2 Cat Household

Question
We have had 1 cat for about 10 years, moved with her to a new house 6 years ago.  We found a kitten outside (5 months old) and brought her in.  We kept the 2 separated for about 1 week.  Then opened the door and separated them by a glass window for about another week or so.  Long story short, it's been over 2 years now and they still don't get along.  We had construction work in our house about 1 year ago and added a 2nd story.  The new cat has recently been urinating in the upstairs bedroom.  We added a litter box in this room.  She stopped puddling and started using the box.  About a month later we noticed that the original cat started also using the box.  Needless to say, the newer cat has started puddling again.  We have closed off the room in order to clean out the smell and prevent further puddling.  But the 2 cats just don't get along.  The original cat charges the newer cat and corners her at every chance.  The newer cat actually gets the crap scared out of her literally.  Not sure what to do...

Answer
Dear Tami,

Usually, by the time 2 years have passed, most cats will at least tolerate eachother. But in some cases, they will not accept a new cat, and in addition stress or changes in the environment (such as recent construction) can make the problems flare up.

It is possible that your 2 cats will never get along well and you may have to consider permanently separating them - can you add a door in your house to create 2 separate cat zones (you could have an upstairs cat and a downstairs cat for example).

I would recommend giving it one more try introducing the cats. You can try separating them for a month and re-introducing them following the guidelines here:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/introducing_cats.html

You can also try using the Feliway plug-in diffuser and/or spray. Feliway helps reduce territorial aggression in cats, it mimics relaxing pheromones that cats exude from their cheek glands. Spraying doorways and furniture where the cats encounter each other with Feliway can help ease introductions. The plug-in diffuser creates a constant release of Feliway. It is not detectable by humans at all (the spray smells like rubbing alcohol when you first use it, but that quickly evaporates).

It is also worthwhile having both cats checked at the vet if they have not been recently - just to ensure the stress has not created a urinary tract problem in either cat.

As a last resort you may have to work on finding a new home for one cat. If you do this, the best way is to find a local no-kill group that is willing to help you advertise and screen potential homes, while you continue to foster your cat at home. Most of these groups have no room to take on more cats, but are willing to help if you can foster your own cat. They have more experience screening potential homes and can give you advice or even help you interview potential adopters. It is a lot more difficult than you might think to detect inappropriate homes, and that extra experience will help ensure your cat never has to find another home again. Also if you adopt her to a new home get some kind of agreement on paper, ensuring that the new home will contact you first if they ever cannot keep the cat, won't declaw her, etc.

Here is an example adoption contract:

http://www.theanimalspirit.com/sample.html