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Posted: Sat Jan 15, 2011 10:59 pm Post subject: 2 cats that won't get along...

My boyfriend and I adopted a siamese cat a few months ago named Simone. She is the sweetest kitty ever but we happened to bring her into a home of two other female kitties. Simone and our cat Snowflakes get along decently, but Simone and our alpha-female Areyah (she likes to think she's alpha, anyway) don't get along at all. We've had to keep Simone in our bedroom 24/7 with her own litter box and food/water bowls because of the extreme dislike between the two and it's starting to get to the point where Simone no longer wants to be cooped up. However, as soon as we open our bedroom door Areyah darts in there and Simone hides under the bed for the rest of the day.

My boyfriend seems to think it would be better if we tossed the two in the bathroom and let them duke it out but I'm obviously very leery about this idea. What else can we do to help the situation out? I feel bad about poor Simone having to stay locked up while the other kitties get to roam free but I don't know what else to do. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:28 am Post subject:

I would switch them back and forth. Why not put the aggressive cat in the bedroom for a day or two while the new girl gets to run around the house. That way they can get used to each others smell.

After a few weeks of that I would keep the door open and just let them come and go as they want.

Forcing them into a small room together won't help at all. In fact it could make them hate each other for life for sure.

Posted: Wed Jan 19, 2011 8:36 pm Post subject:

Here are a few things I do to encourage good realtionships and to introduce new cats.
Use feliway plug ins
Sit on the floor quietly and brush everyone, pet or treat everyone. keep it calm.
Use play to break tension.
Use Time Outs with the aggressive cat.
Teach the alpha cat how to act appropriately by telling a firm NO and then removing her if she is aggressive.

Cats need time to find out what they think about a new cat. so be patient wiht this. And please don't throw them into a room together. That will surely escalate things.
Create a home filled with boundaries, rules, a calm and loving atmosphere and in time you can have a peaceful new cat family.
Good luck

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 12:08 am Post subject:

I have a spoiled alpha male and took in a tuxedo female who'd previously been an only cat. She'd been rejected from 3 other homes because she couldn't learn to get along with other cats. We tried pretty much all the standard suggestions, including those above (which usually work) for well over a year. We also tried kitty Prozac and Feliway, which helped but not enough.

In our case, the answer was to put her in another "home." My daughter has the basement apartment and Sufi lives down there now. Interestingly, we took in another last-chance cat who also had antisocial problems and the two of them are fine with each other. One stays in the living room, one stays in the bedroom (by choice), and they both spoil the new kitten rotten!

I totally agree - don't just chuck them in together. If the new cat is or has been traumatized and you put her in a Fight Club situation, she's going to freak out and you or one of the cats could end up injured.

Sometimes, no matter what you do, it just isn't going to work out. I was lucky to have a solution so close at hand, but you might have to decide whether the new cat has the quality of life she deserves given the situation.

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