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Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get two cats to get along together? Background. I've always had cats, strictly indoor and at one time had 5. They all got along fine together and would sleep and groom each other. So, I've never dealt with this problem before.
I have one female cat left out of the 5, she's 14yrs. old now and a nice calm. easygoing cat. Enter Ghost, a young female that was pretty much dumped on me and was thinking of keeping but now I'm not so sure. She's the problem.
She hates my cat and goes after her and hisses at her every time they come near each other. I know cats can be territorial but Ghost is the newcomer. You'd think she would be the one who was insecure in her surroundings. They're both spayed. They each have their own food bowls, toys and cat boxes and right now they each have chosen their own floor of the house. Ghost also pooped on my bed yesterday after she got angry with my cat who mostly ignores her actions.
I don't know what to do. If this keeps up I'm going to have to find another home for her.
Any suggestions on how I can get Ghost to be nicer to my cat?
Actually I do have one suggestion without knowing the answers to my questions, get some feliway plug in diffusers, to help with the territorial feelings.
Ghost has been with us about 2 mos. now. I didn't introduce them to each other at all. I just figured they'd do that on their own when they were ready like my other cats did.
This may get a bit confusing because I have family rooms on all 3 levels of my house, so bear with me.
When I first got Ghost I brought her down stairs to the basement area where we have a family room set up and my grandson hangs out.
I fed her there and put her cat box there, but then Ghost decided she wanted to come upstairs to ground floor area where my old girl is.
I have dogs too and Ghost hates the dogs which is kind of ironic because the dogs are 14 and 16, mostly blind, sleep all day, and I don't even think the dogs realize that there is a new cat. They ignore her completely. But Ghost gives them a wide berth when she walks by them and watches them warily as they snore away.
Anyway, Ghost wasn't happy on this level so she moved herself upstairs to the top level where there's also a family room with tv and the bedrooms. She sleeps on the sofa's during the day and in my grandsons bedroom at night and doesn't poop on his bed. I moved her cat box and feed her up there now.
My old cat doesn't sleep with us upstairs, or even go upstairs anymore, although there were times she might have been up there so maybe her scent is still there? I don't know. We just redid that room. We redid the floors, painted, new bed and bed coverings so I don't think my old cats scent would still be there.
edited.. I just realized that me and my clothes probably carry the scent of my old cat and I sleep there,so yeah, maybe the old cat's scent is in my bedroom.
It's only when Ghost comes to this level where I, my old cat and the dogs spend most of our day that there's a problem. She want's my cat out of here.
I'll look up feliway plug in diffusers. I've never heard of them.
Last edited by Lauriedeee; 11-15-2014 at 07:28 PM..
Any suggestions on how I can get Ghost to be nicer to my cat?
I've been told to get the opposite sex for Bobbles if I get second cat. Apparently it's more difficult for two females to get along. If I bring another cat into the house, I actually fear what Bobbles will do to it.
You've only had Ghost for a couple of months, and it can take some cats a long time to adjust to new environments. Overall, it took more than a half a year before Bobbles was comfortable in the entire house. She slowly expanded her territory over the months. As Ghost does that, she encounters the problem of another cat on the lower level. Bobbles was terrified of the Basset for months and gave him wide berth too. Then she started harassing him. She didn't stop harassing him until he made it clear he wasn't going to take her sh*t anymore. It might take your old girl getting fed up and putting Ghost in her place.
You think the scent of your old cat is what caused the new one to poop on your bed. If you interfered when she got angry with your cat, I'll bet she pooped on your bed because she was upset with you for intervening or taking sides. Anger and territorial can be the same things in that situation. She's going to show you who is boss and poop on your bed since she senses you like the older cat more.
I read one recommendation that might help. Brush them both with the same brush with each other's hair in the brush. Get your old girl to smell like Ghost and Ghost to smell like your old girl.
Does Ghost have any redeeming qualities whatsoever? Is she nice to anyone?
I've had a lot of cats in my adult lifetime and only twice have had to use specific introduction procedures. Usually the cats just introduced themselves - after a few days of hissing and such they'd settle into the clowder (weird word for a group of cats). It all has to do with background history and personality of individual cats.
