Introducing new adult cat to muti-cat household.

[RolyPolyKitten]

We have three adult cats that are indoor/outdoor cats. Two pet cats that we have had from kittens (not the same age) and one who is an ex-feral who moved in but is not brave enough to use the whole of the house yet. The ex-feral and the elder of the pet cats are cat friendly, however, the younger pet cat can be a bully towards other cats which is not ideal.

We will soon be adding a fourth cat who is coming from a relative, who is an adult and has only ever been an indoor cat.

It will be impossible to keep him away from the bully cat forever and he will have to become an indoor/outdoor cat after a transition period. We can definitely introduce him to the other cats in a controlled manner and we can introduce him to outside carefully. He has stayed here before for short periods, so we can use the room that he is used to as his 'base.'

I'd love to have any tips or ideas about upping our chances of a smooth introduction to both the other cats and the outdoors. We are rural, so roads aren't an issue, but he needs to learn where 'home' is.

Get some Feliway? It doesn't work for every cat but can be helpful.

Yeah, it's definitely worth trying, just in case it helps. 🙂

When he first goes outside go with him obv. And leave his litter tray near the cat flap for a day or two !

He'll definitely be escorted out to begin with. We have two cat flaps, one can definitely have a litter tray placed nearby. The other, there isn't really room, but I can encourage the use of the flap that allows that set up to begin with.

You won't be able force him to be an indoor/outdoor cat - he may love the outside but please don't push him to go out if he doesn't want to.

I would be keeping him separate from the other adults for a good few weeks at first.

What I mean by indoor/outdoor is that after a settling in period, he will have access to two catflaps all year and that when it is warm weather there will be open windows and doors that he (and the other cats) can go in and out of. So he will have the choice to go in and out as he pleases. This is compared to his current situation where he is not allowed out at all ever due to a very busy road.

I do not mean that I will carry him outside and pop him in the middle of a field full of sheep/horses/cows (which he will never have seen before) and leave him there!

If he never goes out by choice, that's fine. If he only goes in the garden and no further, that's fine too. He can decide to spend hours out if he wants to, I just don't want him to get lost or stuck up a tree (for example).

I'm not sure how long I can stretch out the settling in period, but I will not rush and try to take it as steady as possible. The new cat is incrediby bold and friendly and going on how he has been when staying previously, he will be wanting to come out of his 'base' room after a short time.

I stretched the settling in period as long as possible until I basically got fed up and left them to it. I also let new cat out and about the house while old cat was outside.

My old cat is a very anxious very territorial girl bully and honestly I think 'settling in' could have gone on for years.

Feliway worked brilliantly but unfortunately I'm allergic to the diffusers. We have had a lot of success with putting a Comfort Zone Calming Collar on her when she is choosing violence. Has worked like magic and doesn't set off my asthma.

I will look up the Calming collar. Thanks. 🙂

With adult cats the settling in period needs to be taken really slowly - it would be different if you were introducing a kitten.

But adults are territorial and another adult coming into their territory can be quite threatening and upsetting.

I know you say he's visited before but has he actually been out around the house and met your cats and had access to all their resources?

He has been mainly in one room, but also sometimes moved to a second room. He has briefly met the elder pet cat on the landing as he moved between the rooms and they both walked away from each other. I think there was one hiss. He has not met the cat that can be a bully or the ex-feral.

When we moved house, our outdoor/indoor cat was kept in for a couple of weeks then we walked him outside with a harness and lead. Then we put an AirTag on the harness, we could track him and hear him bleeping through the app.