Moving and introducing a new cat. How to do it right?

[mmblarg]

Hello everyone!

I'm new and have a very specific situation that we need help with. My husband and I are buying a new home and will be moving in a little over a month from now. We own two cats, Mac and Tonka, who will need to be introduced to the new home. Though that is pretty cut and dry, the tricky part is that we will also be moving with my brother who owns a cat, Elliot, and dog, Luna. Our cats are already used to the Luna and are well adjusted to being around her, however, they have never met Elliot, who brings his own set of issues. So the question is, how do we go about safely introducing the three cats to the new home and to each other?

A little back story! Our cats are insanely docile: they are both indoor cats and are both a bit handicapped. Mac has a bum elbow that fused at birth while Tonka is nearly blind because of a neurological issue. Out of the two, Tonka is the most skittish, but after four years of having them in our care, he has come into his own and really turned into a trusting and loving cat.

My brother's cat on the other hand, though very loving, is pretty maladjusted. He is fearful and aggressive: my brother took him is as an abandoned kitten that was taken from his mother too early. He then had a bad run in when he first escaped outside which turned into an obsession with escaping and ultimately ended up changing him from an indoor cat to an outdoor. The topper on his strange behaviors, however, came when my brother was forced into a less than perfect living situation and Elliot, who had only lived with a dog before, was introduced to a house full of cats. Elliot became the lowest man on the totem pole and was quickly the victim of cat bullying. This is where his odd behaviors turned aggressive and erratic. He doesn't get along with any of the other cats in the home and when they aren't attacking him, he's pouncing and fighting with them.

Moving Elliot into a calmer home with non-aggressive, non-territorial cats will be good for him, but introducing our gentle fluff-balls to a hair-trigger kitty is less than ideal for them.

I know introductions should be done slowly and after safe spaces have been established, whether it be introducing a new cat or a new space, but how do we introduce both, new cats and a new place, at the same time?

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Mac and Tonka

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[Janey]

Hi and welcome,

You may find these links helpful:

http://www.catchat.org/index.php/new-cat-in-the-home

http://www.catchat.org/index.php/new-cat-introductions

https://www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice ... lling-cats

Best of luck with the move!

[Crewella]

I think in your place I would try to plan ahead by setting up their safe spaces where they would have best access to where they are likely to want to be - perhaps your two upstairs and your brother's cat near access to the outdoors, if possible. That should give them less opprtunity to fall out when they are allowed to mingle and enable them to retreat if things do get stressful. Beyond that, the usual advice applies as on the links Janey posted - just take things slowly and judge your timescales by the cats' reactions. Good luck!

[Lilith]

Wow. That's some mix and you've got your paws full.

I think worst-case scenario might be Mac and Tonka up and Elliott down, and never the twain shall meet - BUT. They can surprise you.

Since 2012 I've had 3 (now 2) quiet older ones and a mixed up kid, Molly, who can be very aggressive. I've sometimes had to stand up for my oldies, even though Moll was only about 6/8 months when she arrived. Earlier in the year I had to have the cats fostered due to health problems. The two oldest went to a foster home and settled well; Molly stayed in the shelter with the house cats, and didn't settle at all. Just sat on top of a wardrobe and growled. Hated everyone, including humans. Fast forward to back in their own home; I wondered how Molly would settle with the other two. The minute she got in she was ecstatic, running about and headbutting the astonished rescue people, who'd never been able to touch her apart from essential stuff like a vet checkup. And she's been more subservient with my other cats. The most timid has blossomed and is beginning to put her in her place - and Molly accepts this. I think she was so glad to get out of somewhere where she was unhappy, poor Moll, I'll always feel guilty about that, although she couldn't have been better cared for, that she's appreciating this place, and so it may be with Elliott.

Also another strength you have is that you're introducing them all on new territory, neutral ground.

With all very best wishes and please let us know how they go on, introductions are always an interesting story, good luck