@@opalfroggy-2156 so far so good ! The resident cat hissed a bit on the first days mas overall great. The only downside is that the new cat was a stray and doesn’t let us come close. I have the litters in different places cuz for like 2 times the new one peed on my moms bed but yeah I was really scared of how it could turn out but now they play and everything
@@sabrinacoelho6079 that's awesome!! im thinking of getting my resident kitty (8 month old tuxie male) a playmate bc he has sooo much energy but i've been scared to make the jump. hopefully we find the perfect cat and they become besties :)
@@sabrinacoelho6079 thank you!! we ended up bringing home a 6 month old kitten a week ago and things are going okay :) he loves to play with her under the door and always tries to get in her room but face to face gets a little hissy on his end bc she loves to get too close too fast. hoping she’ll grow out of it haha and again, they’ll probably just need more time
I bring home a new pet in a crate with the blanket used by my current pets. By the time we get home, the blanket smells are comforting to the newcomer and the resident animals smell themselves on the newbie. 😁 Always works! 💞
4 days! I used your method and within 2 days my two year old tabby was eating side by side with my little blue 10 week old kitten. Now they play, groom, and even occasionally sleep together. Less then a week. There was some hissing and swats by resisdent cat, but I think it helped the kitten wanted to say hello and the older resident just had to yield to his presence and see that it was kinda fun to run around with a playmate. There was no other room to put baby kitten in, so if this hadn’t worked baby kitten would have needed a new/different home. And I was prepared to go that route. But now we are a happy 2 cat family. 2 is absolutely better than one. They really can now entertain each other. They still have human cuddle and play time, but if human is exhausted, they have each other.
I just did this myself before I watched your video. I knew about the smell thing beforehand, and the resident cat loves her carrier and happily jumped in and played before leaving to get a new kitten. I think that greatly helped the newcomer, but the resident cat is tricky because she doesn't even like people company. After an hour or two of cat carrier interaction, only we let him out but did not remove the carrier. We had the same deal newcomer wanted attention from the resident. It made our resident cat have to deal where I think separating them would have taken forever. I have been living in a bedroom at my daughter's and she has a cat that after 6 months we only achieved playing under the door and some smells at the door but no further. 7 days in, we have had sharing bowls, litter boxes, and playing. There is no real cuddling yet, but the resident cat isn't a cuddler anyhow. No major incidents other than resident cat strained vocal chords hissing and growling the 1st day. Didn't even know that was possible until I looked it up. The clapping method works great when it gets slightly rough after a couple of accidental sneak attacks 😂. Your video is spot on. I also changed the room around after a week to accommodate the extra litter box and food bowls. I think this helped as well to break up established areas and allows them to start fresh together while still leaving the carrier out for newcomer and the favorite hammock for our resident. We even had a challenge for the hammock , and our newcomer stood his ground, but the resident cat went in the hammock. Win win in the smell transfer.
in my opinion this is the best method to use even if you don’t have a small living space! i have found that the isolation method will actually cause the resident cat more restless and even agitated depending on their personality. because they feel as if the new comer just waltzed into his home and took a part of it as his own territory and without being up front about it or showing his face! the nerve, haha. but seriously. it can also cause anxiety and stress for the new comer for many reasons like: 1) feeling cornered in/trapped in a space (sometimes literally) where they can sense the resident cat lurking/smelling/pacing, making them feel unsafe. 2)being overwhelmed by all the new space to discover after getting used to their isolation space, on top of getting used to the resident. 3)false fear instilled into them of what the resident cat is like. if all they’re seeing is a paw from underneath a door and hearing them meow or hiss without seeing them , and seeing the shadows/foot steps of the resident cat pacing on the other side of the door, they start to form a scary idea of what they are like in their minds, basically already having a false prejudice of them. kind of like a little kid that’s afraid of the noise coming from the water heater in the basement. they hear the noise but have never seen it so in their minds they think it’s this big scary monster, causing them to be anxious and uneasy while sleeping. also the isolation method will usually take attention away from the resident cat, since most of the time the new comer is a kitten and if they’re secluded in a different room/bathroom/etc you have to be consistently checking on them and this can cause the resident cat to not only feel negelected but already dislike the new comer for taking away from their attention they like to pretend they don’t want 😂 it also makes the process of introducing a newcomer into the home much more lengthy in general. the method in your video not only gives them they’re own space with the separate liter boxes and distanced bowls but also unites these separate spaces which is a major key! this way they know they can have their own space but there is also room for everyone! thank you so much for sharing this video for i think it’s not only helpful for people with small homes but also helpful in making the experience easier on the cats when it comes to feelings of fear/anxiety/neglection/etc! my only thing and it’s probably just an ocd thing, but i cannot feed my cats from one bowl. they all have their own food and water bowls, even if they drink from one water bowl more than the others, or even if they are okay with switching bowls while eating (sometimes they end up with different wet food flavors haha) they have to have their own bowls, this way i can keep track of how much they’re eating. which also helps with figuring out if one of them isn’t feeling too well, because it makes it easier to keep track of their appetite! keep up the great content, sending love to your kitties! ♡
btw, my opinion is based on experience. i have introduced cats both ways and the isolation method took over a month for the cats to even be in the same room. then in feb of 2022, i was living with my mom and had my sphynx cat. one day in a terrible rain/thunder storm we noticed a kitten crying under the car parked in front of us. he was about just 6 weeks old. we just HAD to take him in. he was soaking wet and starving, and my mom fell in love with him right away. so we used this method instead to introduce them and although my sphynx Charlie was eye rolling and hissing and giving me major attitude the first two days, especially when i was looking after the new guy Fendi for my mom while she was at work. by the 5th day they were doing everything together from playing, to watching the birds, to cuddling. Charlie was even grooming him and holding him like he was his own baby! after just a few funny faces when discovering grooming him was different than grooming himself since he had hair hahaha. they still love to cuddle when they see eachother to this day, except now fendi is the one usually holding onto him since he’s a huge fatty and charlie was a premie! lol
@@ForbiddenKitten as for water bowls, have you tried a pet water fountain? Until recently we had two cats who tolerated each other, (I didn’t know about effective methods of introducing them 11 years ago!), but they both ended up loving their water fountain. The older cat took 2 days to get used to it, the younger one two weeks. It has two spouts and they’d often drink from it at the same time, side by side. Perhaps that might be an option and save a little space. The one I bought was from Amazon - the Ofat Home Cat Water Fountain with Power Adapter 2L/67oz. Meanwhile, I’m glad to hear this method of introducing cats works, as we may get another cat after our almost 15 year old Mr Misha died.
My experience has been that introducing a new cat is always much easier to a household that already has two or more cats. The established cats tend to be less territorial and are already used to not being the only cat; and the new cat realizes they are outnumbered and less likely to be aggressive toward the established cats. Introducing cat #2 to the single established cat is always the riskiest, so I prefer to always have at least three.
@@georgia3045I have a dog and two cats and about to add TWO MORE CATS this coming weekend😵💫 My daughter has to rehome her two 8 month old male kittens, and I can’t let them go to a shelter- they’re sweethearts. Introducing 4 cats together plus a hyper year old big dog… what am I getting myself into 😂 My one resident cat is a 2 year old female that’s still playful, so she’s gonna love it… but the other resident cat is a 8-9 year old grumpy male that’s kinda territorial… he’s the one I’m worried about.
you know what, the slow introduction method intimidated me like hell before even having the second cat arrived. Having read all these positive comments below, I think I'm just gonna get a laser and bring them together after a few days, we'll see what happens.
I came back to this video just to say that it worked, thank you so much! 2 days of semi isolation and 2 days of this method. Started with hisses, growls, and paw throwing. Now they call for each other. :))
Great video. In all my years of introducing dogs and cats I never did the slow separation thing for weeks. We give a couple hours to settle and then start introductions. It's always worked fine and all turn out to be best of friends. Even cross species (dogs to cats and vice versa). It's nice to see someone else using a quicker paced method with success. 😊 Your cats are adorable!
I just want to say a massive thank you for this video. I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment and this worked for me after only four days. Four! I was expecting the introduction process to last weeks or even months! My girl and her new brother are currently snuggled up sleeping together next to me as I write this. It really works! You're amazing! ❤
I had already started introducing this way before I watched the video. We’re on day 3 and my kitten is acting like she owns the place, barely noticing my older cat. Older cat is curious and always watching the new cat, but hissing. New kitten is able to walk inches by her without too much fuss, a bit of hissing, a little growling, but no swatting or bigger fighting. Tonight she jumped on the bed for the first time. Trying to teach kitten the bed is where we relax and cuddle, so hopefully it will become a middle ground for all of us.
Hey! Any news now? Same situation, new kitten arrived to our flat, older cat hisses and growling if the small one comes near him. Now 2 days passed nothing has changed Im guessing how long will this last. When will the oldie find peace with the newcomer.
This is so helpful. I too have a 1 bedroom apartment and I’ve cried too many times because my resident cat is super hissy. They’re both around 3 and some of these comments make me realize it’ll all be worth it. I wanted her to have a cat because I’m gone for work for 8-9 hours a day. I’m glad hissing is acceptable and I’ll update y’all when they start getting along
I took a lot of good information from this video, but ultimately my cats were not compatible with a zero-isolation phase. That being said, there is still hope! We borrowed a large dog crate from a friend for our kitten and isolated him in the loft. From there we proceeded with steps outlined by Jackson Galaxy. The process is still underway, but the kitties played nicely for a whole two hours yesterday with only one time out!
Thanks for your comment! The traditional isolation introduction definitely still works and recommended if you can do it! I just wanted to show that introductions can be done without isolation/separation for the people that have no other room to put the cats in.
I honestly felt like giving up until I saw this video. In just about 3 days my kittens are playing together. This video was a great help, I watched many videos and none worked. Thank you so much
The introduction is WORKING our two cats are getting more comfortable! And are playing while they see each other each of them get their own play time so no jealousy occurs during bonding time
I feel bad for ur cats. It’s like you dictate who they get to be friends with. You are forcing the bonds of two random cats just so you can create this fantasy family and fanfic cat bond.
@@ghostsnipertrue how is it logical to separate siblings? So you can fantasize a non existent bond between 2 random cats? You guys are like those weirdos who match and arrange couples against their will for wedding. It’s also like separating siblings in foster care to be put up with random ppl.
This is so useful. I tried the slow method before and it actually backfired horribly. We're getting a new kitten this week so I will definitely be using this advice!
@@godwrote01 Going really well! They're definitely not buddies, but my older cat lets the kitten get close to him as long as he's respectful. They even play chase sometimes. For full transparency, we did start *a little slowly* by keeping him in the bathroom for a few days, but part of that was because we discovered he was malnourished and didn't have much strength, and we wanted to let him recover. We also used a Feliway diffuser (multicat) nearby, and I think that really helped take the edge off of the older cat's stress. A few days later, we ended up using a piece of clear acrylic as a janky "baby gate", so older cat could observe him fully and study him. Th kitten was too little to jump over it, and Old cat disliked the kitten's smell so much at that time, we felt like we could trust him to not intrude into the bathroom, which he didn't. Then on day four, we let them interact face-to face. Kitten rushed right at Old cat, which made him hiss at him. But Kitten quickly learned he should give Old cat space, and since then, there's been very little conflict!
