too late to salvage my cats' relationship?

I recently got a second cat and I tried to introduce them "the right way" by
separating them and letting them smell eachother's scent for a few days.

But my young new cat pounces on the mellow older cat when he has his back
turned away. I can't blame my older cat shatner for disliking him.

Is there anything I can do to end the fighting and get them to be civil with
eachother (or at least fight fair)?

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Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

Are you sure that the new cat is not trying to play
And sometimes cats tolerate each other, hate each other than love each other

"kitkat via CatKB.com" u26561@uwe wrote in message
news:66733d1ca9889@uwe...
I recently got a second cat and I tried to introduce them "the right way"
by
separating them and letting them smell eachother's scent for a few days.

But my young new cat pounces on the mellow older cat when he has his back
turned away. I can't blame my older cat shatner for disliking him.

Is there anything I can do to end the fighting and get them to be civil
with
eachother (or at least fight fair)?

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

"kitkat via CatKB.com" u26561@uwe wrote in message
news:66733d1ca9889@uwe...
I recently got a second cat and I tried to introduce them "the right way"
by
separating them and letting them smell eachother's scent for a few days.

But my young new cat pounces on the mellow older cat when he has his back
turned away. I can't blame my older cat shatner for disliking him.

Is there anything I can do to end the fighting and get them to be civil
with
eachother (or at least fight fair)?

Assuming from what you write that both cats are male? If the younger one is
not neutered, this could be a form of dominance 'play' which can get a bit
nasty and would certainly be distressing to your older cat. If the older one
is neutered, this only aggravates matters.

indeed they are both male but also both neutered (but the younger one got
neutered less than 2 months ago). perhaps as time passes they'll chill?

do you think I made a mistake introducing a second cat and disturbing my
older cat's peace?

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200609/1

kitkat via CatKB.com u26561@uwe wrote:
: I recently got a second cat and I tried to introduce them "the right way" by
: separating them and letting them smell eachother's scent for a few days.

: But my young new cat pounces on the mellow older cat when he has his back
: turned away. I can't blame my older cat shatner for disliking him.

: Is there anything I can do to end the fighting and get them to be civil with
: eachother (or at least fight fair)?

With cats there doesn't seem to be a sense of playing (or fighting) fair. Continue
to give your older cat the same amount of attention as you had in the past and let
the two of them settle their differences on their own. Unless they're hurting each
other stay out of it. By hurting each other I mean physical harm such as bleeding.
Screaming, hollering, growling and hissing don't count.
--




-------------------
Keep working millions on welfare depend on you

I'm glad to hear that my older cat isn't being tortured...but I do agree that
I need to make an effort to hang out with him more - the little guy tries to
stay pretty close to me and that's a deterrent to the older one to hang out
with me - I'll make a point today to giving him extra special attention.

Do you think I may have made a mistake bringing such a young guy into the
house of a more mellow older guy?

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200609/1

Remember that cat introductions are stressfull on the resident cat and
the new cat. Sounds like you did things corrently. The key to cat
introductions are slow and patience. It's important that when you do
put the cats together that it's for just a little while. Never touch
the cats while they are getting to know each other; this can lead to
jealously. You should keep a spray water bottle on hand in case things
get out of control and never spray water directly in cats eyes. Try in
do some activities that will be fun for both of them, they love the cat
dancer. Cats are very good mood readers, so when they are together,
make sure that you are calm because they can pick stress and it will
make things worse. Never get frustrated as it will take time and
patience. When cats do meet for the first time they have to work out
the social order, so pouncing, hissing, slapping is all part of the
process and this behavor cannot be stopped or conditioned. Eventually
they will learn to exist and how to tolerate each other. The beavior
you are describing is perfectly normal, but remember it will take time.

PJC

kitkat via CatKB.com wrote:
I'm glad to hear that my older cat isn't being tortured...but I do agree that
I need to make an effort to hang out with him more - the little guy tries to
stay pretty close to me and that's a deterrent to the older one to hang out
with me - I'll make a point today to giving him extra special attention.

Do you think I may have made a mistake bringing such a young guy into the
house of a more mellow older guy?

--
Message posted via CatKB.com
http://www.catkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx...ealth/200609/1

On Mon, 18 Sep 2006, kitkat via CatKB.com wrote:

I'm glad to hear that my older cat isn't being tortured...but I do agree that
I need to make an effort to hang out with him more - the little guy tries to
stay pretty close to me and that's a deterrent to the older one to hang out
with me - I'll make a point today to giving him extra special attention.

Do you think I may have made a mistake bringing such a young guy into the
house of a more mellow older guy?

It's hard to tell sometimes if they are playing or fighting. I have two
neutered males and two spayed females. Sometimes the two males will get
into it. It sounds like they're killing each other, but they really are
just playing. They also get into bad moods just like people do. The
tabby male will sometimes pick on the tiny little spayed female, but 10
minutes later they will be grooming each other. From your original post,
it does sound like the little one is playing. If the older cat doesn't
cry out really loud, they are probably not really fighting. If the
younger one doesn't release the older one when it cries, there's a
problem. They will usually stop when one of them cries, especially when
they are first getting to know each other.

I'd pay lots of attention to the older one so the little one can see that
the older one is your baby. Very often, a cat wants to know that you will
protect him/her from danger. I know other posters said stay out of it,
but I think you need to step in when one of them seems in distress. I
have an older female who's very afraid of one of the males sometimes. But
she also has little swat fights over every single meal with him. Cats are
complicated -- sometimes their spats are deceptive and are really play.

Wow, is that a long-winded and confusing answer, or what?

in my experience, an older cat will put up with kitten play to a
certain degree, and then let the kitten know when enough is enough. I
am in my second round of introducing a young kitten to an older,
neutered male cat and I don't interfere with their relationship after a
brief introduction period (about a week). The kitten attacks the cat
constantly, but he just wants to play. Rudy, my 3 year old, lets Levi
know when he's tired of his antics. (It's hard to use the litter box
when a kitten is jumping on your back!) They also do play, and
sometimes it appears rough, but since the little one keeps at it, I'm
sure their play isn't mean spirited. Personally, I'd let them work it
out themselves. My other two boys used to have extended "rage out"
sessions nightly, and it sounded like they were hurting each other, but
they definitely were not. They were having a blast.

kitkat via CatKB.com wrote:
I recently got a second cat and I tried to introduce them "the right way" by
separating them and letting them smell eachother's scent for a few days.

But my young new cat pounces on the mellow older cat when he has his back
turned away. I can't blame my older cat shatner for disliking him.

Is there anything I can do to end the fighting and get them to be civil with
eachother (or at least fight fair)?

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

kitkat via CatKB.com u26561@uwe wrote:
: I'm glad to hear that my older cat isn't being tortured...but I do agree that
: I need to make an effort to hang out with him more - the little guy tries to
: stay pretty close to me and that's a deterrent to the older one to hang out
: with me - I'll make a point today to giving him extra special attention.

It's important that one cat doesn't get jealous of the other. If that happens
the fighting can get mean. That's one of the reasons it's important not to take
sides in their fights. (as long as they're not actually hurting each other)
They've got a lot of issues to settle. Important things like who can sleep where,
who eats first, etc. It's best to let them do that on their own.

: Do you think I may have made a mistake bringing such a young guy into the
: house of a more mellow older guy?

If you handle it right the two will become the best of friends and you'll be
wondering how they ever got along without each other. Give them time and love
and they'll be the best of friends in no time.

--




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Keep working millions on welfare depend on you