What do you know about Ghost's background history? Were there other cats and dogs? Number of people, their ages, the family dynamics? Did she have a large "territory" or a small one? Was she an indoor, indoor/outdoor, outdoor?
By nature cats are solitary animals, but most domestics have somehow adapted to group life. But not all. My Giselle is one of those (and she is the reason I now have to always choreograph introductions of any new cats to the household). What I've done with Giselle is to give her "her domain", a spare bedroom where she likes to sleep which has her litterbox, food, water, toys. She's had a difficult time learning that overall the house is neutral territory, but by giving her a specific area all to herself (keeping all others out), she's become more accepting of the others. When she's beginning to stress out she knows she can return to "her domain".
To us two months is a long time, but to cats it's not. They can sometimes be SO slow to adapt and settle in. (My cat Callie has been here since June and just figured out that our laid-back submissive cat-loving dog is not a threat.)
Putting Ghost's personal items upstairs was a great idea. What you might want to do, if possible, is to shut doors to all rooms except the family room and your grandson's room to "tighten up" Ghost's domain. This will probably be a temporary thing for now until Ghost feels she owns a particular space. Since your older cat doesn't go up there anymore, Ghost will begin to feel more comfortable having "her space". If the dogs go up there, I don't think it'll be a territorial issue, but more of a species v. species thing (that natural occurrence of cats hating dogs).
When Ghost comes into the neutral territory, like the basement family room, I suggest creating some positive associations with the space. Play with her with a feather on a string or any kind of toy that requires you or a family member to "operate". By changing the atmosphere of the neutral territory from I-hate-you-old-cat-so-scram to oh-boy-let's-play! and giving Ghost her upstairs area for a retreat from stress will probably make a huge difference. Adding the Feliway diffuser to the neutral territory might help, too.
You have three things in your favor if you can be patient. First, you have the space to "divide" into territories. Second, you have the older cat and the dogs whose personalities are fantastically easy-going. Third, you care enough to want to do something about it with Ghost's emotions in mind.
Last edited by mawipafl; 11-16-2014 at 06:31 AM..
Reason: P.S. While I was writing, Hopes was also writing the same thoughts I was having.
Cats do not house-soil in "anger". Territorial issues, dirty litter boxes, illness, stress, can all be reasons for this.
Cats aren't solitary animals by nature. In the wild they live in colonies. Cats are very social animals. They form deep emotional bonds with other cats, dogs, rabbits, etc, and humans.
Females can get along with one another just as easily as cats of the opposite gender. Once they are spayed and neutered hormones do not play a part. Cats go by sense of smell, not gender. Some cats simply dislike eachother, just like humans don't like everyone they meet.
In this particular instance, it may be possible to keep the cats separated at all times, since they seem to prefer different levels in the house?
If new cat is causing too much stress to senior cat, the senior cat's needs have to come first. However, I have had another thought. When was the last time older kitty had a check up and blood work done?
I ask because sometimes one cat will sense illness and vulnerability in another cat, and this will make the healthy cat go after the ill cat.
Also, a cat who isn't feeling well may also act aggressive to other cats.
So I recommend vet trip first for senior kitty.
Next, vet trip for new kitty.
Install feliway on every floor.
Provide plenty of litter boxes.
You might also try rescue remedy, for both cats.
Keep cats separate, but continue to exchange scents.
Feed a good quality wet (or raw) diet. Diet plays a very large role in behavior, most people do not realize this. Cats eating species inappropriate food, such as dry food filled with carbs, do not feel their best and it will come out in behavior.
Last edited by catsmom21; 11-16-2014 at 08:10 AM..
Hopes, Ghost has so many redeeming qualities. She's more like a dog than a cat.
I tried to get a picture of her, but she's too busy playing with her toy mouse and won't cooperate. But I found a pic online and this is exactly what she looks like in person and for the age I think she is. She's got big round orange eyes and very thick fur so I think she's a British shorthair. As far as cats go, she's a doll. She's very friendly, wants to be with people, inquisitive, has to sample everything I'm eating including corn chips and vegetables, and loves to play. She's got an interesting meow too. It's very soft. She's a big, solidly built cat with large solid round paws. I can actually hear her thumping down the stairs or racing across the hallway in chase of some imaginary foe or running down the stairs to greet people. She races to the door to greet everyone even before I know they're there. I do love her. I just feel guilty because she hates my other cat that I've had forever.
