Any Suggestions for Introductions

[uwllv88]

My son and his cat just moved into our spare bedroom. She is very scared of other cats and I have 4 of them. Also one of mine (Maggie) gets extremely upset at the sight of a new cat and since she has health issues where I have to limit stress it is a hard situation. His cat has been staying in his bedroom most of the time but I feel sorry for her so I have been putting mine away and letting her roam around the house a couple times a day. This way they are at least getting each other's scent and it's been 3 weeks now. I wish I could let her out and hope they get along but I don't feel I can put them through that much stress. Any suggestions?

[lindsayanng]

Slow and steady.. thats the KEY. It seems like you got the slow part, not i would just let them meet, and make sure to keep EVERY THING else normal. Feed them normally, use your normal routine.. and a feliway plug in is never a bad idea. I have had GREAT success with them.

The stress of adding a new cat USUALLY only last days, and its never really all that much stress other than hiding and occasionally swat at each other. It would be best to do on a day where you will be home for most of the day that way you can supervise.

I think 3 weeks is enough time for them to know that they each exist, so i think they just need to meet, get over the initial "fear" and "frustration" and then all will be OK again. They may NEVER love each other, but they can co-exist in the same house with no walls or doors

[ferJenna]

Have you done a search on this before you posted? Seems like we've been getting a lot of these questions.

Some suggestions made by other people were putting vaseline on their noses, a drop of vanilla by their tails.. Keep them separated and just bring in something that smells like them at first until they get used to the scent. I can give you some of the threads so you can look.

What's wrong with your kitty that needs stress management?

[uwllv88]

No, I haven't done any research as I have a lot going on right now and my time is limited. I thought the quickest way was to ask "the experts" here.
What is the purpose for the vaseline and vanilla?
The reason I need to limit Maggie's stress is she has had idiopathic crystals in her urine in the past and they always seemed to occur when she was under stressful situations at home. She's very high strung and it's hard to get her to eat so I try hard to limit her stress and she does better. One time all my cats were on the screened in porch and there was a cat they saw outside - and Maggie went berserk and attacked the cats sitting next to her (called transferred aggression) so I don't want to take a chance on her attacking the new cat.
I'm thinking I will put the new cat on a leash and one at a time introduce her to the others - also putting them on a leash so they won't hurt each other. That way she won't just be put in a room and be overwhelmed by 4 strange cats trying to sniff her.

[lindsayanng]

putting a cat on a leash to meet the new cat is NOT a good idea. Have you ever SEEN a cat on a leash freak out. Its not pretty. cats like to be in control, so even if you can leash train your cat, when they are in a situation like meeting new cats, they are VERY likely to spaz and hurt themselves.

A cat will leave a situation if they are uncomfortable, they are smart creatures. If your stressed out cat smacks her or "attacks" just gauge the attack. If she is just growling, lunging, and smacking, no big deal. my cats do it to each other all the time,a nd then at night they are sleeping together. The growling is the LEAST of your problems. The only thing you really need to avoid is them balling up. WEhen they lock on to each other, that is when you have a real fight and need to separate. It almost never gets to that though. There is usually some puffing fur, growling/yowling, some swatting and lunging, and MAYBE a chase or two around the house. After about an hour, they will all figure out their place in the house and the new cat will probably hide for a little while.

I am just saying this because i have introduced MANY cats to each other, and not just my cats. They just need to hash it out and your existing cats will show the new cat where he fits in. That cat will either fall into place or challenge the other cats, either way, it WILL all get worked out.

There is NOTHING you can do to make this seamless. You stressed cat WILL get stressed about the intro of a new cat, so just keep a close on eye his health issues and be sure to be aware. There are only things you can do to make it EASIER, but not perfect.

So basically, i think that since the cats have already been living in the same house for quite some time, you just need to show them to eachother and stay close incase a REAL fight breaks out.

as for the transferred agression, my cats have done that too. Eventaully when they get what they want, it will all go away.

[lindsayanng]

oh yea, and mostl likely, all 4 cats will not go up and sniff her at the same time. The new cat might end up surrounded, but they will probably not approach the new one for atleast a few hours and theyw ill all do it at their own pace. just, like i said, make sure there are hiding spots because they might hide for a while, but eventually htey will all come out.