My three year old cat, who is normally gregarious loving and warm, is not taking kindly to the presence of the 6 month old kitten I adopted. She is a spayed female, he is a neutered mail. Both are pretty active cats. She camps out in front of the door, and responds less to me... The aggressive behaviour toward him has not abated at all (ie., under door hissing, reaching with paws, etc.) - He does not seem to be aggressive toward her, though. The thing that's making me most upset is that she's now becoming mean to me, howling, swatting, attempting to bite. I can't express how upset I am. It hasn't been a full week yet, so maybe I'm worried over nothing, but it's just very very upsetting, because I love her very much, and she means the world to me. I adopted the kitten in order to save him from being euthanized, and partly in hopes of keeping my first cat stimulated and active while I am at work, etc. I've been following the myriad introduction guidelines, and not sure what to do next.
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Rocky Introduction
Replies (7)
Give it a little more time. Go in the room and spend some time with the new kitty. Takes some great treats in. Ignore her and read a book or something. Every so often toss her a yummy treat. She should come around.
Once she is being friendly with you try playing with an interactive toy with her.
She should settle down. Don't give up hope.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker
The thing to do next is wait patiently.
Your cat is displaying some re-directed aggression. She is upset about the newcomer and is taking it out on you. When she gets hissy, just get out of her way.
Do invest in a Comfort Zone plug-in with Feliway. They are pricy, but I think your cat may need to be exposed to the calming phemones it produces.
You should try crating your first cat and letting the kitten roam around "her" space for a week or so.
Don't rush things. Sometimes a cat introduction can take a month or so even before they are exposed to each other. Take your time.
If your cat is still hissing at you, or becomes dangerously aggressive, consult your vet for some meds which may help ease the situation and also for an animal behaviorist who may be able to help!
Best wishes!
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I think that your older cat, the female, is feeling threatened by the 'intrusion' of another cat on 'her' territory. This is a perfectly natural cat reaction. Give it a little time because I'm sure that she'll come around. Let them be together under your supervision for the first two or three weeks. Try to get them to play together or give them treats together, something that they both love and that takes their attention off of the other cat but they're still doing it together.
I have 4 resident older cats here, ranging in age from 7 years down to 5 years. A couple of years ago, a person dumped a kitten in a parking lot and it was given to me, the 'cat woman'. So I took the kitten to the vet, got her checked and cleaned up, and then took her home to be with my 4 cats until I could find a 'forever home' for her. My four cats just had a fit, hissing and such. For the safety of the tiny kitten around 4 big, full grown cats, I kept the little kitten in a cage for the first few weeks. Then let her out only when I was around to supervise. I didn't want to take a chance on my 'big, fat' cats hurting the kittens. She just hated to be confined and cried constantly to be let out. But you know, she was so tiny, only about 2 months old, so I was cautious about her safety around the big cats.
It was Samantha, my oldest female, who was also at one time a mother, who started playing with little Misty Blue. It took a while but it wasn't long before Samantha started 'mothering' little Misty. It took a while but all went well and not once did any of the older, bigger cats hurt little Misty. I ended up giving Misty to a good friend of my daughter's, who fell in love with her. We have a cat 'limit' here in my city and this cat was already '2 cats over' my limit.
So if I were you, I'd just give it time. Your older resident cat isn't too happy that you would allow anyone to intrude upon HER territory but she'll get used to it and will probably come to love the little kitten as her own.
And yes, do try the Feliway Comfort Zone plug in. I really don't think that it's that expensive at $25, as I've found that it helps my cat family through some stressful 'territorial' situations. Good luck.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!
Thanks for your responses. An update: Maja (the original cat) is behaving fairly well again; her usual self around me, curious about the newcomer but not really aggressive at all, lately. So I am preparing to let her see him (again). I know to expect some hissing and general unhappiness - it's instinctual. Just wondering how I can judge what's normal and what's going overboard? I mean, short of physically attacking the kitten, what might I expect to see? I hope to give them short supervised encounters over a number of days, provided I don't see too much aggression and need to go back to square one
If the older cat attacks the kitten and you feel it is overly vicious then this is not good and you'll have to intervene. Usually the kitten will indicate that it's going to submit and the older cat will back off. Watch for any cries of pain from the kitten and also watch for any biting particularly on the neck.
Otherwise let them get together briefly. Think about getting a cat tease toy and letting them play separately with it in their own spaces and then seeing if they will both play together with it.
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Still no luck, and it's been a month. The Comfort Zone plug-in seems to help. My three year old cat plays again, but still has moments of real anger toward me. The two cannot be in the same room without aggression on her part (he is oblivious). YET, they will play under the door, catching each other's paws, and without any hissing or physical signs of aggression. In fact, the three year old looks playful, comfortable and relaxed while doing this; the moment I open the door, hissing and chasing ensue. Very frustrating to experience this, and frankly tiring too. I'm doing this alone. How long should I wait before I realize it's either happening or not? I'm getting attached to this kitten, as is he, and would hate to have to give him up, but the intent was to give Maja a companion... she doesn't seem to want one. I am moving to a house (from a 2 bedroom apt.) soon, so might that help them get along? (more space, neutral ground, nobody's territory yet?)
Not to discourage you. but it took my Crash a yr to accept Gabby. Crash was five yrs old, Gabby was a 5 or 6 weeks old. They now play tag and other games. They don't sleep together but are play mates.
It took a long time but eventually they became friends.
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Jaime owned by
Mya the dog
and the cats:Crash, Moxie, Gabby and sometimes Tucker
