New Kitty Cat - Help!

[vettecaster]

After Tony B's dog post, I thought it would be good to give felines equal time. ;)

We have decided to adopt the 3-year old cat that belonged to my late colleague Karin
Phillips to prevent the kitty from going to a shelter. Samantha may be a bit of a prima dona as she was the only cat in the household.

We have two other cats; a huge "alpha" male orange cat and a tortoise shell female. Both are rescue cats and both have no claws. Samantha has her claws.

I know it's going to take a lot of patience to integrate this new addition to our family. Saturday, we'll bring Samantha home in a cat carrier then keep her zipped up for most of the day to let the other cats check her out. Then, we'll probably keep Samantha in a separate room to let her chill out for a few days.

We also plan to use Feliway, a cat "air freshener" that is a synthetic copy of the feline facial pheromone that reduces stress.

Any other suggestions, tips would be greatly appreciated.

Meow!

[Glennm27]

We recently in July brought home our first kitty, LouLou. She's a tiny Tortie, weighing in at 14 weeks old at 2.7 lbs. We've been considering a 2nd cat to keep Lou company.

Friends of ours (who are also CCDV members) are experts at this and here's what they suggested for our situation (which seems similar to yours)

Week 1: Keep the new kitty in a separate room for the first week. You can allow the new kitty out of that room while you are home and supervising the "get together". The other cats will know the new kitty is in the house and be very curious but at the same time happy the newbie is not taking a full run of their house (yet).

Week 2: Let the new kitty out of the room when you're home but back in the room when you're not home and at night when you're sleeping. This could go on for more than a week but not much more.

Week 3: (or a little later) Let the newbie have full reign of the house. My friends say this has worked for them many times over the years.

One thing with your situation that concerns me is only one of 3 cats having claws. I wonder how your 2 cats will like that when they get a swipe across the nose. ;)

I will alert my friends to this thread and hopefully they will chime in with their thoughts...

[Bob Weiss]

Hey, We have 2 cats and 2 dogs. I feel like I live on a farm sometimes.

Good luck !!

Bob

[TheKomoman]

Glenn gives GREAT advice there. We got and followed the exact same advice when we integrated my princess/duchess/queen with Val's 3 cats, which were litter mates. Our results were mostly good, but 2 years later it's still obviously us and her, though they co-exist. The funny part is that the tiniest of Val's bunch, the runt female of that litter, who went blind (we think genetics got her) around the same time we brought in my cat is the one who hunts down mine! Blindness hasn't bothered her much.... All 4 of ours are without their front claws so at least it's an even playing field.

The downside is that cats are VERY territorial and my cat has always been something of a marker. So if you find spots of kitty pee or sprays on the wall don't be surprised, we have resigned ourselves to the fact that there's no cure for it and we just cope as best we can. Fortunately it's mostly frustrating and generally doesn't rise above that.

Best of luck!!

[Rick280]

I could have not said it better. It may take a little patience, The plan described by Glenn works well with new kittens. Should not let the new kitty out for the first week. Helps to have a towel or T-shirt going back and forth and rubbing on the cats and leaving out in other areas of the home. Since the new addition is three years old it may not work as well. Older cats are sometime set in their ways. Also may try to compete for alpha status.
As for claws, that is a tough one as they can not be removed at this late age, as it can be painful. You can learn to clip the claws or have the Vet clip them which can get costly. Special plastic tips can also be trialed. A good cat family is careful planning with lots of attention. ;bt

Good Luck

[hcvone]

I have show cats with claws and house cats without claws that were all collected at different times, Glenn has posted some good guide lines, but it really depends on the animals and how set in their way they are, it works in my homes, but I know many where it did not work out, usually the younger the better. You are doing a good thing for sure. :)

[vettecaster]

Hi friends, thanks for the support and advice.

Glenn, you have some great pointers and we plan to follow that formula, fortified by
liberal doses of Feliway (I hope the stuff works for me too).

We have decided not to allow any contact between the new cat and our two others for
at least a week.

We are leaning toward keeping the critter in a bathroom for at least three days to avoid the availability of hiding places, such as under a bed. I'm feeling there could be more interaction between the humans and the new kitty that way, along with probing paws under the door. But, there may be lots of protest meowing. At least our two "resident" cats would still have the run of the place. Is this a good approach?

Also, thanks all for your thoughts on the big issue of claws which I'm very concerned about.

It's going to be an adventure, but one I feel good about. Any other pointers would be greatly appreciated. ;)

Steve

[David Bresler]

Just another quick, very successful idea... When Sherry and I blended her home into mine, here's what we did. She had a female toy poodle about 7 years old and I had 2 cats, the male one around 4 years and the female one around 9 years old. My vet suggested that we dab a touch of perfume on each of their noses to get used to the odor a few days before "the big day". When they finally met, they all smelled familiar smells and did fine with each other. The dog, of course, still barks when a cat jumps onto a counter in the kitchen, but they all get along great! Best of luck!

[vettecaster]

Thanks David, I would have never thought of that. ;)

[Glennm27]

Hi friends, thanks for the support and advice.

Glenn, you have some great pointers and we plan to follow that formula, fortified by
liberal doses of Feliway (I hope the stuff works for me too).

We have decided not to allow any contact between the new cat and our two others for
at least a week.

We are leaning toward keeping the critter in a bathroom for at least three days to avoid the availability of hiding places, such as under a bed. I'm feeling there could be more interaction between the humans and the new kitty that way, along with probing paws under the door. But, there may be lots of protest meowing. At least our two "resident" cats would still have the run of the place. Is this a good approach?

Also, thanks all for your thoughts on the big issue of claws which I'm very concerned about.

It's going to be an adventure, but one I feel good about. Any other pointers would be greatly appreciated. ;)

Steve
My pointers were all given to me from Rick280 and his wife Lisa..

Thanks should go to them.. ;bc

[vettecaster]

Thanks for passing it along Glenn.

We brought the critter home Saturday and she's sequestered in a bathroom.

She was one tough cookie when we picked her up, hiding WITHIN a sofa, growling and spitting. It took about an hour to get her into the carrier. That night though, she was out of the carrier, purring and hungry for affection. We've even held her upside down in a baby cradle hold.

We're slowly winning her confidence and I know tough days are ahead but so far, so good.
:)

[hotrodmagic]

Steve,

I think it's great that you and Sherry adopted this cat into your home. Shelters struggle to find homes for the small adorable type kittens; full grown cats present even a greater challenge. Hats off to you both!

Wayne