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I need help. I bought a new cat 2 days ago. As soon as I got home, I put her in a safe room with litterbox, water and food. The new cat seems to be very trusty of people (naive?), so she took to me pretty fast (although I see her being skeptic from time to time, depending on my movements).

Anyway, already a few hours after being in her safe room, she started wanting to get out (meowing in front of the door). For the first day I resisted, and didn't let her get out. On the second day, I opened the door a tiny bit. I wanted the 2 cats to smell and see each other. The new cat just dashed out and started exploring the rest of the house, much to my resident cat's displeasure. They were hissing at each other, but the new cat seemed to try to avoid the resident cat as much as possible and just kept exploring. After a while, I put her back into her safe room. That was yesterday.

Today I let her out again. Again, hissing. However, now instead of exploring, the new cat would just sit under the couch the whole time. After a while, I lured her out with a laser and put her back into her safe room, as I had to leave the house. Now, a couple of hours have passed. I was playing and bonding with the new cat in her room earlier. Whenever I leave the room, she instantly tries to get out. She just meows at the door and scratches it. Like, scratches for 30 seconds non stop. Eventually she will stop, but it will take 5-10 minutes.

What is the best course of action here? I'm a bit scared to just let her out, especially when I go to sleep and I can't supervise them.

Should I just let the new cat out? Again, there was hissing the first and second time, but it never broke out into a fight. The resident cat seems to be a bit more negative here, as the new cat just tries to avoid it.

Some more info:

  • resident cat is very small and only 4 months old;
  • new cat is quite big (ragdoll) and 1 year old.

Again, I'm very scared, because if a fight does break out, I feel like my resident kitten will stand no chance and could get seriously hurt. Any advice is welcome. Thanks.

lila
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NewCatHome
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1 Answers1

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Cats are intensely territorial, and an unknown (and much larger) predator has invaded your resident kitten’s territory. He/she is scared and angry, but probably mostly scared. Hissing is a way for a cat to try to intimidate the invader into leaving without a fight, especially one the kitten would probably lose.

The new cat is usually also afraid because it has somehow gotten lost in another predator’s territory and can’t get out, but Ragdolls are known (and bred) for being unusually social cats, plus she knows she has nothing to fear from a kitten, no matter how much it hisses.

The purpose of the isolation period is so both cats can accept the other’s smell as a “normal” part of the territory. This cannot be skipped, but you may be able to speed it up by swapping blankets, pillows, etc. and alternating who is locked up while the other cat explores the common area. Pheromone diffusers (like Feliway or Comfort Zone) might also help. But at the end of the day, the cats will decide when it’s over, not you.

I would not leave them alone together (including while you’re asleep) until you’re certain the kitten won’t get hurt, and that may take a while. I wouldn’t worry about a Ragdoll being aggressive, but if the kitten attacks, she might accidentally hurt it while defending herself.

StephenS
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