introducing cats

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Laila - 21 Dec 2004 21:45 GMT

so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats,
neither of whom like anyone. the younger one, Manika, i thought was
the friendly one because she never bites us, but my mom told me today
that she also chases all neighbourhood animals away from our house.
that must be interesting, since she is a barrel shaped with little
legs. she is Murka's daughter and Murka is a fiend. it's not that
they are viscious furies tearing everything and everyone to shreds,
it's just that they are not friendly. i am hoping they are not going
to pounce on Shaina. she is not the timid kind, but she is a sweet
and friendly 9 months old kitten and i dont' know how she reacts to
other animals, since she only had humans around her. any suggestions
on how to avoid a big cat fight? should i get her a separate litter
box there? the other two cats go outside, so they might not be in the
house too much, unless it's really cold. i can keep her in one room
on the second floor together with her food and keep the litter box in
the bathroom on the second floor and the other two will be downstairs.

-L

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Alison - 21 Dec 2004 23:51 GMT

> so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats,
> neither of whom like anyone. the younger one, Manika, i thought was
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> -L

Cats are very territorial so you'll need to make careful
introductions. Shania will no doubt be feeling a bit insecure so
perhaps you could keep her in your room to start with rather than
leave her in a room on her own.

From Pam Johnson-Bennett's forum archives Think Like A Cat

Cat to cat aggression
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ptthinkcat/?msg=14085.1

Introducing new cat
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ptthinkcat/?msg=13954.1

Interactive play time
http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ptthinkcat/?msg=11667.1

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Karen Chuplis - 22 Dec 2004 01:05 GMT

> so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats,
> neither of whom like anyone. the younger one, Manika, i thought was
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> -L

I kept my kitties separate from my mom's when I took them home to visit.
It's a short enough time that you don't want to stress them all out by
trying to integrate them.

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Luvskats00 - 22 Dec 2004 01:10 GMT

Laila illyria@hotmail.com writes

>so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats,
>neither of whom like anyone...i am hoping they are not going
>to pounce on Shaina. she is not the timid kind, but she is a sweet
>and friendly 9 months old kitten and i dont' know how she reacts to
>other animals, since she only had humans around her. any suggestions
>on how to avoid a big cat fight?

Shana will be the visitor..the intruder, there. The other cats will want to
defend their territory against the newcomer. As with all new cats coming into
the home of the resident cat(s)...it's best to separate the new and the
residents (especially since Shana is not quite full grown).

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Monique Y. Mudama - 22 Dec 2004 18:43 GMT

> so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats, neither
> of whom like anyone. the younger one, Manika, i thought was the friendly
> one because she never bites us, but my mom told me today that she also
> chases all neighbourhood animals away from our house.

Don't confuse "friendly to people" with "friendly to other cats."

I ignored a lot of the advice that was given to me about keeping the cats
separate, allowing them to smell each other through the door, etc. because I
felt bad about keeping the new cat in a room by itself. In the end, Oscar
hated/feared Eros. It was awful. I often wonder if they would have gotten
along if I'd followed the advice of more experienced cat owners. Eric's
allergies made the point moot, but still ...

Signature

monique, who is sometimes allowed to pet Oscar, a grey^H^H^H^Hblue-cream DLH
with an attitude!

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Laila - 23 Dec 2004 03:43 GMT

>> so i am taking Shaina to my parents' house where we have two cats, neither
>> of whom like anyone. the younger one, Manika, i thought was the friendly
>> one because she never bites us, but my mom told me today that she also
>> chases all neighbourhood animals away from our house.
>
>Don't confuse "friendly to people" with "friendly to other cats."

just got to my parents' house and realized that there's a huge
difference!

>I ignored a lot of the advice that was given to me about keeping the cats
>separate, allowing them to smell each other through the door, etc. because I
>felt bad about keeping the new cat in a room by itself. In the end, Oscar
>hated/feared Eros. It was awful. I often wonder if they would have gotten
>along if I'd followed the advice of more experienced cat owners. Eric's
>allergies made the point moot, but still ...

so here's what happened so far. when we came in, the cats weren't
home, so i let Shaina out to explore and showed her the litter box,
which she didn't dare go into because it smells like other cats. she
put her paw in, but then out. she didn't eat from the bowl we put in
the kitchen. also makes sense: other cats' food is there. then she
walked around and went upstairs. the cats who own the place were
scratching to be let in. we let in only one and she ran upstairs (i
forgot to close Shaina in the room) and the met on the stairs. there
was A LOT OF HISSING, mainly from my little Shaina. Manika bushed
her tail and looked scared, though she is 3 times as big as Shaina,
who puffed her fur and was growling and hissing a lot. i picked her
up and she continued growling and hissing. i walked into my room
where Manika was sitting on the floor with her puffy tail and she ran
out. Shaina kept hissing. i put her down in the room, she ran under
the bed and hissed at me for a while. we brought her food and a pan
with litter into my room (lucky me) and after while, Shaina came out,
played with a string, ate, but was still very guarded. she is now in
my room with the door closed. we let in Murka (the demon cat, who
owns the place), but she is in my parents' room on the bed and i don't
want them to be introduced. i don't think Shaina would go into their
litter box. i am sure Shaina was scared crazy, but she put up a good
show. she was really calm in the car, though. she was not
comfortable and seemed scared, but she set in a little spot between me
and her carrier and i was petting her, so she was ok.

-L

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Laila - 23 Dec 2004 06:06 GMT

Shaina is sitting in my room, with her water and food bowls, and a
litter box in another corner. she is sitting under the bed most of
the time and she hasn't used the litter box since this afternoon. she
got into owner cats' litter box, but just sat there for a while and
got out. she also set in the box that we put out for her. i should
've brought her litter box with me. how long can she go without going
to her litter box?

-L

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