE difference and if he isn''t then you should do that ASAP.
Second, is there a favorite toy or blanket or something from your mom''s house so he has something that smells familiar?
Third, do you have a safe place for him with food, water, a litter box and a place to sleep where he can go unmolested?

I have nothing but praise for feliway, but have only used it to prevent scratching, not to de stress. If he will let you, pick up the fur at the scruff of his neck and rub it, it releases endorphans (sp) into his system,but never pick his whole body up that way.

If he lets your other cat sniff him or does something nice or at least non aggresive, give him praise and a treat, he should catch on fast.

I would lock him in a safe room for a while where he can adjust to the new smells and sounds and when he seems calmer, let him roam for a while and put him back if he is adjitated. I may take a while, but with enough time and love, they will come around.

 

[choro72]

It takes a few weeks for the cats to get used to each other. When we introduced our new kitten to my cat, it took my cat 2 weeks just to come upstairs on the same floor as the kitten. Keep your chin up, and give them time

 

[Lorelei]

THIS IS NORMAL - keep your nerve and patience! It will take as long as it takes, let them hiss and wail and all the rest, they need to do this in order to sign a peace treaty - they will eventually. Try Feliway also. Don' despair, it can take a week or even a few and it is only the first night, if they weren't wailing and hissing and making a fuss, I would be concerned!

 

[starsapphire]

We got Sammy, the cat in my avatar, I think he is part Norwegian Forest Cat, or Maine Coon. Then 3 years later, we got BooBoo, also male. Little white Turkish Van Cat. Sammy smelled him at first, and then GROWLED, hissed and all that. It seems like it only took them a few weeks to get used to each other. Of course Sammy was mine, and BooBoo was my mom''s, but they seemed to get along after a short time. BooBoo is about 8lbs, and very active, always picking or loving on Sammy. Sammy is a big boy, kinda slow, about 17 lbs, and he is tolerant, to a point, but then he just has to "put his paw down" when he has had enough. The only time I had a problem with them was years later, when I had my sister watch them while I was gone for a few days to NYC. I feed them 2x a day. I came back home to a house with black and white fur all over the floor! They must have been aggravated with each other because I found out that my sister was only coming over to feed them once a day!!!!! I never have asked her to babysit again......

 

[sap483]

It''s absolutely normaly for him to react that way as I recently learned. What worked for us was keeping them separated for most of the day and giving them short supervised times together- this way they wouldn''t completely forget about each other''s presence. After about a week they were ok to be together on their own. In just a few weeks they were the best of friend, sleeping together, grooming each other, playing together. They just need the time to adjust. As for clipping his nails, we had to do that too when our older cat was acting aggressive. We separated him from the other cat, calmed him down for a little bit and then wrapped him up in a towel in case he decided to act up again. He growled at us and tried to bite us, but we held him tight and we able to eventually get his nails clipped. So hang in there!

 

[movie zombie]

always keep the newly introduced cat separated in the household and do the introduction slowly. he needs to make himself at home in your space and feel ok about being there. dropping him into a new house with a new cat was a complete shock. no wonder he's lashing out at you.

separate them now. let him get used to the space and the new smells. go into whichever room you've isolated him in and just sit. don't try to interact. sit some food near you and just sit. let him see you as a friend and not the enemy.

in rushing the introduction, it could take a long time to get them integrated. after he's ok with you touching him, introduce your kitty to him. but don't leave them alone or for too long. try and pet both at the same time. then separate again.

yes, this is time consuming but it works. however, it may take longer because now he's in a real defensive mode.

good luck,

movie zombie

 

[AmberGretchen]

Ditto everything movie zombie said - this is what all the behaviorists I work with at the shelter where I volunteer recommend as well - gradual introductions are best.

 

[Morticia]

Kitty introductions take time and should be gradual. Keep them separate for now and introduce them slowly. They will hiss at each other through the door but it''s ok. Take a rag or towel, and rub one kitty with it, and put it in the other kitty''s room. And vice versa. That''s another way they get used to each other''s scent.

It took my girls 2-3 weeks to tolerate each other. Now, they are great friends who cuddle and bath each other but those 2-3 weeks were stressful. It will work though, don''t worry.

Good luck!