Brilliant. I'm stressing because I've been taking care of a stray female cat and she's been living on my porch in her own little cat house for 2 weeks. My own male cat has encountered her many times outside and is aware that she lives there. I desperately want to bring her in the house but so nervous about it
I'm going through something very similar. The stray is a male cat who seems to be less than 2 years old. And my female cat (spayed) just turned 1. They've met each other and the male actually attached her when she was a just 3 months old. My cat still hisses at him. I really want to adopt him since he's got no one and is in dire need of medical help. So please let us know here how it went with your cats.
I just realized a lot of people are having this same situation/experience! Interesting! If it were me, during mealtimes I would place the bowl one bowl on the porch for the outside cat and another bowl behind the door/gate for your indoor cat. Make sure they can see each other while they eat. It's basically the same concept: if you can control their mealtimes you can control how they view each other and with time and consistency - the cats will at least tolerate each other!
Thank you for the tips. I've implemented these and I think my new cat is slowly integrating with the older ones. They are hissing at him less everyday and there's less aggression, less swatting everyday.
@@muriardilla Oh, they got to be great friends after a few days of hostility. The female cat was more hostile towards the new cat than the male one, but she became the first one to befriend him. The sight of her grooming him for the first time melted my heart! The male one befriended him as well. They get along great!
@@rachelp3949 Yes, happy mom to 3 cats. They are getting along like a happy family. Leo and Twiggy do have some fights nowadays that look a little different to me than Twiggy and Gumball's play fights but no concerns otherwise. They get along so well. I was so worried when I first introduced him to Gumball and Twiggy. We were shocked by Twiggy's reaction. Twiggy, our sweet, petite, innocent babe with big doe eyes became a completely different character. Her whole body stiffened, she was hissing at him, she just started to look like a different cat altogether. But within a few days of trying really hard, I found her grooming him. She was the first one to accept him. She became her sweet lovely self again. And, Gumball is such loving big brother to him too! They are doing great!
This video was a lifesaver! I brought home a new 2months old kitten and my 2year old boy was having a hard time. It took 2 days ONLY! For them to become friends. We did everything you shared. Such a helpfup video. Thankyou so much❤
This guy is really into cats. Just look at that apartment. When we got our former cats, about 20 years ago, we just brought the new kitten in and plopped him on the floor. The original cat hissed and went to hide. The new cat hid too. After several days, they approached each other with no fighting. I don't know if all cats are like this, but perhaps we are overthinking the introduction thing. We have a new kitten now who is about 12 weeks old. We may be getting an older kitten of about 7 months old soon. Not sure what to expect. Both cats are from shelters. We could have "Oh boy, a friend" or outright war.
That was very helpful! We are on day 9. Things are going quite well, but we aren’t quite there yet. The 3 played really good today, each taking turns at attacking the flying toy. Eating and litter box is going well. My resident cats still have that barrier but are getting more relaxed.
We have two siamese blue point kittens that just turned 6 months. We picked up a 4month old exotic shorthair 3 days ago.He's been in my son's room isolated. I started your technique today with pretty good success. Little bit of hissing but they were all distracted by the laser pointer. I was also giving them treats at the same time. Very minimal hissing but better than day 1 for sure. Hope to have them playing with each other soon.
If I were you, I would’ve have them separated. You can’t force two cats to bond with each other you don’t get to pick who ur cat gets to be friends with. Next time, adopt 2 bonded cats in pair.
I just released the kitten in the presence of the older cat. The kitten approached the elder, the old cat hissed and walked away. That was all. They have been loving ever since.
Jackson, thank you so very much! I followed instructions (and even built my own cat screen) and it only took a week of feeding before they became the best of friends. If anyone lives in LA and wants a free cat screen hit me up. Thanks again, Dominic
We just received a new 12 week old kitten. My 2 year old cat wasn't very happy at first and stayed in the living room. She wouldn't even sleep with me that night 😭 It took about 2 days before she roamed the house again willingly and the two girls were chasing eachother around and playing together. I was so worried at first, thinking it might not work out, but all it took was a little time and effort. They are adjusting wonderfully and last night, both were in the bed!!
Thank you! thank you! thank you! I started by doing the isolation method but my older cat was not happy. He kept hissing and getting aggressive. I did one play and feeding session last night after watching this video and now this morning they’re eating near each other and playing together. My older cat is biting the kitten’s neck but no more hissing or growling.
Good advice but one thing that has worked for my cats is petting newcomer to get their scent on my hand then going immediately to resident cat allowing them to sniff and get familiar with newcomer scent. I then pet resident cat with opposite hand and then allow newcomer to smell resident cat scent. I do this over a few days until I feel confident that they can actually see each other. I hold the newcomer on my lap while talking gently to resident cat as I observe both watching their reactions to actual seeing each other. I spend no more than 3 to 5 minutes on this step as I want it to be a positive experience increasing the time each day. If all goes well I will let resident cat and newcomer an initial direct contact praising both for acknowledging each other and again doing scent exchange. If all goes well I will commence with floor contact between them in a confined area providing food and interactive toys. Again if all goes well I increase the open space until they accept each other. The scent exchange method really does work as cats rely on scent and the more familiar the scent is the more accepting it becomes to them. Hope this method helps but seriously wouldn't it be nice if we could say this is Ostaria and you are sharing your room with Reo and will come to love each other!
Thank you for this. I’m in an apartment and I was trying to separate cats. There’s a long hallway and 2 rooms and they were hissing and growling a bit. No fights but I thought I was doing something wrong. I picked up some good ideas from you and some reinforcement that what I’ve been doing is ok. I just got a second rescue cat and the instructions have been tedious. But this video helped a lot. Thank you for putting this out here. We don’t all have space for traditional 2 week separation introductions
Thank you 🙏🏼 for this. I did a semi traditional intro b/w 6 yo & 2 mo cat. Small was in a bathroom w pocket door. When I’d open door big would peep. Both curious. Small would always cry & big camp outside the door. In less than a week they were interacting & getting along well. Now they only come to me for food ☹️ haha 😜 so glad they are both good tho
This is a great video! I use nearly the same method myself, as a lifelong cat owner who is always making space for rescues and trying to pair kitties up as lifetime buddies.
When I was 11 that my parents adopted our 2nd cat. We had another cat,too. Both cats got along really quickly. We never had them in separate space. The 2nd cat was more than my cat. I became best friends with him. He was sweet and friendly towards other members in the family.
Thank you for the video! I'm thinking of getting another cat for my resident cat. The problem is that my cat is very picky and would rather starve than eating on other's schedule.... I hope I will be able to do the introduction without it...
You're saving my life, holy smokes. I have 2 huge adult Siberians and a 6 month old kitten that somebody abandoned in the snow. Currently on our first day together, with no means to separate the newcomer. I was wondering which behaviours were acceptable - this video answered my questions and then some! Thank you!
I love how this video is well thought through and built up with all the accompanying materials! I like the coloured graphic about the cat zones it really helps to understand that we should do things gradually, step by step according to our cats' personalities. Thank you!🙏
Thank you so much for your knowledge! I have been struggling lately with other methods and happy to have found your video ! Happy to see that I'm at step 4!
Thank you for this! I’ve got a 10 year old and am bringing in an 11 year old and both are used to lots of human and other cat interaction. I really think isolation is gonna be harder on them both than if I’m just watching all interactions. I’ll keep the new 11 year old in his own space to sleep as he’s used to sleeping in a cat bed by himself for a few weeks though.
How did that go? Please give us an update. We have a 12-year-old male who is very social, and tomorrow we are bringing home a 10-year old male, also very social. We are really hoping they will be good buddies. 😸😸
@@EPalssonWe actually kept them apart for about 3 weeks and it wasn’t going well at all. A year later and they still don’t love each other all that much but I’ve gotta a two level house with a basement so there’s plenty of “territory” for both of them. Every now and then they sniff each other up and sit side by side, so I’ll take it! I don’t need them to be best friends, I just don’t want them stressed or trying to rip each other’s fur out 😂
LOVE your videos!!! I knew I was going to adopt two semi-feral kitties into a studio apartment (both 6 m.o. girls) and your videos gave me so much hope and excitement! I was really inspired by how you cat-ifed your space and used the vertical space so well. I also really appreciate how you talk about intentional routines and making sure your cats have stimulation all the time. Honestly, huge thanks for your videos and I can't wait to watch more!
Thank you for this! I live in a one bedroom apartment with a 3yr old cat and I was thinking of getting a kitten, but there’s no way to separate them so they could acclimate to each other. This was super helpful. 😊
because of my living arrangement, I haven't done the slow intro yet. thankfully, all of my cats have been so good to each other and social enough to greet each other. new ones were typically young but it always went smoothly. not saying it's what I'll always do, age def matters here but this is good to have for other people!
I actually honestly did not even know about this method until recently after I had already gotten my two cats and four kittens. It makes complete sense. And I never even thought of it. I had actually heard my Galaxy talk about it. I am very lucky My introductions went as well as they did even with a cat that had no interest in other cats or dogs, any animal
I recently got two kittens from different litters one is 5 months old and the other one is 4. The older one growls at the younger when she gets too close but they never fight. We play together and they respect each other's playtime but I never make them cross their comfort zones, I'll try this as well as the food method and hopefully this will help them become friends. Thank you so much!
@@aliya9819 I used this method for a few days and the older kitten kept growling so I was a bit discouraged. But I kept doing what the video suggested and one day when I gave them their food I put one bowl seconds before the other and both kittens started eating from it at the same time immediately. Right now they are very good friends and play together all the time and lick each other. Zero growling too!🥰
One question: why adopt from different litters and not siblings? Ur forcing them to bond. This is like forcing two different strangers to be brother and it’s wrong
@@knee_gah335 there weren't 2 kittens available from the same litter, unfortunately. Also I don't think it's necessarily wrong though. You mean you can't bring a new cat into your home if you already have cats? makes no sense since this is the whole point of this video lol.
We have a 4 month old kitten and we wanted to introduce a 1 month old kitten. 4 month old was having a hissy fit growling and hissing, but not attacking the newbie. she did scratch us when we touched her, but she was clearly in defense mode/dominance mode after seeing a new cat for the first time. We're going to take it slower from now on, get their scents mixed together
Oh great, finally found a video for a different type of space to introduce cats as i have no doors in my house except for the obvious, bathroom and front door. Brought home two rescue kitties today and my "ol lady" missy wasn't appreciative at all. Looking forward to getting good tips from this video. Thank you so much for the upload.
Recently introduced a new three month old adopted female kitten to my four month old male I adopted two months before. I realized cats are nocturnal animals so most of the face to face interactions happened in the middle of the night, supervised (I'm retired). In just five days they were playing together and grooming each other. Follow their natural schedules and not yours.
