How long will it take for my 4 resident cats to accept a newcomer?

[mariner2]

We have aquired a fifth cat . . . . A neighbour found him in the road and brought him to me, but we have four cats already and it seems they won't stand for another! I am trying to find the owner, but no luck yet.

[Barmaid]

Lord knows Mariner. I moved my two cats in with my OH's 10 days ago. Now my two cats hate each other (they were never great mates before but at least they didn't sit and growl at each other like they do now). The resident cats are ignoring mine. Mine either won't come down the stairs or sit in the hall and hiss. Happy Days.

[andy-hughes]

It really is 'how long is a piece of string'? on this one.

Cats are territorial pack animals, so a new cat has to slot into the pack. Some cats do this quite easily, either by taking up a place at the bottom, and not getting in anyone's way, which causes minimum fuss. Others are made of sterner stuff, and may even think they are 'top cat' and will challenge the incumbent for that position, which means lots of stand-offs, fighting, and general mayhem.

I would be inclined to persevere. As long as your newcomer is not coming off worse in any encounters, or is obviously distressed and not eating, then let them sort it out themselves. Cats do get used to a newcomer in time, and your newbie will either be accepted anf fit in, or a compromise where they ignore each other - as with Barmaid's tribe - and some are quite content with that.

Keep an eye on them all, but know that all the spitting and huffing and puffing is part of cat society, and they will eventually resolve matters in a way they can all live with. If it becomes apparent that your new cat is always going to be unhappy, then you need to think about re-homing, but give them a chance to see what they can do first.

[mariner2]

Thanks for the advice - I neglected to say the new one is a kitten, but seems very sure of himself and just wants to be friends, but the others all stay away until they absolutely have to eat, then there's lots of furtive slinking and hissing when they meet, followed by them scarpering.back outside. We shut him in the bathroom at night for fear of a real attack by one of the others (our ginger one is the house bouncer, and I've seen him chase off a fox) but there's been nothing of any real violence during the day, but it always looks as if there might be.