@@peterlongo3343 Oof you have your work cut out for you. 2 Kittens and 1 resident would be so much easier since the kittens will play with each other and tire each other out. If you don't play with that kitten constantly, he's going to look towards the resident cats to play, and they won't be down with having a little snot-nosed kit pouncing on them all the time and they might become aloof towards the little one. Kittens are hit or miss with adults though, some have that instinct to bond with them, and others don't want anything to do with them. Good luck!
Yeah, you are lucky. Our resident treated me as if I was a traitor, and was mad mad as hell when I brought the new kitten. She felt betrayed and wanted nothing, a month later and both could not be any happier.
It’s been two months and I’m still feeding both cats on opposite sides of the door. They progress and regress. Well our resident cat does, our newcomer kitten is confident as hell and has no issues and just wants to hang out. It’s been a process lol
@@snusmumriken232 well you would place one food bowl down and then go over the fence or door or whatever and place the other bowl. I think I'd give the resident cat the bowl first but, don't quote me on this, because that's just my assumption
If you are nervous about it then don't leave them alone together. Put the new cat in the comfort zone when you leave. that might be every day for a year or so but it's better than coming home to a blood bath.
I'm sure you resolved this issue, but I'll throw in my two cents for anyone new to the question. There can't be any moments of tension at any time, whatsoever, no matter how small. Even if your cats avoid each other, that's still an indicator that they simply aren't completely okay with each other. If they aren't playing together -- if they can't eat out of the same bowl, if they don't even sleep together, that's enough to know you're not safe keeping them alone. I brought in two very confident cats that had no problem adjusting to each other, but it was a huge mistake to leave them alone after a week. I thought because they tolerated each other, and no more, they would be fine, and I woke up to a blood trail and had to figure out who was bleeding and why. If they are to the point that they are simply 'fine' with one another, you'll be really tempted to try it, and most of the time it works out, but when you aren't there to see the warning signs, you're rolling the dice, and for me, I lost that dice roll. It could have been a lot worse than a swiped leg.
@@RuFi0000000Thank you so much for this! I wanted to know and wasn't comfortable (4 days in) even leaving base camp's door open unsupervised! 👀 You just reaffirmed and reassured me that my instincts were spot on. Thank you 💐
I was prepared to do all of this to introduce my cat to our new kitten but it was all for nothing, it was love at first sight 😭 we literally got the kitten yesterday evening and here we are all in the living room now watching TV because both of them were so desperate to be together.
@@celloafterdark4173 2024 update: they are still the cutest together, they're inseperable ❤️ the younger one may be brainless but she brought the best out in the older one, really helped him come out of his shell. Even now they're being a menace together at 7am and playing with something they probably shouldn't 😂
@RobinKirves... I must axe you a question, are you Finnish? But yes, we didn't need to have Musti and Harmi in separate rooms. It turned out Harmi was even too small to be contained by the pet gate I had gotten and she just slipped right through the bars. When she stuck her head through them and I grabbed her, Musti started washing her! And when we tried to keep them separate they both cried through the door until we allowed them to be together. They like made it SUPER clear that they don't have any problem with each other c:
Every time I see the title of one of Jackson’s videos I’m like: *sigh* I know all this he’s already made an “introducing cats” video or a “how to play with your cats” or “catification” but I end up learning new stuff each video. It’s crazy how much knowledge and detailed understanding he has of their behaviour!
Yeah, same. I've always had good luck introducing cats, and it's kind of gratifying when Jackson mentions a method that my family used instinctively, like allowing them to get used to each other by smell through a door, swapping sites from time to time, that sort of thing. But then I grew up in a large house with plenty of space for multiple cats to get comfortable. One thing he recommends that we never did was litter boxes. We always used 1 litter box for 2-3 cats (outside the introduction period). Jackson recommends 1 litter box per cat.
SirLyonhart So true! He has loads of info about litter boxes and goes into so much detail on scent and territory. I didn’t even realise it was a biggie. Even where to put the litter box has to be thought out. Honestly he saved so many cats from having uncomfortable lives. If Jackson hadn’t been born Imagine all the people just throwing two cats in a room together expecting them to get along! Very glad there are educated, caring owners like you who take the time to watch his videos and act on them.😊
I've been there before but was quite lucky because for them it was basically love at first sight :) I'm kind of curious for an update though and hopefully it's been a great time for you so far!
It will take time, do not push them to meet each other. It took me a month, but I followed all steps. I did a screen door out of two pallets w a green plastic chicken net sold at Home Depot. It is key once there is no barrier, play w them, do not let them figure it out. *The cats are past "who the hell are you?", now it is Who is the Boss cat in the house, which is another work in progress. Use organic cat nip when they meet so they are on a high note, lol. They eat together, sleep together, play and horse play. *Cut their nails BEFORE removing the physical barrier. Ours had a quick showdown, as much as we tried, it had to happen, now they are best buddies.
@Ava McMillin They're friends now I'm happy to say!! We are in a one-bedroom apartment and the kitten was DESPERATE to get out and explore. He was in isolation for 1 week and got hissed at under the door a lot, then we introduced them via baby gate but he jumped over it if unsupervised so we had to do short sessions for 2 days. Then we let him roam (supervised sessions) and it took the cat about 3 more days to stop hissing when he got too close and about 1 week for her to realize he was annoying but harmless. She's slowly learning to play with him! They still get their signals crossed sometimes but I am so glad we took it slow!
@@indigoia Thanks for the update, we're on day 5, it's actually hard work. My first cat has only just stopped freaking out that there's new strange cat smells. So glad your cats are friends.
Hey Jackson. It would be nice if you could give some advice on introducing cats in a limited space like a 1 bedroom or studio. Definitely makes it more challenging
this!!!! my mom had this issue but the boys we were introducing were both male so it wound up working. We tried to get her a female kitten but that one wasn't having ANY interaction with Kodas who was a bit younger but is part bengal and just wanted to play, when we introduced Vinny it was right away and the boys MOSTLY gently duked it out and became best of friends in the same day/ 2 days max. The boys are now inseprable and love each other so much
@@Blueberryyymuffin how did it go and how did you do it? I have a one bedroom but the door doesn't actually stay shut so the bathroom would be the only place or I'd have to rig my door to shut. There's a little cat hanging around my house I'm not sure if she's a stray but if so I might want to try letting her in
How do I do that put them in a cat carrier and let her come out and play with them more how do I make it more challenging for them or for her she is a female and I know she's getting ready to go back into heat and I have not had her fixed yet but I'm trying to get her fixes like 3 to 4 months out before they'll fix her any place I go I've been calling around so I want to get that advice with special with babies they're 7 weeks I'll give it to me at 6 weeks. She seems to hate them and his back one in the head but now she's just staying in the loft at all times she said gone for today before I caught her and I've been loving on her everybody every bit I can let her know she still my baby and that I love her but I don't want her to be hiding all the time so how do I get her to adjust them we only live in a 400 square feet and in everywhere I turn the babies are on top of me especially even in my sleep but she's staying in the loft I want her to get used to the babies without her being so aggressive
"a fence tall enough that the cats won't jump" dude I watched my cat jump from the floor to the top of the fridge in one go, no middle points, there is no such thing as tall enough.
If you cant get a screen door, we used two baby gates on top of each other (with the top one able to swing open) it blocked almost the entire doorframe and prevented cats from getting over
We screwed together a few pieces of wood and covered this with chicken wire to make an approximately human-height screen door that can easily be dismanteled later. We did have to improvise a bit, though, because Sir Stanley climbed the thing in seconds, so do put something on top to block them from climbing over, too 😅
You can also use an old bed base and fix it inside the doorframe - so the cats can meet, get to know and see each other if they want. But there would be no possibility to jump over it, as the whole doorframe is closed
Yeah, I think Jackson was getting dogs and cats mixed up when he said that. You can build a fence tall enough for dogs to not jump over, but there is no such thing as one tall enough for cats.
One thing I’ve found helps is food and treats, if the old cat associates meeting the new cat with getting something it likes it’s going to have a lot more positive opinion of that cat. I also pet the other cat and let my original cat sniff my fingers, so it smells the new cat and me together and knows we’re friends.
Every time I let my resident cat smell my fingers after petting the baby, she hisses at my hand 😭 but it’s only been a day so I’m sure it will get better!
One of my cats won't take treats or play if he see or senses my other cat which has been my difficulty with introduction is like he hyper fixated Trying to find a way to break it.
It's true. We rescued a female cat that no matter what we did she was never really happy. She was spoiled and loved but that wasn't enough. So I decided another cat was needed and holy crap....what a difference. We now have three cats and we introduced them the same way.... Their own room, then swap. They all get along very well. I don't know much about introducing adult cats, I never did that. Our first rescue was adult, the other two were kittens both rescued different times.
@@carinawoodmansee9699 it's the same with adult cats. I had 2 boys of 3y when I adopted my oldest cat. He was 8. I introduced them with the same method and after a few days all was well. 4 months ago I introduced a new kitten to the 3 of them and same thing. After a few days they all ate together. 😘
@@chadia25 That's great to know.👍😊 I always introduce kittens to cats, never had to do it with adult cats so it's great to know it can be done 👍👍👍👍😊😊😊 easily
I'd have to disagree from personal experience. My cat absolutely HATES other cats. When we have cat sat for my bestie, she hated him. All week she hid and was not herself. She was so depressed and this was us sectioning off part of the house so she not would attack/not instigate an attack. She grew up with other cats and I believe was the runt because of how tiny she actually is despite being part Maine Coon. When she had her kingdom to herself again, her old happy and self entertaining personality came back. She was even more affectionate. I would love more cats but not at the expense of making my Mittens sad.
Makes me sad how many people still just throw a new cat right in the middle of their existing resident cats. And have no respect for video's or tips like this to do it the right way for their cats. They think they know better and think this is making to much of a fuss about it. 😥 Love how you are trying to educate people, Jackson! 👌❤
Tottally! I was very misunderstood in places I lived cause people thought it was a losing time effort to go slowly on introducing cats, mocked at me for respecting them, acting like it's ok to treat them like they were dogs. This kind of thing makes me so angry. I have even seen vets saying absurds about this
I feel like some people shouldn’t be allowed to own pets. If we had to get a pet license just so that it would ensure that some entitled owners don’t ruin a cat or dog’s (or any other pet’s) lives I’d be down for it.
Sometimes i think it depends on the guardian and the cats though.. I brought an injured outdoor male who already knew me, immediately inside with 2 other indoor-only males i also knew. Within 1 month they were completely used to eachother. They never fought, and barely ever growled but only when the outdoor cat got too close. Usually they'd just leave the room or spread out and watch eachother. 1year later, now they are 3 completely inseparable babies.. Maybe i got lucky, but i think daily feeding and LOTS of playtime as a distraction, plus calmly sitting in the same room quietly with them for many many hours is very important.
As a fellow bumny mom, I advise you to be VERY careful. Cats have a bacteria that naturally grows in their claws that can kill rabbits. I recently just got a cat and am being cautious myself
I was ready to follow your advice about introducing cats when my dad brought our little girl home last year. I kept trying and trying to follow the steps but my dad was having none of it and just let her out whenever he felt like it, no regard for how her or my little boy would take it. Sure enough, while she was pretty chill, my boy had a few fits around her and had even started laying in his litter box for comfort. Thankfully they're all right with each other now, but I've gotten into so many arguments with my dad over how to properly care for our cats - if left up to him, they would be having bags of treats as actual meals. :/
Same at my place when we got a 2mo old kitten, Coconut, specifically with one of my cats, Mia, she just HATED the smell of the new addition and my husband would just let the kitten out and stress Mia out, and he never listened to me about taking things slow with them, etc. Coconut is now 9mo old and Mia to this day cannot see him or interact with without hissing and slapping him and my husband just says "it's ok, she's just grumpy" but also, Mia now doesn't hang out with or around my husband anymore, although she used to be his kitty, because Coconut LOVES him and it's all over him all the time he's available (although he was supposed to be my kitten, yet I'm nothing to him when my husband is around, :( haha), and that makes me so sad for Mia because I have noticed changes in her demeanor and it breaks my heart, she doesn't have breakfast or dinner with the other cats, she's always now on the chairs under the dining table, like she's trying to be invisible and doesn't hang out with any of the other cats anymore like she used to. She only seems happy when we let her out to the side patio or when she's hanging out with me by herself and no other cats around.
During my childhood, I was raised with two alpha female cats who did not get along with each other. They were not introduced properly, because we did not have any Jackson Galaxy cat videos during the 1960s. Calico TC was the senior cat, who just showed up as a gentle, friendly stray, house-trained, spayed, and was a skilled predator. She owned our yard, and could be seen hunting throughout my neighborhood. Siamese Lucy was adopted when my father's friend's Siamese Queen had a litter of pure Siamese kittens. The day my father brought her home, I remember her walking around the kitchen, filling the house with her distinctive Siamese voice. Having seen the movie "That Darned Cat" Lucy did not seem to be strange. The first time they saw each other, it was a war between two Alpha Females, who instantly disliked each other. They hissed, howled, and swatted at each other for the next 15 years. Eventually they divided the house between each other, with certain rooms belonging to one or the other. They divided the Living Room and Kitchen by sides of the room. The TV belonged to Siamese Lucy, because the vacuum tubes kept it warm. One day one of my brother's friends saw Lucy in her Sphinx pose, and remarked "I swear I saw your statue move!" Feeding time always was challenging. We would have to feed Lucy first, before feeding TC. Then Lucy would leave her food, and nudge TC away from TC's food. TC would just walk to the door, as if to say "I can catch better stuff than that!" Within a half hour, TC could be seen chowing down on some unfortunate rodent or bird. One day TC was absolutely insistent demanding to go outside, despite the rain. So I opened the front door to show TC that it was pouring rain. This angered TC, she pulled her ears back, and turned away from the door. At that moment, Lucy came bopping into the room, happy with her tail straight up. TC hissed and attacked poor Lucy, who had an expression like "What did I do?!?" Those incidents went on for 15 years, until TC died. Lucy walked the house for days, calling mournfully and searching for her rival housemate. Lucy adjusted to being an only cat for the next two years. Decades later, I still miss those two stepsisters.
@James Pirko, thank you for sharing your memories of your rival girls. I once heard that we would miss even our arch-enemy if they disappeared from our life. TC was a part of Lucy's world, for better or for worse. I've gotta hand it to your parents and family, that you all made it work and never surrendered Lucy to a shelter. Good job!👏👏👏
I had a solo cat.... She thought WE were her fellow cats. ADORED us. Slept on my head every day. Hugged me and nuzzled my neck. When she was maybe a year and a half home, we tried introducing a kitten and she wasn’t having it (Jackson Galaxy videos didn’t exist back then lol). Baby Kitty had to go back after 2 days. We brought in another kitten when she was 10. And another cat when she was 15. She never accepted them (even though we kept them). She was always only a people cat. She Hated all other cats AND all other people. But she was the best cat I ever had. So loving. She had cancer and made it to 17 years.... I miss her so much :(
4 года назад+92
Jesus. I just adopted another cat 3 weeks ago. I know I’m not doing my best. Sometimes I feel exhausted, other times I can see some progress. Thanks for the video.
Hang in there. I'm going on six months introducing a cat to one of our cats that did NOT like her in the slightest. We've had since set backs, but we notice progress every day! :)
2 months here. One step forward, two back, two forward....it’s exhausting but I hope it’ll pay off. I don’t want to think we’ll live forever separated like now, because as you said it’s exhausting. Keep it up!
@@karsonkammerzell6955 can I ask what helped most? I'm introducing a 1 to 2 year old female, to my 5 year old male (fixed) cat that I've had since he was a kitten. I would love any tips! They just met , so far, not bad... but I want it to progress from here !
i got a second, younger cat to be a companion for my older cat. everything was going fine until Olivia hit puberty. It didn't help she was twice the size of my older cat. When introducing them I followed all the advice I could and they did get along for a few weeks. One day i cam home from work and Olivia had attacked Missy to such an extent that there was a blood trail through the house and missy was cowering on the window sill, hunched into the corner in fear. I had to separate them and soon found a new forever home for Olivia. This was just too much stress for Missy and because I live on my own, i didn't have anyone to help me resocialise them. I received updates from Olivia and she is doing well, is healthy and happy. Missy seems to be much happier as a single cat and after a few weeks of building up her confidence again was back to her old self. Bless her she was really traumatised :(
We adopted our second cat one week ago. We did everything like suggested here but since 2 days ago it just wasn't possible anymore to seperate them (12 weeks & 10 months, both girls). The little one sat at the door of the basecamp, crying and scratching all the time, it just broke my heart, no matter how much time I spent in there. When I go out: cry cry cry. She really wanted to explore the rest of the flat, aside from daily site swapping.. got out like an arrow, really confident. I was unsure bc my teenage cat had bad experiences before, but it drove her crazy, all the crying, I had the feeling it really heated her up, hissing under the door. So we went for it. And what can I say, there's still a little bit of hissing, but they know each other visually since 24h and even slept in the same bed tonight. Not euphoric, but relaxed. I really wanted to follow these tips strictly, but with that little one, it was not an option anymore. Just wanted to share my experience :)
I brought in a new cat with my 2 resident cats, and thanks to watching Jackson, it was successful! First I put new cat in her own bedroom with food, water and her own litter box. The bedroom also had a bed, so I slept in there each night so she wouldn't feel alone. I also started doing a scent exchange with gloves, petting new cat and letting the residents smell the glove. Then petting them and letting new cat smell them.. By week three I started doing room exchange and letting new cat explore more. At the end of week five, I could tell they had all had enough of it, and on Friday night I came home from work and opened it all up. Yes there were some mild spats and hissing, but mainly they just avoided each other at first. But there were never any fights, blood and tears. Now seven years later, we all live in harmony.