Brought NEW cat home 10-weeks old. To my 1st cat 5-6 months old. Both are male cats, both are neutered. I have there litter boxes side by side. They still use them with no issues. It’s like little brother big brother now. My sign is the TIGER 🐅 & the wife is sign of the dog 🐩. We all get along just fine. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Got our second Kitten on Monday night, first 24 hours were a bit rough with all the hissing and swatting from the resident kitten who we've had for a few weeks. They're now playing and eating together with no problems. Thanks.
I'm so grateful for this!! We are bringing home our new kitten tomorrow and I was so worried about getting my cat to accept her as we do not have a lot of space or time to separate them and introduce them slowly. I will use your method and let you know how it goes, fingers crossed! 🥰🖤
@@lanataliamaria So far so good! There was a little bit of hissing and growling at the beginning, but neither one of them was agressive, just vocal. :D Now they are totally fine chilling in the same room next to each other. I wouldn't say they are fond of each other per se, not yet, but no fighting or any signs of agression. They willingly started to use the same litter box as well. I think 1-2 weeks and they will be best friends. 🥰
We brought a new kitty home about a month and a half ago and he was suuuuuper shy. We are lucky to have a spare room just for him and he would hide his face against the wall and didn't even want to see us. It took him awhile just to adapt to us and finally we can pet him and pick him up. He's a super sweet baby and loves neck scratches but it took him some time to get out of his shell. Ive watched lots of cat videos and he just let him take his time while rewarding him with treats and let him let us know when he was ready to explore the rest of the house. Now he meows and cries and scratches at the door to come out and he has time at least a couple times a day for him to freely roam around, run, play and receive lots of cuddles. Now as for my resident cat- she's a super playful and energetic and feisty girl (she is about 2 and the new boy is about 1). We've done a lot of scent swapping but Ive noticed shes been more aggressive since he's been neutered (she's already spayed). She used to go into his room and sniff around but now when she smells/hears him she growls and hisses and attacks the door of the room he's in. They still have not been introduced because I don't feel she's adapted quite yet. I feed them at the same time from outside the door but she continues to attack the door. I sit with her and when shes calm I reward her with treats to teach her positive association. We would love for them to meet and start co living but it seems my girl needs more time. I've had cats my whole life but this is my first time having two at a time. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips? Thanks so much! 😻💗
Gorgeous cats! Our 13 week old tabby is called Loki and our new 8 week old black kitten is Zuri! This has helped a lot to know their batting, squatting and play fighting is ok.
Thank you! I live in... guess!... but my Mom lives in St. Catharines Ontario. I flew out last week as Mom was in the hospital but they won't let her go live on her own. She's 80 and easily confused. Mom is moving into a home but her cat Jack can't come with her. Last week, staying at Mom's apartment, I fell in love with Jack her cat. Jack is flying out to Vancouver this Sunday. He's a life-long indoor cat. I have two outdoor cats. This will be challenging.
That will definitely be an interesting dynamic between an indoor only cat and outdoor cats! Figure out a time that they're all together and do the food strategies when you can!
This video is just what I needed😭❤️ our cat is almost 3 and we are in the process of adopting a kitty from the local shelter. Half of our friends say noooo it will stress your cat and the other half says yeeeees do it🙈 stressing out. But we so long for one more furbaby🥺❤️🩹
This is so lovely! We have a two year old cat (just turned) and the lady who gave her to us has just told us her mom had another litter! We really want to get another but so scared of the bonding process
@@shanjones2134 Completly understandable! I’d say choose a good time for it, that is a time when you are able to stay at home with them in the beginning and help them feel safe. I watched all the introduction videos I could find (cat lady fitness here on youtube has some good ones) and plugged in Feliway friends. Make sure the new kitty is vaccinated and dewormed, ours was dewormed but turned out she needed one more cycle of deworming medication (aka we had to sanitize the entire home😅). One can be tempted to rush the introduction process, but please give it time- it does take time but it’s really well invested time❤️ It might be days when it feels tough, but don’t give up! we did struggle in the middle of the first week but so glad we didn’t give up. Now we are a happy family😍
We're having a tough time introducing our 12yr Fem LH Mackerel to our 13 week old Male Fawn boy. Our old girl lost her older 14 year old companion 3 weeks ago to jaw cancer. We had to put him down. They get close but she still hisses and growls at him. He still falls down and shows submissive responsives. I completely understand her. Who tf wants to deal with a 4yr at 64?
Thanks for the awesome vid! I'm just having some trouble with my cats, they can eat in the same room and have treats but as soon as the food is gone the resident cat will pounce on the new cat. He'll just chase, pounce and bite the new one who doesn't like it and wants to hide. Toys help a bit but the resident cat quickly gets back to staring down the new cat.
Thank for this. I have never had to separate cats, and thank goodness because i never lived in a place that fit that format. i'm now haveing trouble for the first time in my life (i'm 63) and i have people refusing to allowing me to adopt because they demand i have baby gates and cages. (i do of course have these - but don't like being Forced to use them! )
Hello TN and thank you for sharing so much information about cats! I would like please to hear your opinion about the situation I have at this moment: I am introducing a new 4-month old kitten with a 2-year old and 6-year old resident cats. It has been for about a month and only the 6-year old one has accepted the kitten so far. I actually adopted the kitten for the 2-year old to have who to play. They are in mealtimes and they meet at dinnertime with wet food to be special. These encounters do not last long as the 2-year old loses the interest on the food and starts to stare down to the kitten, so then I call it a night, and this is the only time they cross sights. However, the 2-year old has a more territorial/jealous/rough playing personality, and often charges to the kitten, and she is now a mature cat (they are all female by the way). The 2-year old often demonstrates a sort of hunter behavior toward the kitten, so I am reluctant to expand the boundaries further than the dinnertime meetings. I thought about introducing playing time after meals with laser pointers, however, I am afraid the running can trigger the hunting behavior, so I feel the 2-year old need a bit more time (the veterinarian said this process can take up to 3 months). I have even got a cat screen door to allow them to see each other more "freely," but I believe this is not the time yet. Sorry about the long comment, but I wonder based on your experience with cats, what would be your thoughts about my next steps or any advice/comments for me, please? Thank you for your time and assistance. Kindly, Fernanda.
We had a 4 month old resident cat, and just got a 2 month old kitten. I’m new to cats, and after doing a lot of reading, i seen so much about how they need friends! Our resident cat plays aggressively with us. I wanted to get him a friend to try to calm him down a bit! It’s now been 3 days of quarantining the new kitten. I’ve switched scents back and forth and have been trying to do the Jackson Galaxy method but live in a small space and feel bad for the kitten being locked in the bathroom because she just cries and cries when i put her back in there. I let her out to play and explore a few times each day. They have not seen each other at all. The resident cat just hisses when he hears or smells her scent. I think I am going to try this method out. I know that he needs a friend he’s just used to being the only one! And knowing something is in the bathroom is stressing him out and I want them to both be happy! Anyone have another other advice for me? I would greatly appreciate it.
in the exact same boat (except both 9 months old), feel so bad leaving either cat in the bathroom. i really feel like just trying something else because even some beef with the other kitten should be better than just being in the bathroom all day :(
Great video and Great tips. One question, What should we do if the cats are not interested in playing at all? We have tried their favorite toys. When the cats are together it usually just is both of them looking at each other for a long time with one hissing/swatting if the other gets too close. After awhile of looking at each other it goes into some fighting (no blood, no fur) with one cat screaming (other cat does not, just seems like they want to play?) and the one cat gets scared off.
I'll be getting a kitten in maybe two months (they were recently born). Luckily I know my cat will be good with a new cat in our house. I am working on buying him these cat shelves so he has more space from them!
Your cats are beautiful together. Unfortunately my cats don't get along. Well, one is desperate to be friends and my og cat has less than zero interest in being friends. She really liked it just with us. It's been a year.
Thank you for this video! I will try this method with my cats. Its one month so far but now I am more motivated to push them tiny further to make them eat in one bowl. I also decided to buy sniffing mats for them so they can spend more time in each other presence looking for tasty snack. Trying everything possible at this point and If it works i will come back to say another thank you:D
Recently got a new kitten to complement my existing adult cat. Lots of great videos out there but I'm always left thinking "okay, but what about those of us with really small apartments that aren't conducive to a good base camp for a cat? Why isn't there a cat youtuber who lives in a 1 bedroom or studio?" Prayers answered.
thanks for the tips! my new kitten, we put him inside the cage first to protect him.. and the resident cat would go near it and keep hissing each time. When he does it so often, we will cover the cage so that he can't see the new kitten. We aren't sure if it's the right thing to do, but worry his hissing might upset the new kitten so we don't let them interact yet. We were so tempted to do your method but the rescuer of our kitten told us not to do that.. so we were confused about who to follow as she might take our new kitten away if he got hurt!
Thanks a lot for the fast introduction method as i was trying the slower method and my cats hissed at each other a lot finally found a way to get them together. The only problem is my resident loves food a lot and doesnt play a lot.
You could’ve: 1. Adopted from same litter 2. Isolate them. Why do you force two random cats to be friends when they don’t want to be friends. You could have searched for two cats that have already bonded.
Thank you….have new kitten (Siamese) introduced to my male orange tabby and they get along so well even at first sight….love your wonderful set up for your gorgeous cats…❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Awesome strategy. Thanks for the tips. Following your suggestions in introducing a sister to my spoiled cat. Still working on the video of them slowly getting acquainted with each other.
This is pretty helpful since we adopted a stray cat and I swear he is the most adorable cat ever but my mom did leave my door open a little and he wandered through my brother’s room and through the hallways I think we’re getting there pretty soon cause I have now two cats and a dog
This does work although it might be worrying at first. I've adopted 2 kittens (although I adopted one of them 4 days later after learning that kittens need friends!) At first they were hissing and growling at each other, especially during meal time. But after 3 days they're eating together and playing with each other (with no hissing!)
Thanks for the comment! I'm glad it worked for you - I think this is the first comment that directly said they implemented it and succeeded after a few days! Yes, the first couple of days it's going to be a bit stressful but you got through it! Congratulations!
I'm yet to find a video that will help with my kitten. This video assumes the cats will naturally respect the comfort zone, but my new kitten is extremely sociable and will try to jump to the residents as soon as he sees them. Thankfully my house is big enough so i can keep them in separate rooms, but the only way i found to keep them face-to-face is by keeping the kitten in the carrier.
i’m definitely going to try this with my two kitties and update you guys! today is day two and it’s very hard to keep them separated in my small apartment. i have a one year old female and a 10 month old male. the female i’ve had for the longest and she is not very fond of the male. i’m desperate to get them to be friends or at least be okay with each other.
