Stupid me!!!!

missymoo2

Hi all.... I got a cat. a 2nd cat. I felt I wanted to give a home to an older cat, who really needed a home. (we have loads of space, and felt it would be okay! i had the time etc etc.... )
so got a cat no2. did the research... and rang animal welfare... who told me after a few weeks the 2 cats would get used to one another... The cat I got was due to be put down the day before I got her.
picked up the poor pet. (we are currently home no4 for this little darling!)
and now my cat will just not accept this cat. she hisses at her. She s half her size so i cant let them hash it out.. or would i want to do that anyway. catno2 is as passive, but she s very fat and wants to sleep all day. ive tried everything I can think of to get them used to one another. dcat2 isnt fussed but my dcat1 is totally not accepting this at all...
I love love love my catno1, and not just that but she s a very very good hunting cat for mice etc etc.
but now after nearly 2 months of putting up with catno2, she s started to wander off. she already had stopped coming in, to the point i was bringing her in and closing doors so she couldnt get out. but now she heads off all day long, and i dont hardly see her. she s gonna run away.
I have to rehome dcatno2. the clinic said they would take her back... but i dont want to do this for 2 reasons.. when she was there before the old owner was paying . and now they are out of pocket (charity!) if they take her in for free. and 2, if she goes there... that ll be home no5 till she gets relocated AGAIN to home no6. IF she s lucky!
I dont know what to do. I have to find a home for her. but no one will want an old fat cat, who sleeps a lot. and doesnt like outdoors.
I am totally at a loss here! stupid me for taking on another cat. my heart was in the right place!!!!!
what can I do???? should i bring her back? Or hang onto her?? But i really love my dcat1.

The Sweeper

Hi missymoo2

Basically you need to go back to absolute basics. There have been a lot of posts about this on this forum already, and to save me typing I'm going to link some of them for you:

This one is cat to a new kitten, but the basic rules of separation, slow introduction and making the resident cat the king still apply:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=72423346&postcount=9

Adult cats:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=67033088&postcount=3

There are more on this forum if you want to search and then come back with some specific questions on the info already posted.

Upshot is there is still hope, but yes, you're right, your resident cat is in the process of moving out because she's so pissed off, but you can address that without needing to get rid of the introduced cat.

MsFifers

Good advice in the above links.

I'd also suggest you seperate the two cats into different zones in the house for the moment, if possible. Can you keep your no2cat in the kitchen area with the door closed for most of the time, for eg? If he is sleepy & lazy, he probably won't mind being more confined. (You can always let him explore the rest of the house when your no1cat is out)

You should make a big fuss of your no. 1 cat for a while, and when she realises that the "intruder" cat is not going to cross her path, she'll probably start to feel more comfortable in her own house again. Play with her and give her lots of treats when she comes home, so she'll associate home with positive experiences.

You can try to slowly introduce them to each other again (as advised in the other threads) after a month or so, when your no1cat has got settled in your house again.