Behavior question - should I worry?

KIM JOHNSON

Long story short...mom & dad rescued a stray. He is FIV/FELV negative(tested twice) treated for fleas, Giardia& roundworms & was nuetered yesterday. He's very affectionate & seems like a great cat about 1.5 to 2 years old. We have 3 males that love each other & get along now, but are willing to try to add him to our happy family. We have him in a separate bedroom & also have a gate that has a clear plastic window so they can see each other. So, Marley (our youngest & super friendly cat peeked at him through the window gate tonight. Mccoy(our stray) ran up so fast to the Marley & tried to get his claws through the sides to grab at him. There was no hissing, no growling on either side. My husband was on the other side & I was on the inside of the gate. After that, McCoy sat down & did nothing next to the gate, and our other tuxedo (another sweetheart that loves other cats) came up and squeaked at him..almost like saying hello. So, that was it for today, and we shut the door. My only concern is that why did McCoy go low to the ground and run to the gate fast to stick his paws out? Is this aggression or just saying hello??:?

Kristi Barfield

What it sounds like to me is that he could have possibly wanted to play, but it could also be aggression. It\'s hard to tell without having seen his body language personally. Was his fur fluffed out? Were his ears flat against his head? If not, I\'d say he just wanted to play, since you said there was no growling or hissing, and your other cats didn\'t seem bothered. Now, what I can\'t say is how your other cats would have reacted if he HAD been able to play. Also, keep in mind that\'s just a guess. I didn\'t see what happened, and I\'m not a professional.. so please use your best judgement to avoid any possible kitty fights. Good luck! |^|

KIM JOHNSON

Oh boy...his ears were back, tail down & fluffed out hair. ( I'm so nervous. What if he doesn't like other cats?

Kristi Barfield

Hmm. Well, since he is a stray, he might be used to fighting with other cats for food and other things. Maybe when he first saw your nice kitty, he saw him as a threat to \'his\' territory. You could try to give them treats when they see eachother, and are being calm about it. For example, don\'t treat Mccoy if he is trying to attack, or if he is staring your other kitties down. Instead, give him one when he looks away, and seems calm. He may just learn to get along with them. |^| If they don\'t, I\'d say to contact local rescue groups (Not Animal Control) in your area to see if anyone can take him. That would be the best for him, since they will make sure he finds a good home. Or you could ask around to see if anyone you know, who has no cats, is interested in taking him.

KIM JOHNSON

OK so far so good! We have been going very slowly! We let McCoy out of his bedroom while our other cats were in another. He explored the house and actually was extremely reluctant to leave his room! It took some coaxing! But we did this for three days just for 45 minutes. Today, we also took out one of his towels and brought it downstairs o that the 3 boys could get used to his scent. Then tonight, we put away our most aggressive cat (Mango) and let Marley & Monroe out with McCoy to see how things went. Obviously if there was any aggression, my husband and I were prepared with a towel. Marley & McCoy sized each other up a little, but Marley fell on the ground on his back and was cooing at him. He's just our teddybear and there hasn't been a cat or a person who didn't like him! So, there was a bit of paw touching, but no growls or hisses. They sat on the same cat post...McCoy right on the top & Marley in his little hole. There was a little staring, but no fight. So, once McCoy decided to run back upstairs to his bedroom, we said OK, that's enough for tonight. Monroe didn't see him, he ran downstairs. Maybe tomorrow...we'll see. So far so good. My biggest fear is Mango. He is just very emotional. Everything is on his terms, so he can make things very tense. My other fear is spraying!! OMG I don't know what I will do if that happens! All three boys are such good cats right now.

ALLEYCATANGEL

When we let Little Boy out with BooBoo he did just like McCoy did ran t her like he was attacking she screamed out him. I talked to my vet about it he said after Little Boy was neutered it takes a few days 7-10 for all the hormones to get out of his system, so he would still fight for territory and it didn't matter if the other cat (booboo) was fighting him or not. After a few days just like McCoy he calmed down and now he and Booboo play together and rarely even argue. Good luck.