I love this video! I have 9 cats with 1 being reverse-bullied after bullying the newcomers. But an unhelpful housemate decided that having a pet feeder and microchip door to 'protect' the cat and now I can't do another about the situation T.T
Thank you for your video! Learning about cat orange and red zone was amazing, and that hissing and growling is ok! That was comforting to know! I introduced my cats 2 weeks ago and it went for 3-4 days! On day 3 resident cat was still hissing but I knew it was just to keep appearances because she got so curious about the little one! No free feeding, scheduled playtimes, ✅, I could see enormous benefit from these practices!! Many thanks from bottom of my heart!!❤❤
My uncle’s neighbor brought home a feral cat for rodent control but the cat runs from him and now, after several months of patience acts almost domesticated and so very sweet to me. I named him Mr. Gray. I just put an RV next to the house and brought Mikey, one of my two cats over. I don’t have much control over Mr Gray with him living outside. I’ve only got him to play once or twice. Mikey got out the first day and was immediately stalked. Is there hope in teaching them they’re not a threat to each other? Your video is awesome and gives me hope. I’m new to being a cat person. Dogs I know. Just learning about cats, the hard way. Any advice will be so very much appreciated
It also helps to rub a blanked or T-shirt on one of the resident cats and rub it then on the new one so they can smell the familiar scent. Also the same the other way. Works great
We adopeted a new male kitten (8-10 weeks old, tabby, 'Mick') yesterday. Our resident female (9-10 months old, tabby, 'Kenzie') that we adopted in January is not having it.. Our timing may not be the best as my wife left on a trip and will not be back until Monday. Last night, we did keep them seperated, in rooms with a door in between. Going into the long holiday weekend, I am hopeful we can get them on the right track by the time my wife returns on Monday. I am planning on using the feeding and playing plan starting tonight.
I'd say with watching cat behaviour, if it gets to full out fighting, you don't read cats very well. There is plenty of warning beforehand that it's not going well. Know your resident cat. Some cats need slow intro. My senior female is nervous aggressive.. she had a tolerating relationship with out late cat, but any neighbours cats shed run from or fully fight if trapped. She wasn't socialized properly as a kitten, separated too soon. She couldn't read other cats intentions well and seemed to always assume they wanted to hurt her. Even a cat that was very friendly and never picked fights. So I got a kitten for the first time. Figured it was better to go for a cat that didn't have any territory instincts yet. Did very slow introduction. Took a while for her to understand he was just trying to play. I did trim her front claws after a swat. He was just passing by her. Had some indents in his side. I'd taught him not to use claws in play already and she eventually learnt that too. He first play with him was in a chair. She acted playful but still didn't know the etiquette. She'd still hiss and growl as she did playful unclawed swiped down at him. This got better with practice. Eventually they'd sleep cuddled up together and groom eachother. She did unfortunately end up teaching him to fear the neighbours cats though haha. I was hoping he'd be friends with our next door neighbor's cat like our late cat, but hes terrified. Admittedly NC is territorial aggressive. He likes to chase and spray around. Sorry that was long. Point is, this wont work for nervous aggressive cats or territorial aggressive cats.
Such shiny coats! What food do you feed them? I can’t wait to check out your website and look at the different products you use, I love those window shelves and I’ve never seen a cat tree like that one before!
Hi, your videos are awesome! I'm so glad UA-cam recommended one of them and I was able to find your channel. I'm kinda in a need of advice, I would be so thankful if you can answer... Don't have or know anyone, with experience, who can give me advice, and I badly need one right now. I have a 1.5 year old female, spayed cat. I love her very, very much. I rescued her last August when she was just 3 months old kitten and we've been through so much together. She is so gentle. Her name is Iris. She always comes to me and falls asleep on my chest, we sleep together, we cuddle, we play, she purrs always when she is with me and we've always been together. For a few months now I live alone in a two bedroom apartment. Back at home Iris had a companion - my brother's cat. Male, neutered, a year older than her. He has a difficult personality and it took some time for him to get use to Iris. She was a kitten when we introduced them and it literally took months for him to accept her, but from her side she has always been interested in him, wanting to play and interact. He was the one making the fuss, even attacking. After a few months things settled down and they started to spend a lot of time together. When the pandemic started I had to return home and they have been together almost all summer, without any problems. They would play, search for each other, they never get to the stage where would sleep curled together and bath each other but other than that were pretty close. Well, after the lockdown ended I moved back into the apartment. And Iris was once again alone. The other cat, of course, stayed with my brother. I couldn't take him, one because he doesn't like the small apartment, and two - my brother really loves him and he wouldn't want to live without him. So I noticed how lonely Iris seemed here. She was sleeping all the time, overeat, overgroom, wanting to play when she was awake, but I can play with her to a point. I have university classes, work, have to go outside and leave her alone... So after lots of thoughts I decided that I can afford to adopt another cat so she can have a companion. After the interaction with my brother's cat and seeing that she was always the one wanting to play and knowing her personality and how sweet and gentle she is around me and has always been good to my brother's cat, despite how hard he treated her from the begging, my first thought was that she wound be happy to have someone to play with. Well, a few days ago I adopted a little, female, black kitten. Around 3 months old. The kitten is a delight. She purrs all the time. Wants to play. Shows so much interest in Iris. Comes to her. Wants to intereract. But the moment Iris saw her she started hissing and growling and hasn't stopped since then. The apartment have two separate rooms so I can keep them apart but I don't want to. It's not a big space and I don't want the doors to be closed. Bearing in mind that the space was always open and Iris could go whenever she wanted. But after the hissing and growing started I kinda panicked and the first night took the little one to sleep with me and Iris was in the other room. Since then I've been trying to introduce them slowly. Playing with them as you've shown, giving rewards, talking to both of them, leaving the doors open. It haven't passed that much time... just a few days, but Iris is still hissing at the new kitten. And I can see in how much distress she is in. I wouldn't say she is aggressive, more like she is afraid. She hisses, then hides, or climbes somewhere high and watches the kitten. She doesn't come and cuddle with me as she uses to, and for me that has always been a sign that she is stressed and scared. Even now, when I'm typing this, I've been trying to play with them the past half hour, as you've shown in your video, trying to distract her, make her engage, but the play is soooo muted. She hisses and stops, hides from the kitten, then comes again, hisses more, hides again... and the kitten is 50% curios of her and 50% afraid to come closer, because of the hissing... I love her so much and can't beer looking in how much distress she is in. I feel so stressed when things are not okay with her. I'm so sorry for the long, long rambling, but after seeing your channel and looking at the videos I thought that maybe you could give me an advice on what to do. I'm kinda desperate and awful thoughts that she hates me now and won't even accept the kitten are crossing my mind and I'm this far away from crying.. Is this a normal behavior? She is not attacking the kitten, just hissing and growling, hiding and not wanting to approache it. How long does this continues? And will, in your opinion, I'll be able to make them like each other? So, so, sorry again for the long comment. I hope you can respond. I'll be so happy to hear an opinion from someone who lives in a small space as me and have experience introducing new cats.
Hi! Thanks for your comment! Everything you just described to me is very normal behavior. Try not to worry too much about it, things will take time. Hissing, hiding, is all part of the introduction process. She likely doesn't want anything to do with the kitten...for now. If you watched my video there are 2 strategies, food, and play. Female cats tend to respond to food strategies better. Find a time when all cats are hungry (that means to stop free-feeding) and as explained in my video, feed them apart at first (make sure they can still see each other during mealtime) but slowly bring the bowls together each subsequent mealtime. Use interactive toys to play with the kitten until it's tired, this makes the kitten much less "in your face" and overly energetic (which could provoke more hissing). This process can take 2-4 days. Read this article for a step by step guide: monsieurtn.com/illustrated-guide-new-cat-introduction-no-isolation-separation/ Keep me updated!
Thank you, I rescued a female last year when she was only two months and she’s close with my dog but has never interacted with other cats before ever since I’ve had her. But this past week I found an adult male stray and I took him in too. And she’s so angry with me and keeps hissing at him even though I never heard her hiss before this
Thank you for this! I live in a single room with the only doors being my bathroom and my closet, so the separation thing just isn't viable. Going to use all of your advice! :)
Thank you for this video. We hhave a 21 year old cat and a cat we adopted literally a year ago today and in a few days we are bringing two new cats(currently 13 weeks old). We live in a loft type cabin and we don’t really have a safe place for the kittens. Hopefully this advice will help us get everyone acclimated.
Yes! I would love to hear how this went. I lost 3 of my cats this year (20 year old, 17 year 11 month, and sadly my 14 year old). I have a 12 and 15 year old still. I really want to adopt 2 4 month old kittens but I am having some concerns that my senior cats might be too non-plussed over it.
Finally a video that acknowledges small houses. I want to bring a new cat home and I have a small apartment so I’m definitely going yo try this
how did it go??
@@opalfroggy-2156 so far so good ! The resident cat hissed a bit on the first days mas overall great. The only downside is that the new cat was a stray and doesn’t let us come close. I have the litters in different places cuz for like 2 times the new one peed on my moms bed but yeah I was really scared of how it could turn out but now they play and everything
@@sabrinacoelho6079 that's awesome!! im thinking of getting my resident kitty (8 month old tuxie male) a playmate bc he has sooo much energy but i've been scared to make the jump. hopefully we find the perfect cat and they become besties :)
@@opalfroggy-2156 good luck !!
@@sabrinacoelho6079 thank you!! we ended up bringing home a 6 month old kitten a week ago and things are going okay :) he loves to play with her under the door and always tries to get in her room but face to face gets a little hissy on his end bc she loves to get too close too fast. hoping she’ll grow out of it haha and again, they’ll probably just need more time
I bring home a new pet in a crate with the blanket used by my current pets. By the time we get home, the blanket smells are comforting to the newcomer and the resident animals smell themselves on the newbie. 😁 Always works! 💞
Omg what a good idea!:)
Ooh thank you I’ll try this!
This is an amazing idea! We’re going to be getting another cat soon and I will be trying this
A similar technique that I have heard is to use the same brush to brush the cats, thus creating a shared, family smell.
Thank you for this!! I’m gonna try soon!
4 days! I used your method and within 2 days my two year old tabby was eating side by side with my little blue 10 week old kitten. Now they play, groom, and even occasionally sleep together. Less then a week. There was some hissing and swats by resisdent cat, but I think it helped the kitten wanted to say hello and the older resident just had to yield to his presence and see that it was kinda fun to run around with a playmate.
There was no other room to put baby kitten in, so if this hadn’t worked baby kitten would have needed a new/different home. And I was prepared to go that route. But now we are a happy 2 cat family. 2 is absolutely better than one. They really can now entertain each other. They still have human cuddle and play time, but if human is exhausted, they have each other.
I'm so happy to hear that! You gained a new skill and your cat gained a new companion :)!
