Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We recently adopted a 5yr old spayed female. She is very sweet, loves to be around people. We have 2 spayed females living in the house 6yrs & 8yrs old. We went thru all the "proper" introductions.. new cat has her own room, food, litter etc... she was there almost a week and we let her out & put the other 2 cats in the bedroom so they can "smell" each other.

Recently all the doors have been open so we can have the cats intermingle while we supervise them. There has been the expected hissing/growling/chasing. Nothing major, no physical contact. But in 4 days of this nothing has changed.. they're not warming up even a little bit. Should I go back a step and quarantine the cat?

Also, has anyone used the product "Comfort Zone Plug-Ins" and are they effective?

Thanks & sorry so long!

Before you take a step back, try the Comfort Zone plug-ins. I've heard good things about them. I have used one when we brought a dog into the house, but my cat is so mellow that I couldn't see if it worked or not.

The cats may never "warm up" to each other per se. Even if they do, this takes time. Right now they are establishing a hierarchy with the growling and the hissing. Unless they actually start to physically fight, you should probably let them see if they can work it out.

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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks. I actually went ahead and got 2 Comfort Zones plug-ins last night. And as of last night the hissing/growling has turnied into spitting and chasing. I still don't think there is actual physical contact, but one of our resident cats is afraid of EVERYTHING so she's the one who's been growling/hissing... and now she is charging the new cat, and spitting at her... it sounds VICIOUS but I have not yet seen them bite or scrach.. just a LOT of noise.

But is't upsetting, and the new cat is afraid to come out of her room for more than a few minutes. Should I try placing the two cats in cat cariers next to each other??

Thanks for your advice!

I had the same problem. I never bought the comfort zone plugs-ins. I probably should have. I brought home a kitten last summer. Into a house that already had 4 cats. Crash my 5yr old adult did not like the kitten. She started growling and hissing at all the cats, or should I say screaming. Anyway the growling and hissing has finally stopped as of this week with the kitten. But now my mother's 2 cats(7 yr olds) attack Crash because she made so much noise for so many months.
Anyway my point is the cat that is afraid of the new one will probably eventually get used to the new one being there. It may not be a friendship but she will at least tolerate her.
Good luck.
Here is a picture of Crash

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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker

Instead of putting the cats in carriers next to each other, try putting the hisser into a carrier and put it in the new kitty's room for just a little while.

Good luck! You may have to ask the vet about some antianxiety meds if they cannot solve their differences soon. But I'd give it at least two weeks of really having them separated.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!