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3 days ago, I adopted a 3 year old black Male cat from the local humane society. Bruce. He is very active, playful, and affectionate to people. He was in a room with at least 8 other cats and seemed fairly sociable with the other cats, didn't appear to have any issues. He had been in the shelter since November.
Anyhow, I have 2 adult male cats who are brothers that I have had since they were kittens, they are now five years old. About 3 weeks ago my senior resident cat, Bebe passed away at 18 years of age. Bruce has been slowly introduced to the house, first going to a closed off upstairs bedroom. Then after 36 hours I moved to him my first floor office with a transparent glass door. He has been showing signs of separation anxiety when I leave the room and move to the living room. Jack, who is the more active and more playful of the two brother cats, often sits by the door and watches Bruce, he has hissed a few times when Bruce makes a sudden movement.
To get to the point, Bruce recently darted out of the office when I opened it this morning and chased Jack, who ran up the stairs. The fight ensued underneath the guest bed, I lifted up the bed and grabbed Bruce, Jack ran away. I placed Bruce back in the office. It took at least 20 minutes for Jack to come out from hiding, I could not find him anywhere in the house on my own, he was pretty shaken up. This is the first out right fight they have had. What are some recommendations on how to help integrate these cats better? I do hope Bruce will eventually be able to get along with Jack and Watson. I know there will be some short term stress on everyone's end, but I hope they are able to be integrated successfully and become friends. I just hate to compromise the peaceful lives Jack and Watson have had for all of these years and have that turned upside down, and I shudder at the thought of returning Bruce to the humane society, I do not want to go that route.
Can you occasionally put Bruce in a different room, and let the other two smell the office to start some scent exchanging? Or put the two in the office for maybe an hour and let Bruce explore the rest of the house?
Also, start rubbing them with a towel and leave it for the others to smell. Open the glass door a tiny bit and toss treats on both sides (to encourage interaction and also give positive reinforcement.). Play with them on either side so the other can observe the interaction.
I imagine it will take quite a while for both of them to feel comfortable with the other....
yes.... use FELIWAY products to he keep them relaxed.
Feliway doesn't work for all cats, as I've discovered, but it was a miracle worker for my one cat. I've used a Feliway collar, so that she is exposed to the smell at all times. I put it on very loosely, though, so that if it were ever to get caught on something, she could slip out of it easily. It doesn't bother her at all, and it makes he so much more relaxed and mellow.
I am not familiar with Feliway or their products, I will have to do a little research on this. Thank you for the ideas so far, very helpful.
Bruce is a total people cat, he will immediately jump on your lap and curl up and begin to purr. He will rub up against your legs constantly and even stand on his hind legs to get closer to your hand as you pet him. He's a very friendly cat to me, just not used to sharing new space with two resident cats it would seem.
For what it's worth, Jack seems very curious about Bruce, and will routinely just sit at the glass door to the office and watch Bruce, usually out of curiosity, only a few times has Bruce run up to the door which startles Jack and causes him to hiss and run off. I plan on getting a baby gate in the coming days, and hopefully rigging it in a way that neither cat can jump over it, but so that they can sniff through it. Thank you for the help and advice so far.
What you are experiencing here is exactly what keeps us from moving Mama Cat from our shop office to our home. Lucky and Daisy have a set routine, and Mama Cat is VERY possessive and has never been close to other cats (she was feral for the first 5-6 years of her life, and had to defend herself from other cats). I know, if we brought Mama home, she would take the lap spot that Lucky has always had, and I would never do that to him.
It sounds like Bruce may want to be a "only" cat, and he thinks you are his "only" human. Hope they make the adjustment, mostly for the sake of your other two, who didn't ask for this newcomer into their lives.
People seem to forget that cats are territorial especially if they are the same sex. Naturally, other than lion clans, cats do not mingle and get along with others of their species. It's in their nature to be this way. Of course some cats do adjust to new comers and others will not tolerate more than a one cat house.
That's always something to keep in mind and consider when wanting to add another cat. You just don't know. It's a risk. How a cat behaves at a pound or shelter can be deceiving because his true personality will come out once he has a home to claim. Hopefully they will accept each other but it's obviously not a good start. Bruce has tested the waters and found he can bully the existing cat and take over his territory.
firstly thank you so much for adopting from a shelter. I love their names. The hissing is just what they do as they are learning about one another. If they haven't tied up and had to be separated due to fighting then so far so good. When I added Molly to the group with my 2 other females I purposely didn't separate them. Each time Jax came within a foot of Molly- Jax would hiss. I would just tell her,"no, she's your sister now. Be nice". My cats do listen to me and maybe it's because I treat them like kids that they are so smart and DO listen and learn. Molly made her safety safe spot in one of the cabinets in my bathroom. I put her a blanket in there and a couple of toys. Phoebe was curious and would sit at the door watching Molly. But they always had access to one another. In just a few days Molly would ease out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Then in a few more days she got brave enough to come into the living room. But with any movement or noise she darted back into the cabinet. It didn't take long for Phoebe and Jax to realize Molly is here to stay. I just really let them work it out but there was always someone home with them to make sure no fights broke out. We live in harmony now.
firstly thank you so much for adopting from a shelter. I love their names. The hissing is just what they do as they are learning about one another. If they haven't drawn blood and continued to tie up and had to be separated due to continued fighting then so far so good. When I added Molly to the group with my 2 other females I purposely didn't separate them. Each time Jax came within a foot of Molly- Jax would hiss. I would just tell her,"no, she's your sister now. Be nice". My cats do listen to me and maybe it's because I treat them like kids that they are so smart and DO listen and learn. Molly made her safety safe spot in one of the cabinets in my bathroom. I put her a blanket in there and a couple of toys. Phoebe was curious and would sit at the door watching Molly. But they always had access to one another. In just a few days Molly would ease out of the bathroom into the bedroom. Then in a few more days she got brave enough to come into the living room. But with any movement or noise she darted back into the cabinet. It didn't take long for Phoebe and Jax to realize Molly is here to stay. I just really let them work it out but there was always someone home with them to make sure no fights broke out. We live in harmony now.
Can you occasionally put Bruce in a different room, and let the other two smell the office to start some scent exchanging? Or put the two in the office for maybe an hour and let Bruce explore the rest of the house?
Also, start rubbing them with a towel and leave it for the others to smell. Open the glass door a tiny bit and toss treats on both sides (to encourage interaction and also give positive reinforcement.). Play with them on either side so the other can observe the interaction.
Plug in two Feliways, one on either side.
This sounds like great advice.
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