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So I have a new Siberian female cat that I got last week and I have a male himalayan cat ( resident cat). My himalayan is very mellow, nice and calm and since the siberian cat ( new cat) got here, he's been trying to befriend her, he will come close to her and just sit there, look at her, try to approach her, meow while she is hissing the whole time and looking at him with a really mean face and then my himalayan just runs away and lives her alone. She does that all the time though and the himalayan keeps on trying , he keeps on trying to get close to her and looks at her with very sad eyes and meows in a crying voice like i wanna be your friend while the Siberian just hisses and growls at him and doesn't want anything to do with him. This is my first time having 2 cats, and I have no idea what to do. Is this normal behavior? Is it gonna last? Are they ever going to be friends? Oh and both cats used to live with other cats before, so they are used to being around other cats. The himalayan is 4 and the siberian is 9. Any suggestions? Thank you
They will probably make friends with each other in time. The new cat in the house probably feels insecure, even though the resident cat is friendly. It usually takes a while for cats to get along. Give it a few weeks.
Just give it time. She probably feels unsettled in a new place, and it will take awhile for her to settle in. She may never want to be friends with him, and just want to maintain her own personal space. Usually cats who don't like the other one will just hiss occasionally, but they may eventually play once in awhile. Just wait.
After all, if someone plopped me in a house, and expected me to be friends with a strange guy I never met, it would take me some time to wrap my head around everything. Have two cat boxes, she should have her own, new bed, and her own food and water dishes.
Yeh she does have her own food, water and box. I just hope they will be friends eventually, otherwise it will be so sad, as the reason I got her in the first place was to find a companion for the resident cat. Resident cat keeps trying though, he always comes towards her, but she hisses at him and he leaves and hides, so sad! I will give it time though. Thanks
Yeh she does have her own food, water and box. I just hope they will be friends eventually, otherwise it will be so sad, as the reason I got her in the first place was to find a companion for the resident cat. Resident cat keeps trying though, he always comes towards her, but she hisses at him and he leaves and hides, so sad! I will give it time though. Thanks
IMO, male cats seem more outgoing and laid back. Female cats seem to take awhile to adjust to things.
How were they introduced? Did you keep them apart, and in separate rooms for a week or so, not letting them make eye contact but letting them sniff under the door?
No matter how you went about it, the general consensus on cat behavior sites would recommend starting the process over, it may seem like a drag, but it's only a week out of the next 15 years or so.
Google: introducing a new cat
I also did something similar to what Midwesternbookworm did and got them used to each others smell. http://www.city-data.com/forum/cats/...l#post20823579
I gave them each a blanket that was exclusively theirs and I never took away from them, but I also put another blanket (same exact blanket for both cats, so they felt the same) were they slept, and each day I would switch the one blanket so the other cats smell became familiar to them.
I'm NOT suggesting, by posting this next link that the new cat needs medical attention, that is Meekos situation, I'm just showing you what's going on at our house.
During the week I would switch their rooms for an hour or so (unless they fell asleep, I didn't wake them up to switch them back), but not let them see, or at least not let them make eye contact with each other, as the switch was made.
Once I started letting them be together, 6 days later, It was only for 10 or 20 minutes each time, 3 or 4 times a day. You have to watch them to be sure no one gets out of hand.
When one of them did something that was not acceptable I put them in this pop up kennel I bought at Target, best thing I could have done/bought. It's less than $30, I recommend getting the largest one so it doesn't feel so confining to them. Meeko now uses his like a dog that has been trained to kennel, and when he gets worked up he will put Himself in the kennel and it seems to sooth him.
I tried to end the session before either got too wound up. It sounds like your situation is somewhat different, but if you watch them, you can start to see what the dynamic is and what sets it off.
I agree with the keep them separate for a few weeks. I did that with my new female and she is just fine with the other cats now. I now have a kitten who is going through the same routine. Ironically he isn't afraid of the dogs but he stays away from the cats. He males seem to be OK with him now but the female isn't so sure.
Look at it from her point of view. She suddenly finds herself away from all she has ever known and loved. Her home, family, other cat companions have disappeared.
Now she is in a strange place, with strange smells, strange people and a strange cats. She is going to need a lot of time to process what has happened to her. She will need to grieve her losses.
Senior cats, especially, have trouble with change.
That she has lived with other cats doesn't mean much except that if she was bonded with those other cats she has lost her best friends.
She doesn't know your cat. Cats are not like dogs, they don't instantly get along with one another. I have a cat like your male, he loves all other cats, but most don't. He'll probably win her over in time, but let her adjust in her own time, be sure to give her as much love as she will accept from you, poor little girl.
Talk to her a lot and tell her where she is and why. Use her name a lot. Reassure her that she is okay there in her new home.
Some feliway diffusers can help with territorial feelings and stress, rescue remedy can help with stress.
The good part is your resident cat seems cool with it. Sometimes that is the hardest part! (My own cat never really adjusted to having another cat while we had one, and that was for a couple years.)
It'll just take time, most likely, if she has lived among other cats before. It's an unfamiliar space and and unfamiliar cat. The age, also, may affect this a bit. Makes sense to me that the younger one would be more adapting, plus he's already in his own space.
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