I just did this myself before I watched your video. I knew about the smell thing beforehand, and the resident cat loves her carrier and happily jumped in and played before leaving to get a new kitten. I think that greatly helped the newcomer, but the resident cat is tricky because she doesn't even like people company. After an hour or two of cat carrier interaction, only we let him out but did not remove the carrier. We had the same deal newcomer wanted attention from the resident. It made our resident cat have to deal where I think separating them would have taken forever. I have been living in a bedroom at my daughter's and she has a cat that after 6 months we only achieved playing under the door and some smells at the door but no further. 7 days in, we have had sharing bowls, litter boxes, and playing. There is no real cuddling yet, but the resident cat isn't a cuddler anyhow. No major incidents other than resident cat strained vocal chords hissing and growling the 1st day. Didn't even know that was possible until I looked it up. The clapping method works great when it gets slightly rough after a couple of accidental sneak attacks 😂. Your video is spot on. I also changed the room around after a week to accommodate the extra litter box and food bowls. I think this helped as well to break up established areas and allows them to start fresh together while still leaving the carrier out for newcomer and the favorite hammock for our resident. We even had a challenge for the hammock , and our newcomer stood his ground, but the resident cat went in the hammock. Win win in the smell transfer.
in my opinion this is the best method to use even if you don’t have a small living space! i have found that the isolation method will actually cause the resident cat more restless and even agitated depending on their personality. because they feel as if the new comer just waltzed into his home and took a part of it as his own territory and without being up front about it or showing his face! the nerve, haha.
but seriously. it can also cause anxiety and stress for the new comer for many reasons like: 1) feeling cornered in/trapped in a space (sometimes literally) where they can sense the resident cat lurking/smelling/pacing, making them feel unsafe. 2)being overwhelmed by all the new space to discover after getting used to their isolation space, on top of getting used to the resident. 3)false fear instilled into them of what the resident cat is like. if all they’re seeing is a paw from underneath a door and hearing them meow or hiss without seeing them , and seeing the shadows/foot steps of the resident cat pacing on the other side of the door, they start to form a scary idea of what they are like in their minds, basically already having a false prejudice of them. kind of like a little kid that’s afraid of the noise coming from the water heater in the basement. they hear the noise but have never seen it so in their minds they think it’s this big scary monster, causing them to be anxious and uneasy while sleeping.
also the isolation method will usually take attention away from the resident cat, since most of the time the new comer is a kitten and if they’re secluded in a different room/bathroom/etc you have to be consistently checking on them and this can cause the resident cat to not only feel negelected but already dislike the new comer for taking away from their attention they like to pretend they don’t want 😂
it also makes the process of introducing a newcomer into the home much more lengthy in general.
the method in your video not only gives them they’re own space with the separate liter boxes and distanced bowls but also unites these separate spaces which is a major key! this way they know they can have their own space but there is also room for everyone!
thank you so much for sharing this video for i think it’s not only helpful for people with small homes but also helpful in making the experience easier on the cats when it comes to feelings of fear/anxiety/neglection/etc!
my only thing and it’s probably just an ocd thing, but i cannot feed my cats from one bowl. they all have their own food and water bowls, even if they drink from one water bowl more than the others, or even if they are okay with switching bowls while eating (sometimes they end up with different wet food flavors haha) they have to have their own bowls, this way i can keep track of how much they’re eating. which also helps with figuring out if one of them isn’t feeling too well, because it makes it easier to keep track of their appetite!
keep up the great content, sending love to your kitties! ♡
btw, my opinion is based on experience. i have introduced cats both ways and the isolation method took over a month for the cats to even be in the same room. then in feb of 2022, i was living with my mom and had my sphynx cat. one day in a terrible rain/thunder storm we noticed a kitten crying under the car parked in front of us. he was about just 6 weeks old. we just HAD to take him in. he was soaking wet and starving, and my mom fell in love with him right away. so we used this method instead to introduce them and although my sphynx Charlie was eye rolling and hissing and giving me major attitude the first two days, especially when i was looking after the new guy Fendi for my mom while she was at work. by the 5th day they were doing everything together from playing, to watching the birds, to cuddling. Charlie was even grooming him and holding him like he was his own baby! after just a few funny faces when discovering grooming him was different than grooming himself since he had hair hahaha.
they still love to cuddle when they see eachother to this day, except now fendi is the one usually holding onto him since he’s a huge fatty and charlie was a premie! lol
@@ForbiddenKitten as for water bowls, have you tried a pet water fountain? Until recently we had two cats who tolerated each other, (I didn’t know about effective methods of introducing them 11 years ago!), but they both ended up loving their water fountain. The older cat took 2 days to get used to it, the younger one two weeks. It has two spouts and they’d often drink from it at the same time, side by side. Perhaps that might be an option and save a little space. The one I bought was from Amazon - the Ofat Home Cat Water Fountain with Power Adapter 2L/67oz.
Meanwhile, I’m glad to hear this method of introducing cats works, as we may get another cat after our almost 15 year old Mr Misha died.
My experience has been that introducing a new cat is always much easier to a household that already has two or more cats. The established cats tend to be less territorial and are already used to not being the only cat; and the new cat realizes they are outnumbered and less likely to be aggressive toward the established cats. Introducing cat #2 to the single established cat is always the riskiest, so I prefer to always have at least three.
This makes me feel less crazy about buying a third cat 😂
@@georgia3045I have a dog and two cats and about to add TWO MORE CATS this coming weekend😵💫 My daughter has to rehome her two 8 month old male kittens, and I can’t let them go to a shelter- they’re sweethearts. Introducing 4 cats together plus a hyper year old big dog… what am I getting myself into 😂 My one resident cat is a 2 year old female that’s still playful, so she’s gonna love it… but the other resident cat is a 8-9 year old grumpy male that’s kinda territorial… he’s the one I’m worried about.
I have a territorial cat and so far just hissing... I hope she'll love her soon
This is exactly what I'm doing this evening 🙄
That's very encouraging because I have two sisters who are two and a half years old that I've had for 2 years and I just have a new 8 week old kitten
Finally, a video dealing with small spaces. I have a one bedroom apt
you know what, the slow introduction method intimidated me like hell before even having the second cat arrived. Having read all these positive comments below, I think I'm just gonna get a laser and bring them together after a few days, we'll see what happens.
exactly, that whole mindset difficult that you just end up thinking you're a bad cat owner and give up _everything_
I came back to this video just to say that it worked, thank you so much! 2 days of semi isolation and 2 days of this method. Started with hisses, growls, and paw throwing. Now they call for each other. :))
Great video. In all my years of introducing dogs and cats I never did the slow separation thing for weeks. We give a couple hours to settle and then start introductions. It's always worked fine and all turn out to be best of friends. Even cross species (dogs to cats and vice versa). It's nice to see someone else using a quicker paced method with success. 😊
Your cats are adorable!
I just want to say a massive thank you for this video. I live in a small, one-bedroom apartment and this worked for me after only four days. Four! I was expecting the introduction process to last weeks or even months! My girl and her new brother are currently snuggled up sleeping together next to me as I write this. It really works! You're amazing! ❤
I had already started introducing this way before I watched the video. We’re on day 3 and my kitten is acting like she owns the place, barely noticing my older cat. Older cat is curious and always watching the new cat, but hissing. New kitten is able to walk inches by her without too much fuss, a bit of hissing, a little growling, but no swatting or bigger fighting. Tonight she jumped on the bed for the first time. Trying to teach kitten the bed is where we relax and cuddle, so hopefully it will become a middle ground for all of us.
Hey! Any news now? Same situation, new kitten arrived to our flat, older cat hisses and growling if the small one comes near him. Now 2 days passed nothing has changed Im guessing how long will this last. When will the oldie find peace with the newcomer.
@@1234loci what happened? I have the same situation.
This is so helpful. I too have a 1 bedroom apartment and I’ve cried too many times because my resident cat is super hissy. They’re both around 3 and some of these comments make me realize it’ll all be worth it. I wanted her to have a cat because I’m gone for work for 8-9 hours a day. I’m glad hissing is acceptable and I’ll update y’all when they start getting along
any updates ?
update?? my resident cat (8 months old) is hissy at the new cat (8 weeks old)
I took a lot of good information from this video, but ultimately my cats were not compatible with a zero-isolation phase. That being said, there is still hope! We borrowed a large dog crate from a friend for our kitten and isolated him in the loft. From there we proceeded with steps outlined by Jackson Galaxy. The process is still underway, but the kitties played nicely for a whole two hours yesterday with only one time out!
Thanks for your comment! The traditional isolation introduction definitely still works and recommended if you can do it! I just wanted to show that introductions can be done without isolation/separation for the people that have no other room to put the cats in.
Hello pretty Lady how are you doing
I honestly felt like giving up until I saw this video. In just about 3 days my kittens are playing together. This video was a great help, I watched many videos and none worked.
Thank you so much
The introduction is WORKING our two cats are getting more comfortable! And are playing while they see each other each of them get their own play time so no jealousy occurs during bonding time
I feel bad for ur cats. It’s like you dictate who they get to be friends with. You are forcing the bonds of two random cats just so you can create this fantasy family and fanfic cat bond.
@@knee_gah335 ok psycho
@@ghostsnipertrue how is it logical to separate siblings? So you can fantasize a non existent bond between 2 random cats? You guys are like those weirdos who match and arrange couples against their will for wedding. It’s also like separating siblings in foster care to be put up with random ppl.
This is so useful. I tried the slow method before and it actually backfired horribly. We're getting a new kitten this week so I will definitely be using this advice!
how is it going at the moment? need Update
@@godwrote01 Going really well! They're definitely not buddies, but my older cat lets the kitten get close to him as long as he's respectful. They even play chase sometimes.
For full transparency, we did start *a little slowly* by keeping him in the bathroom for a few days, but part of that was because we discovered he was malnourished and didn't have much strength, and we wanted to let him recover. We also used a Feliway diffuser (multicat) nearby, and I think that really helped take the edge off of the older cat's stress.
A few days later, we ended up using a piece of clear acrylic as a janky "baby gate", so older cat could observe him fully and study him. Th kitten was too little to jump over it, and Old cat disliked the kitten's smell so much at that time, we felt like we could trust him to not intrude into the bathroom, which he didn't.
Then on day four, we let them interact face-to face. Kitten rushed right at Old cat, which made him hiss at him. But Kitten quickly learned he should give Old cat space, and since then, there's been very little conflict!
bit of a late question, but how did the slow method backfire for you if you don’t mind my asking ?
Brilliant. I'm stressing because I've been taking care of a stray female cat and she's been living on my porch in her own little cat house for 2 weeks. My own male cat has encountered her many times outside and is aware that she lives there. I desperately want to bring her in the house but so nervous about it
I'm going thru the exactly same situation! I'm so stressed
How are things going?
I'm going through something very similar. The stray is a male cat who seems to be less than 2 years old. And my female cat (spayed) just turned 1. They've met each other and the male actually attached her when she was a just 3 months old. My cat still hisses at him. I really want to adopt him since he's got no one and is in dire need of medical help.
So please let us know here how it went with your cats.
@@nichellemonteiro4655 how’s it going? Did it work
I literally did that exact thing today. I’m here for that reason.
I just realized a lot of people are having this same situation/experience! Interesting!
