Expert: Norman Auspitz - 11/20/2010

Question
Dear Mr. Auspitz,

Hopefully you can help me with my issue! My old cat, Macy is a 2 year old female shorthair. She is smaller than the new cat, Winston, who is a four year old Himalayan. We have had Winston for almost three weeks now, and he has been roaming free in the house for almost two weeks. Last week we stopped shutting him away in his safe room at night and when I leave the house. He has been using both his safe litter box and the litter box that Macy regularly uses, and she has been using both as well.

Macy is an active cat, and Winston is more of the lazy and shy type.

Recently, Macy has been chasing Winston. I've had cats who have chased and wrestled before, but since Winston is new to the household I'm worried. Since she has been chasing and biting at him he has become more reclusive and tries to stay away from her as much as possible. I'm worried that her chasing him is damaging the way he is becoming comfortable in my home. I know that I should not interfere but I really want him to be happy and feel that my home is a safe place for him.

Is there anything at all I can do here?

Thank you so much for your help!
Jen Mussari

Answer
Jen,

It sounds to me as if things are going as expected between Macy and Winston.  Remember, Macy is the established cat and, usually, the established cat is at the top of the hierarchy.  There are a couple of things to remember about cat inter-relationships: (1) Any human interference, once they meet, is counter productive; and (2) We mere humans do not understand the rules.

So, you need to leave them alone to find their own way. Cats have a very complicated "getting to know you" ritual, and any interference by us just prolongs the ritual. It can take a couple of weeks.  On the other hand, any games of chase are usually a good sign.  We also must be careful not to impose human motives and emotions on things cats do as they do not think like we do.

So, I would leave things alone and see what develops. If they are eating together and there is no issue with litter pan usage, I would not worry, but accept their relationship however it evolves.

Winston will find his niche with respect to Macy in a way that is satisfactory to both.

Please let me know if you have any more questions.

Best regards... Norm.