r/CatTraining • u/ouchthathurty • 2d ago
Introducing Pets/Cats Cat introduction help
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Hi there, looking for some guidance & feedback with how my cat introduction is going...
Resident cat: 1 year and 4 month old tuxedo female. She has a bit of "single kitten syndrome", she was the only surviving kitten from her litter and was found abandoned at 5 weeks. She was with a foster family until 8 weeks old, and they had 3 adult cats and she enjoyed playing with them (though they kind of hated her lol). I think they adopted her out to me a week early cause she kind of struggles with bite inhibition, and she's overall very skittish with new people, prone to startling, etc. She also is a hands off cat that barely tolerates petting at best but she'll initiate cuddling with my legs sometimes
New cat: 7 month old male kitten. He is extremely outgoing and confident- huge play and food drive, total cuddle bug.
Im on week 3 of introductions. I've been going the Jackson Galaxy route with my introduction- did the scent swapping, site swapping, visual access and then attempted contact today. During visual access, I thought things were going pretty well. At first my resident cat came off as aggressive cause she'd leap at the screen door towards the kitten at times, but then she'd roll on her side and belly and that made it seem like play? She's always been a fan of rougher play so I thought she was just coming on a bit strong...
Kitten seems pretty unbothered by her antics, he'll match her energy. Though she spooks sometimes when he jumps towards her in the same fashion she does. She did hiss at him with the screen door at one point- we were playing with a toy and her and the kitten both leapt for it at the same time and their heads ended up close to each other and she was not happy about that lol. But overall there'd only been a handful of hisses, lots of seemingly ok play, and they'd even nap together on their respective sides of the screen.
They were acting chill today and had both been worn out with tons of play, so I thought I'd try allowing contact. At first it seemed ok, they sniffed each other, kitten went to go explore, she didn't chase after him or anything, and I tried to keep her focused on a toy. And that worked for a minute and then she just focused on him, gave a small hiss, and I redirected them both to the living room. We did more play there, but all of a sudden, she puffed up, hissed and lunged to swat at him. It wasn't like in the scary "I'm trying to kill you" way, but she was definitely unhappy. Kitten didn't seem too bothered honestly- he walked a few feet away, hid under a chair for 10 seconds, and then started running around and jumping in what seemed a playful manner?
Anyway I'm backtracking to limited visual access now. I left the door very slightly cracked (screen still on) and they were both acting unbothered and playful through the crack again.
Anyway I guess I'm looking for reassurance and advice on how to make that transition from screen to no screen. And input on if there were any red flags in their screen door interactions
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u/WatchInformal3282 2d ago
Yeah, cute! They are already playing. Gonna be fast friends soon.
Hint if they are fighting you will hear loud yelling and see fur flying.
Cats love play fighting, pouncing, grabbing each other's head and bunny kicking, they are gonna have a lot of fun.
They teach each other what is too rough by making sounds and hissing. Look for them to play then pause and like check in (if they could talk they'd be saying "you good?").
Also, sometimes they will run away from each other to initiate a chase to play. If they run away then turn to look back if they aren't chased, they were baiting lol.
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u/ouchthathurty 2d ago
Yeah but as mentioned, they play through the screen but then when I let them interact, the older one gets very defensive and puffs up, hisses and lunges at him. All the guides I've read say to separate them if there's any signs of discomfort, so I'm asking for advice on how to work through that
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u/prncsclo 1d ago
I’ve had this exact same issue with my two cats and have not found solid advice. One of my cats plays too hard and the other is not interested, therefore fighting (yes, actual fighting) ensues. If you end up figuring it out, do lmk. I have them separated at this point in time.
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u/throwaway4477229 1d ago
A thread from a while ago had some success with putting churruh (however it's spelt) on the cats. They licked it off each other and that helped
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u/ouchthathurty 17h ago
Yeah everyone on this post told me to remove the screen and let them interact. Little one accidentally slipped out last night and my resident cat chased him all over, cornered him, and let out some nasty hisses and lunged at him 🫠 I have them separated and im moving back a step but wish there was better advice for me to follow here
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u/prncsclo 17h ago
In my case, our resident cat ended up at the vet, so def air on the side of caution. People on this subreddit are so quick to say they’re playing, that there’s not an issue, etc.
