Cat problems

[TheGreatConspiracy]

We’re trying to integrate a second cat into our household. The original cat is a 7+-year-old neutered male who was a shelter cat. We have had him for about 3 years.

The other is a newly neutered male, about 4 years old. We think he was abandoned. A neighbor was feeding him on her porch and tried to find an owner but couldn't. He doesn't have a chip, either.

I am a softie for cars, so we took him in. And it’s not going smoothly.

We have a cat gate and can cut the condo roughly in half. We allow them to stare at each other from opposite sides of the gate.

However, when we try putting the two cats together, the younger cat wants to chase the older one (playful behavior?) The older cat doesn't like that and gets scared. So we end up separating them quickly.

We have had the new cat for about a month—two weeks of which involved recovery from being neutered. So, we've mainly kept the two cats apart.

The “supervised visitations” are relatively new. But, as I said, they have been rough.

Any advice?

[applegrove]

1. Put them on either side of a closed door. They'll

be able to sniff each other and get acclimatized that way, and it will feel safe for the older cat. Pretty soon little paws of the younger one will slip under the door and the older one will not be able to resist playing with the moving and disappearing paws. Once they start playing paws, keep them on either side of the door for a day at least. They'll be dying to see each other and the smells will be normalized. Worked for two cats of mine. I think it was 3 days that I kept them separated by a door.

[TommyT139]

2. And this

...is how you end up going from a one-cat household to a three-cat household!

(Although for us, there was a greater difference in age between the elder and the young'uns.)

Does First Feline have places to go to feel safe? We were somewhat lucky that ours was an up-high cat, while the newcomer was a floor-pouncer.

[TooMuchTelly]

3. Also, along with reply #1

Feed them with the door between them and also play with them both at the same time when they are in the same room say, with feather toys or one of those toys on a string.

[3catwoman3]

4. Check out Jackson Galaxy's website. He is the cat behaviorist...

...whose show My Cat From Hell is on the Animal Planet channel.

A month isn't very long.

[ShazzieB]

5. I second this suggestion!

Jackson Galaxy really understands cats.

[Figarosmom]

6. Let them be together

May as well see what happens. Let the young one chase the older one and see what happens when they mash up. Maybe the older one will just lay down and let the younger one run around or swat and hiss. If they e n d up in an all out brawl at least you'll know. Keep separating them you'll never know. Maybe drug them both up with dome catnip.