Merging households with adult female neutered cats How can I introduce them

[Patricia D]

without fights? My boyfriend and I each have a female adult neutered cat. They are each a bit hostile to other cats and we are afraid they will fight if we have them in the same house. How can we introduce them without disasters?

 

[nancy]

Since you already know they are hostile expect a fight. I've brought two females together very successfully just by holding them and letting them see and smell each other.
Are you moving into a brand new place or one where the cat already lives?
If it's totally new for both of you, that will probably help as it is really "no one's" house right now.
I would only keep them separated for a day in separate rooms. if you are moving into his house or he's moving into yours, put the resident cat in a room and let the new one smell around, then switch a few hours later. Then let them see each other, you each holding one of the cats.
good luck.
I got a new male a few months ago and it's been a disaster with fighting.

 

[Norm Rockefeller]

let them have a fart contest

 

[CarpeDM]

Certainly complete harmony would be ideal and nice. However, kitties are a lot more like people than we give them credit. when two people decide to move in together it is natural to expect there will be some "disagreements" as the both of you settle into sharing space. Who will keep up with the dishes, do the laundry and so forth. where will your alone time spots be?

it can and probably will be the same way for your cats. however, you may be able to make the transition a bit easier for them. what bothers cats most is when a new smell invades their space. i would bring something like a kitty bed or pillow etc from one cats house to the other house. let each cat get use to smelling the scent of the other cat. you can also clean everything at kitty height. cats rub their scent on just about everything. table legs, chairs, sofa's, bed corners etc. by limiting the scent of the resident cat you can make a more neutral space for the cat being introduced. if you're going to be moving into a new place i would bring scents from each cat before moving them in together.

arguments will more than likely ensue as they get to know which is alpha. with hope and luck they will agree with each other or they will agree to disagree. try to make certain each cat has a place that is just theirs. speak softly and reassure them as often as possible. use cat nip which can actually be calming. you can also buy a plug in that will diffuse a pheromone that can calm most cats.
best of luck and keep searching for answers.

 

[brenda]

They will have to be put into separate rooms to get used to the move first,then let them smell your clothes where you have held and handled the other cat.Let the least likely one out to go to the door where the more aggressive is,they will smell under the door for awhile.Then put them in the other way,let the aggressive one out and just allow them a few days to deal with the new smells before they confront each other.Be very cautious when you let them together.