Are some cats never able to tolerate a second cat in the home?

olivia p: Are some cats never able to tolerate a second cat in the home?
I have tried twice to bring a second cat into the home. My 9 year old cat, Katy will become depressed and urinate on shoes and throw rugs every time. I end up finding a home for the second cat and after a week or so Katy returns to her old self, using litter box and wanting affection. My question is, are there some cats that will never tolerate another cat in the home?

Answers and Views:

Answer by M
Yes.

First thing is that a week isn’t enough time for a 9 year old cat to adjust to a newbie. Most cats, when placed with new pets, act out, usually because of stress.

And, then, after some time, it slows down, and they go back to normal.

But, there are some cats that never adjust. My cat adjusted to another cat, but they both never really interacted with each other. Once I brought a kitten into the hosue, he spent 4 years HATING him. Never adjusted to him.

So, yes. Some cats wont adjust, but you need to give it a bit longer then a week.

Answer by rrm38
Some cats will never do well with a second cat, and it becomes more difficult for them to adapt the older they get. If your cat has been an only cat for 9 years, she may never do well with another cat in the home. That said, what method of introduction did you use?

Cats generally do better when they’re introduced slowly. When you bring a new cat into the home, it should be isolated to a single room with food, water and a litter box for at least a week. Don’t use a room like your bedroom or another “favorite” room of your cat so your cat won’t feel as if their favorite places are being taken over. Let them sniff, growl and hiss from underneath the door to start becoming familiar with one another. After a week, let the new cat out of the room under close supervision for about an hour. Hissing, growling, spitting and all sorts of noise is normal and to be expected. Let them do it. Only intervene if they actually begin to fight and harm one another. After an hour, place the new cat into his/her safe room and offer your older cat lots of affection and reassurance. Repeat this process each day, increasing the amount of time that the new cat is out. Once they’re able to remain together for about 6-8 hours without incident, it should be fine to leave the new cat out all the time. It will take time and patience, but it may work for you if you don’t try to rush things.

Try to adopt a cat that is closer in age to your cat now so their activity levels will be similar. Older cats are often quite put off by young kittens who annoy them and try to play all the time. I’ve introduced many cats to one another over the years, and have only had one who absolutely couldn’t tolerate other cats when introduced properly. This particular cat was a feral, so there was quite a bit more involved than just introductions… he had to first be socialized to people. He did end up doing quite well in a home as the only pet.

Answer by Mel
some cats are very territorial, and will not accept another feline in “their” home.

Answer by Kylie S
Yes, those cats get to use to be the center of attention! They have a rutine that they don’t want to be changed! Some cats just don’t like other cats in their home!

Answer by Ocimom
Yes, I’ve had several females that preferred to be an “only” cat where they were totally spoiled.

Females tend to resent new animals coming in and are more territorial then males are. I’m not surprised at Katy’s reactions.

The biggest problem is that people give up too soon. Some females may take a few months to adjust. You cannot expect them to love the new cat in a week or two. It takes time and patience.

Answer by Jackie V
Some cats are very territorial while others can be excepting to other cats. My cat is very territorial and we could never be able to bring another cat in the house without her urinating everywhere or getting stressed out. She always gets in fights with our neighbors’ cats as well.
My cat is welcoming with dogs and other pets, though. We just brought another dog and two turtles into our family and she is totally fine with them. So, yeah-accepting other cats all depends on the personality of the first cat.

Answer by hudsongray
It depends on the cat brought in.

One of the highest stresses in cats is living in an environment with another cat they don’t like. Long term it can wear down their immune system.

However not all cats need to be loners, they may hate one choice but accept another cat when introduced. You can try bringing in one of the other gender, that sometimes helps a lot.

We had one that objected from day one to the new kitten, mostly because the first move the kitten made was to jump on the older cat’s tail. They lived together for 14 years till the older one passed on last year but never went closer than 2′ to each other.

But during that 14 years we also introduced two adult male just neutered tom cats, and she was fine with the first, just ignored him. The second she yelled about (we joked that she’d like nothing better than his dead body laid at her feet) till he took the initiative on his own to fling himself to the floor when she swiped at him. (He was very smart). She was stunned, and her tail went up in pride she’d ‘dropped him’ and she started ignoring him at that point. They got along fine after that, it seemed to be a pivotal moment for her and him.

Answer by Hespa
The answer varies really.

Cats usually regard their home as their ‘private territory.’ Usually after they’ve settled in, which could take from a week to a year(s) depending on what environment the cat is put in and how others in the household react to him/her.

Toms and Queens are usually the less sociable. Kittens will welcome any other cat/kitten as a mother or playmate. This is mostly only if the kitten has been with children or perhaps more reliable adults.

You can expect Katy to be offended.. but it may take a little time for her to adjust. DO NOT BRING IN ANOTHER ADULT CAT. Adult cats normally have settled to a lifestyle and will have a personality they’ve adapted to. Your cats will just fight.

This may vary if the adult cat approaches Katy nicely. If Katy begins to snarl/hiss/arch her back/purr excessively when the cat is introduced, keep the other cat in a different room for a short period of time. Try again. Remember, do not re-home the cat straight away, since that can be a traumatic experience.

Good luck with Katy. It’s best to bring a kitten in. 😉

Hope she adjusts quickly!

Answer by pikachu00778
It depends on your cat. Some cats will fight with other cats as soon as they see it. Others will be just nervous. Cats can fight for the rest of their life with other cats, some will just be ticked when they see it first.

Answer by Sarah G
We tried to introduce a kitten to our household but our cat Misty got really aggressive and was growling and hissing at the poor wee thing . She was like that with all cats though. i had to stand outside with her if i took her to the vets because she would go nuts the minute she saw another cat .

Answer by Kayleigh M
I have a cat that’s 11 years old (Simba) and when my other cat (Midnight) came home 3 years ago, he wasn’t sure about him. Yet now he can’t stand him since he is ALOT younger than Simba. He pounces around like a kitten on top of him. Simba does not agree with this at all, so he wants to go out to my next-door neighbours’s house.

Also, if she becomes depressed just introduce them slowly. For instance, have the cat you just adopted put in a large cage for a day or so (with food and water e.t.c) and let Katy be slowly introduced to him,her. Maybe then she will seem more comfortable with it.

My answer is to adopt a cat that is around Katy’s age or one that’s very “laid back” and not much of an attention seeker.

Answer by Sydney V
yes because u r bringing another cat into their territory and some cats hate that beacuse they will think that they r being replaced so when u do that it isnt very fair to that cat but after awhile if u have already brought another cat in and after 2 weeks the cat didnt change then u shouldnt push it