flame point siamese (who knows what else)

Question
Hello, My cat Kato is 5yrs. old.  He is fixed. We fixed him as soon as he was old enough.  He is sweet tempered and sensative for a 14lb. cat.
We have two females one 10yrs old and one 3 yrs old(also fixed).  We just had a male cat show up about a month ago.He was clearly not interested in going back to whereever he came from and also very sweet.  We took him to the vet (he is small about typical teenage cat size) and found out he is fixed and about 6 or 7yrs old (tabby-ish).  Here is the problem.  Kato seemed indifferant at first, but now that the new cat seems to be here to stay he is very aggitated by him and tries to beat the tar out of him when given the chance.  I am hoping with time he'll get used to him and in fact become buds.... can I do anything to help this happen?  Currently I do my best to keep them seperate I don't want either to get hurt. And the new cat doesn't want any part of the fighting.

Answer
Hi Jana.  I'm glad you were willing to take in another!  I would urge you to make an attempt to find his owner.  Since he was neutered and is friendly, chances are he may have been lost from a responsible home.  Should the owner be searching for him and discover you have him at some point, the law will be on their side unless you made a valid attempt to find his owners.

At any rate, I feel your pain trying to introduce the Siamese to the new kitty.  Siamese are not big on change at all, and they tend to be on the jealous side.  I think keeping them separated is the best you can do for now.  Start having short visits, about 15 minutes, a few times a day.  You may want to keep one in a carrier during visits to prevent a fight.  Or, if you happen to have a glass door between rooms where the two could see each other but not reach each other, that would work.

It does take time.  It might take months.  But only about 1 out of 100 cats won't get used to another cat if they're introduced slowly.

Once they start being able to be in the same room together without a fight errupting immediately, try feeding them something tasty in the same room at the same time.  Start by feeding them at opposite ends of the room, and then move them gradually closer.  They'll come to associate the pleasant experience with one another.

And another thing you might try is a product called Feliway.  It's a synthetic pheromone that helps relieve stress, including that caused by a new pet in the home.  I'd recommend the Feliway plug-in diffuser, called Comfort Zone for cats.  It's available at most pet stores.