I broke into the Feliway, for the first time...ever.

[rosethecopycat]

I am trying to integrate Orangina, my 8 month old Flame, with 3 other
cats.
I have Bella, my 10 week old Tortie foster, and Snowy, my 2 year old
Lilac resident male, and Mr. Jones, my 3 year old DSH Tux male.

The other 3 are doing quite well together. Right in the pattern. Snowy
is a big friendly, laid back boy. Mr. Jones is my Alpha. He gives a few
warning shots, and the cats generally know to leave him alone. Bella is
just a kitten and she's a tough little one. She stands up to both of
them. Bella has been integrated for about a week.
Now, Orangina is a very affectionate girl. She makes all kinds of
'nice' sounds.
She seemed like she would be rather timid, as she explored the 'empty'
house. Now she's with all the cats and she's aggressing on them.
Nobody's been hurt. She's hissing and spitting. I don't like the
posture she takes. She lungs toward the cat arms flailing. She snorts
and even pants. The kitten is un-phased, Snowy runs away, still making
'friendly' sounds. Mr. Jones and Orangina have had a showdown, as their
behavior is quite similar. Mr. Jones stays on the patio a lot, for his
sanity.
Orangina sits around in a relaxed way, she plays with her toys and does
not hide.

My questions are:

1) Is this integration going O.K.? Just not as smooth as I'm used to.
2) Is Orangina a dominant female?
3) Does this Feliway work for you? In all cases?
4) When does a cat get the 'only cat' designation?

[ramanth]

Is Orangina fixed?

The first time I ever used Feliway was just recently.

I took in a male stray in April, roughly 7 months old. I already had a spayed female in the house and she did not like him at all.

So I got the Feliway that you plug in, and over the course of the 3 months things finally started to settle down.

The male, Logan, just got fixed on Tuesday. He's already starting to mellow out and Zam only picks on him if she's feeling moody, but for the most part, they pass each other without a second glance. They can now eat next to each other without starting WWIII.

I'll admit, there were times in April and May when I thought it was hopeless and that they would never get along.... but I stuck it out and now all is peaceful.

Good luck!

[rosethecopycat]

All cats are fixed.

[ramanth]

Hmmmmmm......

Are you asking for opinions about the Feliway before trying it? Or did you just start using it?

If you did just start using it.. it takes time. Hang in there!

But it is possible that Orangina may have to be an only cat.

[IttyBittyKitty]

I hear you guys mentioning it a lot, we don't get it here in Australia. I'm gathering it is used to calm cats down?

As for Orangina, some cats just aren't social with other cats. In most cases, they will eventually settle down to mutual respect, or grudging tolerance. My Mum's two are mother and daughter and used to fight like that. After awhile, they learnt to live together without too much fur flying. It will probably just need more time. Try the feliway ... whatever it is! It may help also!

She sounds to me like a dominant female! Especially if she's taking on the boys!

[lotsocats]

Have you tried the new Feliway plug-in? I think it is called Feliway Calming Essence.

One of my indoor cats (Chester) became very upset when the ferals I care for suddenly decided that the best place to sleep is on the ledge just outside the sliding glass door. Chester began spraying because of this. So, I put a Feliway plug-in in the socket just inside the sliding glass door. After about a day of it being plugged in, Chester stopped spraying!

I have also heard from others that the plug-in does an excellent job of calming agitated cats and is a great tool to use when introducing a new cat to the household.

Also, one of the best things about the plug-in is that it does not leave a residue, which the spray does.