If it were me, during mealtimes I would place the bowl one bowl on the porch for the outside cat and another bowl behind the door/gate for your indoor cat. Make sure they can see each other while they eat.
It's basically the same concept: if you can control their mealtimes you can control how they view each other and with time and consistency - the cats will at least tolerate each other!
Thank you for the tips. I've implemented these and I think my new cat is slowly integrating with the older ones. They are hissing at him less everyday and there's less aggression, less swatting everyday.
I'm glad it's been helping! I hope that they're fully adapted/integrated now.
Hi, what's up with this situation, are they friends now?
Hi do you have an update?
@@muriardilla Oh, they got to be great friends after a few days of hostility. The female cat was more hostile towards the new cat than the male one, but she became the first one to befriend him. The sight of her grooming him for the first time melted my heart! The male one befriended him as well. They get along great!
@@rachelp3949 Yes, happy mom to 3 cats. They are getting along like a happy family. Leo and Twiggy do have some fights nowadays that look a little different to me than Twiggy and Gumball's play fights but no concerns otherwise. They get along so well. I was so worried when I first introduced him to Gumball and Twiggy. We were shocked by Twiggy's reaction. Twiggy, our sweet, petite, innocent babe with big doe eyes became a completely different character. Her whole body stiffened, she was hissing at him, she just started to look like a different cat altogether. But within a few days of trying really hard, I found her grooming him. She was the first one to accept him. She became her sweet lovely self again. And, Gumball is such loving big brother to him too! They are doing great!
This is insanely good!! I’m a definite cat person but always found introductions challenging. Thank you for posting these excellent points.
Hello pretty laura how are you doing
This video was a lifesaver! I brought home a new 2months old kitten and my 2year old boy was having a hard time. It took 2 days ONLY! For them to become friends. We did everything you shared. Such a helpfup video. Thankyou so much❤
I got a new kitten today. My toys do not distract both cats, how did you guys manage to do it? And what did you guys do at night ?
You are so cool! Your apartment is impressive. Love everything you’ve done for your lucky kitties!
This guy is really into cats. Just look at that apartment. When we got our former cats, about 20 years ago, we just brought the new kitten in and plopped him on the floor. The original cat hissed and went to hide. The new cat hid too. After several days, they approached each other with no fighting. I don't know if all cats are like this, but perhaps we are overthinking the introduction thing. We have a new kitten now who is about 12 weeks old. We may be getting an older kitten of about 7 months old soon. Not sure what to expect. Both cats are from shelters. We could have "Oh boy, a friend" or outright war.
This man knows what he’s talking about!!
Thank you so much! UA-cam at it’s Prime!!! A Life safer!!
That was very helpful! We are on day 9. Things are going quite well, but we aren’t quite there yet.
The 3 played really good today, each taking turns at attacking the flying toy. Eating and litter box is going well.
My resident cats still have that barrier but are getting more relaxed.
Your suction cop idea for the walls is incredible. Thanks for the new idea
We have two siamese blue point kittens that just turned 6 months. We picked up a 4month old exotic shorthair 3 days ago.He's been in my son's room isolated. I started your technique today with pretty good success. Little bit of hissing but they were all distracted by the laser pointer. I was also giving them treats at the same time. Very minimal hissing but better than day 1 for sure. Hope to have them playing with each other soon.
I'm glad it's been working! How are your cats now?
If I were you, I would’ve have them separated. You can’t force two cats to bond with each other you don’t get to pick who ur cat gets to be friends with. Next time, adopt 2 bonded cats in pair.
I just released the kitten in the presence of the older cat. The kitten approached the elder, the old cat hissed and walked away. That was all. They have been loving ever since.
I think people tend to make a much bigger deal of introducing than it needs to be IMHO. We use a method like you do and it's always worked.
This was great! Our kittens have started playing together now that we have fed them together as you described. What a relief 😢 thanks!
Jackson, thank you so very much! I followed instructions (and even built my own cat screen) and it only took a week of feeding before they became the best of friends. If anyone lives in LA and wants a free cat screen hit me up.
Thanks again,
Dominic
We just received a new 12 week old kitten. My 2 year old cat wasn't very happy at first and stayed in the living room. She wouldn't even sleep with me that night 😭 It took about 2 days before she roamed the house again willingly and the two girls were chasing eachother around and playing together. I was so worried at first, thinking it might not work out, but all it took was a little time and effort. They are adjusting wonderfully and last night, both were in the bed!!
Thank you! thank you! thank you!
I started by doing the isolation method but my older cat was not happy. He kept hissing and getting aggressive. I did one play and feeding session last night after watching this video and now this morning they’re eating near each other and playing together. My older cat is biting the kitten’s neck but no more hissing or growling.
Good advice but one thing that has worked for my cats is petting newcomer to get their scent on my hand then going immediately to resident cat allowing them to sniff and get familiar with newcomer scent. I then pet resident cat with opposite hand and then allow newcomer to smell resident cat scent. I do this over a few days until I feel confident that they can actually see each other. I hold the newcomer on my lap while talking gently to resident cat as I observe both watching their reactions to actual seeing each other. I spend no more than 3 to 5 minutes on this step as I want it to be a positive experience increasing the time each day. If all goes well I will let resident cat and newcomer an initial direct contact praising both for acknowledging each other and again doing scent exchange. If all goes well I will commence with floor contact between them in a confined area providing food and interactive toys. Again if all goes well I increase the open space until they accept each other. The scent exchange method really does work as cats rely on scent and the more familiar the scent is the more accepting it becomes to them. Hope this method helps but seriously wouldn't it be nice if we could say this is Ostaria and you are sharing your room with Reo and will come to love each other!
Thank you for this. I’m in an apartment and I was trying to separate cats. There’s a long hallway and 2 rooms and they were hissing and growling a bit. No fights but I thought I was doing something wrong. I picked up some good ideas from you and some reinforcement that what I’ve been doing is ok. I just got a second rescue cat and the instructions have been tedious. But this video helped a lot. Thank you for putting this out here. We don’t all have space for traditional 2 week separation introductions
any update?
Thank you 🙏🏼 for this. I did a semi traditional intro b/w 6 yo & 2 mo cat. Small was in a bathroom w pocket door. When I’d open door big would peep. Both curious. Small would always cry & big camp outside the door. In less than a week they were interacting & getting along well. Now they only come to me for food ☹️ haha 😜 so glad they are both good tho
I'm glad your introduction went well! Sometimes owners have to improvise hahaha
This is a great video! I use nearly the same method myself, as a lifelong cat owner who is always making space for rescues and trying to pair kitties up as lifetime buddies.
When I was 11 that my parents adopted our 2nd cat. We had another cat,too. Both cats got along really quickly. We never had them in separate space. The 2nd cat was more than my cat. I became best friends with him. He was sweet and friendly towards other members in the family.
Thank you for the video! I'm thinking of getting another cat for my resident cat. The problem is that my cat is very picky and would rather starve than eating on other's schedule.... I hope I will be able to do the introduction without it...
thank you so much for this video! I live in a small apartment with a cat and recently brought in a kitten, and this helped tremendously!
You're saving my life, holy smokes. I have 2 huge adult Siberians and a 6 month old kitten that somebody abandoned in the snow. Currently on our first day together, with no means to separate the newcomer. I was wondering which behaviours were acceptable - this video answered my questions and then some! Thank you!
I love how this video is well thought through and built up with all the accompanying materials! I like the coloured graphic about the cat zones it really helps to understand that we should do things gradually, step by step according to our cats' personalities. Thank you!🙏
Really appreciated this video. Small flat with a 5 year old child. It was impossible for our resident cat to be kept away for long. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for your knowledge! I have been struggling lately with other methods and happy to have found your video ! Happy to see that I'm at step 4!
THANK YOU! I want to bring in a third cat but have been putting it off because of lack of space for introduction. This tutorial gives me hope.
Thank you for this! I’ve got a 10 year old and am bringing in an 11 year old and both are used to lots of human and other cat interaction. I really think isolation is gonna be harder on them both than if I’m just watching all interactions. I’ll keep the new 11 year old in his own space to sleep as he’s used to sleeping in a cat bed by himself for a few weeks though.
How did that go? Please give us an update.
We have a 12-year-old male who is very social, and tomorrow we are bringing home a 10-year old male, also very social. We are really hoping they will be good buddies. 😸😸
@@EPalssonWe actually kept them apart for about 3 weeks and it wasn’t going well at all. A year later and they still don’t love each other all that much but I’ve gotta a two level house with a basement so there’s plenty of “territory” for both of them.
Every now and then they sniff each other up and sit side by side, so I’ll take it! I don’t need them to be best friends, I just don’t want them stressed or trying to rip each other’s fur out 😂
LOVE your videos!!! I knew I was going to adopt two semi-feral kitties into a studio apartment (both 6 m.o. girls) and your videos gave me so much hope and excitement! I was really inspired by how you cat-ifed your space and used the vertical space so well. I also really appreciate how you talk about intentional routines and making sure your cats have stimulation all the time. Honestly, huge thanks for your videos and I can't wait to watch more!
Hello pretty Lady how are you doing
Thank you for this! I live in a one bedroom apartment with a 3yr old cat and I was thinking of getting a kitten, but there’s no way to separate them so they could acclimate to each other. This was super helpful. 😊
Hello pretty Lady how are you doing
Did it go right?? Bcs I have 3male 1 and 1/2year cat and bought a female kitten today
@@sid_28how did that go? my new female kitten seems to completely hate my resident kitten
Thank you for this! I live in Vancouver BC and not everyone can afford a big home!
because of my living arrangement, I haven't done the slow intro yet. thankfully, all of my cats have been so good to each other and social enough to greet each other. new ones were typically young but it always went smoothly. not saying it's what I'll always do, age def matters here but this is good to have for other people!
I actually honestly did not even know about this method until recently after I had already gotten my two cats and four kittens. It makes complete sense. And I never even thought of it. I had actually heard my Galaxy talk about it. I am very lucky My introductions went as well as they did even with a cat that had no interest in other cats or dogs, any animal
I recently got two kittens from different litters one is 5 months old and the other one is 4. The older one growls at the younger when she gets too close but they never fight. We play together and they respect each other's playtime but I never make them cross their comfort zones, I'll try this as well as the food method and hopefully this will help them become friends. Thank you so much!
How did it go. Please tell.
@@aliya9819 I used this method for a few days and the older kitten kept growling so I was a bit discouraged. But I kept doing what the video suggested and one day when I gave them their food I put one bowl seconds before the other and both kittens started eating from it at the same time immediately. Right now they are very good friends and play together all the time and lick each other. Zero growling too!🥰
One question: why adopt from different litters and not siblings? Ur forcing them to bond. This is like forcing two different strangers to be brother and it’s wrong
@@knee_gah335 there weren't 2 kittens available from the same litter, unfortunately. Also I don't think it's necessarily wrong though. You mean you can't bring a new cat into your home if you already have cats? makes no sense since this is the whole point of this video lol.
