Thread: waiting on my new arrival :)

Originally Posted by serenstar

we have another cat she is 10 months old, would you suggest on introducing them right away?

There seem to be various thoughts on this issue - but I can only speak from my own experience. When I got my second MC aged 3 months, Sophie was coming up for six months and I was a very anxious mamma. I kept them apart for several days and gradually introduced them. There was lots of hissyness - from Sophie mainly - but no real aggression. After about a week, when I was out at work, my son took his eye off them for a short time and when he found them they were sitting companionably side by side on a window ledge looking out at the birds. Things were fine after that.

Fast forward a year and along came Poppy. Her breeder suggested that we just throw caution to the winds and put them all together. So I did - I put down the crate, made a cup of coffee and then opened it. Out strolled Poppy, scampered through to the feeding bowls and started to scoff. The other two gazed in horror and were a bit hissy but by that evening everything was fine. It was quick and painless - although I didn't relax for a few days - just in case.

Anyway - you must be soooo excited - I'd have a permanent smile on my face and I'd be counting the hours!! Can't wait to see the photos

I am one of the old school,let them meet up & get on with it,under supervision of course..... The first three of mine slept together right from the start but the following ones have slept seperate to begin with & it has depended on how introductions have gone as to when they were put together,the longest I have ever kept them seperate was with my last girl Ruby although she had a cage in the room with the others,it wasn't that she didn't get on with the rest but I was more worried being so small the big boys would pinch her food,no fear of that though,she is now sleeping in the "big" beds & her food doesn't touch the sides so I think its more likely the boys have to watch their dishes....
Why I introduce straight away is because they both know on either side there is another animal in the house so what is the point of keeping them apart,we take ours into the sitting room in the carrier & after a while open it up & let things go from there,put a blanket in the carrier from the existing cat so new babe will already have some known smell on it when it arrives & have plenty of fun toys at hand,your other cat is still really only a babe & will most probaly give you extra kisses for providing her with a playmate,once she has let it known that she is boss around the household that is.....Have fun & enjoy them both,will look forward to seeing photos of both of them...x

Originally Posted by jckkerrison

Why I introduce straight away is because they both know on either side there is another animal in the house so what is the point of keeping them apart,

I agree. When our moggies (RIP) were introduced they were a year apart in age. We brought Jake home, ran upstairs to 'hide' him in a different room, with the intention of swapping them over to get used to each others smells. Well, it didn't quite work out like that! Tordi knew straight away that there was another cat in the house - she hadn't seen us bring him in. And she sat outside the bedroom door for ages so we thought what the hell, let Jake out, and let them get on with it! Yes there was hissing, and it's the first time we'd heard a cat growl! And she got over enthuisatic washing him so we had to put him in a cage at first overnight, but they were the best of friends for life until we lost Jake, Tordi pined for him and we lost her 2 weeks later at the age of 18. I'd say just go for it and watch them.

I think that all the advice given here is really sound. I've been through many new feline introductions, the most recent being on Saturday and the only additional piece of advice I'd give is to listen to your heart and react to what happens. As long as you supervise the introduction you'll know how it's going and what you'll need to do (if anything).

My established cats always know when a new cat is in the house and won't rest until they've been able to meet it. Most of the time any aggro comes from the established cats and it's mainly born out of fear rather than hatred.

Good luck, I really hope it goes well for all of you!

Luisa xx

thankyou ladies, i was thinking as much, my cat now is 10 months old and a very bossy lady, im hoping because the new boy is more laid back they will get along.... i know im so excited counting down the days hes such a handsome boy, seems forever since we started looking . days are going too slow! the breeder is 4 hours away so a total of 8 hours driving on sunday

i must say hes more than worth it though. thankyou for the advice ladies im so excited xx

vow..I wil be waiting for the photos of ur baby..I think just let the cats face to face n they will be friends in a short while..I did like that when I brought a new kitten home..the MCs r ususally friendly towards other cats..so hope they will be friends soon..best wishes for u n ur cats..

thankyou so much, our mc is not a kitten hes an adult(youngish) hes a beautiful boy cant wait to show youxx