I have a group of rescues with older and younger. Within the group some are willing to accept new family members others are more standoffish. Did you allow your seniors to get used to the new cat by keeping him isolated, but visible for a couple of weeks? We introduced our new kittens by keeping them in a room not accessed by the two older cats. The older cats could sniff through the cracked door.
You can also rub the newbie with towels, then leave the towels for the old ones to sniff and get used to. Cats need to get used to the scent of new members of the family. It takes a lot of time and patience to integrate new cats into the current cat family. My daughter brought 2 cats home after living away for a while and we kept them apart from our 11 year old cat for nearly a month then started introducing them in controlled conditions.
Two years down the line and after some ups and downs they all live together quite happily and yesterday we witnessed the now 13 year old allogrooming one of the younger ones.
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Stay informed! Get tips and exclusive deals. Nov 2. Nov 1. Oct Give a Gift. A cat licking and grooming another cat. Photography karamysh Getty Images. Cat Behavior. Why do cats groom each other? What does this behavior have to do with their big-cat cousins, maternal instincts, social bonding and hierarchies?
By Susan Logan McCracken. This is why, by the way, your cat might try to groom you , too. You might notice that when one cat grooms the other cat, it's typically on areas like the top of the cat's head, face, or ears. Those areas are tougher to reach, so they're helping each other out. Mother cats clean their newborns to help them breathe, and later on to help them learn how to groom themselves. So grooming starts as an affectionate way for a mother to help her kittens.
Perhaps that is why adult cats continue the tradition with other cats they trust. Even though cats only groom each other if they're friends, it can also be a sign of dominance. Researchers have found that cats that are "higher-ranking" in a colony are more likely to groom the lower-ranking cats, just like a mother grooms her kittens.
Cats are also predators, and they may groom themselves to remove strong scents that could alert their prey. For this reason, if a cat is offended by the scent of another, he may do some light grooming just to get rid of the smell. If your cats aren't grooming each other, calming diffusers can help encourage them to see each other as part of the same "colony.
A cat's well-being is connected just as much to his emotional health as it is to his physical health. Feral cats and domestic cats alike are territorial creatures, and with territory comes a social hierarchy, even inside your house. In terms of grooming, animal ecologist Dr. Ruud Van den Bos, PhD, explained that it's "a way for cats to redirect pent-up aggression and to reaffirm dominance in a way that's far better than doing so through aggressive and even violent behaviors.
Van den Bos also explained cats are taught from the moment they are born that grooming is a group activity. Van den Bos said. Right after they are born, a mother cat will begin grooming her kittens because ecologically speaking, the smells associated with a newborn kitten draw attention from predators. Grooming therefore becomes a way of exhibiting maternal affection and protection, and it is feline nature to continue this habit even through adulthood.
Allogrooming occurs more in overweight and arthritic cats simply because self-grooming is a lot more difficult. All that flexing and twisting is difficult, if not impossible," Colorado-based veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Coates, DVM pointed out.
Allogrooming in this context clearly shows affection between two cats, but it's also a hygienic necessity for the overweight or arthritic one receiving the grooming. A cat's level of comfort is built on a routine that is predictable and consistent, meaning cats can easily become stressed and anxious when faced with anything unfamiliar or out of the ordinary.
Or batting, or even just a bite, can look very different. This is another form of play between cats. You can think of the lick as being a greeting or a way of establishing that the next behavior is meant to be friendly and all in good fun.
Play is just a natural part of cat behavior, and a lot of cat play uses the same muscles and instincts as fighting or hunting. There are a lot of reasons for cats to start fighting suddenly. After all, cats can be relatively solitary animals. Generally, the most common reason for cats that have known each other for a while to start fighting is simply that they startled one another. Cats tend to react to surprise with aggressive body language and behavior.
Sometimes introducing a new toy or treats can temporarily cause fights. Cats do not hurt each other when they play fight, however aggressive play fights can lead to unwanted injuries fo your pet. Fortunately, most play fighting passes without incident. Even if your cats are biting and using unsheathed claws while playing which is more common for younger cats and cats that are easily excited , they are usually protected by their fur.
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