How should I go about introducing these cats to one another? Please help?
How should I go about introducing these cats to one another? Please help? General Dog Discussions
Let me begin by saying that I consider myself a very experienced cat owner and as such I am fully aware of the gravity of this situation. It's painful for both of my (adult) cats whom I love and treasure dearly and I have got to figure out a way to help them be comfortable.I have had Snow for one year. She's two now. We adopted her from an animal shelter but were given no information whatsoever about how or where she was found so I am not sure if she had previous socialization with other cats. Snow is completely deaf. As such she is very skittish. The only animal she had been around before this incident was our old roommate's dog. She was terrified of the dog initially but after some months she became more comfortable. She would hide when the dog came into the room and would swat at her nose if she came too close, but otherwise largely ignored her.A little over a month ago we were taking Snow on one of her routine walks in her harness when suddenly, for reasons unknown to me, she bolted and jerked herself out of the harness in the process. She was gone for one month and eight days. We were absolutely devastated. However we searched for her relentlessly day and night until finally, five days ago, someone found her and returned her to us. It was absolutely surreal. She was scratched up pretty badly from being attacked by other cats in the area but otherwise was perfectly healthy.The third night we were out looking for Snow, we happened upon an extremely pregnant stray cat. It was so cold out that night that the ground was frozen solid and I could not bear to leave her out in the cold when I had plenty of cat food, toys, and a warm bed at home, so we took her in and named her June. The very next day she gave birth to five kittens. The vet estimated that June was probably not more than a year old and it was most likely her first time with a litter. I believe June was a pet who was thrown out when she got pregnant because she is very tame and sweet. However she also struggles with anxiety problems. When the kittens were five days old, June suddenly started hyperventilating, so of course we took her to the emergency vet. It turned out she was only having an anxiety attack. She has not had one of these since but I frequently notice her breathing heavily from anxiety now that Snow is home.We live in a one-bedroom apartment where our bedroom is really the only place you can totally section off, so June has been raising the kittens in our bedroom but had the run of the house before we brought Snow home. Snow lived almost exclusively in our bedroom (she is very shy around our roommates because of her deafness) and I know she considers it her's. It does not help that the kittens' scent is all over her toys and many of her other possessions, although I kept a few items like her bed, bowls, and scratching post locked up in a closet.So, to summarize: I have had to introduce a cat to a very protective and new mother. June is absolutely distraught. She is young so the kittens stress her out (she had the anxiety attack when all of them were crying), she hates being locked into a tiny room with them, and she feels extremely threatened by Snow's presence. Every time we have to go into the bedroom, I have to shut Snow into the bathroom in case June runs out between my legs. She is at the door waiting to bolt out every time she hears us coming. Snow is terrified of June. She won't even go near to our bedroom door and I know she feels resentful of her as well. The one time I tried to introduce them, I had my husband hold Snow as I walked slowly out of the bedroom with June in my arms. June immediately started to yowl and spit; Snow just burrowed into my husband's arms and shook with terror. When I locked June into the bedroom again, Snow would have nothing to do with me for hours because she saw me holding and petting her. I know she feels replaced and that pains me. She is also very stressed by being forced to live in the front of the apartment because she's around our roommates and their (loud) friends constantly. The first day we brought Snow home, when I walked into the bedroom to get some food for her, June ran out and attacked her viciously, so we began on the complete wrong foot.Does anyone know what I can do? Please advise. I want to try slow introductions but I'm so afraid June is going to get away from me and try to attack my poor little Snow.