My feed
Premium

Please
or
to access all these features

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

The litter tray

Advice on introducing new cat to old

19 replies

lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 00:56

I have a 3 year old male who has not been neutered and a 6 month old male kitten who was neutered last week. My 3 year old is an outdoor cat and comes home sporadically. The kitten is indoor at the moment.

My 3 year old is aggressive with other cats in the neighbourhood. I've tried introducing them before and it didn't go well. The 3 year old tried to attack the kitten. I'm hoping now that the kitten is neutered he won't be so much of a threat but I'm unsure what to do next.

The 3 year old has been in and out but we keep them separate so that he can get used to the smell of the kitten. I put the kitten in a cat carrier tonight when the 3 year old came in so that he could see him. The 3 year old seemed calm, no hissing or growling. What do you think I should do next?

I'm hoping to let the kitten outside in the next few weeks but I fear that the 3 year old will chase him through the cat flap and all hell will break loose because neither of them will want to give up their territory.

Any advice would be great.

OP posts:
Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 00:57

I thought about having the 3 year old neutered but I'm not sure if he's too old now and I don't know when to make an appointment because I can't say when he'll come home. I don't want to force him to stay in, especially with the situation just now.

OP posts:
Report
caroldecker · 18/11/2015 01:28

You must neuter the 3 yo - there is no excuse not to.

Report
VulcanWoman · 18/11/2015 02:02

I agree about getting the older one neutered, you'll probably see more of him as well, it'll settle him down, more chance of them getting on together then.

Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 03:07

Thought people might say that. There absolutely is no excuse not to but, as I have explained, it might not be possible at the moment and I'm looking for advice on what to do just now.

OP posts:
Report
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 18/11/2015 09:59

Sorry, I think you're being very irresponsible. How many kittens do you think the unneutered cat is responsible for? You need to keep him in and make the appointment - you need to work out a way of keeping them seperate. Keep one in the spare room?

Report
VulcanWoman · 18/11/2015 10:05

How often does the older one come home?

Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 13:34

Vulcan A bit more now that the weather is turning colder but still he is only in for about an hour every 2 days.

Thanks for that Pink. I would appreciate not being patronised like that though. You know nothing about mine, or my cat's story other than what I have posted here. Don't have a spare room, can't keep him in for hours at a time.

OP posts:
Report
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 18/11/2015 14:45

I'm not being patronising, just pointing out that the cat needs to be neutered, as do all cats (and dogs).

Report
coffeeisnectar · 18/11/2015 14:50

Getting him neutered is the best way to ensure he's less aggressive. Not only is he likely causing litters of unwanted kittens but you could end up with a vets Bill from another cats owner.

Report
maamalady · 18/11/2015 14:53

One hour in every two days? Sounds like he's found himself a new home, tbh.

Report
VulcanWoman · 18/11/2015 17:49

I suppose you could phone the vet and explain the situation, they might be able to get you a quicker appointment maybe.
I have a male cat, he's about 8, was thinking about getting another cat but wasn't sure what his reaction would be, so decided against it in the end.
That's a good point about him having another home, they're fickle. No wonder you wanted another cat if you hardly see him.

Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 20:50

There is a woman who feeds her cats outside and I'm sure he helps himself to that food so I think that's why he's never home. He seems to just really enjoy being outside. We've seen him all over the place. We live in an isolated (with a few neighbours) rural location so there are plenty of mice around which he definitely takes advantage of. I'm not sure if he's going into anyone's house because we would hear about it.

OP posts:
Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 20:52

I think I'll phone the vet and ask if I can just bring him in when he appears. I should think I'll be able to do that if they are aware of the situation.

OP posts:
Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 20:56

Meant to say thank you Vulcan in that last post. Smile

OP posts:
Report
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 18/11/2015 20:58

It would definitely be worth a chat with the vet as I'm sure they must have come across this before. Our vet has been very good about my Mum's cat, George. Different scenario but back in April I was supposed to take him for his jabs but couldn't catch him (think trying to catch a tiger, blood - mine - everywhere!) so I had to cancel at the last minute. They told me that when I caught him just to take him in. Suffice to say it never happened as he runs whenever he sees my but at least they were understanding!

Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 21:00

I think so too Pink. It can't be the first time they've come across this kind of thing. Thanks.

OP posts:
Report
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 18/11/2015 21:22

I've had to cancel H's appointments on a few occasions as he has the knack of disappearing at just the right time!

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Report
lazybones77 · 18/11/2015 23:40

Will do. I'm hoping that he'll lose the aggression. There are a lot of male cats in this small area though and they all fight, neutered or not. It's definitely worth a shot though. I worry for my little kitten when he does eventually go out. I'd love for him to be happy indoors but he tries to escape at any opportunity at the moment and it wouldn't be fair to keep him in when we have such cat friendly environment. Well, cat friendly apart from all of the warring cats. Confused

OP posts:
Report
VulcanWoman · 19/11/2015 07:26

My cat came back smelling of perfume once, it wasn't mine, fickle! Grin

Report
Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.