Okay. We have a year old female spayed cat that we've had since she was so many weeks old. She loved with us alone. Firstly outside as a small kitten yes through winter yes, with a house bed outside up high yes. She was fine. A male ct would come occasionally and she had one incident where she was Not well at all with a big puncture wound in back leg. Vets sorted that along with us at home. She started coming inside at nite as I was worried about her getting hurt again. Then she began sleeping inside with us Alot at night. It became habit. She is my pea in a pod. Wanting her to have a cat pal so she can have cat pal comfort and play with in a way that I can't as a human, especially when we go away (she is good at catching her own dinner and yes we have friends to come check on and feed etc). So we have just introduced a six to eight month old slinky Female UN SPAYED mojo. She is skitty, affectionate howls for food, confident too. Lives outside. We do not know her background as she was found and they needed to give her a home. The cats were introduced not by slow intros. Because ideally outdoor cats who catch other critters that would normally get into the house and eat our goods. This is not a keep them indoors in different rooms scenario. We had both cats stay out at night for two nights. First couple of days Our first cat was stalking behind Mojo when we went for our walks. Then mojo started to show us she was not fraid of our first cat. There has been hissing, laying on belly to say I'm not a threat, swiping, eating food next to each other, also mojo coming to eat out of our first cats dish but her swiping and growling and mojo deciding not to intervene. But she will go for any food if u put it out whereas our first cat has more food manners lol. Anyhow, it has become a chase thing now where our first cat sees mojo and starts in a different direction because mojo has chased her up a tree. Now this has happened for three days and today I could not find first cat. I had to lock mojo in cat carrier and go look for first cat. Who when I found in woods had all hair standing on end and was partly shaking and seemed Very happy to have me lift her up and comfort her. So, how do we resolve this? If theyre outdoor cats and anytime we go out or even when we are there, mojo chases first cat. We have a highway right by our grounds. Stones throw away. I don't want a drastic thing to happen to either of them because of the chasing thing. I've played with mojo outside when first cat in view, and was okay up until first cat started running from mojo. So now how do I break this habit? First cat is only feeling relaxed when I bring her in at night. I do Not want her to feel stressed around her environment and I don't want to continuously feel stressed that I'm doing one thing for one cat and not another and vice versa and i dont want mojo to feel like she is an outsider as on her own she is an absolute joy. But, I weened the first cat and totally been a mother figure, and we are just like soul mates, ive never had so much mothering connection ever with an animal and have had a few. Probably my downfall but it's love at first sight. Anyway, I don't like seeing either of them stressed but it is causing too much stress all round so do ai adopt mojo out (i can find a home in a heartbeat) or do we see how it goes, ll the while knowing that they will be outside all day together and first cat just keeps disappearing to avoid confrontation. I know mojo wants to play, she has shown her confidently, hey I'm here to play, but first cat gives her the opposite impression! Anyway, any things you think can help let us know.
Please do a video on non-recognition syndrome. I had never heard of it until it happened to my boys. I had to go through this process all over again just because one of them went to the vet. It's hard enough introducing cats once. Having to reintroduce the same cats because they don't recognize each other is harder and a little heartbreaking.
@@leisurelyamateur7952 Basically like introducing two new cats. I had to keep them separate for a few days while they get used to each other again. I've had to do it a few times since, but less than a day after that first one.
I'm a weird cat lady but even though only one had an appointment I brought both of mine to the vet together and they explored around the room (on a leash) together so they'd basically see each other the whole time. Idk of that's the right way but it did work for me
My older cat(rip) was the one that adopted my younger cat. Younger cat(floquinho) would go meow at the door through the neighborhood and eventually the older cat(bingo) would just watch as floquinho eat his food Bingo was a good older brother, his mojo was so high the first time he went to the vet he instantly started exploring the room and bumping his cheeks everywhere
Thank you for your excellent advice. I'm in the middle of re-introducing a 16-year-old cat (who doesn't look or act it) to my other eight cats, having botched the original intro. My cats love other cats, and welcome newcomers, and Tiberius seemed very confident and interested in them at the start. But as weeks stretched on, he was still hissy toward not only them, but often me. And, at about seven weeks in, he started jumping up on the kitchen counter to urinate and defecate. That's when it finally hit me that I'd misread him entirely, and that he wasn't anywhere near as confident as he seemed. So we're doing what I can only describe as a "hard reset." He boarded at my vet's to get a few days' break while I built him a big "kitty condo" in one corner of my kitchen, and stuck Feliway diffusers all over the house. From his condo, Tiberius can watch everything that goes on in the household, interact with other cats through the mesh in the doors, or watch birds and squirrels out the window, while enjoying a space that is completely his own. For the last two weeks, he's lived there, with supervised time to explore the upstairs by himself when the rest of the cats are eating in the basement. He loves his condo. Keeping him in it or getting him to go back in is not a problem; he chooses to be there. I swear, I ought to re-name him George Jefferson, because he's got the right swagger, and a de-luxe apartment in the sky (he loves being way up high and looking down). He is much happier now. He didn't like me very much by the time I took him in for boarding, and had strong words for me when I brought him back. but things are improving. I still make sure to get his permission before petting him, or he gets cranky, but he's accepting more of it, and talking to me again, and we carry on conversations. Tonight, he was out along with my two 19-year-olds, and I fed them all bits of chicken while they were in very close proximity, and he didn't growl or get slappy until after all the chicken was gone. And that's huge progress from where he was. I don't know how long this will take (and I suspect the kitty condo is going to end up a permanent fixture in my kitchen, given how much he loves it), but at least now he can adjust at his own speed, while feeling secure. I'll try some of your recommendations-I've been binge-watching a lot of your videos, looking for extra tips, because even after 35 years of cat lady-dom I obviously don't always get it right. Thanks for everything you do for the cats (and their foolish humans)!
I'll put my hands up and admit that I got very lucky with my two. It took an hour for my boy to realise my girl wasn't intimidated by him puffing up and that she would just walk away from him whenever he done it. After he realised that he decided he loved her then and would always insist on being together with her at all times. He was 12 weeks old and she was 8 weeks old, they're now four and every picture I take of them looks like they're a little married couple.
I have 7 cats :) 2 oldest were fostered together, 2 youngest were fostered together, 3 in the middle are littermates. They all get along. Because I spent time making sure they would. I appreciate your videos.
I am currently on this exact journey. Only I have 4 resident cats and have taken in 3 more in that I promised my mother I would take care of before she recently passed away. Have been using a 5 foot gate in the base camp instead of the door. Two of the new family members mustered up the courage to venture to the other end of my house. The 3rd one isn't ready yet, but she is coming up to the gate now. I think it's going well because I'm using your bully solution, self esteem, and I am putting peacemaker in all water sources. Please pray 🙏 for me, everyone. Lol 😂😂😂❤❤❤😻😻😻
4 weeks into this now and following everything to the letter but we’re not making much progress. I have 2 neutered males age 2 and were trying to introduce a 6 month old spayed female. One boy isn’t too bad but the other is so mad still, hissing and growling and mistaking his bonded brother for the newcomer and attacking him. The female goes berserk if either of them approaches. We’re not letting them have physical contact, just through a screen a couple of times a day, we’ve been doing this for the past 10 days because not being able to see the newcomer was driving my boys crazy and they were confused and attacking each other. We have to let the kitten out of her base camp frequently into our main living room or she screams and goes insane so the boys get shut out and are unhappy about that. Trying to manage it all is so stressful and exhausting, everyone here is grumpy, humans and cats. These videos make it look too easy and I feel guilty for my boys who were so happy before. The only thing stopping me from bitterly regretting this is that the kitten is a rescue from a dreadful place. Unfortunately I can’t return her as it’s an international rescue, the same as my boys were. Just have to keep on going and hope for the best. Right now I wouldn’t recommend getting more cats unless you have an enormous amount of time, energy and patience to do it, and space. Never do it on a whim, especially if you already have happy cats at home. Sorry for the negativity but I’m feeling really down today.
We adopted two brothers. One walked in explored seamed happy. The other hid and only came out to eat and potty when noone was around. After two weeks started to look around. Now he's the biggest lap cat ive' ever had. 😺😻
I worked your program with My 4 month and 5 month adopted Kittens I watched the step by step videos, I even emailed you at one point. And then I made your system my own according to mine and my cats needs. Little bear and Rooster didn't know how much they needed each other. The process took maybe two weeks of dilligent effort on my part. First Roosters environment was in the bathroom. I made it cat friendly. Instead of a screen door, I divided the casita in two by using wire fencing hooked with 16 cup hooks on each side a door frame. I knew it was time for that big step, , where they would be able to see each other and touch each other, only after they were playing touching paws under the bathroom door. The process took patients, almost to my limit. I worked every single step. Little Bear and Rooster now, play together, sleep together, groom each other. I prayed for this outcome so that they can take care of each other and I can expand my life 💫
We got 2nd cat a few months back and I had all these plans about how we should introduce them, what we have to do etc. Well my parents, weren't having it and let both cats go free in like 4 days. And they were also complaining that they are not best friends after a week. I was like: "What did you expect!" I still feel sorry for the cats, they must have been so shocked with each other.
I'm an adoption counselor at a shelter. Thank you for posting these types of videos! I talk to adopters about how to introduce new cats, but I also give these type of resources (RUclips, websites, etc) to them. It's one thing for us to talk about introduction in the midst of the exciting adoption process. We talk about all of the good strategies to use. However, it can be nerve wracking for the adopter to walk into their home with a new cat and actually DO the introduction process! Keep up the good work!!
This is so true Julie. Also, it’s one thing to educate ourselves and have a great plan in place, but executing that plan with all of the unexpected things that inevitably happen can be very stressful for all involved. Thank you for your work as well! 😻
When I got my barely 6 week old rescue kitten, I had a golden retriever. Their intro was on opposite sides of a metal gate/playpen configuration I had set-up. Both were immediately interested. The cat wanted the dog's toys, the dog wanted the cat's toys. I kept them apart for a few days, but the kitten wanted to be with me and my golden, and not behind a barrier. She wasn't having this separation thing. She was a confident kitty from day 1. My golden had no issues and liked the kitten, and before I knew it, in a matter of about 4 days, my 1 lb (yes one pound) kitten was cuddled into 'her' 60 lb golden retriever and wanted to be by that dog's side all the time. They only had 11 months together before my golden died, but they were adorable. That cat is now 11 and it's been just the 2 of us, but I have those precious memories forever.
i just got my second baby a week ago and i skipped a step while listening to my friends, just got ready to start all over again and watching these videos make me feel a lot more hopeful
One more thought. The base camp advice was critical! At first our senior payed zero attention. And just went on about her business. Took her about a week to go up to the door. And she attacked the little paw poking out at her angrily. She attacked her 2 other times when we let her out too. She went from that to sharing space rarely cuddling If I’m present. And even occasional play. I guess some cats need time and patience this advice really does work!
Important part of introducing cats is knowing the cats you have. Just this weekend I adopted cat number 3, a kitten named Milo. I already had an 11 year old cat Pepper and a 1 year old cat Lunabelle. When I brought Milo home I took him in a spare bedroom and let him sniff around then once he seemed comfortable I brought Pepper in for a quick little sniff. Pepper sniffed him looked at me then walked away like I see what you did, not exactly happy about it but ok. Then I let Lunabelle in she did a quick sniff hissed and backed away. Just so everyone is aware I was close by her and my niece was right next to Milo so I was ready to pull her away. Then we shut the door again for a few minutes then I brought in some toys for him to play with and I sat next to the door with it open so the other cats could come see while my niece played with Milo. Pepper and Lunabelle kept making short trips in the room. Pepper spent a good 10 minutes sitting by me and watching him, Lunabelle would come in watch him, watch the toy maybe hiss but then back away. Day one this was basically how we spent the day. I brought him for one quick excursion to the living room with him in a soft sided kennel so they could smell him and he could smell the room. After a while they ignored he was there and we let him walk around the room supervised. Day 2 we spent a good portion of the day in the living room but anytime I sensed my other two cats were overwhelmed I would have my niece take Milo back to Basecamp and give Pepper and Lunabelle some one on one. I was also very verbally encouraging, Lunabelle in particular is very verbally oriented she loves to talk and loves when I talk to her. I tried to never tense up or expect back things while at the same time always being ready to separate cats. Day 3 we saw some movement to this is going to work out. Pepper still didn't like Milo in his face but he could walk by him with no response. Lunabelle was initiated her first play session with Milo. Also she let him watch for birds with her in the window. She also could play with her toys with no notice he was even in the room. All day was minimal growling or hissing. Day 4 was the first time I was like oh this is my happy family. Lots of play. Almost completely peaceful. Very little growling and I think only two cases of hissing. We are now at day 6 and Milo can almost head bump either cat. He sometimes takes liberties and tries to do it twice which they have both told him with gentle pats, no claws, that is a no no. We are getting there. But if i didn't know my cats and their body language or if at any point it got violent I was ready to back off and try this method of introduction. My way was not without frustration day one and two I was like what was I thinking this isn't going to work. But then I would look at our progress from a day or an hour before and think, it's getting there dont give up.. so I guess that is what I am getting at don't give up. Look for whatever progress there is. Just like you don't make best friends in a day neither do your cats. They will let you know when they are ready for next steps. But I just love my new little family, my kitties are my babies.
Me too! However mine adjusted so quickly. (All cats react differently). We have two 1 year old Tom cats. We got them together as kittens. They’re introduction took about 5 Days before they were best buds. We just adopted two twins (male) kittens from the same litter so they’re blood brothers and we’re already bonded when we got them (I couldn’t bare separating them once their foster mom send me videos as I had originally only planned to adopt one of the kittens. I have a fairly large house so it took some convincing but I got my fiancé to agree to adopting both of the kittens (he’s an amazing cat dad and spoils his babies) well using Jackson’s tips. I was able to get my first two Tom cats and the kittens playing and in the same room with no hissing, growling, or swatting. Lots of sniffing and curiosity. Just for good measure I’ll be purchasing some feliway plug ins just to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the adjustment. 🥰
I actually made myself a makeshift screen door with a wood frame and 2 layers of chicken wire with closet hinges and fisheye hooks and it works like a charm!
I have an 11 year girl (11 year resident) named fuzzy. I'm bringing home an 8 week kitten next week and I'm really nervous they are not going to like each other. i have a large house so it will be better with the swapping around technique. I find your videos very helpful and this one the most. Thank you so much.
I just introduced my cat to our new kitten yesterday. I think it went well though. They were playing pretty immediately and only a little bit of growling from the resident cat.
My cat was around two when I got the kitten. My house didn't have a bathroom with a window and I couldn't leave the kitten cooped up for the day. I looked into crate intros. Put the kitten in a medium dog crate with a kitten litter box, place for food, water and a blanket. At first she was in a bedroom so it was quiet and I covered the crate on three sides. The cat would go by hiss and possibly growl but I tried to minimize the interactions. Eventually, I would swap the blankets to the could smell each other. Moved the crate and kitten to the living room without exposure. One day while I had the kitten out, caught the cat In The kitten litter box. A few days later, the kitten was out playing with the cat. Left the crate in place for a safe place but now they are buddies. Every morning they eat next to each other and even swap bowls. Different pur-sonalities.
I have a ridiculous number if cats and I was doing intros all wrong before watching your videos. The exception was when my daughter brought home a kitten fron a very upsetting situation. He immediately just bonded with another of my guys and they are beasties. Hilarious when you see the size difference. The big guy is gentle with him. ❤
Our biggest challenge in introducing a new kitten to the family was an over confident kitten. I had to knock down her confidence to the point that she would listen without crushing her spirit. The resident cat, on the other hand, had many bad experiences in her former home with other cats. She swears up and down that she's a people, not a cat. And since she is a senior, not only did she not have the energy to handle the kitten, but she started getting thyroid problems at about the same time the kitten came. The kitten has gotten pretty adjusted even if she's still a little on the wild side, but the senior cat still doesn't like her even though we are fixing the thyroid problem with the vet. It's been over a year, so I'm not sure the senior cat will ever be happy with the kitten. She is, however, displaying more confidence at feeling better. She has decided not to move out. ;)
My cats have been together for years. We moved into a new house, after much moving-poor kitties, and an outside neighborhood cat traumatized them to where there was redirected aggression. It’s been months of going through this process and I finally have them in the same room again. All of Jackson Galaxy’s videos have helped me understand and observe and adjust my own routine/expectations for them. I’m so proud of where we are in the process and know that even though there’s more confidence that needs to be built we’ve come so far! Thank you Cat Daddy for your cat know-how and insights!
