Cat Help

[Tanya&Fritz]

I normally post on the Dog Board but I'm posting this for a friend.

She has a 12 year old female spayed cat and got a 2 year old male neutered cat about 6 weeks ago. The older cat just won't adjust to the younger one. She gets very aggressive when he's around and normally runs upstairs. My friend really doesn't want to get rid of the new cat. Does anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks.

[yorkster]

Well, hopefully she kept them separated for some time when she first brought the younger one home. Do you know if she did?
If not, that could be affecting things now.

[wolflady]

Hi Tanya,

Ahhh...the subject of introducing new pets to each other. When it comes to cats, things can be a little 'funny' sometimes. But, it can be done! Afterall, I probably had the worst case of introducing my husband's cat to my cat...but we never gave up even though the process lasted for more than 6 months!!
Looking at them today, you would never know how difficult it was to get Scooter to accept Marius. I was lucky that Marius was so laid back and put up with, you could say...Scooter's 'hissy fits'! LOL

Hopefully this will NOT be the case for you!

You said that your friend has a 12 year old female cat. Has this cat ever had any other 'siblings', or has she always been an only cat?
If she has been an only cat, it will be a little difficult to get the two together since she's never been around other cats, but tell your friend to not give up! It can be done!
Cats are more solitary and independent creatures by nature. If a cat has been an only cat for its lifetime and all of a sudden a new cat is in her territory, she will be aggressive.

Use this technique for introducing cats:

Tell your friend to keep the 2 cats separated. Maybe put the new cat in a smaller room, and let the resident cat have normal 'free run' of the house. Take time each day and pet the cats, and get them familiar with each other's smell. Get the cats somewhere where they can see each other, but not interact. When I was doing this with our boys, we put one cat in a carrier and let the other one out in the room. We took turns with each cat in the carrier for about 10 minutes or so a day. Gradually they will get used to each others presence and scent. If possible, when the two are co-habitating ok, be sure to have your friend praise the older resident cat and give treats. This will get the older cat to associate good things with the new cat. Even though it may be hard, have your friend lavish extra love and praise on the original resident cat. After all, she is sharing her domain with this new stranger. This process should instill in her that this new cat is not a threat, but results in good things happening to her!!

Best of luck to your friend and let us know how everything goes!