Concatenation Conundrum

[robotech_master]

Any cat people here? (Looking at you, lil_shepherd, inamac :) I need some advice, and I need it bad.

Over in this discussion thread I have been talking about my plan to introduce two new cats into a currently cat-free apartment at the same time. One of them is that Bengal I mentioned, Benjamin, who the shelter operator has said gets along well with other cats. They're both very young adults—Benji's 1 1/2, and the vet estimates Diva's age at "about 2" from the condition of her teeth.

The thing is, I'm getting some conflicting advice. Some people advise the whole "segregate them into different rooms and introduce them by degrees" thing. But one of the posters, cshenk, points out that this advice is meant for introducing a new cat into a home that another cat or cats consider their territory, and that this separation in the event of two new cats can lead to both cats staking out their own mini-territories rather than getting integrated as a household. He cites (what he claims to be) considerable experience in the matter.

One of the other posters, who disagrees with him, advised me to "consider the sources" of the advice. The problem is, I don't know either of them from Adam so as far as I'm concerned their credibility is about the same. (Well, cshenk's credibility may be slightly higher—but if I'm honest with myself, I'm not sure whether that is because he writes convincingly with well-justified arguments or because I'd rather not have to mess with the whole segregation business.)

I really don't want to make the wrong decision here and ruin my cats' chances of getting along with each other. And this is something that can only be done once.

Comments

[foomf.livejournal.com]

Talk to the vet/behaviorist at the shelter.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I must admit that I have no experience at all in introducing two cats to the same household at the same time. I do think that just sticking them in front of each other and expecting no trouble would be very dangerous - it might work, but if they did go for each other you would have difficulty correcting the problem.

However, there is sense in the "don't let either of them think the house is their territory immediately" idea. If they were mine, I'd use the run or a cages to introduce them, but you almost certainly don't have my equipment and you are living in an apartment.

They must have somewhere to retreat if they are frightened and you might try their first meeting by lodging their cat carriers next to each other for a couple of hours, so they can hear and smell each other. It might also be an idea to exchange their bedding so, again, they can get used to each other's smell. Once they stop hissing and snarling, you could open the carriers and see what happens.

From a cat psychology point of view I think cshenk may be right to think that, as neither cat will see the apartment as their territory or you as their person, you can't use the usual methods, and keeping them separate for any length of time would be a bad idea. However, if there is a bad fight, separate them and start the two rooms thing.

However,I will put your query out on my LJ and see if we can get someone with some experience over here!

[katenigma.livejournal.com]

I've brought 2 cats home from the shelter at the same time. I did start the process by putting their carriers together for a little while (less than an hour), and then let them loose in the bathroom with the litter box. Since they just sniffed at each other as just another part of the house to explore, I let them be. Coming from the shelter, they were used to being around other cats and there wasn't as much as a hiss. I sometimes think they bonded together against the strange humans. :-D You'll have less trouble than you might, anyway, since one is male and the other female. Obviously, if a cat fight ensues, break it up and separate them for a bit, but otherwise I'd introduce them together and let them establish the hierarchy. They will work it out, and probably without bloodshed.

OTOH, maybe I'm not a reliable source either, since I have a laissez-faire attitude about even introducing a new cat into an established house. LOL When we got cat #3, I let them sniff the carrier for awhile, and then opened it when the silly thing in my avatar was laying on top of it, desperately trying to set the new guy free! I opened the carrier,and he immediately started GROOMING the kitten. ROFL Bella hissed at everyone who came near her for a good week, including her very bewildered cat brother, but even she never so much as took a swipe at him. She just retreated to the top of her cat tree. And hers was the longest/worst reaction I've experienced out of the 5 times I've introduced a new cat where there already was one, and 8+ times of introducing a new DOG to a house with cats (and dogs.) And every time, the animals have worked it out fine and become friends.

The only concession we made (or I watched my parents make) was that we'd shut the new one into a separate area when there wasn't a human home to supervise until we were sure they'd integrated okay. You definitely are going to need to access the situation before leaving for work Monday. :-/

[katenigma.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I forgot to note that Bella, the same cat who hissed and pouted when we brought home cat #3, was one of the cats in the bring 2 home at once scenario, who was as good as gold THEN.