Integrating new cat into household

[LastingLight]

I posted about our rescue kitty here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2048397-Rehoming-cat-to-a-farm

He has now been with us since Monday night (was snipped and inoculated on Tuesday) and we are introducing him to our 3 other cats. Our old boy is not fussed and there is very little aggro. Our 2 older girl cats are a different story - they're scared of him and there is lots of hissing and growling. We are rotating rescue kitty through the 4 rooms in the house that have doors so that his smell can get everywhere, and we're letting him spend some time with the other cats under close supervision. Is there anything else we can do? We don't want to stress our cats unnecessarily, it's not fair on them. How long should we give it to see if they will get along with each other?

How is he reacting to them?

He seems fairly relaxed. He will hiss if they get closer than about 2 metres but otherwise he just looks at them.

Ah - 'looks' are a very powerful thing when used to effect. It sounds as if they're having a turf war and he's edgy but trying for dominance. Which they don't like.

One thing to remember is that he's only recently back from the vet and from being snipped so his smell and some of his behaviour is still not necessarily the complete and final product. It can sometimes take a short while for things to calm down after neutering.

Are you planning on keeping him if things settle down?

Yes, I guess if the other cats are ok with it we will keep him.

Thought as much.

Check his posture and how he looks. A cat who is truly relaxed will usually sit - often with paws curled under - and doze. A cat who is sitting and looking (without falling half asleep) is generally alert. I'd be the same in his position being faced with a gang of resident females and just after having been hoicked to the vets for the day.

Going from 3 to 4 is a lot easier than from 1 to 2 though so I would be fairly optimistic - and you're on real early days still.

Do the girls have favourite taste treats that you could help the situation with? (I'm a big believer in bribery.)

I have rewarded both girls with a little bit of milk after they were exposed to him.

He definitely relaxes in the company of our old boy, as long as old boy is sleeping on the table and new one is on the floor! As soon as they're on the same level things gets a bit tense. I will watch him carefully when we get him together with one of the girls again.

What you're saying makes a lot of sense, thanks, we must clearly be a bit more patient. I just feel so sorry for the poor thing, locked up in the bathroom the whole night and part of the day. I suppose he must just be patient too!

Here rescue kitty is facing up to our old ginger boy. We let him out of the house today and bolting was the last thing on his mind. He kept wandering in and out of the house and annoying the girl cats by following them around. They get quite wound up, hissing and growling, I hope things settle down soon. he appears to be curious about them, not rushing them aggressively or anything like that.

Question: Rescue kitty is eating copious quantities of food, I suppose because he was starved before. His tummy is so full all the time, he looks pregnant. He is also producing copious quantities of very soft poo and distributing it throughout his litter box and all around. Is this something we must worry about, or will it become normal as he (hopefully) starts to eats less?

The old boy isn't bothered, is he? (And it looks as if NewCat doesn't quite know what to make of that situation.)

When you say 'soft poo' is it diarrhoea or just not rock hard?

By the way, have you named him yet?

PS - what kind of food are you offering him and how does it fit in with the feeding arrangements for the other three?

His name is Minus, because we rescued him from floor -1 of the office parking garage. It's also a name that works in both our household languages (English and Afrikaans).

I just had the dubious pleasure of watching him defecate in the newly cleaned litter tray. (Why oh why can't he just go outside!) TMI... he sort of farted and then deposited a heap of poo... not watery, but not formed at all. I hope that explains it.

At the moment he is fed a mixture of supermarket food and Royal Canine Renal Feline, which is what the other 3 eat. Once the supermarket food is finished he will just have the Renal, the vet said this would be ok.

Oh, and the food is all dry pellets.

It sounds like his tummy might be overwhelmed with the new diet. Maybe it's too rich or too much cereal?

Right now, I'd also be inclined to think too rich or simply too much for his tummy to handle. Would it be possible for you to restrict his eating a little given that there are other cats around eating? Maybe even put him on bland food like chicken or fish for a day or two and see how that goes? It's just to see what happens and whether his poor stools improve.

By the way - I forget. Did the vet check him over and worm him etc?

We will probably lock him in the bathroom for another couple of nights to give the girls a break so I can control what he eats then. During the day he unfortunately have free access to the others' food.

Vet did blood tests, snipped, inoculated and dewormed.

See how he does today then. Poor lad - it's all a lot for him to handle, really. Give him a good cuddle or two from me - if the girls can't see.

We got special food and probiotics from the vet. He doesn't like it so he isn't eating much which I suppose is a good thing.

Two of our cats will sort of tolerate him now but the third one is very scared of him and he chases her out of the house the moment we let him come out of the bathroom. Help, how do we stop him from doing this? I wish she would just stand up to him and put him in his place.

How is his pooing with the change of diet?

On your third cat, is he actually chasing her aggressively (with noise and attitude etc) or just running after her wanting to play do you think?

He is eating less so pooing less, it is still quite soft but has a bit more form.

I'm no expert on cat body language but to me it mostly looks as if he is curious and wants to play. He has swatted at her a couple of times if she has to run past him to get away, but no hissing or growling.

I'd guess that he's after a game and has selected her as his potential chum. He's only young isn't he? How old is she - and is she by any chance the youngest of the ladies?

My only suggestion at the moment would be to play some more games with him to tire out his youthful enthusiasm, perhaps a laser toy or a thing on a stick/thread - something like that. If he could even be playing with you (if he takes to it) when she comes in, the pair of them might get into the habit of playing together. What you don't need is her getting into the habit of avoiding him I think.

They are very sensitive animals, it takes time for them to adapt. It's still early days for them.

I think I miscounted - is it two girls or three?

Two girls (10 and 11), and an old boy (14). So they're not that playful any more. Minus is around 1. With the long weekend coming up we will be home for 4 days so will have time to play with him and try to supervise contact.

He's likely looking for a Mum then. (Or an older play figure - which he might have had as a kitten and your old boy is not providing. Quite understandably.) Maybe try the games for a few days and see how they go?

Fluffycloudland77 you're right, it just breaks my heart to see her run outside the moment we let him out of the bathroom, and stay there until we coax her back in with food.

cozietoesie thanks for all your input, much appreciated. I think we will try to play with him outside where girl-cat can see him, maybe that helps her to relax a bit. He has a toy mouse on a string that he absolutely loves. I have an 11 year old dd who desperately wants to keep him. I think they can spend some time together!

It also breaks my heart to lock Minus in the bathroom all the time, he must be bored stiff in there.