Cat to Cat
When I decided to get a second cat it was after much deliberation as my original feline friend, Tabitha, was something of a princess and loved being number one. I sought the advice of a local cat shelter whose representative came round to see us. Tabitha was still less than two years old and as I remember sat preening herself on top of her scratch stick. She was a half feral cat that I’d bought from the Cat’s Protection and was long haired with a magnificent racoon like tail. She definitely would have suited a tiara!
However after consideration we decided she would probably welcome another friend…this was however not the case! I followed all the rules. I put my new cat Tikka in the spare room and let her sniff around the outside. I swapped their bedding so that she could get used to his scent and gradually built up their exposure to each other. However Tikka was a typical boisterous boy and as he got bigger he kept tackling Tabitha and knocking her out the way if we were playing together. He was too bullish for her and she started to withdraw. It was impossible to have quiet one-to-one time anymore as Tikka would simply not allow it. They came to tolerate each other but it was a big learning curve. You can never guarantee how your cats are going to react to each other and whether a new addition will work.
Some things I've noticed