Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My gf has sent me her 2 cats from abroad since she's coming to live with me soon. I already have 2 cats in my house. When I got in, my resident cats saw the kennels right away. They started hissing at the new cats, which I think is perfectly normal.

I brought the new cats into a separate room, and they're acting fine, although they seem a little lost and a little scared, but show no sign of aggressivness.

The problem is coming from my 2 cats, which have been used to living together for over 2 years (they were born together). They now both hiss at me and show signs of aggressivness when I try to approach them or pet them, and they even hiss at each other now. I don't know what to do, I'm scared they will fight each other when I'm asleep, and there's no way I can separate them unless I put one in the bathroom, which is too small. My appartment only has 2 big rooms.

I don't know what to do, I'm desperate. I've been up for 20 hours! Help me, please!

Hi There,

Your 2 cats are taking the invasion of the household out on you and each other. This is totally normal when new cats are brought into the home. Cats aren't the most social creatures anyway and the sight and smell of the newcomers is upsetting to them. Remember that you now have the smell of the newcomers on your body also.

Your cats are going to eventually establish pecking order with the newcomers, but for now I would keep the new babies isolated. I recommend you do this for a couple of weeks and let the only contact between them be done through sniffing under the door. They have to become used to each other's smells.

I doubt that the established cats will seriously fight. Hissing and growling is just part of having a multicat household. Once the 4 cats are together there will be a lot of this as the cats establish pecking order. It is going to take a lot of time and patience on your part to get through this. You are going to have to let them work things out. The fact that you have a small place may complicate things, as the cats will all be in a small area together.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

PHKitkat

Ok, things have calmed down a little. My 2 resident cats are not hissing at each other anymore, which is a start.

They still hiss at me though. I noticed that they hiss at me when I touch the other cats and then they smell me. If I wash my hands after touching the other cats, they won't hiss. Basically the other cats' smell bothers them alot. Does it mean that I have to clean myself everytime, or should I let my cats get used to the smell?

Also, the new cats don't drink or eat anything. They move around, but they won't touch water or food (and I even tried with canned food). They don't mind being pet, they even purr when I do. But the water level of their bowl isn't dropping at all. Will they end up drinking?

You probably should wash your hands so the cats don't associate the new cat smell with you. However, you should try exchanging their scents by rubbing the new cats with a towel and then rubbing the old cats and vice versa.

Good luck! Keep us posted as to how things are going.
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!

Thanks for your advice. The new cats have started eating so I won't have to take them to the vet, thankfully.

Things have calmed down alot. But there's alot of hissing going through the doors right now, how long should I wait to present the cats to each other?

I think you'd be better off waiting for quite a bit more time considering that the newcomers have traveled so far! Try a week at least of separation. If the hissing seems to be better at that point then try for a gradual introduction.

Good luck! Keep us posted!
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Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!