@@xvgarnet when it comes to animals like cats, biological relationships means best friends
We have a 4 month old kitten and we wanted to introduce a 1 month old kitten. 4 month old was having a hissy fit growling and hissing, but not attacking the newbie.
she did scratch us when we touched her, but she was clearly in defense mode/dominance mode after seeing a new cat for the first time. We're going to take it slower from now on, get their scents mixed together
Oh great, finally found a video for a different type of space to introduce cats as i have no doors in my house except for the obvious, bathroom and front door. Brought home two rescue kitties today and my "ol lady" missy wasn't appreciative at all. Looking forward to getting good tips from this video. Thank you so much for the upload.
Recently introduced a new three month old adopted female kitten to my four month old male I adopted two months before. I realized cats are nocturnal animals so most of the face to face interactions happened in the middle of the night, supervised (I'm retired). In just five days they were playing together and grooming each other. Follow their natural schedules and not yours.
Brought NEW cat home 10-weeks old. To my 1st cat 5-6 months old. Both are male cats, both are neutered. I have there litter boxes side by side. They still use them with no issues. It’s like little brother big brother now. My sign is the TIGER 🐅 & the wife is sign of the dog 🐩. We all get along just fine. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Got our second Kitten on Monday night, first 24 hours were a bit rough with all the hissing and swatting from the resident kitten who we've had for a few weeks. They're now playing and eating together with no problems. Thanks.
You all have made a difference with your kind words. Thank you!
I'm so grateful for this!! We are bringing home our new kitten tomorrow and I was so worried about getting my cat to accept her as we do not have a lot of space or time to separate them and introduce them slowly.
I will use your method and let you know how it goes, fingers crossed! 🥰🖤
How’s it going? I’m on day 2 of new kitten vs resident 😂
@@lanataliamaria So far so good! There was a little bit of hissing and growling at the beginning, but neither one of them was agressive, just vocal. :D Now they are totally fine chilling in the same room next to each other. I wouldn't say they are fond of each other per se, not yet, but no fighting or any signs of agression. They willingly started to use the same litter box as well. I think 1-2 weeks and they will be best friends. 🥰
how long did u wait to introduce them? i’ve had my kitten for 3 days already and i’m not sure if it’s too early
We brought a new kitty home about a month and a half ago and he was suuuuuper shy. We are lucky to have a spare room just for him and he would hide his face against the wall and didn't even want to see us. It took him awhile just to adapt to us and finally we can pet him and pick him up. He's a super sweet baby and loves neck scratches but it took him some time to get out of his shell. Ive watched lots of cat videos and he just let him take his time while rewarding him with treats and let him let us know when he was ready to explore the rest of the house. Now he meows and cries and scratches at the door to come out and he has time at least a couple times a day for him to freely roam around, run, play and receive lots of cuddles. Now as for my resident cat- she's a super playful and energetic and feisty girl (she is about 2 and the new boy is about 1). We've done a lot of scent swapping but Ive noticed shes been more aggressive since he's been neutered (she's already spayed). She used to go into his room and sniff around but now when she smells/hears him she growls and hisses and attacks the door of the room he's in. They still have not been introduced because I don't feel she's adapted quite yet. I feed them at the same time from outside the door but she continues to attack the door. I sit with her and when shes calm I reward her with treats to teach her positive association. We would love for them to meet and start co living but it seems my girl needs more time. I've had cats my whole life but this is my first time having two at a time. Does anyone have any suggestions/tips? Thanks so much! 😻💗
Gorgeous cats!
Our 13 week old tabby is called Loki and our new 8 week old black kitten is Zuri!
This has helped a lot to know their batting, squatting and play fighting is ok.
Good they are younger before they have established dominance. Little kittens really need feline companionship.
Love this!!! This was the exact situation I was in and your video gave me so much peace of mind and was super helpful!!!
Thank you for this! ♥️
Thank you! I live in... guess!... but my Mom lives in St. Catharines Ontario. I flew out last week as Mom was in the hospital but they won't let her go live on her own. She's 80 and easily confused. Mom is moving into a home but her cat Jack can't come with her. Last week, staying at Mom's apartment, I fell in love with Jack her cat.
Jack is flying out to Vancouver this Sunday. He's a life-long indoor cat. I have two outdoor cats. This will be challenging.
That will definitely be an interesting dynamic between an indoor only cat and outdoor cats! Figure out a time that they're all together and do the food strategies when you can!
@@monsieurtn Thanks! I bought all the cat stuff today. Getting excited. I hope Jack has a safe flight.
This video is just what I needed😭❤️ our cat is almost 3 and we are in the process of adopting a kitty from the local shelter. Half of our friends say noooo it will stress your cat and the other half says yeeeees do it🙈 stressing out. But we so long for one more furbaby🥺❤️🩹
Did you adopt in the end I’d love to know xx
@@shanjones2134 We did adopt! And my goodness the amount of affection this adopted 8year old kitty is giving us! We love her to the moon and back😍🥰🥹
This is so lovely! We have a two year old cat (just turned) and the lady who gave her to us has just told us her mom had another litter! We really want to get another but so scared of the bonding process
@@shanjones2134 Completly understandable! I’d say choose a good time for it, that is a time when you are able to stay at home with them in the beginning and help them feel safe. I watched all the introduction videos I could find (cat lady fitness here on youtube has some good ones) and plugged in Feliway friends. Make sure the new kitty is vaccinated and dewormed, ours was dewormed but turned out she needed one more cycle of deworming medication (aka we had to sanitize the entire home😅). One can be tempted to rush the introduction process, but please give it time- it does take time but it’s really well invested time❤️ It might be days when it feels tough, but don’t give up! we did struggle in the middle of the first week but so glad we didn’t give up. Now we are a happy family😍
We're having a tough time introducing our 12yr Fem LH Mackerel to our 13 week old Male Fawn boy. Our old girl lost her older 14 year old companion 3 weeks ago to jaw cancer. We had to put him down. They get close but she still hisses and growls at him. He still falls down and shows submissive responsives. I completely understand her. Who tf wants to deal with a 4yr at 64?
How is it going? I'm sorry for your loss as well
Thanks for the awesome vid! I'm just having some trouble with my cats, they can eat in the same room and have treats but as soon as the food is gone the resident cat will pounce on the new cat. He'll just chase, pounce and bite the new one who doesn't like it and wants to hide. Toys help a bit but the resident cat quickly gets back to staring down the new cat.
Thank for this. I have never had to separate cats, and thank goodness because i never lived in a place that fit that format. i'm now haveing trouble for the first time in my life (i'm 63) and i have people refusing to allowing me to adopt because they demand i have baby gates and cages. (i do of course have these - but don't like being Forced to use them! )
Thank you for this. I live in an apartment so so I really needed this.
Hello TN and thank you for sharing so much information about cats! I would like please to hear your opinion about the situation I have at this moment: I am introducing a new 4-month old kitten with a 2-year old and 6-year old resident cats. It has been for about a month and only the 6-year old one has accepted the kitten so far. I actually adopted the kitten for the 2-year old to have who to play. They are in mealtimes and they meet at dinnertime with wet food to be special. These encounters do not last long as the 2-year old loses the interest on the food and starts to stare down to the kitten, so then I call it a night, and this is the only time they cross sights. However, the 2-year old has a more territorial/jealous/rough playing personality, and often charges to the kitten, and she is now a mature cat (they are all female by the way). The 2-year old often demonstrates a sort of hunter behavior toward the kitten, so I am reluctant to expand the boundaries further than the dinnertime meetings. I thought about introducing playing time after meals with laser pointers, however, I am afraid the running can trigger the hunting behavior, so I feel the 2-year old need a bit more time (the veterinarian said this process can take up to 3 months). I have even got a cat screen door to allow them to see each other more "freely," but I believe this is not the time yet. Sorry about the long comment, but I wonder based on your experience with cats, what would be your thoughts about my next steps or any advice/comments for me, please? Thank you for your time and assistance. Kindly, Fernanda.
We had a 4 month old resident cat, and just got a 2 month old kitten. I’m new to cats, and after doing a lot of reading, i seen so much about how they need friends! Our resident cat plays aggressively with us. I wanted to get him a friend to try to calm him down a bit! It’s now been 3 days of quarantining the new kitten. I’ve switched scents back and forth and have been trying to do the Jackson Galaxy method but live in a small space and feel bad for the kitten being locked in the bathroom because she just cries and cries when i put her back in there. I let her out to play and explore a few times each day. They have not seen each other at all. The resident cat just hisses when he hears or smells her scent. I think I am going to try this method out. I know that he needs a friend he’s just used to being the only one! And knowing something is in the bathroom is stressing him out and I want them to both be happy! Anyone have another other advice for me? I would greatly appreciate it.
in the exact same boat (except both 9 months old), feel so bad leaving either cat in the bathroom. i really feel like just trying something else because even some beef with the other kitten should be better than just being in the bathroom all day :(
Many thanks to Bob for his excellent help!😄
If you like animals and have a heart you'll mostly subconsciously/naturally do the right things.
Great video and Great tips. One question, What should we do if the cats are not interested in playing at all? We have tried their favorite toys. When the cats are together it usually just is both of them looking at each other for a long time with one hissing/swatting if the other gets too close. After awhile of looking at each other it goes into some fighting (no blood, no fur) with one cat screaming (other cat does not, just seems like they want to play?) and the one cat gets scared off.
I’m having literally the same situation right now. What worked for you and your cats? Thank you ❤️
We will try this method.. I will come back here as soon as they start to be friends! Wish us luck! 😅
I'll be getting a kitten in maybe two months (they were recently born). Luckily I know my cat will be good with a new cat in our house. I am working on buying him these cat shelves so he has more space from them!
Your cats are beautiful together. Unfortunately my cats don't get along. Well, one is desperate to be friends and my og cat has less than zero interest in being friends. She really liked it just with us. It's been a year.
Thank you for this video! I will try this method with my cats. Its one month so far but now I am more motivated to push them tiny further to make them eat in one bowl. I also decided to buy sniffing mats for them so they can spend more time in each other presence looking for tasty snack. Trying everything possible at this point and If it works i will come back to say another thank you:D
Recently got a new kitten to complement my existing adult cat. Lots of great videos out there but I'm always left thinking "okay, but what about those of us with really small apartments that aren't conducive to a good base camp for a cat? Why isn't there a cat youtuber who lives in a 1 bedroom or studio?"
Prayers answered.
thanks for the tips! my new kitten, we put him inside the cage first to protect him.. and the resident cat would go near it and keep hissing each time. When he does it so often, we will cover the cage so that he can't see the new kitten. We aren't sure if it's the right thing to do, but worry his hissing might upset the new kitten so we don't let them interact yet. We were so tempted to do your method but the rescuer of our kitten told us not to do that.. so we were confused about who to follow as she might take our new kitten away if he got hurt!
Thanks a lot for the fast introduction method as i was trying the slower method and my cats hissed at each other a lot finally found a way to get them together. The only problem is my resident loves food a lot and doesnt play a lot.
