How to get two cats together (who hate each other)

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whatevergirl

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*Many of you might recall our family cat, Saber, ‘disappearing’ earlier this year…wandering out of the house…he was missing for nearly two weeks. I would wander the streets at night looking for him, and then one night, dd and I spotted a pretty little stray cat, who followed us all the way home. We fed this kitty for a few days, and then when Saber didn’t show up, we took this one in. He is now part of our family…we have since had him neutered, and his shots taken care of. Our dilemma is that he ‘lives’ in my master bedroom…we bought him a little playground, and he just loves it. (reason being Saber would really hurt him, I think) But, Saber knows this cat is in there…but is pretty ok with staying away from the door.

So…to my dilemma. Today, I let Coco (the 2nd cat) outside…I totally forgot he was on the porch…I am off today, and went to pick my son up from school…opened the front door…he ran in. Oh my gosh, Saber and he chased each other around, me chasing after them (that’s a good way to get in shape, chase cats! lol) then, they stopped, looked at each other, hissed…and the running began again. Finally, I chased Coco into the master bedroom, and shoo-ed Saber away.

I am really kind of tired of living like this. DH and I (more me:D) love both cats…and my dd would have a fit if we gave Coco away, but what’s the solution here? Saber ripped up the carpet upstairs in one of these frenzies (this isn’t the first time:rolleyes:), and we signed another year lease on this place…we are probably going to stay here for a few years, so we’ll buy next year. But, we are renting now, and the thought of having these cats cost us so much money in repairs makes me ill. 😦

So…should I try to assimilate these two? If you have done in this in your own family, how did you make it work? I know some people at work with multiple cats, and they say, you just have to get through the fighting stage, and then eventually they’ll just co-exist. Is that true? Your help is appreciated, I’m really at my wits end with these two. :o*
 
I don’t know how get two male cats together.

But I read something in a magazine that we tried with our female cats (we had four at the time and they were fighting like tornadoes).

Bring in a small black male cat.

The females will calm down because they will all “adopt” the small black male as their “kitten.” The “black” color" is neutral, so they don’t see him as a threat or as someone else’s kitten.

I can’t explain all the cat psychology. I can’t even remember it all. But when we did this, it was miraculous. All of our females stopped fighting.

This was over seventeen years ago, and now all the females are dead, and the small black male is still alive and kicking. I guess having many “mamas” kept him healthy!

My dad, a big cat lover, says that black cats are just naturally nice cats because they’re so frightening, God made them nicer in their personalities. (I’ve know some mean black cats, so this isn’t always true.) But our little guy is really fun, just like a baby. He’s one of those cats that’s always on a lap or even draped across your feet.

We do have another female cat now, a younger female, and she and the black kitty are total pals.
 
I have the same problem, actually. Osama annoys Richard quite a bit and the old cat doesn’t accept battle, to the point of running away or meowwing for help, even though he can literally walk over the small one if forced to. I can’t take the sight of the newfound attacking my cat on the way to food or litterbox (which is different from the times when he just wants to play and Richard won’t cooperate).
 
*LOL, that’s all we need…another cat, and to bring in a female?? 😃 But, I wonder since we have two males, if your suggestion (just in reverse) might work. Hmmm. Thanks Cat!

I really don’t want to put Coco up for adoption, we love him…but this living arrangement is a little nutso. *
 
*chevalier–haha funny cat names, you have chosen! 😛

kage–yes, both are neutered now…when we had the stray for a little while, we didn’t get him neutered right away, so he had a very strong desire to go outside and ‘roam.’ So, we’d let him, but every night he’d return. It was a nice reprieve for us, because then saber didn’t sit at the bedroom door all day. He stopped sitting by the bedroom door, but he knows there is a cat in the house. Since neutering Coco however, when we put him out for a few hours, he doesn’t have that desire to roam, and sits right next to the front door…I could leave him in all day long, but to be cooped up in one room all day, you can tell he needs to release his energy, he’s younger than saber…still likes to play a lot. I know males are ultra-territorial…but it’s getting old. *