I’ve been binging these videos lately! I have a 4yo female resident cat and we adopted a 4 month old male kitten on Monday! Our new kitten is SO brave, he’s wanting to explore the house, he has no fear with eating near the door, he’s been hatching escape plans from his base camp. He’s a champ. Our resident cat is being a diva, she will eat near the door, and has gone so far as to wander into base camp but then vocalizes and growls at the sight of the kitten. We’re going back to the drawing board and starting over with introducing them by sight little by little. She knows his smell by now but seems threatened by his sight (which is hilarious because she’s a 13lb adult cat and he’s a 2lb kitten). Ugh. So stressful, but telling myself it’ll be worth it.
@@xtri0xinx it went okay! They aren’t best friends still to this day, they will play once in a while but they mostly do their own thing. My older cat is still a diva. Dill, the newbie, has total little brother energy and loves to bother his sister. They’re as well adjusted as I can expect them to be. No real serious fights or aggression, so I call that a win!
I wanted the best, & glad I saw this video. It's so helpful to keep the "5, 10, 15, 30" minute introduction and understanding to be calm and gentle throughout the process 💖
My 3 year old adopted cat refused to stay in base camp. She was so confident she wanted out straight away. She wasn't happy when we adopted a new kitten . She wouldn't stop hissing through the door. We kept them separated for a week and eventually she stopped hissing..... she probably got sick of it and we'd all stop listening to it haha now they are best friends.
I’ve been following your advices. Second day and the new cat is comfortable in the base camp and with me. The resident male is not very happy, the female resident varies between curiosity and indifference…I’m confident 👍 thank you 😊
Hi Jackson! Other cat people please chime in too if you have advice :) In August, my boyfriend and I adopted a very friendly stray calico cat who lived in the alley behind our house (she's around 1-1.5 years old). She (Kiwi) is rambunctious and energetic and curious, and adjusted very easily to our home. Last month, I noticed another very friendly stray cat in the alley (Noodle) and fed her all winter, and eventually decided to get her spayed and vaccinated with the intent to foster (that turned into a foster fail, and she's been living with us since 2/13). Noodle is extremely friendly around humans that she knows and trusts, but is very scared of strangers, sudden movements, and ... Kiwi. She's had a vet visit and she's completely healthy and is estimated to be 2-3 years old. We've been trying to follow Jackson's cat initiation guides - TLDR, Noodle doesn't want Kiwi coming within 2-3 feet of her and hisses and swats her even after 2 weeks of a gradual introduction with Kiwi not acting aggressively to her/approaching her in a friendly way; she's very comfortable with me and my boyfriend and has been chirping at the door wanting us to let her out so she can be around us. It sounds like we shouldn't have her and Kiwi in the same room if there's still hissing going on under the door, so looking to see if I'm doing something wrong, or moving too fast/what I could do differently. The details: - Gave Noodle a basecamp with scent-soakers and things that smell like Kiwi, so she can adjust to her scent; a tunnel so she can hide if she wants to; I also added a Feliway diffuser to the room and a towel to block the crack under the door since it was wide enough for Kiwi to stick her paws in. She stayed in basecamp for 2-3 days, and by that point seemed curious about venturing outside the room. - I put Kiwi in Noodle's basecamp and closed the door while Noodle got to explore the rest of the house for 5-10 minutes at a time (this happened a few times a day). Noodle seemed nervous (her tail was always down) but seemed comfortable within another 2-3 days. For this entire week, I was firm about not letting them look at each other and limit their interactions to sniffing under the door (Kiwi was able to fit her paws under the crack, and Noodle would hiss and swat at them). Kiwi managed to bolt inside Noodle's room once but we grabbed Kiwi quickly and Noodle didn't seem too upset. So that was the first week. - I had started moving Noodle's bowl closer to the door and she and Kiwi started eating on opposite sides of the door - Noodle didn't seem to mind at all/didn't react to Kiwi. She was fine if Kiwi was across the door 2-3 feet away and sometimes sat near the room where she was, so I decided to push the challenge line a little - still was hissing every time Kiwi came near the door though, especially if she could see her paws, so I started trying to associate Kiwi with good things by giving them treats near the door and praising calm reactions, and putting toys by the doorway and playing with them. This worked for a few days, so I put up two baby gates to see if they could manage that while I played with them (Kiwi jumped over once but I caught her immediately). Noodle was cool with the gate as long as Kiwi didn't come close, so I went a step back and had them interact through the door. But it's been 2 weeks of mostly-door interactions and Noodle's still hissing at Kiwi if she sticks a paw under the door or trills at her to play. Otherwise, she's totally fine around me and my boyfriend and keeps chirping at the door to be let out so she can hang out with us.
I adopted my 2 cats at 6 weeks old just 2 or 3 days apart. They are legitimate brother and sister from the exact same litter. They have literally known each other their entire lives. Most of the time they get along fine, but like most typical siblings, they have their occasional arguements.
Minnie is 13, Soeli is 4. Two years ago we adopted Soeli from a cat shelter where she lived with 18 other rescues or so. She is shy and fearful in many ways but also very sweet and social with other cats. Our old M started off as third cat with us as a kitten but has been alone for the last 10 years. M has always been an outdoor cat and Soeli was given to us after two failed adoptions. In the first 2 years of her life she had been severely injured and underwent operations and pain and had been moved around 7 times. She was rescued as street cat in Spain after a bad accident, where she almost died, then was brought to a shelter in Germany, where we live. She broke out twice from the shelter which had a fence with electricity. So they were looking for a home that would provide a "safe" area to go out, which we can. They inspected our house, garden and neighbourhood... We introduced M and S similar to this method, following recommendations. Minnie still hates Soeli's guts and doesn't accept her. S has emancipated herself but is still shy and fearful, but also very playful and follows M everywhere and doesn't give up trying to play with M. It's both heartbreaking and hilarious, when she sneaks up on M who of course makes dramatic scenes... We have tried different things but no chance... Sometimes it seems that they might get along but then M goes back to the hate. The next thing we will try is to catyfie the house more, build some vertical spaces for them... In a few weeks we will have a new adoptee, a male kitten. We hope this will help Soeli overcome her loneliness and we have learned that a male cat can pacify fighting female cats. From time to time Soeli poops on the stairs and near the entrance which apparently she did in her failed adoption places. We haven't been able to find out exactly why, yet. I have read that she might not be sure if she's welcome or that she feels insecure... It gets better when it gets warmer and she goes out more. She hates the cold and doesn't go out as much then. Minnie is out pretty much the whole day, only comes home for food. At night they have to stay at home though which they are used to and they actually sleep the whole night through. M upstairs, S downstairs.
I did the time feeding but they don’t eat the whole thing, they sort of binge eat the whole day. I did the slow intro and my kitten uses my older cat’s litter box and sometimes eat from my older cat’s bowl BUT my older cat still hisses and growls at her, does not want her to be close to her and now my kitten is hissing and growling back. The kitten always wants to get close to my older cat but my older cat does not let her. There hasn’t been any major fights but hissing and growling definitely there.
We adopted a senior cat about three years ago, recently we decided to add a cat for our family. We followed these instructions and it worked sooooo well. Today they met each other after about three weeks and it looks they are becoming friends when in the beginning our resident cat would hiss at any and every cat. We can’t be happier with them being friends and our family growing just a little bigger.
Almost 42 years ago that my family adopted our 2nd cat from being a stray in our backyard. The 1st cat accepted him in the home. They both started to play and wrestle each other. They became friends instantly. They were both red tabby cats. The 2nd cat was my cat for the longest time. I was lucky to have them both through my early 20’s. My family was so lucky to have them. My mother’s aunt said you guys shouldn’t have 2 cats in the house. I told her they are friends to each other and they don’t really bite. One cat was really sweet and friendly towards me.
This is more challenging since our home doesn't have enough room for a base camp. Right now, our new kitten is roommates with my brother. All I can do for now is have our resident cat and the new kitten eat their meals together a few inches apart and have the resident cat explore the kitten's base for a few minutes but I'll keep these tips in mind.
This may be a strange request, but could you talk about people dying their cats? I've seen some videos lately of people dying their cats and using dye that's not good for cats ! I don't think many people realize how bad this is for cats. I want to prevent more people from dying their cats and understanding why you shouldn't.
@@lauralewis9980 What do you think the word dye means? To add color or change the color of something. That something would include hair. So by adding/changing the color of someone's hair is you dying it. Pretend you don't all you want, that is exactly what you're doing.
Few-ish part thing. My mom used to have a cat, we named Rebel. He lived with a dog we had, Nova, and before the events of part one, 2 more cats and another dog. First time coming into contact with a kitten, after the 3 animals were gone, didn't go well.... A few or so years later, when I was dropping my newest addition, Lytle Miés, of at my mom's during our first move, to my great surprise, Rebel and Lytle Miés bonded pretty well immediately. She respected his boundaries, in occasion, and he enjoyed the company. Then mom got another cat, a potential Maine Coon that is already as big as Lytle Miés. As mom put it, they are thick as thieves. Love it when cats getting to know each other works that well :3
Awesome timing! I got my second cat last week, and after treating some health issues and switching his food, I’m going to introduce them. I’ve been having so much anxiety about it (first time cat mom) but I’m also so excited!
I have to admit the process of introduction is very hard and it's super important to do a propper introduction. I got a 6 week old kitten and only 2 month after (about 1 week ago) we got her twin brother because the family where he was supposed to go live with changed their mind last second. I thought they would maybe remember eachother and let them see each other the very first day that we brought the second one. They didn't recognize each other and started hissing and growling at each other, specially the one we got first. After that I did some research and been following the steps mentioned everywhere, but 1 week after still almost no progress, they can't see each other. Kinda sucks to think they might never get along.
I just got two kittens a few days apart (was given one kitten and adopted her a friend). Initial introductions did not go well, so I am really grateful for this video! Will begin site swapping ASAP! 🙂
We already have three, but who am I to argue if Jackson Galaxy says we need more cats? Seriously though, this is great advice for the next time we foster.
Jackson says I gotta GET MORE CATS! I'm in, brought home #3 last week, this poor stray kitten showed up on our patio, but she is TERRIFIED of our other two (she has only glimpsed them). Gonna use your method again Jackson, it worked great introducing cats 1 and 2.
We are getting new baby too, since we had to say goodbye to our 19 year old geezer in late May and other kitty got a bit lonely. Hubby chose a little yellow boy, his ETA is in a month, hopefully it goes as well as last time. Thanks to the kitty-CIA and YT algorithm for the fast processing of information, we have known just days ourselves :)
So about 2 plus months ago i brought home my first kitten. He was a 3 month old siamese kitten. Hes done great the entire time. Well about 2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to get him a friend since i work alot on the week days. So on monday 8-24-20 i went and picked up a 9 week old kitten. So before knowing anything about cats and how territorial they are i just brought him in, him down and the second astro “my siamese” saw him it was a baaaad situation lol. Hissing like crazy, growling left and right. It wasnt good lol. So i go to the Internet for advice. Come across this video and followed almost to the T. Well here we are on day 6 and their on my couch curled up with one another sleeping. Ling story short this video along with many like worked amazing. This man knows what hes talking about when it comes to cats. Thanks for the help jackson! Keep up the great work! Thank you!
I got *so* ridiculously lucky with my boys! I was basicaly like "yo, here's your new brother!!" And they were rubbing noises with in less than 5 minuets. Until last year I could say they had never hissed at each other! One had surgery last year and when he came home from being at the vet all day and smelling different with a cone on and it was just too much I think!
Jackson Galaxy, i know you won’t see this but I so needed to hear this. I live with my mum and grandma and they solely believe that cats should fight it out. While I was at work, they let our new adopted kitties out of base camp to explore. (We were still at beginning of feeding with little visual stage) And our resident cat stalked them everywhere, there was hissing and swatting until finally 2 days ago, he beat up one of our new cats pretty badly. It was horrifying and I’ve been so anxious since then. I’m really trying to reintroduce them using your method but the family is so sceptical and uncooperative. But I’m doing it anyway. I really needed to hear that last message about being patient and being positive. Thank you so much. I’ll keep working hard!
I need a video on cat re-introductions for the two most impossible cats ever. My mom messed up the initial introduction and now the new cat (male) literally tries to murder the resident cat (female) any time he sees her, so they have to be kept separate at all times. I'm talking full on chase w/ fur flying and injuries. I think she hissed at him so much at the beginning that he finally just snapped. Neither is food motivated. The male is a very picky eater. The female won't eat when anyone's around. I tried getting her on meal times, but she wouldn't eat when I brought her the food. If I'd walk out of the room, it might be an hour or more before she'd touch it. That doesn't work with this method. I tried taking it away after a short period of time but rather than learn to eat when it was available she just didn't eat. She also doesn't play. She's fearful of everything and getting her to the vet is a nightmare b/c she refuses to go in the carrier. They're both on prozac and we use feliway, both of which help, but not enough. We tried calming collars and rescue remedy but that didn't work. I've finally gotten them to where I can hold him and sit a few feet from her and she won't hiss. He's just biding his time though, hoping to lull me into thinking it's safe to let go. I can't do the opposite and hold her b/c he will attack - he used my leg as a launching pad once while I was carrying her and I've never made that mistake again. It's been a year now - I don't care if they ever like each other, I just want them to be able to share the house for a few hours each day without him trying to murder her.
Did you try Feliway diffusers yet? They can help in addition to re-introduction. If all else fails, your aggresor may need medication. I've been through this before and, in my situation, the medication made living together less violent.
Pretty sure you need to separate them and completely start over, with them smelling each other on opposite sides of the door. My cat (she's really anxious and jumpy) hates newcomers and food doesn't motivate her, but cat grass (or wheat grass) does. She loves it, it calms her down and keeps her a little distracted. I used cat grass when I was working with her to wear a harness and she never freaked out and can wear it fine now. Maybe brushing, petting, or playing could work too, if food doesn't? If you really want to use food and the cats are picky, figure out what they love. You'll probably have to try two different things for your cats because it sounds like they're personalities and needs are really different. With my cat, brushing and petting during introductions doesn't work because she gets quickly overstimulated and either attacks or runs away. I've also struggled when trying to get my cat to the vet. She's *broken* her cat carrier *and* a dog carrier in the process. We had to switch to using those cardboard pet carriers because they have larger openings and my cat can't reach my fingers when I try to close it (whereas with the normal metal doors she could reach through and push the door open) and it's still only possible to get her in there by putting her in sideways, that way she can't use her legs or claws to try to get away or push away the carrier. Also! Because it sounds like the male is having a lot of aggression/territorial issues. *Make sure you've had him neutered!* That can make a huge difference. If that doesn't work maybe have a medical workup done, especially with the male, just to make sure there aren't any underlying issues that could be the cause. Then there's also stuff like making sure you have enough litter boxes (for two cats you should have three), the cats need room to navigate the space so add cat furniture like towers and stands (basically make sure they don't ever feel trapped), invest in good cat food (this might sound silly but I switched my cat to a natural diet 2 weeks ago where I make her food and her behavior has changed significantly, she's happier, more laid back, and more social) If the cats do fight, don't intervene. They might redirect aggression to you and you're bound to get hurt. I've heard that a loud clap to stop them is best, followed by separating them and starting the introduction process over again. Take time to really learn their body language so you can pick up on the small warning signs. And also I'm no cat expert so take all that advice with a grain of salt, I'm just trying to help based on my experience. You could have already known all of this or already tried it all I have no idea. I wish you luck and I hope your cats can figure it out, that situation sounds really stressful for everyone, but I believe in you
Couple of ideas hopefully helpful to you: 1. Their contact should happen after you've tired them down. Cat won't be so quick to attack if tired. 2. Neutered cats will get along better and will adapt better to homes. 3. Get respect for yourself from the cats before expecting them to respect each other. Cats shouldn't jump on you as though you were part of the sofa. You're not furniture. You're the mom/dad and you bring the food. Correct them when they disrespect you. Or they will scratch you. 4. No picky eaters. Cats should eat whatever food the veterinarian says, and no other option should be available ever. Except treats. 5. Use treats to reward good behavior. Use your voice to have them recognize "good girl/boy" and "no" commands. Then reward, whenever they can acknowledge each other without fighting. Use your commands. 6. Female and male cats tend to stay away from each other.
After a failed surgery, I started to have the same problem with two of my males(one is very aggressive and nervous, the other one is calmed but a little bit shy) I have been trying the catification, food schedule, changing base camps for over 2 years, and still can't get them to like each other(or even tolerate). I have a female, which is who makes everything worse. She picks side with the aggressive/nervous(as if defending him), and then everything blows up. Even my oldest(León, who gets in no trouble with anybody)has been injured. It's very frustrating.
