[2kids3cats4me]

Hey All. I know I've talked about the little guy we've come to love as Buddy. Well, last week we had him neutered and since last Wednesday, the 7th, we've had him in our house in his own little room.

Just yesterday we thought we'd try bringing him out to the rest of the house so George and Herbie could see him while he was under the protection of a pet carrier. George is actually scared or emotionally threatened by the little guy so he takes off when he sees him but Herbie is another story.

Herbie scratched and tried to bite his way through the gate of the carrier yesterday and after about 10 minutes of this he finally calmed down and gave up. The whole time this was going on Buddy seemed to be almost taunting him because he knew Herbie couldn't hurt him. He didn't make any cries or anything. Now this evening we did the same thing - Buddy, pet carrier, living room. After about 15 minutes Herbie really didn't seem all that bad. He only pawed at the gate for a couple of minutes and proceeded to actually walk away as if he didn't care.

So then I got this bright idea (or maybe not so bright!) :roll: to have hubby take Buddy out of the carrier and let him lay on his lap in the recliner. This went fine until Buddy jumped from his lap. Then there was mayhem all over the house. Herbie IMMEDIATELY started chasing him down and did catch him. When he did he sat on him and started nipping on him. I felt completely terrified for Buddy because he's just a little over half the size of Herbie.

Anyway, hubby managed to break up the fight and put Herbie in a secluded area so we could focus on calming Buddy down and check him for bite marks or blood (Heaven forbid!). We found neither (THANK GOD!) and managed to get Buddy calmed down to the point where he is now taking a nap in his room.

My question is this - OBVIOUSLY I think we've gone too fast with trying to make intros between the cats. With Herbie's reaction so strong the way it was have we backed this up into a hopeless situation? How much longer do we give it before we say that Herbie and Buddy can't live in harmony.

Any other pointers on length of time for Buddy to be introduced through the carrier, any other intro methods, etc., would be GREATLY appreciated. Little Buddy has obviously been through so much in his little life that it would tear me up to have to say "goodbye" to him, even if we ended up giving him to someone we knew. Buddy really loves my and hubby's company and we love his. We just wish Herbie felt better about it all.

PLEASE HELP! :?

 

[Ta3339]

I would try maybe having feeding time on either side of the door to the room. Have the door open jsut enough so they see each other, but can't get to each other. Tierney didn't eat much the first time we did this.. but it could see Teagan and hiss and growl without getting close. I sat on the inside of the doorwith Teagan, with my foot on it, so that Tierney couldn't open it more, and my BF sat on the other side with Tierney so he could catch him if he tried anything. We did this for about 2 meals before we let them really see each other. But the first time they got close, i held Teagan while My BF held Tierney and let them sniff and paw without really being able to get to each other.


Good luck!

 

[adavis333]

This article may be of some help.

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=cattocatintroductions

I'm going through the same thing now too (Not one but TWO kitties!). Except I have two resident kitties and two kittens...talk about mayhem! Our introduction process is getting better, slowly but surely. Surfboard, our male is not real happy about the new kittens. He doesn't attack but growls at them. One thing the article will mention is to associate food with the interactions. That will make them think positively about being around each other. Dr. Jean's article does a good job of explaining it.
Keep us posted...I'm sure it will work out. Like everyone is telling me, these things take time.
Good Luck!