🤷
 
I’ve never done it with male cats, but with a female cat and a female kitten. We let the old cat have free roam of the place and confined the kitten to a room. They stayed like that, with separate areas, until the old cat started to get curious and sniff around the door. For a long while all she would do would be hiss and swipe under the door, but eventually she would just sniff and try to peak in if the door was opened. Once it got to the point where she was no longer hissing, we would open the door just enough for them to see each other. The old one went back to hissing and swiping for a while, but it didn’t last forever. Any time she was curiously sniffing at the door, we cracked it so the cats could see eachother. One day, magically she didn’t hiss at the kitten, so she got to officially meet the kitten. They sniffed, the old one was like hmph, what’s the big deal here? and she just walked away like nothing happened. As long as the kitten didn’t try to eat the old one’s tail (old one has a long black tail with a white tip that is quite enticing when being twitched) they tolerated each other.
 
*Thanks kage…haha I’m not sure about this. After what I witnessed earlier, gosh, I can’t imagine them EVER getting along. lol They do the swiping at each other under the door…hissing…I think we humans get a little freaked out with the hissing…I for one, get scared from it. It sounds like they are going to have a heart attack or something. lol If I’m ever going to attempt this, I’m just gonna have to bite the bullet. My concern is suppose they hurt/bite each other. Today, Coco actually ‘threw’ the first punch. Last time these two were in the same room, Saber did. Saber looked like he was in shock when this happened, today. Like, maybe Coco earned some respect. 😃 Ugh, I dunno. I have to try something, this article makes it sound like it’s at least–possible. *
 
Yes, two neutered male cats can most defiantly get along, that is what we had all my growing up years. We had one, and then got another because the first was getting old. When he died we got another because we just liked having two. And the cycle continued. 😃

The best way to introduce the two is to start out slowly. Since they are already at least a bit used to the idea that there is another cat in the house, on to step two. If you have a baby gate or something of the sort, but that up in the bedroom doorway. That way they can see and smell each other, but still can’t get at each other really. If you don’t have a gate, get a carrier and put the new cat in it somewhere in the main part of the house. Same idea, they can smell and see each other, but can’t get at each other.

After you have done that for awhile then you can just leave the door open and let them “find” each other naturally. Don’t just shove them together or make a big deal out of it. It will probably help to keep their food and litter boxes separate for awhile until they have really gotten used to each other around. I also wouldn’t worry too much about hissing and swatting at each other, that is how they will determine who is the dominate cat. Only interfere if it is looking like someone will get hurt and use something like a water bottle to keep you from getting hurt.

How well they will get along will just depend on the cats. We had everything from I will barely tolerate you to we are best friends and give each other baths. But they should be able to coexist.

And here is a good article.
 
KarenElissa said:
Yes, two neutered male cats can most defiantly get along, that is what we had all my growing up years. We had one, and then got another because the first was getting old. When he died we got another because we just liked having two. And the cycle continued. 😃

The best way to introduce the two is to start out slowly. Since they are already at least a bit used to the idea that there is another cat in the house, on to step two. If you have a baby gate or something of the sort, but that up in the bedroom doorway. That way they can see and smell each other, but still can’t get at each other really. If you don’t have a gate, get a carrier and put the new cat in it somewhere in the main part of the house. Same idea, they can smell and see each other, but can’t get at each other.

After you have done that for awhile then you can just leave the door open and let them “find” each other naturally. Don’t just shove them together or make a big deal out of it. It will probably help to keep their food and litter boxes separate for awhile until they have really gotten used to each other around. I also wouldn’t worry too much about hissing and swatting at each other, that is how they will determine who is the dominate cat. Only interfere if it is looking like someone will get hurt and use something like a water bottle to keep you from getting hurt.

How well they will get along will just depend on the cats. We had everything from I will barely tolerate you to we are best friends and give each other baths. But they should be able to coexist.