Currently fostering a mom with 5 kittens and have 2 dogs of my own. Probably was a bit slow on expanding base camp out because momma kept wanting to leave and explore the rest of the house more, and I’ve let her do that now. Brought some stuff she scent soaked into the house, replaced it with new stuff to scent soak in the base camp. They’ve gotten used to each other’s scents pretty well, through the door and through swapping scent soaked things some. I’m about to start the visible but behind a barrier stage, just stocked up on both dog and cat treats as well in prep for both this stage and for the face to face introductions. Momma seems to be pretty confident with roaming the house already, so just gotta make sure my high energy dogs don’t overwhelm her. Tire them out first and then work on introduction stuff. I’m excited
This came in time, we trapped a 4 month old kitten at a McDonald's and have her separated from our other cats. My one cat hates kittens because they always go up to her first.
One of mine is still like that. He is so desperate for the alpha male ( oldest one) approval that's he comes on strong. Which makes my oldest mad and walks away.
I REALLY hope you'll talk about how to introduce a kitten to an adult cat.. My kitten arrived yesterday and doesn't care at all about slow introductions. He bashes the door and just runs up to the adult cat. She seems fine as long as he doesn't get nose to nose with her, then she hisses at him. Also, kitten feels so comfortable that it doesn't seem fair to just let the kitten stay in basecamp, he wants to explore everything and starts meowing/gets bored when we leave him in basecamp (bedroom). Any tips from anyone else is also welcome!
I also have a new kitten and she likes to explore so it saddens me keeping her in the basecamp. They eat and sleep together but the adult cat sometimes grabs the kitten by the neck and she doesn’t like it, and I’m worried that he may hurt her :/
Completely agree. Going on week three of introducing a three month old kitten to a one year old cat. His steps worked up until the face to face introduction. My adult cat follows the kitten around the apartment, which is pretty large, if we let her out. They have no problem eating without a barrier between. Kittens just don’t have any fear, and if I try to play with them together my adult cat doesn’t care about the toy because my kitten is jumping all over it. Not sure what to do.
@@alexandrakritzman938 i got exactly the same issue. and my kitten is too interested in my resident one. the kitten always tries to get near to the big one, even when i play with him and then the big one starts to hiss and growl. :/ did it get better at you? you should be in week 5 right now^^ feeding them together with 1 meter between them face to face is no problem. im asking myself if it would help when i play with the kitten and let my resident one watch it through the screen door?
sSf4deSs hi! Sorry just seeing this comment. It did get better - a LOT better. After three weeks, we couldn’t keep the kitten separated any longer because she was just crying whenever she was in tbe room if one of us wasn’t in there. It wasn’t practical anymore. So we trusted that we had done enough that they would get along and let the kitten out the entire time during the day. We put her back in tbe room at night. The first three days my resident cat followed the kitten around a lot, but we supervised them. Also I read that this is normal. After three days they more or less settled into a routine. Now, they get along great. My resident cat grooms the kitten and they even cuddle when they nap. They do go at it from time to time but I think it’s mostly playing. Google and RUclips cats playing v fighting and this will hopefully put you at ease. I think a lot of the time their playing seems like fighting to us unless you know what signs to look for. If their fur isn’t sticking up, there’s no hissing, their ears aren’t back the whole time, and they’re taking turns/breaks, it’s probably just playing. Good luck!
I am looking after a friends cat, whilst she is in lt hospital. I already knew the about intros from this channel, so i thought Jackson is always saying get company for your single cat, it will be fine. I am regretting that decision, I have spent 6 weeks on introduction and they wont stop fighting, even when separating and reintroducing , 3 months later. So since the reintroduction vid says watch this one, i am watching again. Grr
I hear you! we’re now 2 months in and making no progress despite following all the steps over and over. Are things improving for you? We feel totally stuck now with no idea what to do next. We really regret this too, it’s exhausting, stressful and we have no life now beyond warring felines.
@@annag1202 No real progress. Having watched the vids again I tried a few new things. We realised the new kitty was bored and treating my cat as live prey and so have been letting him out with a tracker to burn off some energy (in UK so it is safe), he also put on 0.5 kg so needs the exercise I have tried playing with them together but they are more interested in each other. He was using my cats litter tray (even though his owner promised he won't use covered litter trays 🤦🏻♀️). My cat was stealing his biscuits. So we fixed those issues. However, Jackson says if they will eat next to each other without any aggression or issue then you have won. But they eat together fine, have done since the end of 1st 6 week introduction. When the food runs out they can't help themselves wind each other up until it is a full on fur flying mess. In my case I think it because my cat has a heart condition so he would usually win a fight but isn't well enough and new kitty is healthy and active. They appear to want to interact but just keep missing the mark, almost like they speak two different languages.
My cat and new kitten were introduced slowly and in this manner, for the most part, but my older cat was angry from the moment he knew we brought a kitten home. For the first two days he wouldn’t come out from under the bed. He was angry and hardly wanted to eat. I tried playing with him and he did not want anything to do with me. A week later and he was able to be in the same room as the kitten but his light had diminished. We used to play every night but now he won’t play with me. He won’t fight with the kitten but he won’t play at all. He lets me pet him and hug him but he shows only a fraction of affection towards me. I try playing with both kitten and him at the same time but he’ll just run away. I try playing with him while the kitten is in another room and he still wont play. It’s been two weeks and I’m afraid he’s depressed. I don’t know what to do.
@@jonasangie13 hello, my kitties are doing better but they still fight a lot. I noticed that when the little one is anxious/bored or has a lot of energy, he tries to fight with the older one. I’m not sure if that’s his way of initiating play but the older one seems to get real angry so they end up fighting. I have to separate them into different rooms sometimes. Although, sometimes I do catch them sleeping together! So there’s hope!
I have an alpha bengel and a female tabby. They get along amazing. I had rescused a 8 month old female tabby /half bengel. I just brought her home last night. She has her basecamp. She's comfortable walking around house. Meanwhile, I have my female tabby downstairs. Mr bean the alpha male bengel he is indoor and outdoors. I notice my female tabby Nala once I put Izzy new kitty back in basecamp she can smell the new kitty. I'm hoping this works . I dont want any kitty feeling unloved. One step vloser to a happy home😊
I live in a big house but I have a suite in it that has a sun porch, tv room bedroom and bathroom. I often cat sit my daughter’s cats when she has to work out of town. I put her cats on the sun porch with their beds, litter box, food and water and close them off for a day or two. And let my cat into the rest of the suite. After wards I let the cats into the rest of the suite but keep my cat out for a day or two. Then let them in together usually until my cat wants to out of the room. About 15 to 20 minutes at a time as she is not used to other cats and my daughter has three. Never had any cat fights and if one growls or hisses at mine she’s ready to leave.
Perfect timing on this video because I need help!! We got a 1 year old(pixie) 4 weeks ago, and we have a 3 year old (Kato). It was hard to get pixie to come out in the first place, my guess is she was abused and does not trust people. But she loves to play! Hopefully one day she will want to be pet :(. Introducing the two has not gone well. Kato is so attached to me he thinks I’m his mom, my guess is that he’s so defensive and protective of me he doesn’t like that she was in my room. I thought we did everything right. We introduced them slow, by sent while eating. Then by sight but he couldn’t get to her. I thought once he was allowed in my room and she could roam he would calm down. But he keeps going at her and last night Gave her a scratch on her face. I know these things take time but I’m really worried especially with him injuring her. I’m also afraid she will become to scared to wonder around. She’s an angle she just wants to play with Kato but he’s to mean. It’s also hard seeing my cat Kato, who’s usually so sweet and lovely , beat up on another cat. Can anyone recommend some help? I’m feeding them together and trying to play with them together already.
Maybe go back to step one with scents only and no sight. Move in and out of each other's areas (or basecamp as Jackson has referred to them) so they can get comfortable with each other's scents. Then start moving their belongings into the other's "basecamp" and keep going slowly. Then continue the way you have been.
When I got my new kitten (1 month old) home she started to run towards my older cat right away! I had to grab her, cause she had no ideia what she was running to. The older was maaad. The tiny one, super confident, the big one, so scared. One funny thing : the food thing didn't work so well as play. The new cat was cool with everything, is the older who I had to convince, and she doesn't care about food that much, she is very energetic and motivated by play. When I got them playing together then all the fear fade away. This was 4 months ago and they are good friends now. Best part is the older cat's behavior, she is more relaxed around her humans, sleeps on the bed, and lets me cuddle her neck. So cute.
I have two cats and my boyfriend has two cats and we moved into a house almost 2 months ago. We did Jackson's base camp/site swapping method and it worked really well for three of them but the one female wants nothing to do with the boys and is always hissing and growling anytime she even sees one of them (especially my 2 boys). We aren't sure how to make her more comfortable at this point.
I'm sorry to heart that, if I were in that situation I'd try to give her a separate area for just her if it's possible. A bed or cat tower her own food water bowl, if possible litter box (my cat hates sharing litter box!) Hopefully she will come around but if she doesn't she still needs her own personal space to relax 😊
@@arsey1833 Girls are SUPER territorial , and would be extremely difficult situation if the couple take even more cats, especially girl. Please be careful giving such advise.
When I brought my kitten home it took him only 5 minutes before he wanted to leave basecamp (my bedroom) to explore the rest of my apartment hahah. I’m taking him to my parents house for Christmas and I’m gonna try to start introducing him to their cat! Thankful for all the tips.. your videos are always helpful!
Wow, so helpful! I’m in the situation where one of my two resident cats (the youngest) is afraid of the new one (who is super confident). I could use some more advice. Right now I’m feeding them on both sides of the door, which the scared one is almost ok with (just the ocasional hiss), and I’m also site swapping during meal time. But the scared cat is afraid about the new one’s room. I ‘force’ her to enter the room (sliding the food into the room so that she follows), she eats a little bit but then wants to exit, doesn’t play, almost doesn’t explore.... now I know that I went too fast and ‘forcing’ her to eat inside is no good. I’ll try slower and day by day until she enters the room confidently. Even though it has already been a month.... She is not very food-motivated, and that’s key. My other resident cat seems to not mind the new cat, because when she smells her there’s food :) hope everything turns out well, I’d love to hear advice from all of you. Greetings from Spain!
Jackson. Make more varied content. Doing the same thing over and over and giving slightly more hints each time is driving me crazy. Like there's so many more things that can be covered. It's not like your old vids are going anywhere. They were SO helpful, but we need help on other things that aren't Pee / poop, introducing cats, and how to play.
He covers the same things again and again because people ask the same questions again and again without going through his old content to find the answer. People are incredibly dumb and lazy and barely remember a search function exists and want the info delivered on a silver platter before they change anything about how they are caring for their pets. However, I would also like to see different things as well that haven't or have rarely been covered.
@@soophxc My cat is very vocal for example. Should I be worried or not? He vocalizes differently in all kinds of situations. Other new kitten behavior to watch out for. How much should I be feeding my cat (His videos are varying with when and how much). ECT!
Jackson, brought a newcomer. I didn't introduce them properly. By time the residence tolerated, groomed and played eventually with the newcomer, but he stopped completely receiving and seeking my petting. Never again
Leyla YAŞAR sadly Feliway does NOT work. I’ve spent $300 on plug ins and spray. None of it made even a little difference with my cat group. I hope you have better luck. Not worth the high price tag IMO
@@BeeKay4444 thank you for response. its even more expensive in my country. you saved me from time and money waste. wish it worked though, would make life so easy :)
Cats have always worked out getting long 100% very well, better than humans and better than dogs in my (soon increasing) experience. I'm rescuing a cat of indeterminate age and temperament. A friend of mine asked me to do it because the husband hated the cat and it was in danger. I wasn't planning on a third, but I guess the cat distribution system includes me in it's long list of benefactors. Besides, THREE"S a charm! ☘☘☘
reset the board by separating them and then follow the advice of this video. the dominant cat gets the house, the other cat goes to base camp and you start a new game of cat introduction.
I’m trying to introduce my new cat- Spice- who is a 2 year old male to my residency cat- Midnight- who is a 1 year old female. Spice absolutely instantly was fine walking around the house. He even jumped up on the coach and laid next to me and stuff. He is completely confident and doesn’t understand territory of personal space. First day he was rubbing against Midnight’s stuff and licking her toys. Midnight has become more reserved and hides whenever she sees Spice. Aside from one occasion where Spice was stealing her food and she smacked him. I currently have them in different places. Spice is in his “base camp” but hates it. He wants to walk around the house and follow me around. He meows so much. Midnight is back to her normal now that Spice is in a different room. When should I let them see each other? Will Midnight’s slow process cause Spice to get depressed if he has to stay in that room longer?
Thank you for the video! I tried some of these techniques but it was way harder than it sounds:/ my newcomer couldn’t handle being locked in a specific room, he was crying a lot and showed clear signs that he wanted to get out, but when I was letting him out, he was showing signs (as you explained in the video) of very big fear to be in a new environment and I could clearly see that the line had been crossed way too far. Also, my resident really didn’t appreciate him walking in the house so soon. I kind of was facing a dilemma between my newcomer’s needs to not be confined in a room and my resident’s needs of more time to get used to the new cat without seeing him just yet. What is the best thing to do in this case?...
YES exactly THIS! I’m living in a loft and the only closed door is the bathroom. I put a gate up for my new kitten and introduced him to the area. However, a day later, he refused to stay in the area and keeps hopping out of the gate even though I’m there with him. I’ve tried everything and my resident kitten keeps jumping INTO his area also. Distractions don’t work as their attention span is so short yet their focus is incredible. My new kitten will get into hissing fits with my resident kitten… and he doesn’t seem comfortable with the whole apartment yet either. But he has his hiding spot and I’ve learned to just let him hide away from the new place AND my resident kitten who keeps bothering/hunting him. My resident kitten seems to want to play, but he’s so annoyed. I’m trying to tire out my resident kitten before and when they see each other but BOY does my resident kitten have energy! I’m going to buy her a cat wheel and hopefully that will help.
Who’s in the process of introducing cats and wants to cry? Because i am
I think the stress of trying to get it all right can be a lot. I hope things have settled for you, by now. ♥
First night for me… 2 resident cats & 1 kitten.
@@peterlongo3343 Oof you have your work cut out for you. 2 Kittens and 1 resident would be so much easier since the kittens will play with each other and tire each other out. If you don't play with that kitten constantly, he's going to look towards the resident cats to play, and they won't be down with having a little snot-nosed kit pouncing on them all the time and they might become aloof towards the little one. Kittens are hit or miss with adults though, some have that instinct to bond with them, and others don't want anything to do with them. Good luck!
I'm terrified. Getting my kitten tomorrow.
Me man. Shit’s really hard for me
Dang, I brought my second kitty home 3 days ago...
They're sleeping in the same bed so I guess I got lucky in the end
You really did! Cats are suuuuper territorial
Yeah, you are lucky. Our resident treated me as if I was a traitor, and was mad mad as hell when I brought the new kitten. She felt betrayed and wanted nothing, a month later and both could not be any happier.
It’s been two months and I’m still feeding both cats on opposite sides of the door. They progress and regress. Well our resident cat does, our newcomer kitten is confident as hell and has no issues and just wants to hang out. It’s been a process lol
@@theonedude129 As one person how do you feed two cats on opposite sides of a door at the same time?
@@snusmumriken232 well you would place one food bowl down and then go over the fence or door or whatever and place the other bowl. I think I'd give the resident cat the bowl first but, don't quote me on this, because that's just my assumption
The biggest challenge for me is to know when is it safe to leave the cats alone with each other, after all this process
I'd like to know that too.
If you are nervous about it then don't leave them alone together. Put the new cat in the comfort zone when you leave. that might be every day for a year or so but it's better than coming home to a blood bath.
I'm sure you resolved this issue, but I'll throw in my two cents for anyone new to the question.
There can't be any moments of tension at any time, whatsoever, no matter how small. Even if your cats avoid each other, that's still an indicator that they simply aren't completely okay with each other. If they aren't playing together -- if they can't eat out of the same bowl, if they don't even sleep together, that's enough to know you're not safe keeping them alone.
I brought in two very confident cats that had no problem adjusting to each other, but it was a huge mistake to leave them alone after a week. I thought because they tolerated each other, and no more, they would be fine, and I woke up to a blood trail and had to figure out who was bleeding and why. If they are to the point that they are simply 'fine' with one another, you'll be really tempted to try it, and most of the time it works out, but when you aren't there to see the warning signs, you're rolling the dice, and for me, I lost that dice roll. It could have been a lot worse than a swiped leg.
Til they can play safety without hurting each other
@@RuFi0000000Thank you so much for this! I wanted to know and wasn't comfortable (4 days in) even leaving base camp's door open unsupervised! 👀
You just reaffirmed and reassured me that my instincts were spot on. Thank you 💐
I was prepared to do all of this to introduce my cat to our new kitten but it was all for nothing, it was love at first sight 😭 we literally got the kitten yesterday evening and here we are all in the living room now watching TV because both of them were so desperate to be together.
How special for you!
This is so precious 😍
@@celloafterdark4173 2024 update: they are still the cutest together, they're inseperable ❤️ the younger one may be brainless but she brought the best out in the older one, really helped him come out of his shell. Even now they're being a menace together at 7am and playing with something they probably shouldn't 😂
@RobinKirves... I must axe you a question, are you Finnish?
