<p>A stray kitten wandered into a neighbor’s yard and spent three miserable days before trusting strangers. Right now we’ve got “found” signs up and have notified the local vet clinic in case someone is looking for him. No nibbles so far and it’s been three days. </p>
<p>Anyway, I’m willing to keep him. (He’s solid white with golden eyes and a purr that deafens you.) However, I have two female cats - nine years old - who’ve seen the intruder and hissed and growled at him. He understandably got upset. He would happily have been friends with them. </p>
<p>I won’t start the process of acclimating one and all for a few days. I want to wait to see if he’s claimed and then he’ll go to the vet for a health check. </p>
<p>I really want this to work and will take any advice you can give.</p>
<p>(And no I really don’t need another cat but he’s so cute. :p)</p>
<p>We always have multiple cats and Mom3ToGo is the master of integrating new cats into the house (with multiple cats and a dog in the house already). She does not force the cats to interact … she lets them get comfortable with each other on their own. Typically she shuts the new cat(s) in a room of there own with their own kitty litter, food bowls, etc … at first the cats will hiss at each other through the door however, typically, they will start checking each out by smelling and looking under the door within a couple days … then she carries cats into the other room for visits. It just takes time and not forcing them … it’s a little like college roommates … the new and old cats may become incredibly close but there is also a chance they will get a long fine but not really interact a lot.</p>
<p>We had a very similar situation when I was a kid (older female cat, newer male dropped on our doorstep). Just be careful about the integration and neutering as soon as possible to avoid/lessen the male from spraying. That get’s to be a pain (and a mess).</p>
<p>We have done this many times, the separate room strategy has always worked for us.
Let them get used to each other gradually.
Just make sure to take the new kitty to the vet for a full checkup as soon as possible; you don’t want him transmitting anything to your resident kitties!
Good luck!</p>
Famous last words of crazy cat ladies everywhere!</p>
<p>I’ve always heard that one way to ease the process is to use a baby gate or similar barrier, so the cats can see and smell each other for a while before they are actually put together. I’m actually surprised there’s a problem–usually cats will be more accepting of a wee one.</p>
<p>One of our older cats is not well-adjusted. No visitor has ever seen her. When my son comes home for Christmas/vacations, she hides out in a cabinet … for a month … only appearing when my son is not around. I know for a fact this cat has never suffered hardship. Her mother was a stray that had four kittens in a neighbor’s yard; we rescued them when they were but a few hours old. In other words, she’s lived with us since birth. (My son feels really bad about her antipathy toward him. He’s an animal lover and cats have always liked him. This one ranks him fairly low on the acceptable level.)</p>
<p>DD talked Grandma into another cat from the pet store (Petsmart pet adoption day really) when we were visiting one time (DD was about 10 at the time). DD slept in their walk-in closet/master bathroom with the kitty for a couple days until their other cats got used to her smell, etc. After a couple days they let the kitty out with the older cats (the had 3 others at the time), supervised and it didn’t take long for the newcomer to become more welcome. I think it helped that DD was doing most of the kitty care to start and not the cat’s “people”, my parents :D.</p>
<p>You are quite the cat rescuer! Probably the fact that the newcomer is a male is upsetting the girly apple cart. They do have their unique and unchangeable personalities that they seem to be born with, don’t they?. My two are half brothers, raised in the same environment, one is laid back and wouldn’t blink if a bomb went off; the other is skittish and runs for the hills if anyone other than a few select humans enters the house.</p>
<p>Hi Ignatius - We went thru a similar situation a few months ago and we’re at a comfortable level of inter-cat tolerance that I wouldn’t have dreamed was ever going to happen.</p>
<p>We were adopted by a stray male - around Thanksgiving. I did the usual checking all the sources online, sent notice via our home owner’s assn, contacted local humane and no kill places for adoption - none were taking any new for several weeks.</p>
<p>At quite a surprise to me, my husband suggested it may be time for us to take in another cat. We have two wonderful girl cats (siblings) who are almost 11 years old. One is pretty easy going, the other has definite neurotic tendencies, very skittish around strangers/new situations (and rain/t-storms), etc.</p>
<p>New cat (male around 4 years of age - presumably dumped/abandoned) had some major medical issues (we paid for very expensive surgery - otherwise he would have died) along with the usual fleas/worms, etc which were more easily treated.</p>
<p>I read online about strategies that 3togo discussed and that’s what we did. Had new cat for some time in our bedroom - did brief outings to be exposed to our resident cats, reinforced with treats when they were in close proximity and getting along, gradually increasing amount of time out his main room and putting him back in when there were major scuffs/altercations - and then he was eventually left out on his own for increasing periods of time and eventually over night. there were definitely some rocky/rough spots - and early on I didn’t think we’d ever get some kind of happy cohabitation, but thankfully we are - like I say - at a comfortable level of tolerance.</p>
