i have a new kitty in our house, a beautiful black big boy cat that's almost a year old. he's from a local rescue group and is really a laid back cat - great personality. after keeping him isolated for a couple of days i introduced him to my two female cats and so far so good, just a lot of hissing and posturing with some growling from the females, he either walks off or lays down. i know all situations/cats are different but i was wondering how long it averages to be until the girls just accept him/ignore him.
new kitty in house
- Thread starter sgj99
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he's really quite amazing with the girls, they're all twisted up and hissing (the normal stuff) and he just blinks his big green eyes at them at walks off or lays down. i feel like this will all be fine pretty quickly, we've got 2500 sq ft for them all to spread out and get away from each other.
i'm just a little paranoid because we used to have to keep two boy cats separated from the two girl cats - the boys quite literally attacked the girls, no hissing or growling just WHAMO! on top and fighting. so we lived for the past 3 1/2 years with keeping cats separated at all times, constantly worried that one of the boys would get out and hurt one of the girls, moving them around the house so no one had their own spot, making sure everyone got quality time with us ... it was crazy! but you do what you got to do. sadly, neither one of those males is with us anymore, but passed due to old age related ailments. our females are only 3 and 4 years old and the new kitty will be 1 soon.
i'm just a little paranoid because we used to have to keep two boy cats separated from the two girl cats - the boys quite literally attacked the girls, no hissing or growling just WHAMO! on top and fighting. so we lived for the past 3 1/2 years with keeping cats separated at all times, constantly worried that one of the boys would get out and hurt one of the girls, moving them around the house so no one had their own spot, making sure everyone got quality time with us ... it was crazy! but you do what you got to do. sadly, neither one of those males is with us anymore, but passed due to old age related ailments. our females are only 3 and 4 years old and the new kitty will be 1 soon.
I have never seperated cats when introducing them (didn't even know you should until I got older) and have never had any problems after the first couple of weeks. I imagine your new boy will probably let the girls come to him since he has no reaction towards their hissing. If it doesn't settle down in a week or two then I would start worrying but for now it sounds like everything is going normally!
^ they've already sniffed noses (and rear-ends) with some hissing involved but that was totally expected. there is not even much growling, just hissing and posturing by the girls (he hasn't hissed or growled once) and i suspect that is just to make sure he knows they were there first. he's had room mates at his foster home so he's used to other kitties, the ones that would play with him he'd play with, the ones that wanted to be left alone he left alone.
Usually when you introduce a younger male to older female cats they take on a mothering role. What you are describing is perfectly normal and really a VERY good sign that there is only hissing going on. Sounds like they will be fine in no time. It usually takes 2 weeks until everyone has figured out their place. Congrats on your new boy!
IMO it would only be natural for the girls to get hissy around a new boy if the other males attacked them all the time.
I took in an 'intact' female who had been deliberately left behind when her owners moved. It took me a few years to get her, so in that time the poor thing had developed an absolute hatred for male cats. I got her fixed and she has settled in nicely. It has taken her years to accept the boys without a scene
I took in an 'intact' female who had been deliberately left behind when her owners moved. It took me a few years to get her, so in that time the poor thing had developed an absolute hatred for male cats. I got her fixed and she has settled in nicely. It has taken her years to accept the boys without a scene
IMO it would only be natural for the girls to get hissy around a new boy if the other males attacked them all the time.
I took in an 'intact' female who had been deliberately left behind when her owners moved. It took me a few years to get her, so in that time the poor thing had developed an absolute hatred for male cats. I got her fixed and she has settled in nicely. It has taken her years to accept the boys without a scene
i certainly understand their fear and hesitation under the circumstances. their few encounters with boys have not been nice at all in the past. but this new guy seems to be okay with their hissing and posturing. like i said, he just lays down or walks away. there has been very little growling and no negative contact like swatting and they have touched noses. i feel very positive about our blended family
that's what i've heard/read/been told too. and we have two solid black cats, both rescues. our new kitty is almost one years old with big green eyes. his foster mom said his mom and the rest of the litter were adopted a long time ago but everyone just skipped by this guy because he's a solid black cat. we have a little female who is also solid black but has gold/copper colored eyes. she was adopted from a local shelter and they told me the same thing there: the black cats have a real hard time finding homes. when i went to the shelter to get a cat i asked "who needs a home most?" and they immediately got this little girl out for me and said "please take her, no one wants the black cats." she was only about six months old, had an upper respiratory infection, was flea-infested and in heat. i immediately knew she'd give me lots of love and laughs ... and she has in the 2 1/2 years we've had her.
