You said "On Friday we adopted a brother for her" which lets me know you haven't had the new kitten for more than a week yet. I advise you to give Callie some space if she don't want bothered. Her plan is for you to get rid of Kazee, and you need to show her it's not working. Callie will adjust and go back to her usual self soon.

When we brought our new puppy Dodger home four years ago, Fluffy was the same way your cat is now. When my mother's friend Grace brought her new kitten home, her older cat was the same way your cat is now. I understand your concern. Just give your older cat a chance to adjust and everything should be fine.

Whatever you do, do NOT get rid of your new kitten. Everything will work out, and Callie and Kazee have a good chance of becoming friends after a while.

It works in steps:
(1) Callie hates you and Kazee
(2) Callie doesn't hate you anymore but still hates Kazee
(3) Callie loves you again and ignores Kazee
(4) Callie loves you still and is slightly accepting Kazee
(5) Callie loves you still and Kazee doen't annoy her any more
(6) Callie loves you still and Kazee is possibly her friend

Hang in there!








Original message:

Hi all,

I am new to this message board, and message boards in general. I am desperate for advice. My kitten is FURIOUS with me! I have a 5 1/2-month old kitten and work 10-12 hours a day. Callie is a Balinese, and is extremely social, so it became clear that she needed a full-time playmate. On Friday we a adopted a brother for her...an 11-week old Balinese boy, Kazee. I am sad to say that I did everything wrong!

Mistake number 1. I was told that introducing the new kitten on neutral ground would help the process. Since Callie is extremely curious and adventurous, I took her with me to pick him up. She likes the car, and is leash trained (she actually gets excited when I take her harness out), so that wasn't a problem, but the screaming children and other cats were. She was NOT happy.

Mistake number 2. "just throw them together...they'll be fine." Well, after he tested negative for FIV/FELV, I let him have free run of the house. Callie did a good amount of hissing and growling, and tried to give Kazee an occassional swat, but the little boy was oblivious. He ducked the swats, and if she came too close, he'd swat back (actually it was more like a wave than a swat). Callie appeared to be frightened of him (she weighs over 10 pounds and he weighs 2.5 pounds), and still seems to be a little afraid. He shows absolutely NO respect for her territorial rights, and she backs down and "pouts".

On the positive side, by Sunday night, they were playing and last night they were sleeping together. All seems to be relatively ok between the two of them, although she gets angry when he plays with a toy and ignores her, and furious when he plays with me. She makes a noise that I cannot describe, and either goes into the kitchen and eats or sits by the front door with her back to us.

Unfortunately, she seems to be getting worse, not better. Any of you who have had a Bali (or Siamese) know how vocal they are. She is acting like a petulant child...alternating between whining and "scolding" me. The verbal reproaches are not to be believed!! She is quite the drama queen. If it wasn't so upsetting to me, it would be a riot!

She will no longer sleep with me, and chases Kazee off the bed when he snuggles up. She grumbles and runs away when I try to pet her. She whines when I pick her up and then chatters, squirms and tries to bite my hand (she only mouths me, but I don't like the direction the behavior is heading. She gets upset if I do, OR if I don't pay attention to her.

I brought her into the bedroom alone last night and tried to play with her with her favorite toy...fishing rod with a feather...she played for a few minutes and then meowed at the door. As I mentioned she loves to walk outside the apartment, so I put her harness on her and take her for walks in the hallway. She allows me to put the harness and leash on, and trots ahead of me as usual. HOWEVER, she chatters, scolding me, the entire time, and looks back at me periodically as if to emphasize the point. When we get back to the apartment she sits by the front door with her back to us.

I am completely at a loss. Please help!! Any ideas would be welcomed!!

Thank you!!

Desperate New Meowmie

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