Question:
Hi Everyone,
This is my first post here, and I'm hoping for a little advice.
I've got an older (2 yo) Cat named Roxy, and yesterday I brought home a younger kitten (6 mo) named Nora.
Even after just 24h, Nora (the kitten) seems to be indifferent to Roxy, and would probably even be willing to play. It seems though, that Roxy is deathly afraid of the Kitten. It isn't that Roxy is defending her territory, or anything of that matter, She just seems to occasionally (every couple hours) try to go downstairs, eats a little bit of food or goes to the litter box, then looks up, sees Nora somewhere (Nora is only allowed on the main floor right now), hisses, and runs away. If I try to coax Roxy closer, she freaks out, drops out of my arms and runs away.
When I first introduced the cats, I pampered Roxy with Tuna Fish and Praise, to try to make her more comfortable with the transition - was this a bad thing to do?
When Roxy is upstairs she is her usual self, so I don't think she is agrivated, I think she is just scared. Anyone ever experiance this before? Any advice? I know 24h isn't that long for them to be together, but this situation seems very strange to me.
Thanks in Advance,
Mike


Answer:
Roxy is Spayed, and Nora isn't spayed yet. We are planning on spaying Nora very soon - could that help the situation?


Answer:
I'm not too experienced with cats, there are many other members here who have lots of good advice to offer
I did read that a cat that is not spayed might be cranky but Roxy is already spayed and she is the one who is jumpy around Nora right?
Maybe she is having a hard time adjusting, hopefully someone can offer more useful advice.
Good luck with your introduction!


Answer:
I'll start off by saying Welcome to POTN
I cant really give much advice but I know when we brough Kahn home and we already had Kaymen, Kaymen was scared and would hiss ,,,Kahn of course wanted to play with kaymen,,,,after a week or so things calmed down and within 2 weeks they were the best of buds,,,,it might take a while but i'm sure they will get along in no time,,,good luck


Answer:
It usually takes up to 2 weeks or sometimes longer for 2 cats to get used to each other...I wouldn't worry about it yet...as long as Roxy has a place to get away from the other cat... they will work it out on their own, in their own time...


Answer:
Well I think I've been fortunate, there hasn't been any violence - mostly because I think Roxy is too scared to do any damage, and the kitten is still kind of confused as to what is going on.
Its kind of funny sometimes, I'll bring Roxy downstairs, and the kitten will just be sitting there looking calmly at my crazy Roxy hissing and freaking out.
Roxy isn't the smartest cat in the world, but she is usually pretty good tempered.
Is there any benefit for me to say, use the blanket that Nora (kitten) sleeps on, and give it to Roxy to get used to the scent? Or do you guys think this is doing harm rather than good?
Thanks for the hope btw - I was starting to get concerned I'd have to give the kitten back! The poor little thing was sitting in a cage where I picked her up, and she'd be in there for a week without being let out except for going to the vet -- How could I say no???
If any of you are interested I'll post some pics of the two cats a little later today.
Mike


Answer:
We are always interested in pictures! I would love to see your cats.
I don't think using the blanket will cause any harm, but I could be wrong, someone correct me here, but hopefully they will sort it out among themselves, they are still quite new to each other
Oops, and I forgot to say too!


Answer:
Mike???? wahoo,,,,we have another male here!!!


Answer:
Welcome to the forum!
To me, it sounds as if you are doing everything right. When I brought Sydney (6 weeks) home to Max (1 year), he was very violent to her...to the point that if they were not directly supervised, she had to be locked in a different room. I would give Roxy a week or two to get used to things. It sounds like they are off to a good start though.


Answer:
Brandy - Maybe a female Mike?
Nah - you got me all figured out.
Here are some pictures like I promised.
The cats are both downstairs in Roxy's favorite room (Roxy isn't usually allowed in the shag carpet room - but I figured it would make a good meeting place). There is a bunch of growling, but they are dealing with it. No more screeching from Roxy yet!
Gray one is Nora
White/Brown/Black is Roxy
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