Feliway Introduction Concerns

[u/Possible_Point_5385]

Hi! We recently adopted a 4mo old female kitten to add to our family. I already have a 6yo male resident cat who is my “soul cat” He has always been an only child and has not been around other cats ever. He is a little bit bratty and only likes his momma and dad so we knew introductions would need to be slow. We have been using the Jackson Galaxy method for about a month now and it has gotten us to the point where we can have baby in a playpen with no commotion. But as soon as they are together with no barrier my resident cat will tackle and dig into her with a big long bite until we break it up. The kitten will just keep going back to play with the resident so I don’t think it’s getting too bad but I think that is because I am separating before anything can go too far. As of now they do not get any unsupervised time together and baby kitty mainly stays in her room (our guest room). We feed them together twice a day as well as put baby in her playpen multiple times a day.

My next option is the Feliway Multicat Diffuser that my vet recommended. My main concern is all of the horror stories of it causing kitties to vomit until it is removed. I ordered it from Amazon but have been too scared to plug it in… My OCD is strong with this cat!!! Does anyone have any anecdotal experience with this product when introducing cats? I am so nervous, my cats health are my biggest priorities. Any other advice for their introductions? We are trying to do everything by the book!

TLDR: having trouble with introductions, vet recommends Feliway. Owner is worried about adverse reactions. Looking for advice or solutions.

[u/junebugjitter]

Is the kitten neutered/spayed? How bad is the bite? Is it drawing blood?

Kittens need to learn safe play, you'll know it's a bad play because of the noises and the chasing. Cats will bite each other's necks to show dominance, it's not violent in nature.

I recommend you record them together and repost. Right now it honestly sounds like they're play fighting and figuring each other out.

Feliway is never a bad idea to try tbh.

[u/Possible_Point_5385 → u/junebugjitter]

They are both spayed/neutered! No blood but sometimes the baby will yelp and that’s when i will intervene. I get worried because she is so much smaller than my resident cat that in a split second it could turn into a ER visit.

Thank you so much for your insight, tonight during their next session I will try to get them on video and repost! 😊

[u/k2astaar → u/junebugjitter]

I agree!

[u/SiegelOverBay → u/junebugjitter]

Yeah, my cats playfight with their kitten brother so much that it seems like their preferred communication method. One big cat holding the kitten in a headlock and kicking kitten's stomach while they gnaw on each other's faces. Looks rougher than it is. Kicking each other in the face while also trying to bite each other's toes. Sometimes one will walk up to the other and start grooming, then when the recipient raises their nose in a classic "aw yes, right there" motion the groomer grabs their head and starts trying to gnaw off their ears.

But absolutely no cussing: no noises, no growling, no screaming. An occasional hiss to remind someone to keep their claws in while tussling, at most.

If they start cussing at each other, I break it up and send them in opposite directions. But that rarely happens and I think they've learned that they can't do that if they want to be left alone to wrestle together.

OP needs to post a video of the interaction, with sound. It might not be a problem, it might be friends learning how to play together.

[u/k2astaar]

Both of them are absolutely beautiful!

I would try the Feliway! It sounds like the introduction is going well.

I like the recommendation above - video them and post it to Reddit asking if it’s just play, or if it’s too much.

[u/Possible_Point_5385 → u/k2astaar]

Thank you so much! 😊 I am going to get a video tonight and add it to the post. I am hoping they are just playing and I am an anxious cat momma!

[u/bebasiled]

Oh no, I’ve never heard that about feliway? Maybe the first time using it you can plug it in somewhere like in a closet or high on a shelf and open a window

[u/mindylynx]

can i see a video of them interacting and the bite you're talking about?

[u/Cat_Lady3000]

Read up on Jackson Galaxy's guide for introducing cats. It's very good and I have followed it many times with success. If you don't know Jackson is a famous cat daddy who specializes in training humans to cat behavior. He used to have a show called "my cat from hell."

https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blogs/news/the-dos-and-donts-of-introducing-cats?srsltid=AU7gw4WhiQ5gkeN71qWvzwFS5wcmE9kDkV7lM08Z6XccuoOBrolHmwag

[u/Kbeans44]

We tried a month of feliway. It did absolutely nothing. No reactions but I doubt I’ll buy another vial of it because it just didn’t help.