One of my cats not accepting a newbie (five weeks in)

[Scarfmaker]

Hello - Up until five weeks ago I had two cats aged 2 and 3 who have always got on really well together.

Then I adopted an RSPCA cat, who is around 9 months old. My 3 year old has accepted her into the household but my 2 year old hasn't.

The 2 year old previously was loving and sitting on my lap every night etc. but now hisses and growls at me and rest of family and stays out night and day, even in the cold and rain.

I don't know what to do, especially as the RSPCA baby wants to be friends with everyone and sits and purrs away.

I have become really attached to Blossom my RSPCA cat but equally feel I have betrayed Honey who before her was my number one.

Has anyone had experience of cats not getting on and how long does it last?

hello

We had two cats until last year, brother and sister, then the sister died, aged 13. Brother still with us, now 14 (obviously, sorry!). anyway.

We got two kittens in April, our vet said that Cooly (old boy) would thrive. We spent about 4 months in warfare, poor old boy looked truly heartbroken, if a cat can.

Now - nearly 6 months on.... They all hang together, Cooly is the daddy. They sleep in the same place and go hunting together. It helped a lot when the boy had the snip - the hormones must have kicked out.

So the story is, persevere - I bet they will settle down.

Thanks TigerBitesAgain - that's really encouraging news and I really hope our Honey can get over this and be friends with Blossom.

It's probably just going to take longer than I thought.

Have you tried using a feliway diffuser? It can help make cats feel less tense.
Our two old cats used to hate bad cat (probably as she constantly stalked and ambushed them). Now she is part of the gang - still a pain sometimes but they sleep together and one of the older ones washes her.

Yes the vet did mention this but I think you need one in each room don't you? Would I need one all the time as they are expensive at £35 and I've paid out so much at the vets lately.

Thanks for the suggestion.

We couldn't afford one for each room so I put it in the main area that the cats used. We only needed to use the one refill as the cats seemed to really settle after that.

Think I will give it a go! Thanks.

Am having exactly the same problem - had a 3 year old (female) who was the boss but got on brilliantly with our little boy cat (age 2-ish). Adopted another male and we've been having territory wars ever since!! The feliway thing didn't work for us i'm afraid but i think time will hopefully as now they're all getting a bit clearer about their new bits of territory and am keeping fingers crossed that the latest arrival is getting the messagesthe other two keep giving him!!
Good luck will be interested to hear how it all goes for you!

Thanks thirtysomething - glad I'm not the only one going through it - had a hard time today as it's been a rainy day and they've all been inside most of the day!