New cat introduction going poorly

[skimomma]

I need to know if this situation is hopeless.

After the death of our beloved 22 yo cat in December, we decided we were ready to add a new cat to the family.  We already have a 14yo female cat who is quite sedentary and not terribly affectionate.  We went to the humane society and adopted a 1.5yo female cat two weeks ago.  I was hoping the two cats would be friends (but happy to settle for toleration) so we have been following the standard introduction process very carefully.  New cat has her own space and we slowly went through letting them explore each other's spaces without the other present up to the point where both cats have been all over the house on their own for days.  We then moved on to feeding them treats or meals with one on each side of a closed door with a 2 inch gap underneath.  Lots of hissing/growling at first with new cat trying to swipe old cat through the gap.  After a few sessions of this, they calmed down.  

The next thing we were to try was feeding them with each on one side of a baby gate.  There was an adult with each cat.  Despite this precaution, the moment she got the chance, new cat jumped the gate and viciously attacked old cat.  It happened so fast.  We didn't even know she could jump like that.  We got them separated.  Dh suffered some serious scratches and bites from new cat during the break up.  Serious enough that I think he will need medical attention.  Old cat was scratched up but luckily no serious injuries.  One scratched is disturbingly close to her eye.  Old cat somehow does not seem seriously bothered by this.  She is behaving normally and has even been "patrolling" the door to new cat's room from time to time in a non-agitated, curious sort of way.

Meanwhile, we are starting to understand that new cat is very clever.  We can no longer enter or exit "her" room because she bolts out the second the door is cracked.  We are pretty agile and fast but she now gets past us about 50% of the time.  We now have to lock up old cat to even go into new cat room because we fear another altercation.  Last night, new cat figured out how to work the door handle.  She has been working on this skill for days but last night she succeeded.  Luckily, I heard the door open and was able to grab new cat on her way to get at old cat, just in time. I used a few thumb tacks to temporarily secure the door to get through the night.  She continued to work the door knob all night.  Dh installed a hook-eye lock on that door as soon as we got up.

When new cat was in the shelter, she was free roaming with the other cats.  There was no indication that she did not get along with other cats.  This was listed in the description of other cats there so we assumed she would be OK.

New cat is super sweet and lovey to humans.  The only real biting/scratching she has done was during the breakup.

Old cat was never "friends" with the cat that passed in December.  But they never physically fought.  They pretty much ignored each other.

Is there any hope?  Any tips on what to do next?  I am worried that I will never trust new cat loose in the house.  The attack is seared into my brain.  It was very traumatic for all of us.  Do we have to consider taking new cat back?

[City Mouse]

 

whenever we have gotten a new cat with a old cat, we started with two kittens. The kittens entertain each other and are not usually aggressive to the old cat. I've never tried introducing two adult cats.

[Okra]

Some cats are really hard to introduce. While most cats can take two weeks to a month to integrate into a house, I did have a cat that took about four months.  

And, then, it was just tolerating each other, with an occasional spat.

I did find that a cat tree helped. Vertical space was important for them both to be in the same room.

I'm really sorry. It would be much nicer if they could just get along. Just realize there is still hope.

 

Also, I would put some double sided tape on that doorknob. New kitty seems quite michevious. New kitty will probably hate that stickiness and might try to stop opening the door.

Time and patience.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Okra

[Pen]

There’s probably hope.  

But it might be safer to have new cat go to a different home, perhaps a home where she can be an only pet, and to try either a different cat, or wait on a new cat till your old cat passes.

If you are keeping new cat, maybe soft claw tips would help avoid further injuries.   And perhaps much longer time before you try to introduce them.

See also the thread on trying to get a cat and dog used to each other.

[katilac]

I had to laugh at new cat figuring out the door!

We had a similar situation when a stray mama cat showed up with two kittens. One thing I remember is to give the older cat clear precedence - make it clear to her and to the new cat that she is the ruler of the feline domain, lol. This is partially to maker old cat feel better and partially to make new cat respect old cat. 

• Old cat gets treats first, make this very obvious.
• Have certain places or furniture that only old cat is allowed on. 
• Shower old cat with attention whenever new cat is in room. It's okay if old cat is not affectionate, you can still sit by and talk to her in a loud and loving voice. 
• When you let new cat out the first few times have one person sitting directly next to old cat and another person on room patrol. You want to make it very clear that harassing old cat in any way is absolutely not acceptable. 
• Cats feel secure when they are up high, looking down on the room. Try to designate a higher spot for old cat. 

My senior cat was 16 when the interlopers showed up and we are almost exactly two years in. I'm not going to lie, it was an absolute nightmare for months. The kittens were wild and wouldn't leave our senior cat alone. She got super stressed and started peeing on the furniture all. the. time. It was a daily job getting everything cleaned up and of course that furniture wound up ruined. She was unhappy all of the time and wouldn't play, walk around, or do anything. We only persevered because the shelter would have been a death sentence, and because we would have felt guilty betraying mama cat's trust (she literally knocked on our door with her head while holding a kitten in her mouth!).

Things are much better now but not perfect. Senior cat still wants nothing to do with them, although she will sometimes tolerate one of them napping on the other end of the sofa. We put two pub tables (tall) up for her, one with litter box and one with food and water, and for the longest time that's basically where she stayed all the time.  We have an open floor plan and the tables are basically in between our living room and dining room, which would certainly be a no-go for most people, lol. Only in the last 6 months or so has she started to get on the floor and occasionally in the other room. She spends most of her time on her table, on the sofa, or in her chair (a kid's saucer chair we bought for her). She's 18 so it's hard to know how much this is due to age and how much to other cats, but certainly the other cats contribute. 

We never had the problem of true aggression or fighting. If we had, then we would have done our best to rehome the new cats on our own. Failing that, we would have brought them to the shelter. 

If you can, try to dedicate this weekend to paw patrol, keeping an eye on new cat and guarding senior cat. We did yell and we did use spray bottles, because that's a big improvement over being taken to the shelter. Should she attack again . . . yes, I would probably take her back. 

[VaKim]

I think there is hope. We have continually had new and old cats in our house for probably 30 years. We still have some that only tolerate one another and they do occasionally growl and scrap, but as long as they can get away from each other, it is always fine. Just let them loose in the house under a watchful eye and, like somebody said above, keep a spray bottle handy for unacceptable behavior. The only time you need to worry is if one cat is constantly attacking the other and the second one cannot or will not defend itself. Or, of course, if they get into serious vicious fights. Cats do tend to make a lot more noise and sound much scarier than things actually are. 

[skimomma]

Thanks for the input so far.  It sounds like there might be hope.  I am juggling a lot of drama and stress in my life right now so this was probably a very unwise decision.  We are going to try in earnest to continue the introduction plan.  But to be honest, I have about 1-2 weeks before I will have to wave the white flag.  The sheer amount of time this is all taking is not sustainable and we just learned that we may have some emergency travel in the near future.  There is no way I can leave this situation as is with a cat sitter.

I am still happy to hear more advice or feel good stories with similar situations turning out ok.