Quote:
Originally posted by ratbastid
It's a good idea to introduce them gently. Put New Cat in a closed room, and let Old Cat have run of the house for a while. Then swap them, so New Cat can experience the smell of Old Cat while exploring the space a little. After a few hours, swap them again. Prepare for Old Cat to be a little freaked out at the smell of New Cat in his space.
Keep doing this for a while until the tension is relatively low. This may take a few days.
Then put them in a room together and watch them. They'll probably stare each other down for a while, and might begin some exploratory fisticuffs. Don't let it get out of hand, but don't assert yourself unduly--it's important that they work out dominance issues as early as possible.
After a while they ought to be cohabiting fairly peaceably. They'll run around a lot and probably squabble, but that's normal cat interaction. It looks like fighting to us, but it's extremely normal.
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This is pretty much what we did with our new cat. The new one was much older, and the other one was just a few years old. He smelled her in the closed room, and was just dying to get in there. After a few days we finally put them in the room together, and he kinda freaked out. The other cat was an older female and just kinda sat there, since shes so lazy.
I think it's best to let the existing cat have his or her own ways still. Like if it has a special spot it likes to nap or hang out, maybe keep the other cat away. Whichever one is more domanant will basically take over. They shouldn't kill each other, but there may be a little fighting. The new cat likes to try to be first on the food, but the younger (first) cat will beat the crap out of the new one, and it knows it. So the new cat usually backs off.
Sure, it's not fair, but it evantually works out. They who is in charge, and deal with it. I think the best advice is to just introduce them slowly. Don't just drop the new cat in the same room and expect it to be alright.