Was it a mistake? Help!
I recently brought home a new cat I found on the street. She’s incredibly loving with humans and honestly one of the sweetest cats with me personally. I got her spayed, gave her time to recover, and then slowly introduced her to my two resident boys.
The issue is… she absolutely cannot tolerate other cats.
My resident British cats are genuinely the gentlest souls. They don’t challenge her, don’t corner her, don’t hiss back, don’t swat at her. They mostly just look at her curiously or try to exist peacefully nearby. One of them is only 7 months old and extremely soft tempered.
But she reacts aggressively almost instantly. Constant hissing, growling, staring, and especially targeting the younger one. She chases him, traps him in corners, blocks his path, and won’t let him move around freely sometimes. The poor guy looks stressed and confused because he literally isn’t doing anything to her.
What confuses me is that her behavior is inconsistent. Sometimes she can be in the same room and not react at all. Other times she can’t even handle them LOOKING at her. It feels like she has zero feline social skills. Almost like she never properly learned how to interact with other cats. Even tho she was fine when I found her on the street next to other cats.
I’ve tried keeping things calm, giving vertical spaces, separate resources, slow exposure, positive reinforcement, and even Feliway, but honestly Feliway seems to do absolutely nothing for her.
Now I’m starting to feel really worried for my resident cats. They were such peaceful happy boys before this, and I’m scared I’ve disrupted their home and caused them stress by bringing her in. I feel guilty watching them become cautious in their own space.
Did I make a mistake adopting her? Has anyone dealt with a cat like this before where the aggression seems fear/socialization related rather than dominance? Did it ever improve with time?