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with your new cat.

Your resident cat will smell the new scent on you. Touch your resident cat and shower it with more attention than normal. It is critical that your resident cat not feel any difference in its relationship with you. My Zorro became very angry for awhile and his normally laid-back personality changed into an aggressive one for weeks. I could not believe he was the same cat!

Allow time for the new cat to explore the rest of your home while keeping the resident cat in a separate room. Take turns allowing them to explore the other's area. Do not be surprised if your male "marks" in the new cat's room.

CONTROLLED MEETINGS: Allow the two of them to meet by wedging open a door slightly. After a while, Zorro's posturing, (hissing and growling), lessened and they would just sit there, inches apart, looking at each other.

The next step was to put Zoe into a large travel carrier, and introduce her into our living space. Zorro was quick to vocalize his objections, and he stared at her with a predatory intensity. When Zoe tired of his bad attitude, she turned her back to him.

LET THEM WORK IT OUT: After two weeks with all the above, and Zorro still exhibiting aggressive behavior toward Zoe, I decided to just let them "have at it". Chaperoned, of course, but it was time to just let my cats be, well, cats!

Zorro hissed and growled and chased Zoe immediately. Zoe found her safe refuge spots where he would not follow. She held her own, swatted him with her sharp claws, and he seemed to know when to back off. They were communicating in a feline language that I did not understand, but that I learned to respect. It is like a dance they perform and only they can hear the music.

Eventually, after two months, Zorro calmed down. After three months, we took our first trip and were gone for ten days. My hope was that without me around, they would bond closer to each other. Their relationship was much improved after we returned home.

After six months, and another trip away, the two of them are pals. They play, they growl, they lick each other with affection, just as I had hoped would be their happy ending.

ADDITIONAL SOURCE: www.petstyle.com

Learn more about this author, Diane Quinn .
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