But yes, we didn't need to have Musti and Harmi in separate rooms. It turned out Harmi was even too small to be contained by the pet gate I had gotten and she just slipped right through the bars. When she stuck her head through them and I grabbed her, Musti started washing her! And when we tried to keep them separate they both cried through the door until we allowed them to be together. They like made it SUPER clear that they don't have any problem with each other c:
Lucky mine hissed just smelling her lol
Every time I see the title of one of Jackson’s videos I’m like: *sigh* I know all this he’s already made an “introducing cats” video or a “how to play with your cats” or “catification” but I end up learning new stuff each video. It’s crazy how much knowledge and detailed understanding he has of their behaviour!
Yeah, same. I've always had good luck introducing cats, and it's kind of gratifying when Jackson mentions a method that my family used instinctively, like allowing them to get used to each other by smell through a door, swapping sites from time to time, that sort of thing. But then I grew up in a large house with plenty of space for multiple cats to get comfortable. One thing he recommends that we never did was litter boxes. We always used 1 litter box for 2-3 cats (outside the introduction period). Jackson recommends 1 litter box per cat.
SirLyonhart So true! He has loads of info about litter boxes and goes into so much detail on scent and territory. I didn’t even realise it was a biggie. Even where to put the litter box has to be thought out. Honestly he saved so many cats from having uncomfortable lives. If Jackson hadn’t been born Imagine all the people just throwing two cats in a room together expecting them to get along! Very glad there are educated, caring owners like you who take the time to watch his videos and act on them.😊
Could not have come at a better time, we're bringing home cat #2 tonight!
Good luck! 😺
I've been there before but was quite lucky because for them it was basically love at first sight :)
I'm kind of curious for an update though and hopefully it's been a great time for you so far!
It will take time, do not push them to meet each other. It took me a month, but I followed all steps. I did a screen door out of two pallets w a green plastic chicken net sold at Home Depot.
It is key once there is no barrier, play w them, do not let them figure it out.
*The cats are past "who the hell are you?", now it is Who is the Boss cat in the house, which is another work in progress.
Use organic cat nip when they meet so they are on a high note, lol. They eat together, sleep together, play and horse play.
*Cut their nails BEFORE removing the physical barrier. Ours had a quick showdown, as much as we tried, it had to happen, now they are best buddies.
@Ava McMillin They're friends now I'm happy to say!! We are in a one-bedroom apartment and the kitten was DESPERATE to get out and explore. He was in isolation for 1 week and got hissed at under the door a lot, then we introduced them via baby gate but he jumped over it if unsupervised so we had to do short sessions for 2 days. Then we let him roam (supervised sessions) and it took the cat about 3 more days to stop hissing when he got too close and about 1 week for her to realize he was annoying but harmless. She's slowly learning to play with him! They still get their signals crossed sometimes but I am so glad we took it slow!
@@indigoia Thanks for the update, we're on day 5, it's actually hard work. My first cat has only just stopped freaking out that there's new strange cat smells. So glad your cats are friends.
Hey Jackson. It would be nice if you could give some advice on introducing cats in a limited space like a 1 bedroom or studio. Definitely makes it more challenging
Agree - My only option would be to shut the new one in my bathroom, and I have students who come to my flat, so that’s not practical 🙃
this!!!! my mom had this issue but the boys we were introducing were both male so it wound up working. We tried to get her a female kitten but that one wasn't having ANY interaction with Kodas who was a bit younger but is part bengal and just wanted to play, when we introduced Vinny it was right away and the boys MOSTLY gently duked it out and became best of friends in the same day/ 2 days max. The boys are now inseprable and love each other so much
Doing that now lol.
@@Blueberryyymuffin how did it go and how did you do it? I have a one bedroom but the door doesn't actually stay shut so the bathroom would be the only place or I'd have to rig my door to shut. There's a little cat hanging around my house I'm not sure if she's a stray but if so I might want to try letting her in
How do I do that put them in a cat carrier and let her come out and play with them more how do I make it more challenging for them or for her she is a female and I know she's getting ready to go back into heat and I have not had her fixed yet but I'm trying to get her fixes like 3 to 4 months out before they'll fix her any place I go I've been calling around so I want to get that advice with special with babies they're 7 weeks I'll give it to me at 6 weeks. She seems to hate them and his back one in the head but now she's just staying in the loft at all times she said gone for today before I caught her and I've been loving on her everybody every bit I can let her know she still my baby and that I love her but I don't want her to be hiding all the time so how do I get her to adjust them we only live in a 400 square feet and in everywhere I turn the babies are on top of me especially even in my sleep but she's staying in the loft I want her to get used to the babies without her being so aggressive
"a fence tall enough that the cats won't jump" dude I watched my cat jump from the floor to the top of the fridge in one go, no middle points, there is no such thing as tall enough.
🤣🤣... That's basically what I said.
If you cant get a screen door, we used two baby gates on top of each other (with the top one able to swing open) it blocked almost the entire doorframe and prevented cats from getting over
We screwed together a few pieces of wood and covered this with chicken wire to make an approximately human-height screen door that can easily be dismanteled later. We did have to improvise a bit, though, because Sir Stanley climbed the thing in seconds, so do put something on top to block them from climbing over, too 😅
You can also use an old bed base and fix it inside the doorframe - so the cats can meet, get to know and see each other if they want. But there would be no possibility to jump over it, as the whole doorframe is closed
Yeah, I think Jackson was getting dogs and cats mixed up when he said that. You can build a fence tall enough for dogs to not jump over, but there is no such thing as one tall enough for cats.
One thing I’ve found helps is food and treats, if the old cat associates meeting the new cat with getting something it likes it’s going to have a lot more positive opinion of that cat. I also pet the other cat and let my original cat sniff my fingers, so it smells the new cat and me together and knows we’re friends.
Hello cathy
Every time I let my resident cat smell my fingers after petting the baby, she hisses at my hand 😭 but it’s only been a day so I’m sure it will get better!
One of my cats won't take treats or play if he see or senses my other cat which has been my difficulty with introduction is like he hyper fixated Trying to find a way to break it.
What if the new cat is super confident but pre exisiting cats aren’t lol
As a cat TNR trapper, I confirm. Cats like cats. A solo cat in a lonely home.... no!
Thank you for what you do! ❤❤❤
It's true. We rescued a female cat that no matter what we did she was never really happy. She was spoiled and loved but that wasn't enough. So I decided another cat was needed and holy crap....what a difference. We now have three cats and we introduced them the same way.... Their own room, then swap. They all get along very well. I don't know much about introducing adult cats, I never did that. Our first rescue was adult, the other two were kittens both rescued different times.
@@carinawoodmansee9699 it's the same with adult cats. I had 2 boys of 3y when I adopted my oldest cat. He was 8. I introduced them with the same method and after a few days all was well. 4 months ago I introduced a new kitten to the 3 of them and same thing. After a few days they all ate together. 😘
@@chadia25 That's great to know.👍😊 I always introduce kittens to cats, never had to do it with adult cats so it's great to know it can be done 👍👍👍👍😊😊😊 easily
I'd have to disagree from personal experience. My cat absolutely HATES other cats. When we have cat sat for my bestie, she hated him. All week she hid and was not herself. She was so depressed and this was us sectioning off part of the house so she not would attack/not instigate an attack. She grew up with other cats and I believe was the runt because of how tiny she actually is despite being part Maine Coon. When she had her kingdom to herself again, her old happy and self entertaining personality came back. She was even more affectionate. I would love more cats but not at the expense of making my Mittens sad.
Makes me sad how many people still just throw a new cat right in the middle of their existing resident cats. And have no respect for video's or tips like this to do it the right way for their cats. They think they know better and think this is making to much of a fuss about it. 😥
Love how you are trying to educate people, Jackson! 👌❤
Tottally! I was very misunderstood in places I lived cause people thought it was a losing time effort to go slowly on introducing cats, mocked at me for respecting them, acting like it's ok to treat them like they were dogs. This kind of thing makes me so angry. I have even seen vets saying absurds about this
Peeps are just disrespectful, lazy, & selfish.
Little do they know they're making more work & trouble for themselves in the long run.
I feel like some people shouldn’t be allowed to own pets. If we had to get a pet license just so that it would ensure that some entitled owners don’t ruin a cat or dog’s (or any other pet’s) lives I’d be down for it.
Sometimes i think it depends on the guardian and the cats though.. I brought an injured outdoor male who already knew me, immediately inside with 2 other indoor-only males i also knew. Within 1 month they were completely used to eachother. They never fought, and barely ever growled but only when the outdoor cat got too close. Usually they'd just leave the room or spread out and watch eachother. 1year later, now they are 3 completely inseparable babies..
Maybe i got lucky, but i think daily feeding and LOTS of playtime as a distraction, plus calmly sitting in the same room quietly with them for many many hours is very important.
Some people didn’t know. Exactly my case. Now I’m sad I didn’t do it properly
My cat doesn’t really get along with other cats or dogs, but she LOVES my bunny rabbit. 😍
Hello molly!
As a fellow bumny mom, I advise you to be VERY careful. Cats have a bacteria that naturally grows in their claws that can kill rabbits. I recently just got a cat and am being cautious myself
@@dreamwanderer9769 Hi
The cat: get in me bellayyy
No no no cats are predators bunnies are prey...
I was ready to follow your advice about introducing cats when my dad brought our little girl home last year. I kept trying and trying to follow the steps but my dad was having none of it and just let her out whenever he felt like it, no regard for how her or my little boy would take it. Sure enough, while she was pretty chill, my boy had a few fits around her and had even started laying in his litter box for comfort. Thankfully they're all right with each other now, but I've gotten into so many arguments with my dad over how to properly care for our cats - if left up to him, they would be having bags of treats as actual meals. :/
I feel you, some people just want to ruin things.
Same at my place when we got a 2mo old kitten, Coconut, specifically with one of my cats, Mia, she just HATED the smell of the new addition and my husband would just let the kitten out and stress Mia out, and he never listened to me about taking things slow with them, etc. Coconut is now 9mo old and Mia to this day cannot see him or interact with without hissing and slapping him and my husband just says "it's ok, she's just grumpy" but also, Mia now doesn't hang out with or around my husband anymore, although she used to be his kitty, because Coconut LOVES him and it's all over him all the time he's available (although he was supposed to be my kitten, yet I'm nothing to him when my husband is around, :( haha), and that makes me so sad for Mia because I have noticed changes in her demeanor and it breaks my heart, she doesn't have breakfast or dinner with the other cats, she's always now on the chairs under the dining table, like she's trying to be invisible and doesn't hang out with any of the other cats anymore like she used to. She only seems happy when we let her out to the side patio or when she's hanging out with me by herself and no other cats around.
@@skadi84 Sometimes a period of separation and reintroduction can work, but you'd have to get the husband onboard with it.
@@SadisticSenpai61 She said her dad, not her husband...
@@earisu I was responding to Skadi who said husband. Mir was talking about their dad.
During my childhood, I was raised with two alpha female cats who did not get along with each other. They were not introduced properly, because we did not have any Jackson Galaxy cat videos during the 1960s.
Calico TC was the senior cat, who just showed up as a gentle, friendly stray, house-trained, spayed, and was a skilled predator. She owned our yard, and could be seen hunting throughout my neighborhood.
Siamese Lucy was adopted when my father's friend's Siamese Queen had a litter of pure Siamese kittens.
The day my father brought her home, I remember her walking around the kitchen, filling the house with her distinctive Siamese voice. Having seen the movie "That Darned Cat" Lucy did not seem to be strange.
The first time they saw each other, it was a war between two Alpha Females, who instantly disliked each other. They hissed, howled, and swatted at each other for the next 15 years.
Eventually they divided the house between each other, with certain rooms belonging to one or the other. They divided the Living Room and Kitchen by sides of the room.
The TV belonged to Siamese Lucy, because the vacuum tubes kept it warm. One day one of my brother's friends saw Lucy in her Sphinx pose, and remarked "I swear I saw your statue move!"
Feeding time always was challenging. We would have to feed Lucy first, before feeding TC. Then Lucy would leave her food, and nudge TC away from TC's food.
TC would just walk to the door, as if to say "I can catch better stuff than that!" Within a half hour, TC could be seen chowing down on some unfortunate rodent or bird.
One day TC was absolutely insistent demanding to go outside, despite the rain. So I opened the front door to show TC that it was pouring rain.
This angered TC, she pulled her ears back, and turned away from the door. At that moment, Lucy came bopping into the room, happy with her tail straight up. TC hissed and attacked poor Lucy, who had an expression like "What did I do?!?"
Those incidents went on for 15 years, until TC died. Lucy walked the house for days, calling mournfully and searching for her rival housemate. Lucy adjusted to being an only cat for the next two years.
Decades later, I still miss those two stepsisters.
@James Pirko, thank you for sharing your memories of your rival girls. I once heard that we would miss even our arch-enemy if they disappeared from our life. TC was a part of Lucy's world, for better or for worse. I've gotta hand it to your parents and family, that you all made it work and never surrendered Lucy to a shelter. Good job!👏👏👏
I had a solo cat.... She thought WE were her fellow cats. ADORED us. Slept on my head every day. Hugged me and nuzzled my neck.
When she was maybe a year and a half home, we tried introducing a kitten and she wasn’t having it (Jackson Galaxy videos didn’t exist back then lol). Baby Kitty had to go back after 2 days.
We brought in another kitten when she was 10. And another cat when she was 15. She never accepted them (even though we kept them). She was always only a people cat. She Hated all other cats AND all other people. But she was the best cat I ever had. So loving. She had cancer and made it to 17 years.... I miss her so much :(
Jesus. I just adopted another cat 3 weeks ago. I know I’m not doing my best. Sometimes I feel exhausted, other times I can see some progress. Thanks for the video.
Hang in there. I'm going on six months introducing a cat to one of our cats that did NOT like her in the slightest.
We've had since set backs, but we notice progress every day! :)
2 months here. One step forward, two back, two forward....it’s exhausting but I hope it’ll pay off. I don’t want to think we’ll live forever separated like now, because as you said it’s exhausting. Keep it up!
Any updates in these guys?
Hello derly!
@@karsonkammerzell6955 can I ask what helped most?
I'm introducing a 1 to 2 year old female, to my 5 year old male (fixed) cat that I've had since he was a kitten.
I would love any tips! They just met , so far, not bad... but I want it to progress from here !
i got a second, younger cat to be a companion for my older cat. everything was going fine until Olivia hit puberty. It didn't help she was twice the size of my older cat. When introducing them I followed all the advice I could and they did get along for a few weeks. One day i cam home from work and Olivia had attacked Missy to such an extent that there was a blood trail through the house and missy was cowering on the window sill, hunched into the corner in fear. I had to separate them and soon found a new forever home for Olivia. This was just too much stress for Missy and because I live on my own, i didn't have anyone to help me resocialise them. I received updates from Olivia and she is doing well, is healthy and happy. Missy seems to be much happier as a single cat and after a few weeks of building up her confidence again was back to her old self. Bless her she was really traumatised :(
We adopted our second cat one week ago. We did everything like suggested here but since 2 days ago it just wasn't possible anymore to seperate them (12 weeks & 10 months, both girls). The little one sat at the door of the basecamp, crying and scratching all the time, it just broke my heart, no matter how much time I spent in there. When I go out: cry cry cry. She really wanted to explore the rest of the flat, aside from daily site swapping.. got out like an arrow, really confident. I was unsure bc my teenage cat had bad experiences before, but it drove her crazy, all the crying, I had the feeling it really heated her up, hissing under the door. So we went for it. And what can I say, there's still a little bit of hissing, but they know each other visually since 24h and even slept in the same bed tonight. Not euphoric, but relaxed. I really wanted to follow these tips strictly, but with that little one, it was not an option anymore. Just wanted to share my experience :)
I brought in a new cat with my 2 resident cats, and thanks to watching Jackson, it was successful! First I put new cat in her own bedroom with food, water and her own litter box. The bedroom also had a bed, so I slept in there each night so she wouldn't feel alone. I also started doing a scent exchange with gloves, petting new cat and letting the residents smell the glove. Then petting them and letting new cat smell them.. By week three I started doing room exchange and letting new cat explore more. At the end of week five, I could tell they had all had enough of it, and on Friday night I came home from work and opened it all up. Yes there were some mild spats and hissing, but mainly they just avoided each other at first. But there were never any fights, blood and tears. Now seven years later, we all live in harmony.
