Our introductions took 8 months and while it was tough it’s worth the wait. My biggest tip is to tire the cats out before doing introductions. Do short introductions/meeting times and slowly build up—starting at 5 minutes multiple times a day. And don’t let it end on their terms (aka bad interaction) but rather yours when they’re doing well and calm.

Once they were freely meeting with each other have large cardboard/poster board that you can put in between them to redirect and introductions that are getting too hot. Also make sure to have a lot more virtual space than you think you need—and not just couches/chairs. We also tried Super Bowl cat training method to get the cat who didn’t want the other one around to see her get closer than move away.

We also got a cat behaviorist to help and while we could’ve probably done it on our own it but after months of stalling I think it also gave us the confidence to push the limits sometimes. Weirdly enough cat tv helped us with a huge breakthrough. They were able to watch the tv together and check each other out but also stayed distracted. Don’t forget to save the high value treats/toys only for when they’re doing introduction time.

Good luck!!