We’ve had Goose (Male, fixed) for about 4 years, since he was 7 months old. The other cat we had at the time was his best friend, unfortunately he passed this year. We weren’t planning on adopting another cat but got chosen by the cat distribution system and adopted Penny, who we think is 8-12 months old (Female, not yet fixed).
Goose is a very nervous and anxious cat. He’s also very sweet and very cuddly. If something happens that he doesn’t like, he runs away and usually hides under the bed. Penny is very adventurous and has a lot of energy.
When introducing them, we kept Penny in her own room and tried getting them on the other sides of the closed door, scent swapping, etc. but Goose was always confused about why we wanted him to go to the door (which is in a weird part of our house we don’t usually go to, but we don’t have another option). So instead of being there and getting those positive scent associations, he would just leave. He hates being held and picked up and forcing him over there didn’t seem like a good idea.
We got a screen door that attaches to the door frame with Velcro and used that to play with them and give them treats on either side of it. That was great, but Penny quickly figured out she can just jump through it so it didn’t last long.
When in the same space at the same time, they are often calm, with Goose even rolling over to get belly pets while a few feet away from Penny. Unfortunately, Penny has started chasing Goose. They had one bad interaction and now it seems like her default. They’ll be watching each other from a distance, even when Goose is relaxed, Penny doesn’t care about toys/treats/any other distraction. And eventually just chases him. This has led to a lot of near fights. I don’t know what to do.
The typical advice doesn’t really help because Goose is so anxious and Penny is unwilling to be distracted. Please help!
