Expert: Tina - 5/28/2007

Question
I've had a male cat for about a year now, I just recently adopted a cat from a
friend who could no longer the afford it. One is about 1 year old the other about
4. They have been fighting a lot, and I have heard its just simply not possible to
have two male cats and have them get along. I've had both for about 3 weeks
now and they still fight (or what seems to be fighting) Is there anyway to try to
help them get a long?

Answer
HI Karl,

That was very nice of you to take on this new cat. It is definitely possibly to have 2 male cats get along, and even be great friends. I have 2 males and one female and they all get along great.

I assume both cats are neutered - if not, that must be done before introducing them.

However you should never just plunk another cat into the house, your cat will feel his territory has been invaded. Gradual introductions are needed. Close the new cat in a room for at least 4-5 days and let your resident cat settle down a bit. Then go through the steps in this article to introduce them properly:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/introducing_cats.html

Good luck!