Expert: Norman Auspitz - 5/31/2011

Question
Hi, I have a question regarding my cat's behaviors. I have 3 cats...one is almost 7 (her name is Jade), one is 4 (her name is Daisy), and the other one is 3 months (her name is Chowder). I have had Jade for 4 years and she gave birth to 5 kittens so I've had Daisy since she was born. I just brought home a new kitten from my parents house. They had a total of 8 kittens and needed to get rid of some of them, so I brought one home. Daisy and Chowder get a long for the most part. Daisy never hisses at her, but Chowder, once in a while hisses. Usually if I'm holding her when introducing them. But if I let them be, they're pretty good. Jade is the one I am having problems with. I have tried introducing them. And Jade growls and hisses at Chowder and Chowder does the same thing. Jade isn't aggressive toward her, she doesn't attack or anything. I've been keeping Chowder in the bathroom once in a while. I have a litter box, food and toys in there for her at the moment. And I have tried the scent thing and gradually introducing them. But they still don't get along. I just want Jade and Chowder to get along. Jade has never really been fond of other cats. We have stray cats that come up to our window and Jade hisses and growls at them too. It's like she is very territorial toward our house. She wants all the other cats to know that this is her house. But now it's Chowder's house too and I want them to get along like Jade and Daisy do. Should I just let them get used to each other by leaving them alone to roam the house or should I keep Chowder in the bathroom still? Do you have any suggestions for me? Thanks in advance for all your help! :)

~Tanya~

Answer
Tanya,

What people need to understand about cats is that they are very territorial and need to go through a very involved (and often noisy) getting to know you ritual. In my opinion, you cannot gradually introduce cats!!!!!!!!

So, in this case, I would just let them run together.  I would, for the time being leave a litter box in the isolation room with access by all the cats.  Many cats can get territorial about litter pans, so having another litter pan in a separate part of the house may keep some tensions relieved.

I would not worry about any noise (hissing, spitting, growling, etc.). Cats have very tough skin and it is very rare for one cat to really hurt another cat in these circumstances, especially a youngster. You may see loose fur around, but unless someone draws blood, I would not worry about it.If you observed Jade's litter, the kittens played very, very roughly with each other and with mama. This is how cats play.  So, I would not worry about the level of noise with the new kitty. One thing for sure, we humans really do not understand the rules of cat inter-relationships and tend to overlay our motives and emotions on cats. Cats do not think like we do and we often misinterpret what is going on. About the only human emotion I think we see is something like jealousy.

So, once you let them run together, do not separate them, do not discipline any of them. Just grit your teeth and ignore everything.  Within a few days to a few weeks, things should settle down as they have their "discussions" and work out the nuances of their relationships.  On very rare occasions, two cats just do not get along no matter how much time you give it, but this is very, very rare.  If one begins chasing the other, this is a good sign, even if it ends up in a "fight". Any human intervention at this time will be counter productive and tend to prolong the "getting to know you" rituals.

Please give it at least a few weeks, and let me know how it goes.

Best regards... Norm.