And here is a good article.
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*A baby gate! I hadn’t thought of that, great idea! Now, suppose one of them leaps over the gate…you know how they leap…and pretty high, too! :eek:

I have to believe that they will tire of chasing, hissing, and all of that, soon enough–if we do this exercise. The thing that concerns me is a woman at work has 7 cats…she had 6 for a long time, and introduced a stray into the home, a female. She said it has been nothing but disaster…the 6 cats gang up on the one female, and the female is trying to be so nice to the others. :(*
 
whatevergirl said:
*A baby gate! I hadn’t thought of that, great idea! Now, suppose one of them leaps over the gate…you know how they leap…and pretty high, too! :eek:

I have to believe that they will tire of chasing, hissing, and all of that, soon enough–if we do this exercise. The thing that concerns me is a woman at work has 7 cats…she had 6 for a long time, and introduced a stray into the home, a female. She said it has been nothing but disaster…the 6 cats gang up on the one female, and the female is trying to be so nice to the others. :(*
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If you have two gates, stack them on top of each other. You can’t get though very well, but it will do for awhile.

As for worrying, I would say they will almost always come to some kind of civil agreement. They may not be best friends, but they will tolerate each other. VERY rarely can they flat out not live together. I’ll also point out that introducing two cats to each other is very different from introducing one cat to an already established group of cats. 😃
 
I don’t have as much experience introducing two cats as I do introducing dogs, so take this with a grain of salt…

Sometimes two animals will fight even more if their humans are nearby. The humans can become part of the property that they fight over and the more attention you pay to the fighting the more aggitated they become. So when you do put them together you are probably better off fading off into the background.

If you do have to break up a fight I’d say try to appear as calm as possible and let a spray bottle of water do the work. It’s probably best if they don’t notice that you are the one who is breaking up the fight.
 
*Hi SMHW–Oh, was I supposed to be calm when breaking them up today? lol I was SO not calm…flailing my arms about…screaming their names…I mean, SCREAMING. :rotfl:

Calm…okay, I’ll have to remember this. And the spray bottle…this works to break up cat fights? :ehh:*
 
whatevergirl said:
*Hi SMHW–Oh, was I supposed to be calm when breaking them up today? lol I was SO not calm…flailing my arms about…screaming their names…I mean, SCREAMING. :rotfl:

Calm…okay, I’ll have to remember this. And the spray bottle…this works to break up cat fights? :ehh:*
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Yes, a spray bottle will usually work. Make sure it is on stream and not a fine mist, they’ll never notice that. 😃 The hatred of water should win over the hatred of each other. 👍
 
whatevergirl said:
Hi SMHW–Oh, was I supposed to be calm when breaking them up today? lol I was SO not calm…flailing my arms about…screaming their names…I mean, SCREAMING. :rotfl:

Calm…okay, I’ll have to remember this. And the spray bottle…this works to break up cat fights? :ehh:
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Now you know why I don’t have much experience breaking up cat fights. I’d have probably been screaming too!

But seriously, it really works best when you try to remain calm. And KarenElissa is right… the spray bottle should work but it has to be enough water for the cats to notice it. The hope is that they begin to think that they’ll get wet everytime they fight. Better they think fighting causes them to get wet than that they think YOU are the cause of the water.
 
KarenElissa said:
Yes, a spray bottle will usually work. Make sure it is on stream and not a fine mist, they’ll never notice that. 😃 The hatred of water should win over the hatred of each other. 👍
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😃 Okay! I will try this next time, I think on Monday, I’m going to try to get them together again (intentionally this time), and we can borrow a baby gate from friends of ours. What is most hilarious right now, is both cats are absolutely exhausted. Saber has barely opened his eyes since the ordeal, and Coco…my dd just went into my bedroom and said he is lying on his back, asleep. Cats do like to sleep, but saber is snoring right now! :rotfl:
 
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