How can I encourage my 2 cats to get along?

I have had my one cat for about 5 years now. He was a starving stray I found at a park when he was still an older kitten. He has a great life now and is an indoor/outdoor cat that comes in and out as he pleases day and night. He likes being out a lot in warm weather but stays inside most of the time during the cold months.





Now another stray has come to my home and I adopted this one too. It's also a male. My other male is neutered and I'm going to be getting my new one neutered very soon. The new one looks to be fully grown even though when he first came I believe he was just growing out of still being a kitten.





At first the two of them seem to tolerate one another. Now it goes back and forth as to who dislikes who. Both come in and out as they please. They keep their distance most of the time outside even though I have seen them lying around just a few feet apart just resting comfortably every now and then. I have seen or hear them fighting off and on. It never lasts very long, just little fights in which they make a lot of noise. I have been checking them for injuries and do not see any. The one is pure white and it would be easy to spot anything on him. Sometimes one will start it and sometimes the other will start it. It varies. If they pass each other when both want to come in, they will usually growl and hiss at one another. I don't know if they would actually fight if I left them alone or not when they do that since I always make them stop this behavior when they do it around me.





I can tolerate the situation right now because it is warm weather and both want out most of the time, but I worry what is going to happen when it gets colder and both of them have to come inside the house and be in close quarters with one another. Do you have any ideas of what I can do to get these cats to get along much better with one another. Several cat owners told me to just let them work it out on their own, but I don't want one of them dominating and controlling everything while the other ends up hiding in fear. Any help would be appreciated.|||it will settle down a lot when the other one is neutered. They is a lot of peer fighting doing on whre the younger one is trying to get one over on your existing cat.


Feed them together and provide treats so that they associate being together with nice things.|||They were both strays and its hard to do any kind of animal introducing, them being at an older age just makes things more difficult. Neutering might help, but the proper way to introduce cats is by putting the new on into the bathroom for a couple of weeks until they get used to the smells of the house. You going in there and providing them with food and love will help them to bond to you. Other animals in the house will meet each other safely, under the door. It is easier to do this when the cats are indoor cats, but because yours come and go as they please, there is really nothing you can do.|||it is because your old cat is used to the attention and Ur new cat is taking some... therefore they will fight let them fight it out if they start getting intense then separate the fight and they will eventually get along... also make sure they both get the same attention|||When two animals don't like each other they just don't like each other they will learn to settle their differences if not your going to have to get rid of one.|||You need to read Pamela Johnson-Bennett's books about cat behavior. Start with Think Like a Cat and Starting From Scratch. Here is her website also: www.catbehaviorassociates.com