stray cat

[Clawsy]

Hi
I need some advice please and thank you!

I rescued this stray male cat recently. He has been neutered about 5 weeks ago.
My old cat is scared of him because hes attacked him before he got neutered.
He is still mean to my old cat so Ive been keeping them separated. And slowly trying to feed them next to doors etc and they seemed ok eating with a crack in a door and last night ate treats next to each other (he got through the hall door by accident). Which I thought was going well until today… because today he chased my old cat, after sneaking past a door.

I need advice on keeping them separate. How do I do this? Like do I keep them both in separate rooms, and have the hall as the neutral ground? And how long each day is it OK for a to be in a room? How much one on one attention does he need?

I need to know how much time (hours?) attention he needs every day.

They both have heated beds and i put the radio on for them. Also i try and play with them to make them happy like twice a day.

I need advice on how to contain him and have him get enough time and attention. Also my partner has new cat in his room at night while hes in there doing computer stuff. So he gets company sitting on the desk with him for a few hours a day.

We are converting an attached outbuilding , and he can have that once its done so its warm out there, if he doesn’t calm down and be nice. But I dont know how much attention he will need from me? How many hours a day? He is quite clingy and wants to be with me all the time, which I cant do. I am home during the day but if I keep the cats separate, he cant be near me all the time because my cat needs attention also.

I got the feliway plugged in the sitting room, which has helped my old cat, can it make some cats more aggressive, because new cat seems to be worse now?

IDK but hes gotten worse recently, maybe it’s the feliway? but this new cat, he snuck out and got into a fight recently and had to go to the vets. We have a lot of stray unneutered cats around here also, and my old cat is scared of going outside because of them I think.

New cat follows me about the garden, while outside. I saw him in the last week, chase a neighbours (unfixed) cat along the fence line, try and run after another cat that was on the road outside our house, both cats ran away. And just now he snuck out of a door in the house and saw my old cat and just RAN straight for him. He is on painkillers for his wound atm, can that make them worse also?

ATM he sees a cat and just runs straight for them, its like a knee jerk reaction he has. He thinks it’s a good thing what he is doing..
What do I do. Can feliway make some cats worse? Can pain killers make a cat worse? I don’t want my old cat attacked and hurt. And I don’t want to see this new cat hurt or rehomed if I can help it.

I dont know what to do!

[Clawsy]

he is also good (maybe luck and persistence?) at unlocking catdoors (i have to tape over the locks now) and watches me open the human doors, and tries to reach up to the door handle to get out, its a good thing he cannot reach, he is quite intelligent and watches what I do.

Also we have some feliway friends hopefully coming soon to try

[Mollycat]

Introductions can take a very long time, especially as both cats are adults and one was until recently a stray. The internet including Cat Chat is literally full of step by step guides and tips, videos, everything you could possibly need to achieve this slowly enough for it to work - https://www.google.com/search?q=how+to+ ... e&ie=UTF-8

In the end though you are challenging new cat in two ways and he might not accept either or both of them. You are asking him to give up his freedom and live in a house, and you are asking him to accept sharing a territory with another cat who already owns that territory. You don't say how old this guy might be but if his whole life or a good while has been about surviving by chasing off other cats, it's going to be tough asking him to change his ways.

During the months is might take to introduce them, twice a day is not going to be enough. The more repetition they get of positive experiences, the better your chances of making it work.

You might like to think carefully about your separation security too. One accidental escape can literally ruin months of hard work if there is a chase.

[Clawsy]

Thank you for replying!
Thank you, sorry I have looked at some introduction instructions on the internet, but I wanted to make sure I was doing it correctly because a lot seem different.
May I ask you these questions please? Its OK if you cant reply.

Do you recommend any introduction instructions to follow in particular that you recommend?

Do you think it could be possible he stops attacking my cat altogether eventually? Does that ever happen with a bullyish stray and an older cat do you know? Or is it likely he will always have a tendency to want to bully my resident cat?

He is young around 1 vet thought, though he is very muscly and has really thick neck and face, which I find odd for a very young cat. But I am not a cat expert.

I was letting him out when he wants, as usually he just sits outside and doesn't go anywhere, not running after other cats, but its like he got worse the last few days,(i think we have a lot around ) he has just been inside for a few days recovering.

He likes being inside and its cold here now and he seems to prefer it to being outside, which is good I guess.

Edit: thank you for explaining, hes been chasing others to survive.

[Mollycat]

I'm not the best person to help with what to do as I have only deliberately introduced cats once and there was no need to follow any steps at all in their case, they were very carefully matched and cat 2 was for the benefit of cat 1 not for me. Lots of people here have much more experience than me. Jackson Galaxy seems to be popular. Have a look at the Cat Chat one maybe.

The most important isn't the details of the steps, it's giving them a few days of being completely comfortable with each step before moving on to the next step. It's too easy to have one good experience and think that's ticked off the list and move on, and it's too soon. It has to become the new normal before you can gently apply pressure by moving to the next step.

Unfortunately if you don't actively stay in charge of a gradual introduction process, if left alone it will get worse not better. Cats rarely ease up when it comes to territory and fights or chasing (which is a form of fight). As for being muscular and lean with a massive face and head, that's a typical tomcat shape created by male hormones. Surprisingly powerful little animals, aren't they?

Does your resident cat go out?

[Clawsy]

yes resident cat goes out but not as often as he used to. He is quite old now and feels the cold.
Also there are a lot of cats about and he seems to stay in a bit because of that.

Edit: I have been watching jackson galaxy to see what to do. I jsut wonder if its a very bad match of cats here, I really dont want to rehome him and im praying it works out. Watching him chase other cats, its like watching a dog see a rabbit, its instant bolting away, im not sure its fair on my old cat to even do this but I will try and do it very very slowly. I do worry this new cat will never truly be calm and still be prone to this "dog seeing a rabbit" thing and always be a bully.

[Clawsy]

Feliway friends arrived today
so that is now plugged in their rooms, though I dont think my old passive cat needs this, i hope it does him no harm and helps the bully to calm down

Hes in a room with it plugged in now

I had unplugged the classic feliway (which annoys me! i think it was helping my old cat but maybe made this cat a lot more territorial)

[Clawsy]

I had a cat lady friend come and visit. She thinks he needs a few more months of being indoors and food and love before he will settle. She advised to keep them separated for a few months but do room swapping and scent swapping and to give him a few months inside to settle and feel safe here before trying introductions.

Also he seems to have calmed down now that the feliway classic is gone, my old cat is now grumpier that it is gone though, so he gets the spray on stuff on his beds.

Feliway friends is plugged in and hoping that helps.