You could’ve:
1. Adopted from same litter
2. Isolate them. Why do you force two random cats to be friends when they don’t want to be friends. You could have searched for two cats that have already bonded.
Thank you….have new kitten (Siamese) introduced to my male orange tabby and they get along so well even at first sight….love your wonderful set up for your gorgeous cats…❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Awesome strategy. Thanks for the tips. Following your suggestions in introducing a sister to my spoiled cat. Still working on the video of them slowly getting acquainted with each other.
3 to 5 days??? 😭 We are on 2 weeks & Counting
This is pretty helpful since we adopted a stray cat and I swear he is the most adorable cat ever but my mom did leave my door open a little and he wandered through my brother’s room and through the hallways I think we’re getting there pretty soon cause I have now two cats and a dog
This does work although it might be worrying at first. I've adopted 2 kittens (although I adopted one of them 4 days later after learning that kittens need friends!) At first they were hissing and growling at each other, especially during meal time. But after 3 days they're eating together and playing with each other (with no hissing!)
Thanks for the comment! I'm glad it worked for you - I think this is the first comment that directly said they implemented it and succeeded after a few days!
Yes, the first couple of days it's going to be a bit stressful but you got through it! Congratulations!
Those wall beds looks really nice and cozy 😻
I'm yet to find a video that will help with my kitten. This video assumes the cats will naturally respect the comfort zone, but my new kitten is extremely sociable and will try to jump to the residents as soon as he sees them. Thankfully my house is big enough so i can keep them in separate rooms, but the only way i found to keep them face-to-face is by keeping the kitten in the carrier.
i’m definitely going to try this with my two kitties and update you guys! today is day two and it’s very hard to keep them separated in my small apartment. i have a one year old female and a 10 month old male. the female i’ve had for the longest and she is not very fond of the male. i’m desperate to get them to be friends or at least be okay with each other.
Any update?
Nice to see experimentation.
But I have to assume this won't work for all pairings of cats, of course.
I love this video! I have 9 cats with 1 being reverse-bullied after bullying the newcomers. But an unhelpful housemate decided that having a pet feeder and microchip door to 'protect' the cat and now I can't do another about the situation T.T
Thank you for this information-we are wanting a second cat but the whole separation/isolation thing isn’t going to work the way our home is set up.
Thank you for your video! Learning about cat orange and red zone was amazing, and that hissing and growling is ok! That was comforting to know!
I introduced my cats 2 weeks ago and it went for 3-4 days! On day 3 resident cat was still hissing but I knew it was just to keep appearances because she got so curious about the little one!
No free feeding, scheduled playtimes, ✅, I could see enormous benefit from these practices!! Many thanks from bottom of my heart!!❤❤
My uncle’s neighbor brought home a feral cat for rodent control but the cat runs from him and now, after several months of patience acts almost domesticated and so very sweet to me. I named him Mr. Gray. I just put an RV next to the house and brought Mikey, one of my two cats over. I don’t have much control over Mr Gray with him living outside. I’ve only got him to play once or twice. Mikey got out the first day and was immediately stalked. Is there hope in teaching them they’re not a threat to each other?
Your video is awesome and gives me hope. I’m new to being a cat person. Dogs I know. Just learning about cats, the hard way. Any advice will be so very much appreciated
Gonna use the term "intercat relationship" from now on. ❤
It also helps to rub a blanked or T-shirt on one of the resident cats and rub it then on the new one so they can smell the familiar scent. Also the same the other way. Works great
We adopeted a new male kitten (8-10 weeks old, tabby, 'Mick') yesterday. Our resident female (9-10 months old, tabby, 'Kenzie') that we adopted in January is not having it.. Our timing may not be the best as my wife left on a trip and will not be back until Monday. Last night, we did keep them seperated, in rooms with a door in between. Going into the long holiday weekend, I am hopeful we can get them on the right track by the time my wife returns on Monday. I am planning on using the feeding and playing plan starting tonight.
I'd say with watching cat behaviour, if it gets to full out fighting, you don't read cats very well. There is plenty of warning beforehand that it's not going well.
Know your resident cat. Some cats need slow intro. My senior female is nervous aggressive.. she had a tolerating relationship with out late cat, but any neighbours cats shed run from or fully fight if trapped. She wasn't socialized properly as a kitten, separated too soon. She couldn't read other cats intentions well and seemed to always assume they wanted to hurt her. Even a cat that was very friendly and never picked fights.
So I got a kitten for the first time. Figured it was better to go for a cat that didn't have any territory instincts yet.
Did very slow introduction. Took a while for her to understand he was just trying to play. I did trim her front claws after a swat. He was just passing by her. Had some indents in his side.
I'd taught him not to use claws in play already and she eventually learnt that too.
He first play with him was in a chair. She acted playful but still didn't know the etiquette. She'd still hiss and growl as she did playful unclawed swiped down at him. This got better with practice.
Eventually they'd sleep cuddled up together and groom eachother.
She did unfortunately end up teaching him to fear the neighbours cats though haha. I was hoping he'd be friends with our next door neighbor's cat like our late cat, but hes terrified. Admittedly NC is territorial aggressive. He likes to chase and spray around.
Sorry that was long. Point is, this wont work for nervous aggressive cats or territorial aggressive cats.
Such shiny coats! What food do you feed them? I can’t wait to check out your website and look at the different products you use, I love those window shelves and I’ve never seen a cat tree like that one before!
Hi, your videos are awesome! I'm so glad UA-cam recommended one of them and I was able to find your channel. I'm kinda in a need of advice, I would be so thankful if you can answer... Don't have or know anyone, with experience, who can give me advice, and I badly need one right now. I have a 1.5 year old female, spayed cat. I love her very, very much. I rescued her last August when she was just 3 months old kitten and we've been through so much together. She is so gentle. Her name is Iris. She always comes to me and falls asleep on my chest, we sleep together, we cuddle, we play, she purrs always when she is with me and we've always been together. For a few months now I live alone in a two bedroom apartment. Back at home Iris had a companion - my brother's cat. Male, neutered, a year older than her. He has a difficult personality and it took some time for him to get use to Iris. She was a kitten when we introduced them and it literally took months for him to accept her, but from her side she has always been interested in him, wanting to play and interact. He was the one making the fuss, even attacking. After a few months things settled down and they started to spend a lot of time together. When the pandemic started I had to return home and they have been together almost all summer, without any problems. They would play, search for each other, they never get to the stage where would sleep curled together and bath each other but other than that were pretty close. Well, after the lockdown ended I moved back into the apartment. And Iris was once again alone. The other cat, of course, stayed with my brother. I couldn't take him, one because he doesn't like the small apartment, and two - my brother really loves him and he wouldn't want to live without him. So I noticed how lonely Iris seemed here. She was sleeping all the time, overeat, overgroom, wanting to play when she was awake, but I can play with her to a point. I have university classes, work, have to go outside and leave her alone... So after lots of thoughts I decided that I can afford to adopt another cat so she can have a companion. After the interaction with my brother's cat and seeing that she was always the one wanting to play and knowing her personality and how sweet and gentle she is around me and has always been good to my brother's cat, despite how hard he treated her from the begging, my first thought was that she wound be happy to have someone to play with. Well, a few days ago I adopted a little, female, black kitten. Around 3 months old. The kitten is a delight. She purrs all the time. Wants to play. Shows so much interest in Iris. Comes to her. Wants to intereract. But the moment Iris saw her she started hissing and growling and hasn't stopped since then. The apartment have two separate rooms so I can keep them apart but I don't want to. It's not a big space and I don't want the doors to be closed. Bearing in mind that the space was always open and Iris could go whenever she wanted. But after the hissing and growing started I kinda panicked and the first night took the little one to sleep with me and Iris was in the other room. Since then I've been trying to introduce them slowly. Playing with them as you've shown, giving rewards, talking to both of them, leaving the doors open. It haven't passed that much time... just a few days, but Iris is still hissing at the new kitten. And I can see in how much distress she is in. I wouldn't say she is aggressive, more like she is afraid. She hisses, then hides, or climbes somewhere high and watches the kitten. She doesn't come and cuddle with me as she uses to, and for me that has always been a sign that she is stressed and scared. Even now, when I'm typing this, I've been trying to play with them the past half hour, as you've shown in your video, trying to distract her, make her engage, but the play is soooo muted. She hisses and stops, hides from the kitten, then comes again, hisses more, hides again... and the kitten is 50% curios of her and 50% afraid to come closer, because of the hissing... I love her so much and can't beer looking in how much distress she is in. I feel so stressed when things are not okay with her. I'm so sorry for the long, long rambling, but after seeing your channel and looking at the videos I thought that maybe you could give me an advice on what to do. I'm kinda desperate and awful thoughts that she hates me now and won't even accept the kitten are crossing my mind and I'm this far away from crying..
Is this a normal behavior? She is not attacking the kitten, just hissing and growling, hiding and not wanting to approache it. How long does this continues? And will, in your opinion, I'll be able to make them like each other? So, so, sorry again for the long comment. I hope you can respond. I'll be so happy to hear an opinion from someone who lives in a small space as me and have experience introducing new cats.
Hi! Thanks for your comment!
Everything you just described to me is very normal behavior. Try not to worry too much about it, things will take time. Hissing, hiding, is all part of the introduction process.
She likely doesn't want anything to do with the kitten...for now. If you watched my video there are 2 strategies, food, and play. Female cats tend to respond to food strategies better. Find a time when all cats are hungry (that means to stop free-feeding) and as explained in my video, feed them apart at first (make sure they can still see each other during mealtime) but slowly bring the bowls together each subsequent mealtime.
Use interactive toys to play with the kitten until it's tired, this makes the kitten much less "in your face" and overly energetic (which could provoke more hissing).
This process can take 2-4 days. Read this article for a step by step guide: monsieurtn.com/illustrated-guide-new-cat-introduction-no-isolation-separation/
Keep me updated!
How is everything going with your cats now? ❤
Thank you, I rescued a female last year when she was only two months and she’s close with my dog but has never interacted with other cats before ever since I’ve had her. But this past week I found an adult male stray and I took him in too. And she’s so angry with me and keeps hissing at him even though I never heard her hiss before this
Thank you for this! I live in a single room with the only doors being my bathroom and my closet, so the separation thing just isn't viable.
Going to use all of your advice! :)
Use the bathroom, unless it is tiny.
Thank you for this video. We hhave a 21 year old cat and a cat we adopted literally a year ago today and in a few days we are bringing two new cats(currently 13 weeks old). We live in a loft type cabin and we don’t really have a safe place for the kittens. Hopefully this advice will help us get everyone acclimated.
How’d it go??
Yes! I would love to hear how this went. I lost 3 of my cats this year (20 year old, 17 year 11 month, and sadly my 14 year old). I have a 12 and 15 year old still. I really want to adopt 2 4 month old kittens but I am having some concerns that my senior cats might be too non-plussed over it.