I just adopted a new cat that I am told is a 7 month-old female, my problem is that she hates my cats. I have three cats that are all still young and curious and when they get anywhere near her she hisses and growls at them, only my one year old male seems bothered by this and so he thinks he needs to growl back and he tilts his head and looks really weird. I have never seen him do this before. I'm trying to get the new cat adjusted to my cats before I bring my dogs back inside and start working on that problem since she's scared to death of dogs. Any advice would be very much appriciated.

It sounds like you just put the cats together without properly introducing them. Cats are very territorial, so the residents view the new one as an intruder, and the new girl is just plain overwhelmed. New home, cats, people, etc. That's alot to take in at once.

You should put the new cat in her own room with all her supplies. Make sure it's a room with a solid door (not glass) so the cats can't see each other. Then you can start working on the intro process. If you Google "new cat introductions" you will find info on how to bring a new cat into a household with resident cats.

Speaking from experience, it is important to get your cats off to a good start, or you could be dealing with the cats not getting along for a long time. Be patient and don't try to rush it.

I don't have any advice for you on the dogs. Hopefully, someone else here can answer that. You can also try doing a search of the forum or the internet for more info on the dog-cat question.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks. I did put my cats in the basement and let the new cat check out the rest of the house by herself all night. Then I brought up one cat at a time this morning and put them back when I had to leave for work, so I am doing it slowly and well supervised. It just suprised me because the lady fostering her had 13 cats and she never said anything about having any problems. As for the dogs I forgot to add that they love my cats cause they all play and wrestle around together, but the new cat hates dogs and I'm worried that the dogs will want to play and I know she won't. I'm hoping that because she's young I can still get her accustomed to them being around eventually.

As far as getting the cats used to each other - I think you need to take it a step farther and rather than just letting them see each other for a while each day, start by letting them get used to each others smells (without seeing each other)

Here's a short summary of what I'd suggest:

1) Get a Feliway plugin to ease the whole process

2) Get a blanket or towel that your resident cats have been using and put it in the new cat's room

3) And vice-versa. Take something the new cat has been using and put it somewhere where the old cats will see and smell it. (and ideally - sleep on it themselves)

Just a note: Never put the new cat's smells near the resident cat's litterbox. If they are upset about the new cat, they may start refusing to use the litterbox that has the "intruder" cat's smells near it.

4) Keep swapping the blankets and towels for a few days (at least) without introducing them to each other face to face.

5) Take one of the blankets/towels (it doesn't matter which one) and put it underneath the door where the new cat is, leaving it partially sticking out on each side.

Then, put some cat food on each side of the door, and let the new cat and the resident cats eat “next to each other” through the door.

5) For an hour or two each day - take your resident cats and put them in your new cat's room --- while putting your new cat in the resident cat's room.

6) When you finally do have them meet I would suggest rubbing baby powder on all of the cats - on their back right at the base of the tail and underneath the chin. Cats are so driven by scent they will view each other as 'neutral' because they smell exactly the same. This helps to prevent fights.

Even if it seems like your cats are getting along okay right now (which I noticed they are not) - I think it'd be wise to slow down and take this approach to avoid negative long term effects.

And remember that some cats will take more time to adjust – and some will take less. I think you are doing a good thing by having one cat at a time get used to the new cat. But I also think you should slow things down.

As far as the dog is concerned, how well trained is he/she? As long as you can train your dog not to bother the cat - she will get used to him over time. The most important thing is to make sure the dog doesn't chase the cat.

I hope this helps!

Tink (our resident female 4yrs old) reacted the same way with our new kitten... lots of hissing, growling and noclawing batting when the kitten came close. At the time (I was not a member of this forum) we were unaware of proper introductions and simply let the 2 have free run of the house together in hopes that they just naturally became civil with each other.

We did alot of supervised play with both kittys at the same time, and never really forced anything on either one.

I think we got really lucky after what I have read here, but after day 2, Tink that evening had no change, hissing growling. The next morning, wammo, she simply walked up to the kitten, started bathing her. Ever since they have been great. Tink has really taken on a mother aspect to the kitten. Only thing I have noticed is she does tire of the kitten constantly trying to play with her especially when she is trying to rest... but that only results in her moving away from Cleo, never growls or hisses at the kitten... funny enough only growls at us when Cleo has peeved her off LOL.

That's great that you were so lucky!

Yes, it definitely varies from cat to cat. Some are immediately "attached at the tail" and never want to be apart ---- others take a LONG time....and some may never be close friends -- and will only tolerate each other.

That's not slow. Two weeks is more like it. You really need to do the research Lisa suggested. Don't blame it on the foster lady. It's your responsibility. Now is the time to do it the right way. Or you could have a permanently unhappy cat family.

Exactly.

I fully understand that this is my responsibility. I was not blaming the foster lady, she is absolutely wonderful, I just said she never had any problems at her home, she only had the cat for a few days, so there is no way I would balme her. For all I know it may have something to do with the fact that the poor cat was found walking the street and has been transfered into four homes after that and she's just tired of having to adjust. I only had her for one night when I asked for advice because I wasn't expecting and problems. And I truely appreciate those who have given their advice, we are going through all the steps advised and so far I'm not having any difficulties. I just don't understand why there are some people who feel the need to speak negatively to others when we only asked for help not criticism. I appologize for getting on anyone's bad side, but I am not a child and do not appreciate being spoken to as one.

My dogs don't bother chasing the cats, my problem is that my other cats love to play with the dogs and so every once in a while they roll around the floor and play together and I'm just afraid the dogs might think she wants to play and she definately doesn't. I'm not sure how to train them that they can play with the other cats but not the new cat. We've named her Jenna, by the way.