Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 9 year old female cat named Tabby. We've had her since she was 8 weeks old, and she's been an only cat that whole time. A few days ago, we adopted a new cat named Kara. She's 19 months old. I've been trying to make the introductions between the two as gradual and painless as possible. Today was their first face to face meeting, and it was not great. Kara ended up cornered with Tabby growling and hissing at her. Kara was completely submissive, but Tabby would not back off, and I separated them before they came to blows. I expected this, but then something happened that I did not expect. I put Kara back in my bedroom, since this is where she has been staying so far, and when I went back in there a few minutes later, I caught her peeing on my bed! All her things are in my room (litterbox, food and water dishes, etc.), and Tabby hasn't gone near my room since Kara arrived. I assume she did this because she was stressed, but this obviously is not an acceptable behavior. Now I don't know what to do. I'm afraid if I leave her alone during the day while I'm gone, she's going to wet my bed again. But I can't keep her out of my bedroom yet, since I'm pretty sure Tabby will clobber her. I really don't want to return Kara to the rescue group I got her from, because she's been a sweetheart up till now, and she was in a cage for nearly 8 months waiting to be adopted, and I'm sure if given time, Tabby and Kara will work things out, but I don't know what to do right now. Can anyone help me?

I recently introduced a new cat to my ten year old only house pet. At first I had the same problem your having and we thought the two cats would always hate each other - they fought terribly. The new cat had been a stray and she was afraid of our bigger house cat. They've been together for just over a year now and while they still aren't best of friends they've learned to accept eachother and on rare occasions, I've even caught them playing together. I'm sure your right about giving it some time. About peeing on your bed. This was Kara's way of telling you she was upset and it will most likely not become a continuous problem. Make sure you give Tabby even more love and affection then she's used to and try not to yell at her too much when she fights with Kara, she'll always associate the new kitty with being in trouble. One thing I did that I think really helped was feeding the cats at the smae time, side by side through a baby gate. One cat eating on one side - one on the other. Eating is an enjoyable activity that they could share. I also gave them treats this way and pet them and gave them attention at the same time. Don't give up too soon - a few days of cleaning your sheets doesn't compare to a lifetime of love and affection. Good luck.

You may want to consider protecting your bed with a shower curtain or something - I had to do this with my cat who decided to pee on the bed when things got bad. At least it didn't go through to the mattress. Also try using some Petastic and then some Feliway spray on the bed to see if that helps.

Right now don't let them be face to face for a few days. Give it a rest and try again in a while when they feel more secure.
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks for the advice. Actually, we took Kara to the vet for a wellness checkup, and it turns out she has a urinary tract infection. We've got her on antibiotics, and the peeing outside the litterbox has stopped, thank goodness. We decided to move her to the bathroom and out of my room while she was getting better, since the bathroom is much easier to clean. Now that she's doing better, we've let her out to roam the house. Tabby mostly stays downstairs and Kara mostly stays upstairs (both by their choice). There is still a decent amount of hissing and growling when they see each other, but they still haven't come to blows. But I figure they're doing pretty well, considering Kara has only been here for a week. Just thought I'd update you. Thanks again!