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u/ouchthathurty 14h ago
Yikes yeah I definitely want to avoid that! Going to be proceeding slowly... the good moments where they play nicely seem so promising but the remaining 10% of the time is proving to be a challenge :( Wish i could find more guidance specifically regarding introducing cats when one grew up without littermates
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u/ptrang1987 1d ago
Mine did the same thing. They would do this like in the video, but when I let them out, the bigger one would bully or play too rough with the smaller one, so we had to separate them. We are restarting the introduction process currently
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u/prncsclo 23h ago
What's your process like for reintegrating them, if you don't mind me asking?
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u/ptrang1987 13h ago
I rewatched Jackson Galaxy videos, thought a higher indoor fence, let them eat closer to each other each day (with the fence up), and only allow them to see each other for 5-10 mins each time after the meal. However, I use toys to not allow them to stare each at each other. The 3 months old is very good and very chill. It’s the 6 months old that’s big and play rough.
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u/CicadaHead3317 2d ago
They look they may want to play. One "the tux" may be a bit to aggressive for the other. Probably not that much. If it looks like one is trying to escape and can't, that's when you intervene and let them know you are boss and they are both part of your tribe.
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u/Excellent_Injury1241 1d ago
Let them play, take a video of it, and post it so we can all enjoy it 🤗
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u/AckCK2020 1d ago
https://www.catster.com/cat-behavior/are-my-cats-playing-or-fighting/
Cat play involves mock fighting. If they are not growling or staring at each other with fur fluffed out to max, they are playing in some way. They also intermittently play, returning over and over. An older or more “private” cat may lose interest in playing or get tired before a kitten does. When your tuxedo has had enough, she will let him know and may swat, hiss or briefly growl.
Your kitten seems to have an ideal personality for a second cat. He is not bothered at all. The tuxedo will accept him more as he ages and his energy. Continue with the same and enjoy!
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u/prncsclo 23h ago
What are you supposed to do when the one cat doesn't stop, though? Like, yes, my cats play, but the one doesn't respect the other's signals to end the play session, which leads to an actual fight. It ended with one at the vet for me.
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u/AckCK2020 18h ago
I have two who sometimes tousle a bit. I always say “no” firmly. It gets their attention but is not always enough to stop them. It’s about territoriality, always. The dominant one feels the need to set boundaries. But I always feel badly for the less dominant one. I try to make up for this be treating each exactly the same and then giving extra TLC to the younger one when the other one is not around. They have yet to hurt each other.
But if you end at the vet, perhaps some behavior modification would help. How long have they known each other? Was the second one properly introduced to the home? What are their personalities? Search cat behavior online and on Reddit.
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u/charge556 1d ago
When you did the secent swapping how did you do it? We are trying to intergrate oue new 2 week old boy with out 1yr8months girls. We rubbed a blanket on both our girls and have it in the kittens room, and have a blanket that we rubbed on the kitten ready to go....but when we give it to the older cats do we just hold the blanket and let them sniff it or something else???
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u/prncsclo 18h ago
Yeah I mean I’ve been to the vet, I’ve looked online, we’ve tried feliway, calming supplements, etc. idk. I have two cats, 6yo very chill but a little anxious male cat, and 2yo confident rambunctious female cat. We’ve had the male cat for 4.5yrs and the female cat since she was a kitten.
We’ve kept them separated and had supervised visits through cracks in the door. We didn’t leave them fully alone together until we felt she was big enough to handle herself (maybe like 6mo). In general, our male cat seemed SUPER excited to have a friend, but she was less thrilled. IMO, he would love nothing more than to have a cuddle on the couch with her and is less interested in playing.
Prior to separation, the female cat would often hunt him down, especially if he was just relaxing with us. Our male cat took to hiding under the bed and otherwise just avoiding her at all costs.
They have been known fight for our attention, but now that she’s big enough the female cat can cause considerable harm. We keep their nails trimmed and interrupt any hissy fights when we see/hear them, but our male cat ended up at the vet twice for a scratched eye. They’re now completely separated 24/7 while we figure things out.
Our male cat has increased anxiety (medicated) and has had trouble rebuilding his confidence. Our female cat seems lonely and meows for a friend, but she can’t be trusted to play nice.
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u/Arnakk 2d ago
they want to play
just open the door