The gloves are a great idea
Smell the Glove! Great Spinal Tap reference! LOL
Wow!! Gloves are a great idea! Thanks for the inspo
Okay. We have a year old female spayed cat that we've had since she was so many weeks old. She loved with us alone. Firstly outside as a small kitten yes through winter yes, with a house bed outside up high yes. She was fine. A male ct would come occasionally and she had one incident where she was Not well at all with a big puncture wound in back leg. Vets sorted that along with us at home. She started coming inside at nite as I was worried about her getting hurt again. Then she began sleeping inside with us Alot at night. It became habit. She is my pea in a pod. Wanting her to have a cat pal so she can have cat pal comfort and play with in a way that I can't as a human, especially when we go away (she is good at catching her own dinner and yes we have friends to come check on and feed etc). So we have just introduced a six to eight month old slinky Female UN SPAYED mojo. She is skitty, affectionate howls for food, confident too. Lives outside. We do not know her background as she was found and they needed to give her a home. The cats were introduced not by slow intros. Because ideally outdoor cats who catch other critters that would normally get into the house and eat our goods. This is not a keep them indoors in different rooms scenario. We had both cats stay out at night for two nights. First couple of days Our first cat was stalking behind Mojo when we went for our walks. Then mojo started to show us she was not fraid of our first cat. There has been hissing, laying on belly to say I'm not a threat, swiping, eating food next to each other, also mojo coming to eat out of our first cats dish but her swiping and growling and mojo deciding not to intervene. But she will go for any food if u put it out whereas our first cat has more food manners lol.
Anyhow, it has become a chase thing now where our first cat sees mojo and starts in a different direction because mojo has chased her up a tree. Now this has happened for three days and today I could not find first cat. I had to lock mojo in cat carrier and go look for first cat. Who when I found in woods had all hair standing on end and was partly shaking and seemed Very happy to have me lift her up and comfort her. So, how do we resolve this? If theyre outdoor cats and anytime we go out or even when we are there, mojo chases first cat. We have a highway right by our grounds. Stones throw away. I don't want a drastic thing to happen to either of them because of the chasing thing. I've played with mojo outside when first cat in view, and was okay up until first cat started running from mojo. So now how do I break this habit? First cat is only feeling relaxed when I bring her in at night. I do Not want her to feel stressed around her environment and I don't want to continuously feel stressed that I'm doing one thing for one cat and not another and vice versa and i dont want mojo to feel like she is an outsider as on her own she is an absolute joy.
But, I weened the first cat and totally been a mother figure, and we are just like soul mates, ive never had so much mothering connection ever with an animal and have had a few. Probably my downfall but it's love at first sight.
Anyway, I don't like seeing either of them stressed but it is causing too much stress all round so do ai adopt mojo out (i can find a home in a heartbeat) or do we see how it goes, ll the while knowing that they will be outside all day together and first cat just keeps disappearing to avoid confrontation. I know mojo wants to play, she has shown her confidently, hey I'm here to play, but first cat gives her the opposite impression! Anyway, any things you think can help let us know.
😂Thankyou for all you do to help people with their feline friends. Big heart 💗
Please do a video on non-recognition syndrome. I had never heard of it until it happened to my boys. I had to go through this process all over again just because one of them went to the vet. It's hard enough introducing cats once. Having to reintroduce the same cats because they don't recognize each other is harder and a little heartbreaking.
Wow I just looked it up, I didn't know this was a thing either. How did this turn out eventually
@@leisurelyamateur7952 Basically like introducing two new cats. I had to keep them separate for a few days while they get used to each other again. I've had to do it a few times since, but less than a day after that first one.
Ughhhhhhh I am experiencing this right now!!!! So stressful and just heartbreaking, i hate not knowing how long it will take
@@SpyderT22 So simple and so brilliant! Thank you Stephanie. 😻
I'm a weird cat lady but even though only one had an appointment I brought both of mine to the vet together and they explored around the room (on a leash) together so they'd basically see each other the whole time. Idk of that's the right way but it did work for me
My older cat(rip) was the one that adopted my younger cat. Younger cat(floquinho) would go meow at the door through the neighborhood and eventually the older cat(bingo) would just watch as floquinho eat his food
Bingo was a good older brother, his mojo was so high the first time he went to the vet he instantly started exploring the room and bumping his cheeks everywhere
Thank you for your excellent advice. I'm in the middle of re-introducing a 16-year-old cat (who doesn't look or act it) to my other eight cats, having botched the original intro. My cats love other cats, and welcome newcomers, and Tiberius seemed very confident and interested in them at the start. But as weeks stretched on, he was still hissy toward not only them, but often me. And, at about seven weeks in, he started jumping up on the kitchen counter to urinate and defecate.
That's when it finally hit me that I'd misread him entirely, and that he wasn't anywhere near as confident as he seemed.
So we're doing what I can only describe as a "hard reset." He boarded at my vet's to get a few days' break while I built him a big "kitty condo" in one corner of my kitchen, and stuck Feliway diffusers all over the house. From his condo, Tiberius can watch everything that goes on in the household, interact with other cats through the mesh in the doors, or watch birds and squirrels out the window, while enjoying a space that is completely his own. For the last two weeks, he's lived there, with supervised time to explore the upstairs by himself when the rest of the cats are eating in the basement.
He loves his condo. Keeping him in it or getting him to go back in is not a problem; he chooses to be there. I swear, I ought to re-name him George Jefferson, because he's got the right swagger, and a de-luxe apartment in the sky (he loves being way up high and looking down). He is much happier now. He didn't like me very much by the time I took him in for boarding, and had strong words for me when I brought him back. but things are improving. I still make sure to get his permission before petting him, or he gets cranky, but he's accepting more of it, and talking to me again, and we carry on conversations.
Tonight, he was out along with my two 19-year-olds, and I fed them all bits of chicken while they were in very close proximity, and he didn't growl or get slappy until after all the chicken was gone. And that's huge progress from where he was. I don't know how long this will take (and I suspect the kitty condo is going to end up a permanent fixture in my kitchen, given how much he loves it), but at least now he can adjust at his own speed, while feeling secure.
I'll try some of your recommendations-I've been binge-watching a lot of your videos, looking for extra tips, because even after 35 years of cat lady-dom I obviously don't always get it right. Thanks for everything you do for the cats (and their foolish humans)!
I'll put my hands up and admit that I got very lucky with my two. It took an hour for my boy to realise my girl wasn't intimidated by him puffing up and that she would just walk away from him whenever he done it. After he realised that he decided he loved her then and would always insist on being together with her at all times. He was 12 weeks old and she was 8 weeks old, they're now four and every picture I take of them looks like they're a little married couple.
I have 7 cats :) 2 oldest were fostered together, 2 youngest were fostered together, 3 in the middle are littermates. They all get along. Because I spent time making sure they would. I appreciate your videos.
Great job! I'm sure it's a beautiful sight to see them all so happy 😻🐾👍
Hello Lisa, how are you doing?
I am currently on this exact journey. Only I have 4 resident cats and have taken in 3 more in that I promised my mother I would take care of before she recently passed away. Have been using a 5 foot gate in the base camp instead of the door. Two of the new family members mustered up the courage to venture to the other end of my house. The 3rd one isn't ready yet, but she is coming up to the gate now. I think it's going well because I'm using your bully solution, self esteem, and I am putting peacemaker in all water sources. Please pray 🙏 for me, everyone. Lol 😂😂😂❤❤❤😻😻😻
4 weeks into this now and following everything to the letter but we’re not making much progress. I have 2 neutered males age 2 and were trying to introduce a 6 month old spayed female. One boy isn’t too bad but the other is so mad still, hissing and growling and mistaking his bonded brother for the newcomer and attacking him. The female goes berserk if either of them approaches. We’re not letting them have physical contact, just through a screen a couple of times a day, we’ve been doing this for the past 10 days because not being able to see the newcomer was driving my boys crazy and they were confused and attacking each other. We have to let the kitten out of her base camp frequently into our main living room or she screams and goes insane so the boys get shut out and are unhappy about that. Trying to manage it all is so stressful and exhausting, everyone here is grumpy, humans and cats. These videos make it look too easy and I feel guilty for my boys who were so happy before. The only thing stopping me from bitterly regretting this is that the kitten is a rescue from a dreadful place. Unfortunately I can’t return her as it’s an international rescue, the same as my boys were. Just have to keep on going and hope for the best. Right now I wouldn’t recommend getting more cats unless you have an enormous amount of time, energy and patience to do it, and space. Never do it on a whim, especially if you already have happy cats at home. Sorry for the negativity but I’m feeling really down today.
Hope it all worked out okay in the end? 🤞🏻
We adopted two brothers. One walked in explored seamed happy. The other hid and only came out to eat and potty when noone was around. After two weeks started to look around. Now he's the biggest lap cat ive' ever had. 😺😻
I worked your program with My 4 month and 5 month adopted Kittens I watched the step by step videos, I even emailed you at one point. And then I made your system my own according to mine and my cats needs. Little bear and Rooster didn't know how much they needed each other. The process took maybe two weeks of dilligent effort on my part. First Roosters environment was in the bathroom. I made it cat friendly. Instead of a screen door, I divided the casita in two by using wire fencing hooked with 16 cup hooks on each side a door frame. I knew it was time for that big step, , where they would be able to see each other and touch each other, only after they were playing touching paws under the bathroom door. The process took patients, almost to my limit. I worked every single step. Little Bear and Rooster now, play together, sleep together, groom each other. I prayed for this outcome so that they can take care of each other and I can expand my life 💫
We got 2nd cat a few months back and I had all these plans about how we should introduce them, what we have to do etc.
Well my parents, weren't having it and let both cats go free in like 4 days. And they were also complaining that they are not best friends after a week. I was like: "What did you expect!" I still feel sorry for the cats, they must have been so shocked with each other.
I'm an adoption counselor at a shelter. Thank you for posting these types of videos! I talk to adopters about how to introduce new cats, but I also give these type of resources (RUclips, websites, etc) to them. It's one thing for us to talk about introduction in the midst of the exciting adoption process. We talk about all of the good strategies to use. However, it can be nerve wracking for the adopter to walk into their home with a new cat and actually DO the introduction process! Keep up the good work!!
This is so true Julie.
Also, it’s one thing to educate ourselves and have a great plan in place, but executing that plan with all of the unexpected things that inevitably happen can be very stressful for all involved.
Thank you for your work as well! 😻
When I got my barely 6 week old rescue kitten, I had a golden retriever. Their intro was on opposite sides of a metal gate/playpen configuration I had set-up. Both were immediately interested. The cat wanted the dog's toys, the dog wanted the cat's toys. I kept them apart for a few days, but the kitten wanted to be with me and my golden, and not behind a barrier. She wasn't having this separation thing. She was a confident kitty from day 1. My golden had no issues and liked the kitten, and before I knew it, in a matter of about 4 days, my 1 lb (yes one pound) kitten was cuddled into 'her' 60 lb golden retriever and wanted to be by that dog's side all the time. They only had 11 months together before my golden died, but they were adorable. That cat is now 11 and it's been just the 2 of us, but I have those precious memories forever.
i just got my second baby a week ago and i skipped a step while listening to my friends, just got ready to start all over again and watching these videos make me feel a lot more hopeful
Hello dear, how are you doing?
One more thought. The base camp advice was critical! At first our senior payed zero attention. And just went on about her business. Took her about a week to go up to the door. And she attacked the little paw poking out at her angrily. She attacked her 2 other times when we let her out too. She went from that to sharing space rarely cuddling If I’m present. And even occasional play. I guess some cats need time and patience this advice really does work!
Important part of introducing cats is knowing the cats you have. Just this weekend I adopted cat number 3, a kitten named Milo. I already had an 11 year old cat Pepper and a 1 year old cat Lunabelle. When I brought Milo home I took him in a spare bedroom and let him sniff around then once he seemed comfortable I brought Pepper in for a quick little sniff. Pepper sniffed him looked at me then walked away like I see what you did, not exactly happy about it but ok. Then I let Lunabelle in she did a quick sniff hissed and backed away. Just so everyone is aware I was close by her and my niece was right next to Milo so I was ready to pull her away. Then we shut the door again for a few minutes then I brought in some toys for him to play with and I sat next to the door with it open so the other cats could come see while my niece played with Milo. Pepper and Lunabelle kept making short trips in the room. Pepper spent a good 10 minutes sitting by me and watching him, Lunabelle would come in watch him, watch the toy maybe hiss but then back away. Day one this was basically how we spent the day. I brought him for one quick excursion to the living room with him in a soft sided kennel so they could smell him and he could smell the room. After a while they ignored he was there and we let him walk around the room supervised. Day 2 we spent a good portion of the day in the living room but anytime I sensed my other two cats were overwhelmed I would have my niece take Milo back to Basecamp and give Pepper and Lunabelle some one on one. I was also very verbally encouraging, Lunabelle in particular is very verbally oriented she loves to talk and loves when I talk to her. I tried to never tense up or expect back things while at the same time always being ready to separate cats. Day 3 we saw some movement to this is going to work out. Pepper still didn't like Milo in his face but he could walk by him with no response. Lunabelle was initiated her first play session with Milo. Also she let him watch for birds with her in the window. She also could play with her toys with no notice he was even in the room. All day was minimal growling or hissing. Day 4 was the first time I was like oh this is my happy family. Lots of play. Almost completely peaceful. Very little growling and I think only two cases of hissing. We are now at day 6 and Milo can almost head bump either cat. He sometimes takes liberties and tries to do it twice which they have both told him with gentle pats, no claws, that is a no no. We are getting there. But if i didn't know my cats and their body language or if at any point it got violent I was ready to back off and try this method of introduction. My way was not without frustration day one and two I was like what was I thinking this isn't going to work. But then I would look at our progress from a day or an hour before and think, it's getting there dont give up.. so I guess that is what I am getting at don't give up. Look for whatever progress there is. Just like you don't make best friends in a day neither do your cats. They will let you know when they are ready for next steps. But I just love my new little family, my kitties are my babies.
All of these videos seem really helpful for someone that owns a 2-3 bedroom house...
Yeah… I feel I need to be in a massive house
I have 4 cats. I introduced all of them with your method. 😉 It always worked. So I thank you, Jackson for all your video's and tips
Me too! However mine adjusted so quickly. (All cats react differently). We have two 1 year old Tom cats. We got them together as kittens. They’re introduction took about 5
Days before they were best buds. We just adopted two twins (male) kittens from the same litter so they’re blood brothers and we’re already bonded when we got them (I couldn’t bare separating them once their foster mom send me videos as I had originally only planned to adopt one of the kittens. I have a fairly large house so it took some convincing but I got my fiancé to agree to adopting both of the kittens (he’s an amazing cat dad and spoils his babies) well using Jackson’s tips. I was able to get my first two Tom cats and the kittens playing and in the same room with no hissing, growling, or swatting. Lots of sniffing and curiosity. Just for good measure I’ll be purchasing some feliway plug ins just to make sure everyone’s comfortable with the adjustment. 🥰
Hey, do you think this method can work to reintroduce cats? I did all along and want to change things
@@Нікі-в7ъ yes, that's definitely possible.
My cats can finally be in the same room without growling, I have them doing supervised play and eat time together. 😺 Wish us luck ✨
I actually made myself a makeshift screen door with a wood frame and 2 layers of chicken wire with closet hinges and fisheye hooks and it works like a charm!
ooooo! can you upload a tutorial pls??
I have an 11 year girl (11 year resident) named fuzzy. I'm bringing home an 8 week kitten next week and I'm really nervous they are not going to like each other. i have a large house so it will be better with the swapping around technique. I find your videos very helpful and this one the most. Thank you so much.
I just introduced my cat to our new kitten yesterday. I think it went well though. They were playing pretty immediately and only a little bit of growling from the resident cat.
Hello Janie, how are you doing?
Oh my WORD this is working but it's taking a heeeellllll of a lot longer than anticipated! Thank you Jackson
My cat was around two when I got the kitten. My house didn't have a bathroom with a window and I couldn't leave the kitten cooped up for the day. I looked into crate intros. Put the kitten in a medium dog crate with a kitten litter box, place for food, water and a blanket. At first she was in a bedroom so it was quiet and I covered the crate on three sides. The cat would go by hiss and possibly growl but I tried to minimize the interactions. Eventually, I would swap the blankets to the could smell each other. Moved the crate and kitten to the living room without exposure. One day while I had the kitten out, caught the cat In The kitten litter box. A few days later, the kitten was out playing with the cat. Left the crate in place for a safe place but now they are buddies. Every morning they eat next to each other and even swap bowls. Different pur-sonalities.
I have a ridiculous number if cats and I was doing intros all wrong before watching your videos. The exception was when my daughter brought home a kitten fron a very upsetting situation. He immediately just bonded with another of my guys and they are beasties. Hilarious when you see the size difference. The big guy is gentle with him. ❤
Our biggest challenge in introducing a new kitten to the family was an over confident kitten. I had to knock down her confidence to the point that she would listen without crushing her spirit. The resident cat, on the other hand, had many bad experiences in her former home with other cats. She swears up and down that she's a people, not a cat. And since she is a senior, not only did she not have the energy to handle the kitten, but she started getting thyroid problems at about the same time the kitten came. The kitten has gotten pretty adjusted even if she's still a little on the wild side, but the senior cat still doesn't like her even though we are fixing the thyroid problem with the vet. It's been over a year, so I'm not sure the senior cat will ever be happy with the kitten. She is, however, displaying more confidence at feeling better. She has decided not to move out. ;)
My cats have been together for years. We moved into a new house, after much moving-poor kitties, and an outside neighborhood cat traumatized them to where there was redirected aggression. It’s been months of going through this process and I finally have them in the same room again. All of Jackson Galaxy’s videos have helped me understand and observe and adjust my own routine/expectations for them. I’m so proud of where we are in the process and know that even though there’s more confidence that needs to be built we’ve come so far! Thank you Cat Daddy for your cat know-how and insights!
