Problems have started!!

[pamela81]

Hey everyone, can anyone give me any advice please? I know we have only brought Skye into the house a day ago but the good progress we made yesterday seems to have gone. Harris is now trying to nip either her bum or as i caught about 10mins ago, it looked like he was trying to nip her neck. Everytime he does something like this, we are locking him in our room as time out. He settles when he comes out but then starts chasing her again. They have had 2 tussles now in which we seperated them by putting harris in the room. They were seperated when we were in bed last night by putting skye in with us and then again when we were at work today she was in our room. I know its going to take time for Harris to accept Skye but does anyone have any ideas as to how we can make it easier for Harris to accept her. We cant put her in a seperate room all the time as the only 2 rooms in the house at the mo that have doors are the bathroom and our bedroom due to decorating.

[Tink]

Well, to begin with, I think I would do some one on one bonding with Skye if you can manage it. It'd be nice if her relationship was secure with you first before introductions with Harris so she won't feel totally lost of confidence if they do squabble.
Once she is settled and bonded to the humans and a bit more familiar and comfortable with the environment then it's time for intros to Harris.
At that time, the question to ask will be "Are they hurting each other?". If claws are in and it's just a lot of vocalization and swatting, then let them get on with it. They need to figure out pecking order and the more you interrupt them, the more they'll just have to start all back over again.
If they are hurting each other or claws and teeth are definitely out and ready to go, then a different approach will be needed with supervised sessions.
But do the one on one first and go from there.

[Tink]

Oh and I have forgot to add~
While she is sepearated for awhile as you establish a relationship with her, you can start swapping scents. Take a cloth and rub it on Harris and bring it into her room and vice versa. Then they can start getting used to the idea of each other while not physically met yet.
Don't worry, you won't have to do the seperate rooms thing for too long. She needs to feel safe first and Harris needs time to get used to this idea so it will be a worthwhile temporary arrangement.

[Shelley123]

Sorry you are having problems Pamela. Can't realy offer any advice except to say i think the way things are are completely normal and hopefuly will settle down. It's a long time ago since i introduced new cats to each other and i can't remember any real problems, they just seemed to get on with it.
Tink makes a good point by asking is Harris realy hurting her or is it mostly bluster. The problem with removing Harris after each battle could make him resent her even more. If at all possible i would let them get on with it to establish the heirarchy, as long as blood isn't drawn.
When you are out then yes maybe i would keep them seperate untill things have settled.
Don't know if it's the same for cats but you are advised when bringing another dog into a household to always greet the established dog first and feed it first ?
I think yesterday you were lucky and both cats were probably a bit shocked, now reality has set in and they need to establish whose boss.

[wilbar]

Cat introductions sometimes have to managed very carefully or it can all go pear-shaped & get worse.

As a rule of thumb I would alway advice scent-swapping for a few days first (before they ever set eyes on each other), so exchange bedding, groom one cat then use the same brush to groom the other, cover yourself in one cat's scent then go & do something nice with the other cat.

The first priority for cats, & the thing they need most in life is to feel safe ~ if they don't feel safe somewhere, it can affect their sleep patterns & they may feel the need to remain vigilant & not able to relax. So the first thing you should be doing is providing a "comfort zone" or safe haven where the cat can relax, sleep & know that it won't be disturbed. If you have a room in your house that you can set aside for Skye & where Harris can't go, then this would be best for all concerned. If Skye has only recently come to live with you, then she needs time to adapt to all the new sights, sounds, smells, people, food, routine etc that is now her life. Having to cope with a potentially unfriendly cat as well, is likely to be far too much for her.

From Harris's point of view, his whole life has been turned upside down too ~ he may be thinking that he has competition for the things that are most important to him, e.g. warm sleeping places, territory, food, you & your attention etc. So you need to be able to spend quality time with him too, giving reassurance & keeping to his normal routtine as much as possible.

After a few days when both cats seem more calm & relaxed, then you can try visual introductions ~ but I would suggest that this is done slowly, gradually & only for a few minutes at a time at first. So maybe try feeding them with one cat on one side of a nearly closed door, & the other cat on the other side. Or use extremely tasty palatable treats to hand feed while the cats can see each other, but are well apart. If the cats can get more interested in the food/treats than each other, then you'll be making good progress. Plus the cats will come to associate the sight & smell of the other cat will something positive & pleasurable

There's absolutely no point in trying to tell either cat off, or punish them if they act scared or aggressive ~ this will only make the situation worse ~ they are already wary & anxious about each other, so making them even more scared will be counterproductive.

