cat cohabitation

Question
Hi Jessica,

I have a female neutered inside cat about 3 years old. Has been with since a kitten and has never been outside. Recently a male catabout 1 year old showed up at my back door and stayed. I took him to the vet and had shots given and neutered. The 2 cats have never been in the same room as yet, but both are now inside cats. I built a room on the rear patio for the male and the 2 cats sniff each other thru the screen door. My question is, should I keep them separate
divided by the screen door until they get used to each other, or would it better to let them together and see what happens?

Thanks so much for you insight,

Don Beck  

Answer
Hello!  What you're doing is excellent.  I wish there were more people who would take in kitties like you have, and then have them neutered and vaccinated.  On behalf of them all, I thank you.

Also, how you are handling things is ideal.  Allowing them to sniff each other and see each other through the screen is perfect, as long as they aren't showing aggression toward each other.  I would keep it this way for at least a couple weeks until they're very familiar with each other.  If there's room under the door, you could place a ribbon underneath.  It might encourage them to play together.

If they seem perfectly fine with one another's presence, you can see how it goes if you let them in the same room together to eat.  Start by feeding them at the same time at separate ends of a room, and move the bowls gradually closer every day.  This will help them bond, as they remember the positive experience together.

If all goes well, you should be okay to leave them together when you're home to watch, but be very careful to catch any signs of aggression - hissing, howling, hair-raising, arched back, fluffy tail, growling, or ears held back.  If any of these arise, separate them immediately.  Otherwise, if you see no signs of any fear or aggression, you should be okay to leave them alone together within a couple weeks.

One thing I strongly recommend is to have this new kitty tested for the feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline AIDS (FIV), if you haven't already.  Both are terminal illnesses (FeLV much more so), which are contagious.  A blood test can determine when a cat is FeLV+ pretty accurately.  FIV is a little iffy, but it is still worth testing for.

If either of these tests come back positive, you may want to consider trying to find the new kitty a home alone, or with other positive cats.

I have both FeLV and FIV+ cats.  FIV spreads only through bite wounds (or from mother to kittens).  So in a peaceful household, it is not likely to spread.  I keep my FIV+ cats with negative ones.  There's a vaccine about 70% effective, but it will cause your cat to show a false positive on a test.  This may be problematic if she ever needs to find a new home.

However, FeLV is much more contagious, and a much more devastating disease.  There is a vaccine against it that is quite effective, but not 100%.  If you want to guarantee your female will never get it, you must make sure she is never directly exposed to a positive cat.

If you'd like any further advise about FeLV and FIV, please write back.

Best wishes to you all!

Jessica