<p>There are still tiffs, hissing and screeching episodes (from our neurotic one), and the occasional swats and checks for dominance, but these are relatively few and short lived.</p>
<p>We also used the Feliway diffuser for a period of time - not sure if it really helped, but it did seem to take the edge of the tension during those first few months. Don’t use or need it now.</p>
<p>Good luck with your possible new family member!</p>
<p>I’ve brought in stray and feral cats. I’ve found play helps. I use a cat fishing pole with a toy on the line. They get so involved in play they don’t realize another cat is there - until one lands on the other and that hastens their getting along as they realize the other cat won’t be a danger. It also burns off the nervous tension.</p>
<p>I am a recovering crazy cat lady
Having several at one time , I usually found that cats are accepting of kittens of the opposite sex easier than the same. I agree with the advice for slow introductions…not only to keep the peace but the new guy could be a carrier of viruses that could get your kitties sick…I had this happen with a kitten that we got from a breeder who passed it on to my cats ( ahem , multiple ) one at a time…it was ugly and messy and cost me a trip to an emergency vet on a holiday.</p>
<p>Do you know if he is deaf ? My solid white Maine Coon came to live with us because no one wanted to take him on…he was an awesome cat , but darn loud when he was hungry and meowed…and pretty intimidating to my poor dogs</p>
<p>^^^ The kitty is not deaf. He’s already got the sound of food being poured into his bowl down pat. </p>
<p>We just captured Toby (;)) last Thursday night, so we’re still in the looking for his owner stage. We did run him by the vet on Friday to see if he had a microchip, but, of course, he didn’t. We plan to put a few more flyers up today and call animal control to make sure inquiries haven’t been made there. We’ll decide next step in a few more days but will diligently keep the cats separated till a vet checks him out.</p>
<p>Good for you, Ignatius, for being willing to take in the adorable-sounding Toby. </p>
<p>We also adopted a stray kitten with a deafening purr at one point. We kept her in a separate part of the house from our older cat for a while (several weeks), but the other kitty knew she was there. When they finally both had the free run of the house, everything was fine.</p>
<p>My technique for taming a feral included 2 things:</p>
<ol>
<li>Immediate dose of Revolution. Kill the fleas. Keep separate for a day and your house is safe.</li>
<li>A separate litter box with actual dirt on top. I found out the hard way that feral cats don’t understand what litter is until they’ve used a box but they do know what dirt is for. I got pooped on.</li>
</ol>
<p>I don’t think Toby is a feral kitten. He seems more comfortable around people than the few feral kittens/cats I’ve seen.</p>
<p>No problem using a litter box, but he definitely had fleas. I gave him a Capstar tablet - fleas dead within 30 minutes. He’s so much cuter without fleas crawling around in that white fur.</p>
<p>No calls despite inundating the neighborhood with flyers.</p>
<p>We’ve always gotten two kittens together. This one seems so lonely without a playmate. He’s needy right now and doesn’t want you to quit playing with him.</p>
<p>Our newest cat is a walk-in. Probably a college kid kitten abandoned on move-out. Was starving, down over 3 pounds from what should have been his weight. Our other cats over the years have been feral kittens we caught. There is indeed a huge difference; you have to get the ferals used to touch. I found stuffing them inside a bathrobe with me helped. They’d fall asleep in the warmth. The only feral adults I’ve even seen domesticated have been neighborhood moochers who are used to people. If they like you, the adjustment period can be a minute or two. They’re really, really smart and recognize the benefits of warmth, food and water. One female became a lap cat in her second day with people. </p>
<p>I’m not sure this has been mentioned, but FIV is a problem and if your cats aren’t vaccinated they could pick it up from an infected cat. There are issues with the vaccine, of course. Just mentioning the issue.</p>
<p>I brought home a stray some years ago and made the mistake of introducing him to our other cats before I could get him in at the vet. It turned out he was FIV+ (as well as having fleas, worms and ear mites :(). Because the other cats had been exposed we had to go through a fairly long period of isolation before the older cats could be tested and immunized. (I’m not sure if this is still how it is handled.) Eventually it all worked out and he is a delightful kitty who has been perfectly healthy for the eight years he’s been in residence.</p>
<p>Kitten’s owner called yesterday. The family lives two houses down from where the kitten was found.</p>
<p>Let’s see: the daughter loves the kitty … a friend gave him to her to “try out for two weeks” … but daughter leaves for college soon … mom may give the kitty back - he’s “hyper” and claws furniture, so they keep him outside … maybe they’ll take him to Petsmart so that he can be sold to another family.</p>
<p>I am decidedly unhappy at the moment and sad for unloved kitties everywhere.</p>
<p>*But at least the owner called. She didn’t have too really. Daughter is out of town for the week.</p>
<p>^^^Might you ask if you could have the kitty? I don’t know if you were going to keep it inside or not. He would have a better chance being an inside kitty than an outside one. Maybe the daughter can visit on college breaks? Hoping there is a happy outcome for Toby!</p>
