Please Help :(

Drea

My mum is having to move away so I took in her kitten, he is around 5 months old.

Problem is I have a cat already who is around 2, she is bullying him and not accepting him at all. I only got him home last night but things have got worse and she is now hissing at him whenever she sees him and growling at him constantly. Last night she clipped his ear which caused bloodshed (he is okay).

He keeps running up to her rather than letting her take it slow which isn't helping matters but he is a kitten. I've had to separate them for now because the kitten wasn't able to eat/do the toilet with her around.

Obviously my cat is my priority but this is my mums cat and I'm really hoping they can somehow work things out. Has anyone been in this position? I don't know what to do

junior_j

Hiya

I would suggest keeping the cats separate for the minutes only letting them sniff and see each other for a few minutes , or over a mutual time like feeding..

Give them time and encouragement and hopefully they will get used to the smell site of each other and become good friends or at least civil friends. If not then you will have to reconsider re homing your mums cat as its not fun on either of them xx

Good luck x

chez22

Lots of hints and tips here

http://www.purrsinourhearts.co.uk/index.php/topic,4789.0.html


http://www.bluecross.org.uk/1957-2770/Introducing-your-cat-to-other-pets.html

Drea

Thank you. With what the websites are saying I'm worried it's gone too far already, I did introduce them slowly and did the scent thing but my Nala is just not being very nice! He's just a little boy half the size of her so I didn't think she'd feel so threatened

I'm so stressed out :rotfl:

Tracey2609

I really feel for you - the most stressful time for us was when we first introduced our kitten to our elderly cat and dog. Neither took too kindly to her! What we did at first was to keep them separate (difficult I know) for most of the time, then let them meet eachother but only when either OH or myself was there to supervise. It did settle down eventually - but there were times when I was very concerned. (To be fair my dog accepted the kitten quicker than my cat!) It's all down to where they are in your "pack", once your cat feels that the kitten has learnt it's place it should hopefully all settle down.

Muffin86

Hiya, slightly different but I had a kitten a couple of years ago and already had a dog, when I bought the kitten home I set him up a "safe" room (my spare room) which he lived in for the first week but every day I would bring the kitten downstairs but would never make a fuss, I would just have him wrapped in a blanket and would sit down casually and once my dog noticed him sat with me he would come over and have a sniff etc

Over time I put him on the floor but would always monitor them and ensure my dog had his collar on so i could grab him if needed, and eventually things progressed and I was able to leave them be, although I didnt leave them in the house alone for a while I would put them in seperate rooms if I ever went out.

Now 2 years later they get on great, and will lay together and I can leave them in the house on their own and they are fine. Just perserve with it, the first couple of days I panicked as my kitten would hiss and spit at my dog but that only lasted a day or two.

Good Luck xxx

PS, I would also swap their blankets round sometimes so my dog would be laid on the kittens and vice versa to get them used to each others scents! Oh and a had a water spray that I would use if need be (luckily didnt need to use it) but had it with me incase I had to spray with of them!

Drea

I don't have a spare room so it's difficult keeping them apart, my cat is in my room at the moment while the kitten is in with me which is probably the wrong thing to do so I'll swap them in a bit (but then at night should I swap them again?)

My cat is really going for him when she sees him and he just wants to be friends, it's heartbreaking! I'm going to try the cat carrier thing just now I think.

dizziblonde

Biggest thing I've found is to big up and fuss over the older one rather than fussing over the new one - in essence you leave the new one to find their paws on their own, while reassuring the ego of the Supreme Furry Overlord of the Universe that they're still the top cat.

Having said that - mine is still being a pain in the rear with the dog after a month - keeps walking up to him when he's snoozing and hissing at him (cowardy cat doing it when he's asleep) - but the hisses are increasingly dying down to a level where she's going through the motions rather than actively being peed off.

Drea

The kitten got ignored in the cat basket. I've swapped them over so Nala is with me but now kitten is meowing at the door wanting in here!

Buttonmoons

It's totally normal. Don't worry

I got a male kitten when my female was almost 2 and she was soooooo mean to him, hissing and spitting and trying to scratch him, he just wanted to play but when she started spitting he'd do the same which was pretty funny considering the size difference.

They get on okay now, they still fight though, but usually its because the male is boisterous and likes to just randomly bite her neck for a bit of fun! But she will slap him as she walks past for a chase too, they are as bad as each other! But it's a bit :eek: when one of them is howling cause the other is being too rough, and the male is HUGE, massive long cat, so he has a bit of an advantage!

My female is quite aloof and doesn't like being picked up etc either, but they will sleep next to each other if he goes to sleep next to her, she will never instigate it.

Even if they aren't the best of friends, they will eventually tolerate each other

rita-rabbit

I don't have a spare room either - when I got the kitten I kept them separate by putting her in my bedroom with separate feeding bowls & litter box & closing the door until the older one accepted her.