As for separating/time out when Harris is upsetting Skye, he really won't have a clue why you're doing this. If it is supposed to be some sort of punishment or teaching him a lesson, then it won't work. All he'll understand is that he is more confined & separated from you, & that Skye (the intruder cat in his eyes) is able to move uninhibited, throughout his core territory. And whether he associates the time out with his behaviour towards Skye is anyone's guess! I suspect he won't. Until the cats can ignore each other, or tolerate each other, then they shouldn't be left together unsupervised. If any aggression kicks off it could ruin any chance of getting them to accept each other.

Other things you can do to alleviate Harris's concerns are to provide lots of the things he values. For most cats this is lots of warm comfy beds at different heights & in safe draft-free places. Several feeding stations & water bowls in different places, at least 2 litter trays, things for them to scratch on both horizontally & vertically, and, most importantly, quality time with you & other members of your family. Just sitting reading in Skye's room, or quietly grooming, cuddling, or playing with toys ~ whatever they enjoy.

For the time being I would advise that any toy playing is confined to times when the cats are separate. This sort of play is no more than predatory practice & involves an aroused physiological state. In this state it is easy for something relatively minor to push them over into aggression towards each other. So try to keep all meetings between the cats calm & relaxed.

As for establishing a hierarchy ~ forget it!! Cats don't have hierarchies ~ they're not pack animals, they don't have leaders & followers, no one cat is going to be a boss cat & no cat is trying to be the boss or leader! We humans may interpret feline behaviour in this way but it's very anthropomorphic & doesn't address the feline ethogram at all.

If cats are aggressive towards each other it's usually because they are worried that their key resources are under threat, e.g. territory, warmth & shelter. The aggression is to warn off other cats & scent-marking is the way that they communicate with other cats to announce their presence & try to inhibit other cats from their territory. So the more confident cats may try to inhibit the movements of the other cat by appearing to "guard" things like access to the litter tray, or to certain areas of the house, or to a favourite resting place. So if you increase the number & availability of these things, you may prevent this guarding behaviour. But just because one cat may be prepared to fight harder over access to a faviourite sleeping place, doesn't mean that it will also want to fight over food, or your attention, or the litter tray, or toys etc. They are only prepared to use aggression as a last resort or if they feel that the dangers of getting hurt back are minimal. They are not trying to establish a hierarchy over each other.

If you are very observant & watch the body language of both cats, you can probably spot the early signs of anxiety, discomfort, fear, usually through muscle tension, ear position, tail movements, eye contact etc. If you can diffuse the situation at the first sign of this discomfort by, e.g distraction, offering treats, calling one cat away ~ then so much the better. The less chance they have to practice or rehearse the potentially aggressive behaviour & the emotions that go with it, the better.

Good luck with Skye & Harris ~ I hope they can sort things out between them & I hope we all soon hear that they are getting on well .

[Squirrel]

You know... maybe this is just what I need... I keep on thinking it might be nice to get Cloud a companion cat for times I'm away, but I live in a 4 room council house (supposed to talk to them if I consider gettin another animal) and keeping 2 animals apart while dealing with introductions just wouldn't be possible!!! (neither would purchasing all the extra resources needed, but still!)

[wilbar]

Originally Posted by Squirrel

You know... maybe this is just what I need... I keep on thinking it might be nice to get Cloud a companion cat for times I'm away, but I live in a 4 room council house (supposed to talk to them if I consider gettin another animal) and keeping 2 animals apart while dealing with introductions just wouldn't be possible!!! (neither would purchasing all the extra resources needed, but still!)

Please don't think from my post that cats don't enjoy the company of other cats! Many cats really need & like having a companion. It's just that if difficulties start, then it's best to have an idea of how to manage them. And it's usually only temporary till they get used to each other.

I've always had at least 2 cats & had 5 at one time ~ all neutered males & they all got on really well.

My views are probably coloured because I only get called in to sort out cases where it's all gone pear-shaped & the cats hate each other. But we all know & have experience of having cats that do live happily with each other.

Introductions by scent at first & visual introductions done gradually & slowly are more likely to be successful, especially if the resident cat has lived as an only cat for quite a while. And sometimes you can tell if your cat is likely to be sociable with other cats by the way they behave towards any neighbouring cats.

Feral cats live happily in groups if there's sufficient food around & studies have shown that closely related females often form very close bonds, as do brothers.

[Squirrel]

*nods* OK, I can follow that. Just think that the intro's would be quite difficult without a slightly larger house!

[pamela81]

theres been a difference in them today, harris has been licking Skye and she has been nuzzling him as she walks past. Been giving them treats as rewards when they do these things to reinforce the good behaviour, all calm so far so hopefully we are making another break through!!

[Shelley123]

glad to hear things have improved. I expect you will have good and bad days for a little while.