My older cat is affectionate, but only when it suits her so we rarely see her unless she's hungry or wants attention, but she's always been that way, and I never hear my older cat walking at all, and the older cat is tiny compared to Ghost.
When she hisses at 'Stripe' my old cat. she just ignores Ghost and doesn't react. Sometimes though Ghost will jump towards Stripe and like I said Ghost is heavy so she thuds when she lands and scares Stripe. When that happens I tell them to be nice, and pet them both at the same time. I've tried brushing them with the same brush so they smell the same. Hopefully that will work in time.
I can hear Ghost thudding around upstairs now. She must be chasing her mouse.
Mawi, From what I understand Ghost lived with a young single woman in an apartment. I don't think the woman had any other pets. Ghost was apparently taken care of well because I found some vet bills in the Louis Vuitton cat carrier that Ghost was delivered in and it's a real Louis V carrier. Since she had such an expensive cat carrier I'm guessing maybe Ghost was spoiled a little bit, and an only child too. Ghost, like Stripe have no interest in going outside.
Ghost comes down here occasionally when she wants food. She's very particular about food. One day she'll want dry, the next day she wants canned, sometimes she'll only eat a specific brand and will turn her nose up at the brand I put down for her. I buy 2 different dry foods, and 3 different brands of wet cat food because she's so particular. I guess I'm not helping unspoil her. LOL
The dogs and Stripe don't go upstairs, their choice, so Ghost is alone up there. I haven't tried playing with her down here but that's a good idea. I'm going to try and get her to play when she's down here. Then she'll see that the dogs and Stripe have no interest in what we're doing and maybe she'll feel more comfortable staying here.
Yesterday I fed Ghost and Stripe down here, separate bowls, but withing 2 ft of each other and they did ok. they both ate, but then Ghost ran right back upstairs.
Cats do not house-soil in "anger". Territorial issues, dirty litter boxes, illness, stress, can all be reasons for this.
There's a fine line between anger and territory. She can mark the OP's space as her territory in an attempt to establish dominance over the OP for upsetting her. "I'm not going to take your crap. I'm in control here. I'm going to show you via marking your space with my smell and make it my territory." If you want to say it's a stress reaction to being reprimanded, that works too. But I assure you Ghost pooped on the OP's bed out of some sort of displeasure with the OP over how she handled the interaction between Ghost and the older cat when Ghost was very mean to the older cat. This is good information to know because the OP can rectify the problem by not interfering with their interactions. Just like dogs, cats need to work things out on their own. Bobbles does not take well to being reprimanded. She has peed on my bed within a few hours after being reprimanded. Never any other time. I learned how to avoid having her pee on my bed by not reprimanding her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by catsmom21
Females can get along with one another just as easily as cats of the opposite gender. Once they are spayed and neutered hormones do not play a part. Cats go by sense of smell, not gender. Some cats simply dislike eachother, just like humans don't like everyone they meet.
I have professional cat rescue people telling me that opposite gender will work better. Many people here have said the same. Of course same gender can get along, but everyone is saying it's more fool proof if it's opposite genders. And Bobble's ovarian remnant is proof that a spayed or neutered pet can still have hormones.
Oh Ghost is sweet I have 4 cats. Oldest Miley is 5 years old female and Diesol is 4 years old male, They had bit hard to time Diesol is sort of teaser, He likes to make Miley mad and I am sure he laugh from his other side,, What I did when ever he did that,take away his food bowl, bad behavior no food. From that he learned well and start behaving good. And since few weeks I have Duke and dizzly. They are from the same mother they are doing quiet okay. But some times there are territorial issues. Miley always in the kitchen, Diesol some where all most everywhere. Duke and Dizzly getting use to solder. But at the beginning I kept Duke and Dizzly apart always and drop few hours till they get used to big ones.
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Since she had such an expensive cat carrier I'm guessing maybe Ghost was spoiled a little bit, and an only child too. Ghost, like Stripe have no interest in going outside. 
