Cat Introductions Gone Wrong: They Will NOT Work it Out Without You

Cat Introductions! What happens when you try to introduce your cat to a newcomer, and it all goes sideways? Don’t despair! There’s always something else to try and in this video, I give you some more tools for your cat toolbox. Step away from the drama... and watch this one!

Other channel resources mentioned in this video:

How To Introduce Cats

Cat Introductions: Does your Senior Need A Friend?

Cat Introductions: Good First Impressions are a must!

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#JacksonGalaxy #Cat #Advice
00:00 Introduction
01:24 Question for Jackson
02:31 Jackson's Breakdown
04:20 Separate Play Sessions
05:17 Things Could be a lot Worse
06:55 Conclusions
08:19 Create Consistency

[SICS]

If it’s any comfort, my two cats took almost a year to not fight as soon after they see each other, after a year and a half they were walking together around the house and after almost three years we finally found the magic toy that is teaching them to play together. So there is always hope.

[BeccaLindberg]

I am at a cross roads with my cats.. Its been over a year and they still won't get along... I am glad to see other comments knowing that I am not alone.

[linagregoire]

I was getting really frustrated with reintroducing my cats. You seem to always know when to talk about things. Thanks Jackson you've changed my cats lives.

[malaiqa]

I want to share my story of my two cats to give you all some more hope. For reference, Miko: 5 years old, we have had her for a year, shelter said she hated other cats so much that they had to speed her adoption process up to put her in a room without any visual access to other cats. Tenshi: 4 month old kitten, loves other cats.
When we started introducing them, although the door was fully closed and there was no gap under the door, miko stayed awake the whole night sitting by the door of a room that she rarely ever went in before, because she knew something or someone was in there. There was so much hissing and so so so much growling from miko throughout the whole introduction process and we couldn’t even do it right because miko refused to eat anywhere within a 10 foot radius of the door although we were giving her her favourite food. Miko’s temperament/personality had completely changed, she was very isolated and very angry all the time. i cried so many times because i thought they were never going to get along and it was so stressful having to leave miko alone because if i wasn’t with tenshi, she would meow until i came back. once we had finally removed the barrier between them (4ish weeks after beginning the introduction), there was so much fighting and growling. miko would attack tenshi if she was in a 10 foot radius and tenshi shows stalker behaviours. tenshi was scared but curious and miko was very angry. however, slowly by slowly, her boundaries shrunk and she let tenshi go closer to her. now (2 months after beginning the introduction), they spend most of their time together, they clean each other, they play and play fight, they sleep near each other and they search for each other. you guys got this !! be patient with your cats and pay close attention to their body language.

[catalina]

whenever a situation goes wrong my boyfriend says, "is it time for galaxy?" and Yes, yes it is.

[Octorawk]

My cats merely tolerated each other after they were properly introduced (it took a month), and while they're still not buddy-buddy 8 months on, they've grown to be completely comfortable in each others presence and personal bubbles. They even play on occasion - and their relationship is still making noticeable improvements!

But while it was totally worth it, I honestly don't think I could do it again. xD I remember VIVIDLY how stressed I was during the introduction process.
I have no roommates, so splitting my time between two cats that had to be kept apart stressed me out so much - especially since the little one (7 months at the time) would often cry if I left the room. I felt bad for her because all she wanted was company, felt bad for my resident cat because I couldn't spend enough time with her, and was constantly worried that my neighbors would hear the meowing and complain.

We got through it - though after these two, any future cats I have will either be adopted in pairs, or I'll be a single cat household.

So you are not alone! And I was at the end of my rope after only a month, I can only imagine how tough it's been for those of you on month 4, 5, 6 and so on.
Keep at it folks, you're doing better than you think you are.

[Its_like_the_T-Rex]

I got 2 cats within 2 months of eachother. Getting them integrated was the biggest stressor and it took 4-5 weeks to get to equilibrium. They are now friends... and I'm so happy!

[JJsAdventureLogs]

Wish you had a video showing actual footage of the very first part of this process. Scent introduction, and the different behaviors outside of the Basecamp door. Like that's the hardest part for people going through the process for the first time themselves. So emotions come out easily and we know we don't want to do that. Please show more of each steps with actual footage. Every video on YouTube is the same situations and either do b-roll clips of random cats or they use two cats that are already comfortable with each other and reanact the situations. I've rewatched your videos so many times and literally I think the biggest struggles we have is the very start of the process. Some of us never seen this side of our cats before so we just want to know how to handle our emotions better when they do flip out at the doors or gates.
Hissing, vocalizing, swatting, and even sometimes charging at the door or cat if see. I plan to try and record some of my current situation and send it over to Jaxon so we have something. Most people want to rush the process, we are guilty at making a couple newbie mistakes but managed to prevent things from getting to a certain point. They are currently separated, but have seen each other already. Fredds NOT thrilled atm. Doing our best to keep our personal emotions out of it but it's very hard when there's nothing on the internet showing anything remotely related to this situation. 😅

[sageymarie]

How.. I just got a second cat TODAY! This is timing, if I've ever seen it

[Dark.]

I have a house full of 6 cats. This video really helped me understand why not all if them get along and how I/they can help fix that.

[rabies]

I brought home a second cat on Nov 11, took the intro phase slowly, and tonight my furry first resident climbed into the basket the newcomer was sleeping in, and began grooming him! I am so stoked to see them bonding--keep with it, the method really does work. I did notice something JG didn't mention about the play in this video. At one point, she waved a toy in-between the cats, and I think it was the little guy who lunged for it--directly at the other cat! That probably didn't end well. I find it challenging to play with both at once, but have managed to do so with two wand toys, keeping the cats on opposite sides of a large piece of furniture, like a sofa.

[flickfx]

“Your cat daddy here”. Beautiful words

[carmenl]

Thanks Jackson, reintroducing my two kitties and this video is gold. I recently took one of my cats to the vet, and when we got back, my other kitty wanted nothing to do with her.
They fought, and now they can't be in the same room without both attacking each other .
I've been really sad these couple of days because I've had to separate them amd they both cry when I'm not in the area wirh them. This video gives me hope ❤

[LrpAngel]

We've been working on this for months. I needed this encouragement of this video. we just gotta keep trucking...

[GetFashioning]

Its taken two years for my too to just tolerate each other...they still have moments, but we are FINALLY seeing improvements!!! Boy and girl boy is old and grumpy girl is younger and playful

[ablackcatslife]

I’m getting ready to introduce my kitten to my family’s dog, this video really gave me some insight.

[AzlianaLyana]

Yup, you just don't give up on family, no matter how much of a hard time they give. 💖

[spineczkasmile]

I said it under another video previously, but after almost three weeks of introductions, we put a bit butter on each kitten and it worked like a charm! They were too busy licking it off themselves and it helped them get used to being in the same room etc.

[naturalveganmama_]

Grateful for this video! Our new kitty (8months) has been with us for almost 3 months. He's so confident and has so much energy, he always wants to attack my resident cat (4yrs). We space swap multiple times a day so little kitty can run around... But they always have to be 100% supervised when together with the distraction of treats

[Scruffed]

I did all the steps outlined at 7:37 minus reading the book with my two cats for about 3-4 days, then I opened the door by an inch during feeding times for the next 2-3 days, then I opened the door just during feeding times without allowing any interaction, and now they get along just fine with the door permanently open. It definitely works.