Introduction Success Story
Hi guys,
I wanted to share a success story with everything that worked for me. I know most posts here are when things don’t go so well so I’m hoping this gives someone a bit of hope ☺️
Resident cat – Nova
Male, neutered, 2 years old, tabby.
Adopted as a kitten, very spoiled, affectionate, mostly plays alone, calm personality.
New cat – Walter
Male, neutered (a few days before adoption), 4 years old, white.Very friendly, super energetic, loves to play. Smaller than Nova in height and weight.
Timeline: 1 month total from adoption to full free roam (day + night)
Day 1
Walter in his safe room (litter, food, water, window spot, toys, beds).It took him around 24h to use the litter.
Nova was OBSESSED with the door. He hissed a few times and just stayed there all day. Didn’t really sleep, so at night I put Nova in the bedroom with me so he could relax.
Day 2
Started scent swapping with a sock (pet one cat, then the other, repeat multiple times a day, leave it in their spots).They also started playing paws under the door. No more hissing.
Day 3
Let Nova explore Walter’s room while Walter was elsewhere. No hissing, just curiosity.Started giving treats under the door, both ate comfortably. And I started feeding Nova his night dry food in front of his door.
Day 4
Walter started short free roam sessions around the house to explore.
Day 5–6
First visual contact through the shower glass.
Nova puffed up at first but calmed down quickly. Both took treats with the barrier between them.Short sessions (5–10 min), always ending on a positive note.
Day 7
First supervised meeting in bedroom. Nova hissed if Walter got too close. Session lasted around 5 min.
Day 8
Second meeting and Walter tried to play by jumping Nova, he would hiss and get a bit scared, but still followed him around.I got a playpen to help Nova feel more confident.
Days 9–12
Walter in the playpen in the common area while Nova was free.Lots of treats, feeding near each other, tried to play with both. They even napped like this which made me feel there is a huge progress.
Around 2 weeks I started opening the playpen.Lots of wrestling and hissing from Nova. I was worried Walter was too rough (even saw some fur flying), but no injuries.
Posted here and people reassured me it was play, to let them figure it out, they were right. The hissing and wrestling diminished with days passing as well. I would just hear them running around.
After I saw they are getting more comfortable around each other, Walter started free roam during the day, separated at night. Started feeding all their meals together, after most plays gave them treats. Walter tried grooming Nova, Nova hissed no 😂
During this time I started small with unsupervised time.
20 minutes, 1 hour and up to 3 hours. Last time they locked themselves in a room together (I left a window open and I think the wind closed the door lol) and nothing happened. That actually boosted my confidence a lot.
1 month mark was first full night together. They played a bit, then slept. I stayed up until 5am stressing for no reason 😂
What I did extra, used pheromone diffusers (not Feliway, just a random Amazon brand, TopSum), read A LOT of Reddit posts and saw so many videos.
I was super stressed at the beginning that maybe they will not get along as Nova had some previous interactions with other neighbours cats in the hallway and he would just hiss and hide, but I am so proud of my boy for accepting his brother haha. And Walter is an angel, he made this easier by being so friendly, never heard him hiss.
I hope this helps someone that is struggling or doesn’t know when to progress. I know some people take months to reach coexistence but looking back now they would have probably free roam earlier if I wasn’t so afraid to let them interact properly. So definitely go with your gut based on how your cats react in when is a good time to progress or step back.
Initially after first supervised meeting I thought it was a step back with the playpen, but I think it was the best thing that happened for their progress + all the nice people here telling me to let them play. So if you’re not sure about their interaction, feel free to post here.
Thanks everyone!!!
Edit: I forgot to mention that Nova became a bit less affectionate to me during this time, he would always come for cuddles or take me in a spot he liked to get belly rubs. But this is slowly getting fixed now and he started doing it again with Walter right there.