Now we have two cats

by Marilyn
(Austin, TX)

My daughter moved in with us in November, 2010. She has a 5 yr old male cat. He is sweet, playful, curious and very social. We already had a 12 yr old female cat. She is reserved, skittish and loves solitude. Both are neutered. The female is declawed. The male is not. To this day, three months later, we have not been able to have them both in the same room. The female hisses and runs away to hide. We've tried putting one in a big doggy cage while the other one is loose but when the male is in the cage, the female walks away. When the female is in the cage, the male sits quietly and looks at her while she refuses to give him eye contact. Then she goes into a catatonic-like state and we get scared and take her out. Our only choice has been to shuttle them back and forth making sure only one is loose at a time while the other one is in one of the bedrooms. We are truly sick of switching them back and forth. What do you suggest we do to get them to be in the same room without killing each other?

Answer from Kate
Hi well there isn't much you can do apart from to keep trying the cage method but in a smaller room so that the cats have to spend time in each others presence. Even if they dont interact they will still be learning to relax with each other etc.


You could also try to transfer each cats scent onto the other one. rub a clean towel over one cat then rub it over the other cat a little, this sharing of scent can also help a little.

the only other thing i can think of is are those calming sprays you can get for your home which are designed to help your cat relax. Check with your pet store for them, i think one is called felaway. Some people have reported some success with these.

best wishes Kate

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/scared-cat.html

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