Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The new kitten has arrived and all hell has broken loose. No pictures yet as I have not had time to take any. Liat is in total rebellion, hissing, spittingn (literally) and generally behavin like a fiend. The baby, meanwhile, won't leave me alone long enough to think. Send suggestions ASAP before they run me out of the house.
-----
Terry, confused human companion of Liat and Dulcinea.

Sounds like things are going about as well as can be expected.

Here's what I did when I brought Eddie home after Emily had been the OC for six months:

Give new kitten her own litter, food, and water (plus a cozy blanket and some toys) and isolate her in a separate room. Give Liat plenty of reassurance and let them spend supervised time together. Gradually lengthen the time they are together (spend time with each cat individually, too). Liat will probably do her best to convince you this horrible little interloper has to go away -- asap -- but she should come around in a few days.

Then, take lots of pictures and post them!!!

Carol, Emily, & Eddie

>>The new kitten has arrived and all hell has broken loose. No pictures yet as I have not had time to take any. Liat is in total rebellion, hissing, spittingn (literally) and generally behavin like a fiend. The baby, meanwhile, won't leave me alone long enough to think. Send suggestions ASAP before they run me out of the house.
>>-----
>>Terry, confused human companion of Liat and Dulcinea.

Rigby wanted to murder Izzy when she first arrived. I was scared to go to work and come home to only 1 live cat. i tried to seperate them, i tried the sent on a cloth trick, but my vet said, go to work, leave them in the house - together,and after 2 days of this, they will be friends. that's when i came home and found rigby licking izzy clean, and her squealing. he just loves her now, and it's been like that ever since.not sure if i just got lucky, or if the vet was right, but that's our story.

The good news is this is completely normal...haha...

more good news...in about 2 weeks your life will be back to normal...

more good news...your socialization really has to only go one way...Liat accepting the kitten...the kitten is used to bigger cats, used to being hissed at, used to being low man on the totem pole...so she doesn't care and will not hold any grudges...she only wants to be Liats friend and will annoy her until she gives in...

Liat is letting the kitten know in no uncertain terms that she is the boss...and as soon as she feels the kitten understands that they will be in a pile snuggling together...

Follow Carol's advice...separate quarters for the first week or so...go in and bond with the kitten as much as you can and supervise all interactions...Liat will hiss and spit and growl but as long as she is not attacking...things are good...it's all noise...but correct Liat...let her know this is not acceptable behavior...

When Liat is in the same room, let her eat from the food bowl and use the litterbox if she wants...so she knows this space is not being taken away from her...it merely is to adjust the small cat to the home gradually...then the kitten will also get used to Liat sharing with her...also lock Liat in
safe room and take the kitten and place it in the community litter box several times a day and let her wander out from it so she gets the lay of the land...

Feeding them some wet food in separate bowls but at the same time in the same space is also helpful...it shows Liat good things come by being near the kitten...(Personally I never did this even when Bentley went Commando this summer, mostly because my cats don't eat wet food)

Don't worry...soon enough she will love her new sister and it will all be worth it!!!! And Congratulations!!!!
-----
Lisa, owned by Bentley,Alastair, Finster, & Trysta (greyhound)

Congrats on the new baby!

As everyone says, they will get along eventually. It is best (in my opinion) to keep the new kitten in one room with all her own stuff and bring her out for supervised visits. That way you won't be worried about what is going on at home while you are at work!

When I brought Sina home my apartment was absolutely tiny- my bedroom was the only place I could seclude her. Sina was terrified and spent all day hiding under the bed. (Which at one point made me cry... because I had lost Charlie and had so much vested in getting my new kitten and she didn't like me!) When I went into my room for the night Lea started clawing at the door trying to get in. She absolutely won't relent until I locked her in her carrier for the night (and she had clawed her paws bloody).

Sina started crying when I turned out the light. Thinking she was definitely going to bolt back under the bed I extracted her from the very far corner under the mattress and put her next to me under the covers- much to my surprise, she liked this solution and spent the rest of the night purring happily.

The next night I couldn't stand Lea anymore (she broke the carrier door and had torn all her nails and had bloody paws) and let her into the room. She spent the night sleeping on one side of me, the kitten on the other. Every time I so much as breathed too deeply Lea hissed! Thankfully she got over it! It didn't take her long at all to take the kitten in as 'her baby'.

Thanks all. Things are improving rapidly. No physical contact yet, but they were nose to nose this morning with no noises from either side.
-----
Terry, confused human companion of Liat and Dulcinea.

That's good news.
Now, we want to see pictures!!!

Carol, Emily, & Eddie

>>Thanks all. Things are improving rapidly. No physical contact yet, but they were nose to nose this morning with no noises from either side.
>>-----
>>Terry, confused human companion of Liat and Dulcinea.

Will have pictures mid week. Just too darn busy to get them downloaded, between cats being introduced and car getting smashed.
-----
Terry, confused human companion of Liat and Dulcinea.

Glad to hear the cats are figuring it out...not so glad to hear about your car
-----
Lisa, owned by Bentley,Alastair, Finster, & Trysta (greyhound)