Luna & Yellow: from complete strangers to cat buddies

September 2016, Luna, my younger son’s cat, entered our lives, meaning Yellow had to learn to share the space that was hers with another cat. This is a story of patience and perseverance, to make two cats that were complete strangers become buddies.

Asking two cats that never had been together to divide the same space is not easy. We knew that when my younger son returned home, after a couple of years away, and brought Luna. One apartment, two cats equals… trouble.

Trouble we had. Yellow, our female cat had previous experience with cats, her brother and sister — read my previous posts, please — but for almost one year she has been the queen, free to choose her spots around the house. The only cat she had seen in recent months was a stray cat that crosses the street at night. She sees the cat from our third floor balcony, so that does not classify as a close encounter of the third-kind…

Luna is now a bit over two years old and is used to have the whole house for her, with the roof as an extension where she would go after birds. Now she lost the right to the hunting grounds and has to share space with a cat that loves to play.

Yes, Yellow wants to play, Luna feels like being attacked. From what we understand, Luna was taken from the streets already three months old, alone, meaning she must have had a hard time surviving on her own. She is suspicious and, although it does not appear at first, more prone to become afraid than Yellow. According to what we know Yellow was found with her brother and sister — and her brother, Black, was a protective male — with only a couple of weeks after being abandoned. The short time living on the streets and the protection of other cats must have made her feel safer and more playful.

A first test to put them face to face suggested there was a long road ahead. Luna hissed and growled, and Yellow, apparently just wanted to jump and play. Obviously, they did not speak the same language and needed to be kept apart and gradually introduced to each other.

My son’s bedroom was Luna’s kingdom (prison, if you want) in the first period. The following days we followed every suggestion from books, friends, family, our vet. Even Pet Remedy a special blend of essential oils valerian based that helps to calm the nerves of anxious or stressed pets, was used. The promised bliss did not arrive!

Some people would tell us that some cats never get to be friends, others would tell us that with two males is more difficult than two females, others would say otherwise… It comes a time when you’re lost between so many contradictory opinions and experiences. Some authors speak of feeding cats with special treats to make them associate that with sharing space… Opinions opinions, opinions. Suddenly you start to feel that you run a “cat lab” instead of a normal house. So, we’ve put aside many of the suggestions, tips and opinions, and decided to follow… common sense.

As humans live together, even if sometimes they rather have all the space for themselves, so must cats do. Our hope was that they understood, looking at us, how it works. The process had to be gradual, though, and for that there is only one ingredient I know that works: time.

From the initial balcony visits, with the door closed, but through which they could see each other, to having a gate placed on the door to Luna’s room so they could see each other and smell, we moved to having them in the same room. October 9, 2016, with my two sons at home, we let them free in the same room and magic happened: although hissing was present here and there, they behaved nicely and gave us strength to continue the daily sessions.

It became a bit of a ritual. Part of the day was dedicated to let them be together, under our supervision, and play with them. Gradually we started to let them be together more and more time, until there was no need to keep them apart, except for some periods: when we were away from home, for a period of the day, and at night. Besides, we also feel that Luna needs to rest, even now, from being with Yellow, because Yellow seems to be always ready to play and Luna does not have patience for that.

After a while we tried to let them be together while we’re away from home. I must admit I was a bit afraid, but all went well. The next step, more recently, was to let them be together during the night. Sometimes it is a bit chaotic, as they run like mad, but eventually, even cats do get tired and go to sleep.

So, we’re now at a stage when all can be considered normal. Yes, they still hiss at each other, they do have some fights, but they seem friendly, and they have learned to share space. They eat together — curiously there are no problems in that department — sleep around the house and even seem to have learned to share the places to bask in the sun during the day.

Working from home, I am lucky enough to be around to see them grow and interact, and snap a picture or video here and there of these fantastic friends we’ve living with us.