Battle of the House Cats

[mythteller]

Last night, I had to lock Newton in the office and let Dinger out of the bathroom 'cause he was making so much noise fiddling with the doorknob. This gave Dinger a chance to exploring the apartment a bit, although at about 5 am, he climbed up into the bed with us.

This morning, I let Newton out of the office to feed him and I put Dinger back into the bathroom. While he was eating, I tried to get into the bathroom to feed Dinger, but Dinger ran out. And now the fur was flying! Hissing, spitting, claws, feline smackdown! Dinger lay flat on his back with his legs flaying while Newton propped himself up on his hind legs for the Ultimate Terror Pose.

They chased each other around a few times and now Dinger's hiding under the couch. Newton patrols in and out of the living room, occasionally going under the couch, and both of them are rumbling with that awesome kitty growling/yowling. I can't get Dinger out from under the couch and Newton seems satisfied to keep him under there. I've tried to feed Dinger a couple of times, but he's too freaked out.

I know, I know... This is only the second day of the two cats getting to know each other, but this is my first time experiencing this. I feel so guilty for thrusting this new cat on Newton, but I also feel bad for putting Dinger in this new situation. I just hope they can find a way to live with each other.

Comments

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Heh, try not to worry too much. It generally takes about a week after the NCIP's (New Cat Insertion Protocols) for cats to figure out their New World Order.

If it's any consolation, it took the better part of a year for my three cats to get used to Smudge (the fourth), but only about three days for George and Pan-Pan to get used to Gretzky. So your mileage may vary considerably depending on the cat.

[milk-an-honey.livejournal.com]

They will.

When I brought my new kitten home one of my cats took an instant hate-on to him. She would hiss and growl and try to attack. He simply hid behind the couch, whenever he'd try to come out she'd attack. I wasn't sure how much he was eating, and he was just a kitten. This went on for about a week - long enough that I truly thought I was going to have to bring him back. It didn't seem like it would ever settle down - but it did. They peacefully co-existed for 7 years after that first week.

My advice to you would be to forget the "separate them" routine. They really need to work this out on their own. I think part of it is establishing the hierarchy.

[concordantnexus.livejournal.com]

Dinger? whence the new cat?

My 3 get along fairly well (except for Miss Friday and Muskoka - who have agreed to divy up the house into territorial zones). And the pecking order potentially shifts a bit whenever a new person visits or furniture gets moved or one of the cats is under the weather.

{hugs}

[lunar-phoenix09.livejournal.com]

Hate to say it Hobbes, but they just need to get over it. They will fight and you will separate and get clawed in the process. But if you rescue the little one too much he might become (for lack of a better word) whimpy. I had a cat like that once. He became whimpy because I was always rescuing him from my other bigger cat. He became afraid of everything. You will have to, but try not to overdo it. Don't worry about it too much, they're just establishing order. They'll be best buds in no time (depending on their personalities ofcourse).