wrote in message
...
Calvin wrote:
I can stop the stray's aggression by
yelling and clapping my hands, but I scare
the other cat too, so he runs away.

And this is where the problem lies. You are using negative reinforcement
which does NOT work. When you yell the stray associates that with the
presence of the other cat and becomes resentful thinking that the other
cat is to blame for the yelling and loud noise, and this only makes him
more intent on being aggressive to the other cat. It becomes a vicious
circle.

The way to handle this is to use distraction and praise. You want the
stray to associate only good things with the presence of the other cats.
It wouldn't hurt to
get a Feliway diffuser and some spray to help things along, either.

Megan


Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22



I agree! Positive reinforcement can bring great results. I adopted Duffy and
needed to introduce him to Holly, who had always shown such a dislike for
other cats that we called her the "black tornado." The two cats were
introduced in a very slow, gradual process. I made sure that Holly got lots
and lots of love and attention through all of this. After they were
introduced, I watched carefully for any signs of aggression. At any time
that the two seemed distressed, I would distract them and would give Holly
lavish amounts of praise. For some extra distraction, I kept toy mice and
interactive toys readily available (a favorite is a wand with strips of
rawhide to dangle in front of their noses - even my blind cat Duffy plays
with that). I never scolded the cats or yelled at them. This worked very
well. The two cats now get along very well and are usually in the same
general area. Holly will still come running any time she hears me talking to
Duffy, but she is not upset - she just wants to make sure that she gets her
full share of love and attention.

Please let me re-emphasize another point: take it very slow, and don't try
to rush things. Whenever you think it's time to move to the next stage in
bringing your cats together, you should probably stop and wait it out for
awhile. I "thought" I going slow when I tried to introduce Holly to my
sister's cats some time ago (we took about two weeks), but that was a
disaster and led to the "black tornado" references. This time, I took about
6 weeks before I left Holly and Duffy together at all times, and the
difference has been remarkable. Friends who knew how Holly had reacted in
the past really can hardly believe it.

If you don't have a Feliway diffuser, it would be money well spent to buy a
couple of them. Feliway is used for behavior modification and can be very
useful in reducing stress. I bought some from ValleyVet (www.valleyvet.com).
They have free shipping, which saves significantly on the cost. Do not get
the one that says "with D.A.P." because that formulation is for dogs.

To sum up: (1) Use positive reinforcement with lots of praise and attention;
(2) Take it slow and easy.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly (pictorial history -- Holly and Duffy):
Duffy, Part I: The Introduction -- http://tinyurl.com/8y54
Duffy, Part II: Life at Home -- http://tinyurl.com/8y56

Thanks for the suggestions, especially about the positive vs. negative
reinforcement.

Generally I've just tried to the keep a distance between the cats. Since the
new one (former stray) follows me around, that's usually not too hard to do.
The cats being free to go in and out of the house, which is wide open, the
only way I can really separate them is to close the new one in a room, or in
the house as a whole while I go outside.

The feeding ritual (though they always have two kinds of dry food available
all the time) is to go outside at feeding time and round them up, by walking
around to all of their usual places and calling them. When they are coming
I go back in the kitchen and fix their plates and bring them out to them.
Usually this goes well, because I feed the new one at a little distance from
the others, and make sure he doesn't move in their direction. But sometimes
something really distressing will happen, like one of them coming when I call,
but then seeing the new cat nearby, and turning around and deciding to skip
the meal. So the next time I make sure that doesn't happen by closing
the new one in the house while I round up the others and feed them. Even
though the new one is being fed too, he still cries while I'm outside with
the others, and they can hear him.

We go through similar problems when it rains and one of them won't come to
shelter if he catches sight of the new one.

Though I can't help but like the new one for his following me around and for
his affection, he has ruined all of the delicate rituals that I had going
with the other two males. My relationship with the older female is nearly
back to normal, because she has not been spooked by the new one ever since he
stopped marking territory, but she never gets in my lap anymore, something
she used to do often.

The main reason all this happened is because my house always has ways for the
cats to go in and out at will, even in the winter, so I invited the trouble,
which is a continuing soap opera.

Calvin Rice

Thanks for the suggestions, especially about the positive vs. negative
reinforcement.

Generally I've just tried to the keep a distance between the cats. Since the
new one (former stray) follows me around, that's usually not too hard to do.
The cats being free to go in and out of the house, which is wide open, the
only way I can really separate them is to close the new one in a room, or in
the house as a whole while I go outside.

The feeding ritual (though they always have two kinds of dry food available
all the time) is to go outside at feeding time and round them up, by walking
around to all of their usual places and calling them. When they are coming
I go back in the kitchen and fix their plates and bring them out to them.
Usually this goes well, because I feed the new one at a little distance from
the others, and make sure he doesn't move in their direction. But sometimes
something really distressing will happen, like one of them coming when I call,
but then seeing the new cat nearby, and turning around and deciding to skip
the meal. So the next time I make sure that doesn't happen by closing
the new one in the house while I round up the others and feed them. Even
though the new one is being fed too, he still cries while I'm outside with
the others, and they can hear him.

We go through similar problems when it rains and one of them won't come to
shelter if he catches sight of the new one.

Though I can't help but like the new one for his following me around and for
his affection, he has ruined all of the delicate rituals that I had going
with the other two males. My relationship with the older female is nearly
back to normal, because she has not been spooked by the new one ever since he
stopped marking territory, but she never gets in my lap anymore, something
she used to do often.

The main reason all this happened is because my house always has ways for the
cats to go in and out at will, even in the winter, so I invited the trouble,
which is a continuing soap opera.

Calvin Rice