I’ve been binging these videos lately! I have a 4yo female resident cat and we adopted a 4 month old male kitten on Monday! Our new kitten is SO brave, he’s wanting to explore the house, he has no fear with eating near the door, he’s been hatching escape plans from his base camp. He’s a champ. Our resident cat is being a diva, she will eat near the door, and has gone so far as to wander into base camp but then vocalizes and growls at the sight of the kitten. We’re going back to the drawing board and starting over with introducing them by sight little by little. She knows his smell by now but seems threatened by his sight (which is hilarious because she’s a 13lb adult cat and he’s a 2lb kitten). Ugh. So stressful, but telling myself it’ll be worth it.
How did it go?
Right... I'm also wondering how it went 😂
@@xtri0xinx it went okay! They aren’t best friends still to this day, they will play once in a while but they mostly do their own thing. My older cat is still a diva. Dill, the newbie, has total little brother energy and loves to bother his sister. They’re as well adjusted as I can expect them to be. No real serious fights or aggression, so I call that a win!
I wanted the best, & glad I saw this video. It's so helpful to keep the "5, 10, 15, 30" minute introduction and understanding to be calm and gentle throughout the process 💖
My 3 year old adopted cat refused to stay in base camp. She was so confident she wanted out straight away.
She wasn't happy when we adopted a new kitten . She wouldn't stop hissing through the door. We kept them separated for a week and eventually she stopped hissing..... she probably got sick of it and we'd all stop listening to it haha now they are best friends.
I’ve been following your advices. Second day and the new cat is comfortable in the base camp and with me. The resident male is not very happy, the female resident varies between curiosity and indifference…I’m confident 👍 thank you 😊
Hi Jackson! Other cat people please chime in too if you have advice :)
In August, my boyfriend and I adopted a very friendly stray calico cat who lived in the alley behind our house (she's around 1-1.5 years old). She (Kiwi) is rambunctious and energetic and curious, and adjusted very easily to our home. Last month, I noticed another very friendly stray cat in the alley (Noodle) and fed her all winter, and eventually decided to get her spayed and vaccinated with the intent to foster (that turned into a foster fail, and she's been living with us since 2/13). Noodle is extremely friendly around humans that she knows and trusts, but is very scared of strangers, sudden movements, and ... Kiwi. She's had a vet visit and she's completely healthy and is estimated to be 2-3 years old. We've been trying to follow Jackson's cat initiation guides - TLDR, Noodle doesn't want Kiwi coming within 2-3 feet of her and hisses and swats her even after 2 weeks of a gradual introduction with Kiwi not acting aggressively to her/approaching her in a friendly way; she's very comfortable with me and my boyfriend and has been chirping at the door wanting us to let her out so she can be around us. It sounds like we shouldn't have her and Kiwi in the same room if there's still hissing going on under the door, so looking to see if I'm doing something wrong, or moving too fast/what I could do differently. The details:
- Gave Noodle a basecamp with scent-soakers and things that smell like Kiwi, so she can adjust to her scent; a tunnel so she can hide if she wants to; I also added a Feliway diffuser to the room and a towel to block the crack under the door since it was wide enough for Kiwi to stick her paws in. She stayed in basecamp for 2-3 days, and by that point seemed curious about venturing outside the room.
- I put Kiwi in Noodle's basecamp and closed the door while Noodle got to explore the rest of the house for 5-10 minutes at a time (this happened a few times a day). Noodle seemed nervous (her tail was always down) but seemed comfortable within another 2-3 days. For this entire week, I was firm about not letting them look at each other and limit their interactions to sniffing under the door (Kiwi was able to fit her paws under the crack, and Noodle would hiss and swat at them). Kiwi managed to bolt inside Noodle's room once but we grabbed Kiwi quickly and Noodle didn't seem too upset. So that was the first week.
- I had started moving Noodle's bowl closer to the door and she and Kiwi started eating on opposite sides of the door - Noodle didn't seem to mind at all/didn't react to Kiwi. She was fine if Kiwi was across the door 2-3 feet away and sometimes sat near the room where she was, so I decided to push the challenge line a little - still was hissing every time Kiwi came near the door though, especially if she could see her paws, so I started trying to associate Kiwi with good things by giving them treats near the door and praising calm reactions, and putting toys by the doorway and playing with them. This worked for a few days, so I put up two baby gates to see if they could manage that while I played with them (Kiwi jumped over once but I caught her immediately). Noodle was cool with the gate as long as Kiwi didn't come close, so I went a step back and had them interact through the door. But it's been 2 weeks of mostly-door interactions and Noodle's still hissing at Kiwi if she sticks a paw under the door or trills at her to play. Otherwise, she's totally fine around me and my boyfriend and keeps chirping at the door to be let out so she can hang out with us.
It’s been 8 months and no one’s replied. How are they doing now?
I adopted my 2 cats at 6 weeks old just 2 or 3 days apart. They are legitimate brother and sister from the exact same litter. They have literally known each other their entire lives. Most of the time they get along fine, but like most typical siblings, they have their occasional arguements.
Minnie is 13, Soeli is 4. Two years ago we adopted Soeli from a cat shelter where she lived with 18 other rescues or so. She is shy and fearful in many ways but also very sweet and social with other cats. Our old M started off as third cat with us as a kitten but has been alone for the last 10 years. M has always been an outdoor cat and Soeli was given to us after two failed adoptions. In the first 2 years of her life she had been severely injured and underwent operations and pain and had been moved around 7 times. She was rescued as street cat in Spain after a bad accident, where she almost died, then was brought to a shelter in Germany, where we live. She broke out twice from the shelter which had a fence with electricity. So they were looking for a home that would provide a "safe" area to go out, which we can. They inspected our house, garden and neighbourhood...
We introduced M and S similar to this method, following recommendations. Minnie still hates Soeli's guts and doesn't accept her. S has emancipated herself but is still shy and fearful, but also very playful and follows M everywhere and doesn't give up trying to play with M. It's both heartbreaking and hilarious, when she sneaks up on M who of course makes dramatic scenes... We have tried different things but no chance... Sometimes it seems that they might get along but then M goes back to the hate.
The next thing we will try is to catyfie the house more, build some vertical spaces for them... In a few weeks we will have a new adoptee, a male kitten. We hope this will help Soeli overcome her loneliness and we have learned that a male cat can pacify fighting female cats.
From time to time Soeli poops on the stairs and near the entrance which apparently she did in her failed adoption places. We haven't been able to find out exactly why, yet. I have read that she might not be sure if she's welcome or that she feels insecure... It gets better when it gets warmer and she goes out more. She hates the cold and doesn't go out as much then. Minnie is out pretty much the whole day, only comes home for food. At night they have to stay at home though which they are used to and they actually sleep the whole night through. M upstairs, S downstairs.
I did the time feeding but they don’t eat the whole thing, they sort of binge eat the whole day. I did the slow intro and my kitten uses my older cat’s litter box and sometimes eat from my older cat’s bowl BUT my older cat still hisses and growls at her, does not want her to be close to her and now my kitten is hissing and growling back. The kitten always wants to get close to my older cat but my older cat does not let her. There hasn’t been any major fights but hissing and growling definitely there.
Followed Jackson advice and it worked beautifully. Thanks Jackson.
So so so appreciate your channel. You are making cats lives better all over the world. Bless.
Hello Brenda, how are you doing?
We adopted a senior cat about three years ago, recently we decided to add a cat for our family. We followed these instructions and it worked sooooo well. Today they met each other after about three weeks and it looks they are becoming friends when in the beginning our resident cat would hiss at any and every cat. We can’t be happier with them being friends and our family growing just a little bigger.
Almost 42 years ago that my family adopted our 2nd cat from being a stray in our backyard. The 1st cat accepted him in the home. They both started to play and wrestle each other. They became friends instantly. They were both red tabby cats. The 2nd cat was my cat for the longest time. I was lucky to have them both through my early 20’s. My family was so lucky to have them. My mother’s aunt said you guys shouldn’t have 2 cats in the house. I told her they are friends to each other and they don’t really bite. One cat was really sweet and friendly towards me.
This is more challenging since our home doesn't have enough room for a base camp. Right now, our new kitten is roommates with my brother. All I can do for now is have our resident cat and the new kitten eat their meals together a few inches apart and have the resident cat explore the kitten's base for a few minutes but I'll keep these tips in mind.
Brought our new rescue cat home just over a week ago, followed this advice to the letter and it has gone amazingly well, thank you
This may be a strange request, but could you talk about people dying their cats? I've seen some videos lately of people dying their cats and using dye that's not good for cats ! I don't think many people realize how bad this is for cats. I want to prevent more people from dying their cats and understanding why you shouldn't.
Are you talking about coloring their hair? You don’t dye hair, you color it. My fellow cosmologists will agree.
@@lauralewis9980 What do you think the word dye means? To add color or change the color of something. That something would include hair. So by adding/changing the color of someone's hair is you dying it. Pretend you don't all you want, that is exactly what you're doing.
There are cat-safe dyes tho
@@meeps114 it's disrespectful and cruel. People should do things to themselves and leave animals alone. They're not toys!
@@lornocford6482 cruel is an over-exaggeration. The animals literally don't care about it. It doesn't bother them
Few-ish part thing. My mom used to have a cat, we named Rebel. He lived with a dog we had, Nova, and before the events of part one, 2 more cats and another dog. First time coming into contact with a kitten, after the 3 animals were gone, didn't go well.... A few or so years later, when I was dropping my newest addition, Lytle Miés, of at my mom's during our first move, to my great surprise, Rebel and Lytle Miés bonded pretty well immediately. She respected his boundaries, in occasion, and he enjoyed the company. Then mom got another cat, a potential Maine Coon that is already as big as Lytle Miés. As mom put it, they are thick as thieves. Love it when cats getting to know each other works that well :3
Awesome timing! I got my second cat last week, and after treating some health issues and switching his food, I’m going to introduce them. I’ve been having so much anxiety about it (first time cat mom) but I’m also so excited!
Relax it'll be fine ❤ Cats can sense your anxiety 🙀
Yep basecamp and temporary screendoor works for us too.
Love listening! Thx.♥️
I have to admit the process of introduction is very hard and it's super important to do a propper introduction. I got a 6 week old kitten and only 2 month after (about 1 week ago) we got her twin brother because the family where he was supposed to go live with changed their mind last second. I thought they would maybe remember eachother and let them see each other the very first day that we brought the second one. They didn't recognize each other and started hissing and growling at each other, specially the one we got first.
After that I did some research and been following the steps mentioned everywhere, but 1 week after still almost no progress, they can't see each other. Kinda sucks to think they might never get along.
@Lente did it ever work out? Did you stick to the method beyond a week? It could take a few weeks, and it can feel like an endless grind.
I just got two kittens a few days apart (was given one kitten and adopted her a friend). Initial introductions did not go well, so I am really grateful for this video! Will begin site swapping ASAP! 🙂
We already have three, but who am I to argue if Jackson Galaxy says we need more cats?
Seriously though, this is great advice for the next time we foster.
Jackson says I gotta GET MORE CATS! I'm in, brought home #3 last week, this poor stray kitten showed up on our patio, but she is TERRIFIED of our other two (she has only glimpsed them). Gonna use your method again Jackson, it worked great introducing cats 1 and 2.
Wait how did he know I was adopting a second cat next week........
A cat told him
C.I.A Cat Intelligence Agency
We are getting new baby too, since we had to say goodbye to our 19 year old geezer in late May and other kitty got a bit lonely. Hubby chose a little yellow boy, his ETA is in a month, hopefully it goes as well as last time. Thanks to the kitty-CIA and YT algorithm for the fast processing of information, we have known just days ourselves :)
@@janemiettinen5176 hello jane
Hello dear, how are you?
So about 2 plus months ago i brought home my first kitten. He was a 3 month old siamese kitten. Hes done great the entire time. Well about 2 weeks ago I decided I wanted to get him a friend since i work alot on the week days. So on monday 8-24-20 i went and picked up a 9 week old kitten. So before knowing anything about cats and how territorial they are i just brought him in, him down and the second astro “my siamese” saw him it was a baaaad situation lol. Hissing like crazy, growling left and right. It wasnt good lol. So i go to the Internet for advice. Come across this video and followed almost to the T. Well here we are on day 6 and their on my couch curled up with one another sleeping. Ling story short this video along with many like worked amazing. This man knows what hes talking about when it comes to cats. Thanks for the help jackson! Keep up the great work! Thank you!
I got *so* ridiculously lucky with my boys! I was basicaly like "yo, here's your new brother!!" And they were rubbing noises with in less than 5 minuets. Until last year I could say they had never hissed at each other! One had surgery last year and when he came home from being at the vet all day and smelling different with a cone on and it was just too much I think!
Jackson Galaxy, i know you won’t see this but I so needed to hear this. I live with my mum and grandma and they solely believe that cats should fight it out. While I was at work, they let our new adopted kitties out of base camp to explore. (We were still at beginning of feeding with little visual stage) And our resident cat stalked them everywhere, there was hissing and swatting until finally 2 days ago, he beat up one of our new cats pretty badly. It was horrifying and I’ve been so anxious since then.
I’m really trying to reintroduce them using your method but the family is so sceptical and uncooperative. But I’m doing it anyway. I really needed to hear that last message about being patient and being positive. Thank you so much. I’ll keep working hard!
I need a video on cat re-introductions for the two most impossible cats ever. My mom messed up the initial introduction and now the new cat (male) literally tries to murder the resident cat (female) any time he sees her, so they have to be kept separate at all times. I'm talking full on chase w/ fur flying and injuries. I think she hissed at him so much at the beginning that he finally just snapped. Neither is food motivated. The male is a very picky eater. The female won't eat when anyone's around. I tried getting her on meal times, but she wouldn't eat when I brought her the food. If I'd walk out of the room, it might be an hour or more before she'd touch it. That doesn't work with this method. I tried taking it away after a short period of time but rather than learn to eat when it was available she just didn't eat. She also doesn't play. She's fearful of everything and getting her to the vet is a nightmare b/c she refuses to go in the carrier. They're both on prozac and we use feliway, both of which help, but not enough. We tried calming collars and rescue remedy but that didn't work. I've finally gotten them to where I can hold him and sit a few feet from her and she won't hiss. He's just biding his time though, hoping to lull me into thinking it's safe to let go. I can't do the opposite and hold her b/c he will attack - he used my leg as a launching pad once while I was carrying her and I've never made that mistake again. It's been a year now - I don't care if they ever like each other, I just want them to be able to share the house for a few hours each day without him trying to murder her.
Yes, please! I'm having the same issue...
Did you try Feliway diffusers yet? They can help in addition to re-introduction. If all else fails, your aggresor may need medication. I've been through this before and, in my situation, the medication made living together less violent.
Pretty sure you need to separate them and completely start over, with them smelling each other on opposite sides of the door. My cat (she's really anxious and jumpy) hates newcomers and food doesn't motivate her, but cat grass (or wheat grass) does. She loves it, it calms her down and keeps her a little distracted. I used cat grass when I was working with her to wear a harness and she never freaked out and can wear it fine now. Maybe brushing, petting, or playing could work too, if food doesn't? If you really want to use food and the cats are picky, figure out what they love. You'll probably have to try two different things for your cats because it sounds like they're personalities and needs are really different. With my cat, brushing and petting during introductions doesn't work because she gets quickly overstimulated and either attacks or runs away.
I've also struggled when trying to get my cat to the vet. She's *broken* her cat carrier *and* a dog carrier in the process. We had to switch to using those cardboard pet carriers because they have larger openings and my cat can't reach my fingers when I try to close it (whereas with the normal metal doors she could reach through and push the door open) and it's still only possible to get her in there by putting her in sideways, that way she can't use her legs or claws to try to get away or push away the carrier.
Also! Because it sounds like the male is having a lot of aggression/territorial issues. *Make sure you've had him neutered!* That can make a huge difference.
If that doesn't work maybe have a medical workup done, especially with the male, just to make sure there aren't any underlying issues that could be the cause.
Then there's also stuff like making sure you have enough litter boxes (for two cats you should have three), the cats need room to navigate the space so add cat furniture like towers and stands (basically make sure they don't ever feel trapped), invest in good cat food (this might sound silly but I switched my cat to a natural diet 2 weeks ago where I make her food and her behavior has changed significantly, she's happier, more laid back, and more social)
If the cats do fight, don't intervene. They might redirect aggression to you and you're bound to get hurt. I've heard that a loud clap to stop them is best, followed by separating them and starting the introduction process over again. Take time to really learn their body language so you can pick up on the small warning signs.
