We’ve had a sweet, introverted cat for about two years now (Mew). Recently we decided to get another kitty cat (Alchremie, or Creme for short) with the hope that, after an adjustment period, they’d bond. Creme is super sweet, affectionate, and more submissive than Mew.
Well, it’s been just over two weeks, and what appeared to be positive interaction and progress at the outset has turned into escalating hostility between them. I admit we probably physically introduced them too quickly, as they seemed to be getting along well under the door and through the cracked door on day 1; they sniffed and seemed skeptical, but not hostile, and they mostly left one another alone. Early on (first 4 days), they might hiss at one another, but they could sit at opposite ends of the bed from one another without fighting, meowing, or staring. Then things started escalating.
Now when they are in the same room together (~20 minutes each day), I can hold Creme in my lap without any major concerns, but if she gets down on the ground, Mew will stalk and ultimately try to attack her. Short of one ear/head bite (and not a terribly hard one), Mew hasn’t actually managed to make physical contact with Creme (we’ve managed to separate them in time each time). Now, when they’re in the same room, Mew switches to pounce/stalk mode more quickly....I had hoped that pouncing would diminish over time, not worsen. Things came to a head on Saturday: Mew tried to pounce on Creme as soon as she saw her. I managed to catch Mew and restrain her in my arms before they could make contact, but then she was a meowing, scratchy mess in my arms. Meanwhile, for the first time, Creme decides to take the offensive and literally tries to climb up my leg to get to Mew. My partner heard the commotion and helped me get them into separate rooms. Again, no injuries (other than some scratches on my part), but I am seriously concerned about their ability to bond now.
For now, we’ve decided to walk it back and give them more time to know one another with a door separating them. As for their current interaction, I’m getting mixed signals. They’ll sometimes hiss and paw under the door if they know the other cat is in a different room (mostly Mew, but Creme hisses in response on occasion). However, they do just fine when I feed them on either side of the same door, and they walk away from that without incident. They’ll happily eat treats within a foot of one another, no barrier in between, and that also goes without incident (we separate them immediately after to avoid starting trouble). We’ve tried Feliway, but I’m not sure it’s helped much. I’m strongly considering CBD oil for cats, and hoping that will help.
I could use some insight. Does it sound like there’s hope for integration here? What can I do to minimize the aggression? I want to give both cats the best possible life, and I’m not sure if there’s room to move forward or if they’re just never going to get along. I don’t need them to be BFFs...I’d settle for peaceful indifference.
[link] [comments]
from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/f1rery/new_cat_and_original_cat_integration/
No comments:
Post a Comment