Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend and I just got two new cats from a local shelter, one is a female kitten and the other is a two year old male. They have both recently been fixed, the male about two weeks ago and the female about 3 days now. We also have an older cat who's 7. he's lived with other cats and dogs in the past and generally hasn't has any problems with humans or other animals. We have isolated the male in our bathroom and gave him his own litter box with fresh water and the same food he received from the shelter, same for our kitten but shes in our living room.

Our older male cat was by accident introduced to the kitten last night and he's been very curious of her and hasn't show any aggression except for lifting his paw slightly when he's hiding, it seems like hes just standing his ground. We saw him smelling her butt and following her around and generally he seems absolutely fine with her around and has tried to play with her a bit but he's too big for her.

This is where it gets odd, the new two year old male seems distressed a bit. At first he was giving little chirp meows and was rubbing his body against us . I could pet his head a little but if i went along his body his meows would turn aggressive, he bit me a little but nothing that im not used to. That behavior over time became increasingly aggressive and he started to his at me and just wanted to be left alone, i tried petting his nose a little but he just kept maintaining his low-level meow/growl. He accidentally got out yesterday night and the two males had the usual standoff with hissing and meowing, we decided to keep the separate for now and i put some of my t-shirts in their, i think im also going to get something for my older male to sleep on so this new male cat can get used to our smells. He sprayed also once but i think its because he was scared.

I gave the new cat some wet food and he was happy, I pet his head softly and talked to him in a calm voice. He meow'd/growl'd but didn't get aggressive at all. My girlfriend is very worried that these two male cats wont get along, i believe that they'll be find but need alot more time to get used to eachothers smells and for this new cat to get used to how we smell also. If we keep feeding him some wet food and leave him space I think he'll be fine. Not to mention he was just neutered and I think he has still some of that sexual or territorial aggression and needs time for those hormones to leave his body.

At the shelter the male cat was so cuddly and he wanted to be held and be touched, so since he was familiar with that place I believe eventually he'll be fine.

Any incite would be amazing, thanks for your time

it sounds as if your new male was a bit taken aback to find he would be sharing his new home with a couple of other cats, but from what you say you do not seem to have any major problems

and you are right about the hormones - his testosterone levels will continue to drop over the next couple of weeks

obsessing about food is natural for a cat used to having to scavenge, but this too usually wears off when the cat realises regular mealtimes are the new norm

as for touching him, especially his back, some cats are very sensitive along the spine - and you don't know what rough treatment he might have received at the hand of humans in the past - it's just talk to him and offer a hand to rub against for now, and not attempt to stroke him

I agree with Kay, just take it slowly and don't force attention on the new cat if he's not comfortable with it. His hormones will inded take a good couple of weeks to drop, and as he settles I'm sure he'll go back to the way he was when your first met him.

I have five cats that have all rocked up at various times, four of them are males and after some initial hissing and the odd swipe, they all do get along fine - some are good friends and some have just learned to tolerate each other, but with slow, careful introductions they worked it out amongst themselves. Good luck.