I have three cats: Paprika (7F), Chamuça (7M), and Larica (2F).
I adopted Paprika and Chamuça together in 2019, and they’ve always been very close—sleeping together, grooming each other, etc. Paprika is generally lazier, and in 2024 we rescued Larica from the streets. She quickly became best friends with Chamuça, which gave him a playmate. The two females were never especially close, but they coexisted peacefully.
In the past few weeks, though, Paprika has become much more impatient with the other two. We tried to manage things by giving them space and avoiding conflict—but that didn’t work. They had two serious fights a couple of weeks ago. We separated them and started a proper reintroduction process, following Jackson Galaxy’s advice and other resources.
Looking back, it seems the fights are linked to Paprika being very protective of my bedroom, where she’s currently staying. She acts like she’s the only one allowed there, especially under the bed.
We’re now doing a slow reintroduction, but I’m unsure how to handle the bedroom situation.
I live in a one-bedroom apartment, so space is limited. We kept Paprika in the bedroom because it’s her safe space and we wanted to calm everyone down in the first few days.
But what should we do next? When we start face-to-face interactions, should I keep the bedroom door closed (so she doesn’t run there and start a fight under the bed), or leave it open (so she learns the others can use the space too)?
I’m really unsure what the best approach is.
For now, we’re at the feeding-through-a-barrier stage (using a net door). There’s still some hissing, but it’s getting less frequent each time.
PS: yes, we went to the vet and everything it's normal, she's just an old cranky lady