And also I'm no cat expert so take all that advice with a grain of salt, I'm just trying to help based on my experience. You could have already known all of this or already tried it all I have no idea. I wish you luck and I hope your cats can figure it out, that situation sounds really stressful for everyone, but I believe in you
Couple of ideas hopefully helpful to you:
1. Their contact should happen after you've tired them down. Cat won't be so quick to attack if tired.
2. Neutered cats will get along better and will adapt better to homes.
3. Get respect for yourself from the cats before expecting them to respect each other. Cats shouldn't jump on you as though you were part of the sofa. You're not furniture. You're the mom/dad and you bring the food. Correct them when they disrespect you. Or they will scratch you.
4. No picky eaters. Cats should eat whatever food the veterinarian says, and no other option should be available ever. Except treats.
5. Use treats to reward good behavior. Use your voice to have them recognize "good girl/boy" and "no" commands. Then reward, whenever they can acknowledge each other without fighting. Use your commands.
6. Female and male cats tend to stay away from each other.
After a failed surgery, I started to have the same problem with two of my males(one is very aggressive and nervous, the other one is calmed but a little bit shy) I have been trying the catification, food schedule, changing base camps for over 2 years, and still can't get them to like each other(or even tolerate). I have a female, which is who makes everything worse. She picks side with the aggressive/nervous(as if defending him), and then everything blows up.
Even my oldest(León, who gets in no trouble with anybody)has been injured. It's very frustrating.
Currently fostering a mom with 5 kittens and have 2 dogs of my own. Probably was a bit slow on expanding base camp out because momma kept wanting to leave and explore the rest of the house more, and I’ve let her do that now. Brought some stuff she scent soaked into the house, replaced it with new stuff to scent soak in the base camp. They’ve gotten used to each other’s scents pretty well, through the door and through swapping scent soaked things some. I’m about to start the visible but behind a barrier stage, just stocked up on both dog and cat treats as well in prep for both this stage and for the face to face introductions. Momma seems to be pretty confident with roaming the house already, so just gotta make sure my high energy dogs don’t overwhelm her. Tire them out first and then work on introduction stuff. I’m excited
This came in time, we trapped a 4 month old kitten at a McDonald's and have her separated from our other cats. My one cat hates kittens because they always go up to her first.
I of our cats loves kittens and that cat is a male
One of mine is still like that. He is so desperate for the alpha male ( oldest one) approval that's he comes on strong. Which makes my oldest mad and walks away.
my cat is sadly the only cat in my house, because i don't know how to confince my parents to buy a second one. Does anybody have any tips for me?
I REALLY hope you'll talk about how to introduce a kitten to an adult cat.. My kitten arrived yesterday and doesn't care at all about slow introductions. He bashes the door and just runs up to the adult cat. She seems fine as long as he doesn't get nose to nose with her, then she hisses at him. Also, kitten feels so comfortable that it doesn't seem fair to just let the kitten stay in basecamp, he wants to explore everything and starts meowing/gets bored when we leave him in basecamp (bedroom).
Any tips from anyone else is also welcome!
I also have a new kitten and she likes to explore so it saddens me keeping her in the basecamp. They eat and sleep together but the adult cat sometimes grabs the kitten by the neck and she doesn’t like it, and I’m worried that he may hurt her :/
My adult cat still BARELY tolerates my newer kitten/soon to be cat. Wish I knew!
Completely agree. Going on week three of introducing a three month old kitten to a one year old cat. His steps worked up until the face to face introduction. My adult cat follows the kitten around the apartment, which is pretty large, if we let her out. They have no problem eating without a barrier between. Kittens just don’t have any fear, and if I try to play with them together my adult cat doesn’t care about the toy because my kitten is jumping all over it. Not sure what to do.
@@alexandrakritzman938 i got exactly the same issue. and my kitten is too interested in my resident one. the kitten always tries to get near to the big one, even when i play with him and then the big one starts to hiss and growl. :/ did it get better at you? you should be in week 5 right now^^ feeding them together with 1 meter between them face to face is no problem. im asking myself if it would help when i play with the kitten and let my resident one watch it through the screen door?
sSf4deSs hi! Sorry just seeing this comment. It did get better - a LOT better. After three weeks, we couldn’t keep the kitten separated any longer because she was just crying whenever she was in tbe room if one of us wasn’t in there. It wasn’t practical anymore. So we trusted that we had done enough that they would get along and let the kitten out the entire time during the day. We put her back in tbe room at night. The first three days my resident cat followed the kitten around a lot, but we supervised them. Also I read that this is normal. After three days they more or less settled into a routine. Now, they get along great. My resident cat grooms the kitten and they even cuddle when they nap. They do go at it from time to time but I think it’s mostly playing. Google and RUclips cats playing v fighting and this will hopefully put you at ease. I think a lot of the time their playing seems like fighting to us unless you know what signs to look for. If their fur isn’t sticking up, there’s no hissing, their ears aren’t back the whole time, and they’re taking turns/breaks, it’s probably just playing. Good luck!
I am looking after a friends cat, whilst she is in lt hospital. I already knew the about intros from this channel, so i thought Jackson is always saying get company for your single cat, it will be fine. I am regretting that decision, I have spent 6 weeks on introduction and they wont stop fighting, even when separating and reintroducing , 3 months later. So since the reintroduction vid says watch this one, i am watching again. Grr
I hear you! we’re now 2 months in and making no progress despite following all the steps over and over. Are things improving for you? We feel totally stuck now with no idea what to do next. We really regret this too, it’s exhausting, stressful and we have no life now beyond warring felines.
@@annag1202 No real progress. Having watched the vids again I tried a few new things. We realised the new kitty was bored and treating my cat as live prey and so have been letting him out with a tracker to burn off some energy (in UK so it is safe), he also put on 0.5 kg so needs the exercise I have tried playing with them together but they are more interested in each other. He was using my cats litter tray (even though his owner promised he won't use covered litter trays 🤦🏻♀️). My cat was stealing his biscuits. So we fixed those issues. However, Jackson says if they will eat next to each other without any aggression or issue then you have won. But they eat together fine, have done since the end of 1st 6 week introduction. When the food runs out they can't help themselves wind each other up until it is a full on fur flying mess. In my case I think it because my cat has a heart condition so he would usually win a fight but isn't well enough and new kitty is healthy and active. They appear to want to interact but just keep missing the mark, almost like they speak two different languages.
My cat and new kitten were introduced slowly and in this manner, for the most part, but my older cat was angry from the moment he knew we brought a kitten home. For the first two days he wouldn’t come out from under the bed. He was angry and hardly wanted to eat. I tried playing with him and he did not want anything to do with me. A week later and he was able to be in the same room as the kitten but his light had diminished. We used to play every night but now he won’t play with me. He won’t fight with the kitten but he won’t play at all. He lets me pet him and hug him but he shows only a fraction of affection towards me. I try playing with both kitten and him at the same time but he’ll just run away. I try playing with him while the kitten is in another room and he still wont play. It’s been two weeks and I’m afraid he’s depressed. I don’t know what to do.
Hi, Erika! How are they doing by now? I'm afraid I'm going through the same thing 🥺 I'm starting to get worried🥺
@@jonasangie13 hello, my kitties are doing better but they still fight a lot. I noticed that when the little one is anxious/bored or has a lot of energy, he tries to fight with the older one. I’m not sure if that’s his way of initiating play but the older one seems to get real angry so they end up fighting. I have to separate them into different rooms sometimes. Although, sometimes I do catch them sleeping together! So there’s hope!
I have an alpha bengel and a female tabby. They get along amazing. I had rescused a 8 month old female tabby /half bengel. I just brought her home last night. She has her basecamp. She's comfortable walking around house. Meanwhile, I have my female tabby downstairs. Mr bean the alpha male bengel he is indoor and outdoors. I notice my female tabby Nala once I put Izzy new kitty back in basecamp she can smell the new kitty. I'm hoping this works . I dont want any kitty feeling unloved. One step vloser to a happy home😊
This is great but I wonder what to do when you live in a one bedroom apartment. Where would basecamp be?
bathroom? if you can cram the necessities in there it would work
shouldn't probably own more than 1 cat in such a tight space :(
Queen Janeway my apartment is actually quite spacious and it is big enough for 2 cats haha just wondered where to do basecamp 🤷🏽♀️
I use my room as basecamp and it has been working :)
I live in a big house but I have a suite in it that has a sun porch, tv room bedroom and bathroom. I often cat sit my daughter’s cats when she has to work out of town. I put her cats on the sun porch with their beds, litter box, food and water and close them off for a day or two. And let my cat into the rest of the suite. After wards I let the cats into the rest of the suite but keep my cat out for a day or two. Then let them in together usually until my cat wants to out of the room. About 15 to 20 minutes at a time as she is not used to other cats and my daughter has three. Never had any cat fights and if one growls or hisses at mine she’s ready to leave.
Perfect timing on this video because I need help!!
We got a 1 year old(pixie) 4 weeks ago, and we have a 3 year old (Kato). It was hard to get pixie to come out in the first place, my guess is she was abused and does not trust people. But she loves to play! Hopefully one day she will want to be pet :(.
Introducing the two has not gone well. Kato is so attached to me he thinks I’m his mom, my guess is that he’s so defensive and protective of me he doesn’t like that she was in my room. I thought we did everything right. We introduced them slow, by sent while eating. Then by sight but he couldn’t get to her. I thought once he was allowed in my room and she could roam he would calm down. But he keeps going at her and last night Gave her a scratch on her face. I know these things take time but I’m really worried especially with him injuring her. I’m also afraid she will become to scared to wonder around. She’s an angle she just wants to play with Kato but he’s to mean. It’s also hard seeing my cat Kato, who’s usually so sweet and lovely , beat up on another cat.
Can anyone recommend some help?
I’m feeding them together and trying to play with them together already.
Is Kato neutered? Apparently that can help with aggression
Andrew Ross yes he is, he has never been aggressive before now.
Maybe go back to step one with scents only and no sight. Move in and out of each other's areas (or basecamp as Jackson has referred to them) so they can get comfortable with each other's scents. Then start moving their belongings into the other's "basecamp" and keep going slowly. Then continue the way you have been.
When I got my new kitten (1 month old) home she started to run towards my older cat right away! I had to grab her, cause she had no ideia what she was running to. The older was maaad. The tiny one, super confident, the big one, so scared.
One funny thing : the food thing didn't work so well as play. The new cat was cool with everything, is the older who I had to convince, and she doesn't care about food that much, she is very energetic and motivated by play. When I got them playing together then all the fear fade away. This was 4 months ago and they are good friends now. Best part is the older cat's behavior, she is more relaxed around her humans, sleeps on the bed, and lets me cuddle her neck. So cute.
Hello dear, how are you doing?
I have two cats and my boyfriend has two cats and we moved into a house almost 2 months ago. We did Jackson's base camp/site swapping method and it worked really well for three of them but the one female wants nothing to do with the boys and is always hissing and growling anytime she even sees one of them (especially my 2 boys). We aren't sure how to make her more comfortable at this point.
I'm sorry to heart that, if I were in that situation I'd try to give her a separate area for just her if it's possible. A bed or cat tower her own food water bowl, if possible litter box (my cat hates sharing litter box!) Hopefully she will come around but if she doesn't she still needs her own personal space to relax 😊
She may feel uncomfortable as she's the only female. Are they all spayed/neutered respectively ?
Get another female cat lol
Someone else already commented this but yes, make sure they're all spayed/neutered.
@@arsey1833 Girls are SUPER territorial , and would be extremely difficult situation if the couple take even more cats, especially girl. Please be careful giving such advise.
Thank you Jackson.I have just adopted a kitty and i am gonna follow your advices inorder to introduce her to my other cat.
When I brought my kitten home it took him only 5 minutes before he wanted to leave basecamp (my bedroom) to explore the rest of my apartment hahah.
I’m taking him to my parents house for Christmas and I’m gonna try to start introducing him to their cat! Thankful for all the tips.. your videos are always helpful!
Just adopted our second cat yesterday! Perfect timing :)
Wow, so helpful! I’m in the situation where one of my two resident cats (the youngest) is afraid of the new one (who is super confident). I could use some more advice. Right now I’m feeding them on both sides of the door, which the scared one is almost ok with (just the ocasional hiss), and I’m also site swapping during meal time. But the scared cat is afraid about the new one’s room. I ‘force’ her to enter the room (sliding the food into the room so that she follows), she eats a little bit but then wants to exit, doesn’t play, almost doesn’t explore.... now I know that I went too fast and ‘forcing’ her to eat inside is no good. I’ll try slower and day by day until she enters the room confidently. Even though it has already been a month.... She is not very food-motivated, and that’s key. My other resident cat seems to not mind the new cat, because when she smells her there’s food :) hope everything turns out well, I’d love to hear advice from all of you. Greetings from Spain!
You are so encouraging about introductions and this has helped me soo much! Thank you!
Jackson. Make more varied content. Doing the same thing over and over and giving slightly more hints each time is driving me crazy. Like there's so many more things that can be covered. It's not like your old vids are going anywhere. They were SO helpful, but we need help on other things that aren't Pee / poop, introducing cats, and how to play.
He covers the same things again and again because people ask the same questions again and again without going through his old content to find the answer. People are incredibly dumb and lazy and barely remember a search function exists and want the info delivered on a silver platter before they change anything about how they are caring for their pets.
However, I would also like to see different things as well that haven't or have rarely been covered.
I agree with you.. But can you give some suggestions on what you would like to see videos about?
@@soophxc My cat is very vocal for example. Should I be worried or not? He vocalizes differently in all kinds of situations. Other new kitten behavior to watch out for. How much should I be feeding my cat (His videos are varying with when and how much). ECT!
Jackson, brought a newcomer. I didn't introduce them properly. By time the residence tolerated, groomed and played eventually with the newcomer, but he stopped completely receiving and seeking my petting. Never again
My resident cat still hates the new one after almost a year. What can I do now?
RUclips,
animal communicators
I’m in the same boat. It breaks my heart that they don’t get along. 😢
@@wonderwonder30 have u tried feliway?
Leyla YAŞAR sadly Feliway does NOT work. I’ve spent $300 on plug ins and spray. None of it made even a little difference with my cat group. I hope you have better luck. Not worth the high price tag IMO
@@BeeKay4444 thank you for response. its even more expensive in my country. you saved me from time and money waste. wish it worked though, would make life so easy :)
Cats have always worked out getting long 100% very well, better than humans and better than dogs in my (soon increasing) experience. I'm rescuing a cat of indeterminate age and temperament. A friend of mine asked me to do it because the husband hated the cat and it was in danger. I wasn't planning on a third, but I guess the cat distribution system includes me in it's long list of benefactors. Besides, THREE"S a charm! ☘☘☘
What to do when two cats weren’t introduced properly? One is afraid of the other and they sometimes fight when cat number two wants to play
reset the board by separating them and then follow the advice of this video. the dominant cat gets the house, the other cat goes to base camp and you start a new game of cat introduction.
Hello dear, how are you doing?
Going to be introducing 2 new cats (8 & 9 months old) to 2 resident cats (2 & 9 years old) and a 1 year old dog this weekend 🫣
how did that go ?
How are you going to be on both sides of the door, to see how the 2 cats react?
I’m trying to introduce my new cat- Spice- who is a 2 year old male to my residency cat- Midnight- who is a 1 year old female.
Spice absolutely instantly was fine walking around the house. He even jumped up on the coach and laid next to me and stuff. He is completely confident and doesn’t understand territory of personal space. First day he was rubbing against Midnight’s stuff and licking her toys. Midnight has become more reserved and hides whenever she sees Spice. Aside from one occasion where Spice was stealing her food and she smacked him. I currently have them in different places. Spice is in his “base camp” but hates it. He wants to walk around the house and follow me around. He meows so much. Midnight is back to her normal now that Spice is in a different room.
When should I let them see each other? Will Midnight’s slow process cause Spice to get depressed if he has to stay in that room longer?
Thank you for the video! I tried some of these techniques but it was way harder than it sounds:/ my newcomer couldn’t handle being locked in a specific room, he was crying a lot and showed clear signs that he wanted to get out, but when I was letting him out, he was showing signs (as you explained in the video) of very big fear to be in a new environment and I could clearly see that the line had been crossed way too far. Also, my resident really didn’t appreciate him walking in the house so soon. I kind of was facing a dilemma between my newcomer’s needs to not be confined in a room and my resident’s needs of more time to get used to the new cat without seeing him just yet. What is the best thing to do in this case?...
Same here right now. !! So I'm watching this and gonna try until they get along ☺️
YES exactly THIS! I’m living in a loft and the only closed door is the bathroom. I put a gate up for my new kitten and introduced him to the area. However, a day later, he refused to stay in the area and keeps hopping out of the gate even though I’m there with him. I’ve tried everything and my resident kitten keeps jumping INTO his area also. Distractions don’t work as their attention span is so short yet their focus is incredible. My new kitten will get into hissing fits with my resident kitten… and he doesn’t seem comfortable with the whole apartment yet either. But he has his hiding spot and I’ve learned to just let him hide away from the new place AND my resident kitten who keeps bothering/hunting him. My resident kitten seems to want to play, but he’s so annoyed. I’m trying to tire out my resident kitten before and when they see each other but BOY does my resident kitten have energy! I’m going to buy her a cat wheel and hopefully that will help.
I even installed a screen door on top of my normal door, it works perfectly