Conference misery::feline_v1

    Actually, a week isn't very long.  Am I wrong in thinking that their
    being afraid is better than their hissing?  My theory is that you
    can pour on the love and reassurance until they all relax.  It actually
    took quite a while for Sweetie and Holly to adjust;  I think it
    was two months, and now they sleep together in heaps, and so forth.
    You might try keeping them in separate rooms while you're away or
    at work, to reduce the stress level until they get more used to
    each other.
    

    it generally takes 3 - 5 weeks for cats to get aquainted with each
    other. They might fight constantly up until that time and then become
    the best of friends. They are just feeling each other out and trying
    to decide who is the boss of the house. Please give them time. Cats
    really do like other feline companions.
    
    
    						Geoff

    
    
    	Actually, Rosie is still a little stressed from having lost
    Cricket. She had seemed to settle down, but with the introduction
    of the new cat, she is back to square one again. From experience,
    I know Rosie adjusts better to kittens than older cats. (we were
    told this one was kitten before it was dropped off and turned out
    to be much older).
    	It's not just hissing, it's screeching and growling whenever
    they get within ten feet of each other. They stay in separate areas
    of the house for the most part, but I really do think it's more
    like a personality conflict than just the adjustment...
     

    I don't want to push this, but good results can come even from
    exceedingly unpromising situations.  In the initial stages with
    S&H, I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking WW III
    was in progress, and decide that I had made the biggest mistake
    of my life.  Still turned out wonderfully in the end.
    

    I agree.  When we got Spunky (our 2nd baby) I thought I had made
    a BIG mistake.  Now they wash each other and keep each other warm
    on cold winter nights.  It took a good 4 months before the growling
    (and I mean growling) stopped.  I have to admit, though, Zildjian
    did have a change of personality - she will never be the same. 
    Oh, well, but I am glad we have both - they are so completey different
    from each other.  Our first cat (zildjian) made it clear to Spunky
    that she was Queen (and King) of the household.  Spunky doesn't
    seem to mind - what a good kitty!!!
    
    

    Tabby and Silver really didn't get along at all for the first three
    weeks.  Everytime Tabbatha would walk by, Silver would hiss and
    swing at her.  If they ever confronted each other head on, they
    would get into growling and hissing fights.  I never thought they
    would get along.  Now Tabbatha is Silver's idol.  Anything Tabby
    does, Silver has to do.  If Tabby is on the hammock, Silver comes
    and joins her.  It's funny to watch a black cat with a gray shadow
    following her.
    
    Holly

    DOes anyone know of any instances where the fighting has gone beyond
    what is needed to establish dominance?
    
    I've considered getting a second kitten, but am really afraid hi-strung
    Aja would rip it to shreds. The *sight* of another cat drives her
    into a frenzy. I certainly don't want some kitten to take the heat
    for my experimentation.
    
    Edd

    It never occurred to me to try this at the time, but I wonder if
    in the case of a particularly difficult adjustment, a _really_ mild
    tranquilizer for awhile might help.  (On second thought, maybe for
    the owner....)  When I get into this situation again, I will ask
    the vet what he thinks.
    

    re: .7
    
    Yes my little T.C. was in this situation.  I had to go out east
    for 3 weeks and left T.C. (who was 6 months at the time) with my 
    friend who has a 2 year old female.  Nicole was abused as a kitten
    and is very skiddish around people and other animals but she's a
    good cat.  T.C. loves dogs, cats and whatever else so he *wanted*
    to play with Nikki.  Over the first 4 days they were together Nikki
    would take to seriously attacking my little guy and it got to the
    point where they had to be kept separated (hard in a small apt).
    
    They finally got to the point where Nikki would leave him alone
    if he left her alone but would hiss if T.C. got within 10 feet.
    By the time I returned 3 weeks later the two of them were inseparable.
    They had a reunion at Christmas for a few days and they were friends
    immediately.  
    
    So ... to .0 I say give it a chance.
    
    Donna  (T.C.'s mom)
    
    P.S. I'm getting T.C. a little brother/sister when I get back from
         vacation.  Of course you will all hear about the new arrival!
         :-) :-) :-) :-)
    
    

I have three cats, my roommate has one...there was hissing, screeching, and
fighting as each new member was added...nobody got hurt, and every now and
then we will still go through an hour or two of "status adjustment" by the
cats as it is firmly established who is top cat and who gets what chair or
lap....neutered cats do not fight to hurt one another, and the only injuries
that can be expected are accidental in nature (scratches that infect, etc.)...
as I said, very rare...however, toms can and will injure one another when
fighting over "female rights" or territory...

I had to wait 5 weeks for all of the growling and hissing to totally disappear
when I added Hannah to the family, but she is now a valued member of the
clan, and the best tag team playmate that Nicholas has even met....give it
time....you'll really appreciate it.

If you are away from the house, I suspect the hissing, growling, etc. doesn't
happen...they probably move to their own areas and simply sulk...the show
is for your benefit and percipitated by each cat's desire to be in the
same spot at the same time...with you!!

    When Star was brought back home after a 2 year absence, Lightning,
    my sweet, lovable, adorable, playful, wouldn't hurt a fly (almost)
    cat went crazy with jealousy.  Star made friends with Deja, still
    almost a kitten, after only a week but it took Lightning a little
    longer.  About 4 months to be exact.  They never became bosom buddies,
    or played games, but they did stop trying to `kill' each other.
    The hissing even went away unless they got too close to each other.
    Of course Lightning stayed jealous of the fact that Deja would even
    condescend to play with someone other than her, but at least Star
    was finally accepted into the fold.
    
    When Star went to live in her new home that my daughter got, she
    than had to do it all over with Martini, a huge grey tiger male.
    Actually, Martini fell in love with the White Beauty.  Star wasn't
    so sure.  Now she loves Martini too and plays with him.
    
    There is hope,
    
    Sandi (Lightning's & DejaVu's mom)
    

    
    I agree.  Have patience (if you really want to keep her).  Sebastion's
    personality changed too, when we got Claude, but for the better.
    He is happier since he has company during the day (even though he
    acted like we had betrayed him for quite a while), and has become
    more affectionate.  I think the latter is because he saw Claude,
    who is EXTREMELY affectionate, getting lots of love so he decided
    to try it too.  
    
    "Hey, this isn't bad!" 
    
    Amy.