Ragdoll Cat Forums

Well....you definately can't have just one Ragdoll..lol After falling in love with my Faith, I started searching for another female Ragdoll. I found a purebred Blue Point Ragdoll named Tinkerbell whose owners didn't want her anymore so I was able to rescue her and bring her home to my crew. Between agreeing to take Tinkerbell and receiving confirmation that I was getting her, I found another absolutely beautiful Ragdoll kitten that I am still hoping to be able to take as well. In the end I hope to have 3 beautiful female Ragdolls (2 of which are small kittens).

Since Tinkerbell is a little older, we knew we had to take it a little slower introducting her to our other cats/dogs. We kept her separated for the first couple of days in a room where she could see the rest of the animals through the glass french doors. We then graduated to having them in the same room with Tinkerbell in a large dog pen. When she had stopped hissing as they approached the cage we graduated to letting her out in the room with one cat or dog at a time. Since she seemed ok after that we let her start wondering around the house (with us present) and all seemed well for about 24 hrs. Last night she started hissing and swatting again (and actually got into a fight with one of our cats but we didn't see who started it) so we have taken a step back to the large dog pen.

Any suggestions on other technicques to make this transition easier on all of our cats.

I forgot to mention that for the most part she is ok being out with the other cats - its just if they approach her that she gets defensive. We have tried scruffing her and saying no when she gets nasty or the using the spray bottle and saying no (if its nearby). As I'm writing this, I have let her out of her pen because I am in the room and she is just laying down on the floor under the coffee table looking very comfortable. Three of our cats and 2 dogs are also in the room and have walked past her and she seems fine so I think she will adjust shortly. I just don't want to frighten her and was wondering if my tactics for discliplining her are ok. Here's a pic from yesterday at "treat time" to show that they do seem to be ok..lol

Most definitely do not scold for this behavior. It is a warning that she is afraid. All you do is add stress if you show displeasure. When hissing starts, then give all sides more privacy. Do NOT restrict her in the presence of the other cats. This just makes her feel like staked prey. Everybody should be able to break off contact and even hide in a secure space. You can HOLD HER in your arms while the other cats approach, but any signs of excessive upset just means to separate everyone, have the newcomer in her safe room and start over later, which can be only a few minutes. You can expect some hissing and batting, but do not let it go so far that either side becomes afraid enough to stay afraid - and aggressive.

Use interactive toys like wands and da bird to get all playing together without careful focus on each other.

I usually just let my cats roam after their quarantine is over with. They sort out their differences quickly and dont usually cause as much as a fuss as you'd think they would.

For example, when Angel and George first met, Angel hated George with a passion. This hatred lasted for months, but the actual screaming and hissing stopped within 2 weeks of just letting them do their thing.

When Stella first came here, it was White Kitty who caused the ruckus. WK would chase, scream and swat at Stella, but after about 2 weeks, they stopped that and would sniff each other. Stella has been here for quite some time now, and they even sleep together and groom one another now. Stella and WK would fight too... it caused a lot of stress here, but they did stop.

To tell you the truth, I found that the fights that happened here were more noise (screaming, hissing, growling.. etc) than anything. Of course if it escalated to the point of a "real" fight with someone actively trying to get away and the other not letting up at all, separation was best, but nobody got hurt, and they're fine. Stella and WK would usually just scream, hiss, growl, swat chase then go their separate ways. Its because they both had their own sanctuaries from each other that helped them get along.

You want to curtail all confrontations to make sure the cats do not develop an antipathy to each other based on newness that they will not get over. That is what the slow introduction phase is all about. Most cats will settle down and become friends, but some will take these early altercations as something they cannot get over. That is why one wants to keep them as mild and non-damaging as possible. You do not want to pick sides and coddle one side or scold the other. That interferes with the normal process of deciding the relationship they will have. However, you also do not want to just let them go as far as they will, because you may have a pair that will go TOO far just because they are frightened by the new cat or wants to make sure she understands she is second fiddle. There can be displays of hissing and even batting that are normal and do not justify calling introductions off for the moment. You just need to watch them to make sure it does not go too far. If it has reached the stage where you are really inclined to tell one or the other to stop, then that is probably the point at which you want to scoop one up and keep them apart for the moment. Be sure to praise everyone involved, even the one hissing, because that will put you in the right frame of mind on how to respond to each.

Thank you for your responses. Well.. it seems I am on the right track. When I say "no" it isn't always to her directly - it is more of a way to get both their attention. I then scoop up whichever once is closer to get them apart and separate them - if that happens to be Tinkerbell then I have to scruff her to keep her from turning on me whereas my other cats would never turn on me. Tinkerbell has been roaming the house since my earlier post and I have only had one instance of hissing when one of my cats ran past her very quickly. She seems to be doing ok but I do expect it will take weeks for her to adjust and don't plan on leaving them alone together in a room until I am fairly certain nobody will get hurt. I know they have to develop their own relationships and I don't want to interfere in that but I don't want any of them hurt either. She really is further than I thought she would be by this point so I am taking that as a positive. What are your thoughts on spray bottles to interupt fights?

A real fight is difficult, but very rare. I suppose a spray bottle could help, but it might make them more intent. In such a situation, you just try to figure out the best way to respond. However, do not try to pick either up. They are likely to bite you and do more damage than they are doing to each other, which tends to start with a lot of screaming and shoving. Putting a towel between them so that they cannot see each other or know where to lunge is often the best way to get them to calm down enough to recover their equilibrium and stop fighting. For lesser "spats," I think your approach of yelling "no" and attracting/diverting their attention is a good one. Water spray might do that to.

I can't help myself just have to say that photo is just toooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! keep up the great work I think the advise given is excellent and you are on the right track to having a happy loving fur family

Thank you very much! Actually our other cat was there before, but walked away when I went to get the camera. We had all 5 lined up it was too cute.

Thanks everybody for the advice!!

When I brought Pixie home I kept them seperate for a little bit to be sure she wasn't ill. Then after that I just let her roam and explore. Of course there were times when she got to close to Sebastian or Lilly and there would be growling and hissing but it all worked out in about a week. With some supervision things will work themselves out. Good luck.