[Peekablue]

When I first got George and Cleo started peeing herself I felt so bad for her. Since she looks down her nose at Odin and stands her ground I thought George must have been the problem. Now I'm SURE she's the problem.

I brought home baby ragdoll Leon yesterday. Due to the size restrictions of my home I can't keep Leon in his own room while he settles in with George and Cleo - although I can move George around a lot during the day he has to be shut in the bathroom at night, and Cleo is shut in my bedroom during the night. Obviously I want to supervise Leon and so he's staying with Cleo and I in the bedroom.

Well, Cleo is not taking the situation very well. She's parked herself under the drawers and is SULKING. When she hides there and pees and poops herself because of George, you can tell she's sincerely scared. With Leon, she doesn't mess herself and she just sits under there glaring at him, and hissing if he gets too close.
I have Leon set up on the end of my bed with his own blanket. He slept there last night - I wouldn't let him sleep on the pillow next to mine because that's Cleo's spot. After Leon had settled down, Cleo came out and slept in her alternate sleeping place, which is under my desk on top of the computer tower. Because sleeping there isn't out of the ordinary for her I know she must have at least been somewhat comfortable.


She clearly resents sharing her space with Leon (although oddly George - the ex stud with testosterone to burn - doesn't mind sharing his space or even his toys with Leon) and is throwing a big sulk. I understand that brining Leon straight into her territory isn't wise, but considering that Cleo has literally made ZERO progress with George over two months, I'm pretty sure that she would be just as resentful of Leon if I had taken the time to make a slow introduction.
She has plenty of places here that she can get away from Leon and be on her own, but Leon leaves her alone anyway. She still has her own food area, her own beds and her own litter tray, none of which Leon touches. I've been taking Leon out of the room for hours at a time to let her be on her own, so he's not a constant presence.


If I just leave things as they are, will that force her to grudgingly accept Leon's presence? I honestly don't see the slow introduction method working on her. She's old and stubborn and seems determined to be an only cat. She acts differently with all the cats (with Odin she's haughty, with George she's fearful and with Leon she's disgusted). She'll tolerate having Leon (and Odin) in the same room as her, but she simply does not seem to like other cats.

As I said, if I thought for a minute she'd do better with the slow and gradual introduction method I'd do my best to make it work and try it, but she's 10 years old and more set in her ways than you can believe. Since she's not peeing and there's no violence, do you think I should just leave things as they are and force her to accept that Leon is here?


I'm not even sure what I'm asking here, I'd just like people to offer their ideas, thoughts, suggestions based on the rambling information I've given. Cleo really is horrible with other cats.

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[carmel]

Sometimes our older cats seem to accept a kitten a bit easier than an older cat and it sounds like that is what your girl is doing. If there is no overt agression to the kitten I would leave things as they are but keep a very close eye on her when the kitten is near her, just keep doing what you are doing in removing the kitten to give her a break. She will quite probably come around in time. Maybe some Feliway in the room and pay some extra attention to her, may help a bit as well.

[Patricia L]

I honestly don't believe cats cats are resentful or that they sulk. Cats are animals and they act primarily on instinct.
She is only doing what she knows how to do to cope with the situation at hand.
She is probably a little less threatened by Leon, but she is not doing any of this just to be difficult.
Who knows what sort of experiences she had in the past that make her react like this? She may never accept another cat, or it may take a lot longer than you were hoping it would take.
Just be patient and keep reassuring her - she really cannot help how she reacts.

[Peekablue]

She used to live with other cats, but I have always wondered if her two months in the shelter might have made her fearful of other cats. Living in a situation like that with such hightened stress levels can't have been easy for her, especially since I'm pretty sure she had just been with the one owner for the 10 years prior to her being taken in.

I know she can't help how she reacts, but she really is making things difficult. I absolutely adore her, but the way she reacts to George - who never shows her aggression - is frustrating and has had me in tears more than a few times.

Hopefully she'll relax in time, I'll keep doing what I'm doing - giving her time away from him, taking her out for lots of cuddles, offering her extra treats and her favourite foods. I definitely won't be letting her think she's loved any less... she might be a pain when it comes to other cats but she's my little princess and I absolutely adore her. I'd do anything to make her happy, I just wish she'd make it easier for me to do so.

[Peekablue]

Well, I finally have some good news!

Cleo obviously doesn't enjoy the company of other cats, I accept that, but she's coming around much faster than I had hoped with Leon.

Last night I set up Leon's bed on the floor and moved his 'stairs' so he couldn't get onto the bed. I then put Cleo on my bed in her usual place. She stayed there most of the night, before eventually getting down and going back under the drawers, at which point I brought Leon back up onto the bed.


Tonight, I got Cleo out from under the drawers and put her on my bed. I shut Leon in his bed/carrier for a few hours so they could both nap away from each other. While Cleo was still sleeping I got up and let Leon out and put the stairs back up so he could get up onto the bed. Cleo was growling and hissing quite a bit but she didn't move away. She moved closer to me (I'm pretty sure she was trying to lay claim to me, lol) and settled down to sleep while Leon played on the bed.

Now she's sleeping on the bed curled into my side, and Leon is curled up on my lap. No hissing, no growling, no moving away. I think we've turned a huge corner!


As for George, I had him and Le on the floor together today while I was organising some food for them. George and Le exchanged a little nose bump, and there was no hissing at all from George during any part of the day. I think he and Leon might become friends!