update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
queenbean
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update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
So, just to fill everyone in who is not in the loop....... I adopted a kitten last weekend and my original cat who I have had for a year and a half was miserable.
Things started getting much better. My original cat is out and doing her regular things and ignores the meowing from behind the door of the kitten's 'safe room' where we are keeping him until they 2 are adjusted to the change and can be introduced.
Well, we put the kitten down today and he bolted toward my older cat. She was MISERABLE and hissed at him but he wouldn't get the hint and managed to chase her, lock her in a corner even, to the point where we needed to scoop him up because my older cat was so upset and essentially powerless since the kitten wouldn't back down at chasing and trying to jump on her. As soon as we caught the little guy, original kitty ran to our bedroom and hid under the bed! So, now we are thinking that this little guy may just be too aggressive!! Any thoughts? We were just starting to get adjusted as a family of 4 but now we just don't know what to do.
Cutechef729
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Has the kitten been neutered yet? My college roommate and I had kittens- I had the sister-she had the brother. They were crazy. I think the little guy really wants to play but they are so aggressive. Once they were spayed/neutered they were a little more mellow. Good luck!
queenbean
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Thanks- he was actually just neutered almost 2 weeks ago. I just don't know what to think.
klovess14
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Oh, I'm so sorry I know it's hard. Have you tried playing with some toys with the two of them together??? Or maybe each of you take one and play and see if they'll start to play together. He's just a kitten so it's so be expected that he'll want to run and jump etc. Is the other cat a female?
Cutechef729
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Hmmm....I don't know then. I think he's just excited but the older cat might feel threatened. I think they need some time to get adjusted to each other.
jeffamanda080808
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Awww...I wish I could help. We had our female cat for 3 years. We were told from the adoption agency that we got her from that she loved male cats and that she took to them so well (she is not a fan of female humans but LOVES male humans!). In March we adopted a male cat (not kitten) who supposedly was an alpha cat and only liked female cats (hated all male species but was a gentle giant with female cats and dogs). Well.............he hides under our love seat while she roams the apartment. Once he doesn't see her feet he comes out. Then she wakes up and the are tollerable around each other. We have found that when WE tense up they chase eachother away. But if we 'relax' they tolerate eachother. I think it just takes time. That is my cat lovers opinion!!!
JodyLC
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
How old is the older cat?
queenbean
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Posted by klovess14
Oh, I'm so sorry I know it's hard. Have you tried playing with some toys with the two of them together??? Or maybe each of you take one and play and see if they'll start to play together. He's just a kitten so it's so be expected that he'll want to run and jump etc. Is the other cat a female?
Yea, I hope that this is just typical kitten behavior. The kitten is a boy and the older cat is a girl.
I'd like to try using some of their toys to play together but the kitten is just so wild that he is too excited in his surroundings and when he is running around, my older cat is too tense and paranoid to play a game, she either has to focus on running around from him or stalks him. I feel so bad
queenbean
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Posted by JodyLC
How old is the older cat?
The older cat is 1 1/2 years. The vet said its the perfect age to add another.
JodyLC
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Posted by queenbean
Posted by JodyLC
How old is the older cat?
The older cat is 1 1/2 years. The vet said its the perfect age to add another.
Technically it is... but i think the older one was used to being the baby... We had that same problem with one of our cats but she was 15 yrs old and did not take well to moving to a new house with 2 cats and a dog... personally i would just set tem both free and let them have at it at least as long as there is no blood. Eventually the old one will kick the baby's butt and reclaim what is hers.
klovess14
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
How long does the kitten stay in the cage because usually with any animal then tend to be hyper when they first come out. Is there any way you could bring the older cat into the other room while you tire the kitten out. Maybe then he'll be more relaxed.
Butterfly123
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
Too bad theres no such thing as the cat whisperer. Here are some links to articles I think could be helpful. Dont give up on them! The kitten will calm down.
Hope you get some good tips out of these. Good luck!
JTsGal829
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
kittens are very hyper.. it's normal. Your 1.5 yr old has probably calmed down a bit by now and between kitty being off the wall with playfulness and being new it's just stressing your older kitty out. The kitten is probably excited about seeing another cat to play with and doesn't realize that your kitty is not happy right now. Seeing the kitten run at her probably just freaked her out and she instinctively got defensive. If you stay calm though that will help.. they sense when you're stressed. try giving your kitty lots of love and treats while the kitten is around.. so she might start to associate the kitten with good things. You can even use chicken or turkey baby food (stage 1 usually ..nothing with onion in it since it's toxic to kitties).. we use this trick for feral kittens and they love it!!!! our cat was 4 when we added 2 new ones..and at first they were in seprate rooms with closed doors.. then.. we would open the door but seperate them between rooms with a screen or baby gate so they could sniff eachother and see eachother. Once they seemed ok we let them have supervised visits in the same room. my oldest would hiss like crazy and cornered the little girl a few times.. but he never struck at her so we just let it be. He hated having a new kitty at first. But after awhile they became best of friends and now all 3 of them and the 2 dogs sleep on our bed together. some cats will love each other...some will just tolerate one another. I would say give it some time and see how things go. good luck
I Love my bear
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
This happened to me when I brought home my Male cats litter sister (my parents had her and could no longer keep her) He was very unhappy at first, he was the Alpha male, and we was very aggressive toward her. When the 'played' I was always a little scared b/c my Male cat always seemed to either take tufts of hair off of her or corner her. After a while they got along, I just figured he was jealous b/c he wasn't the center of attention any more. He even let her eat first, which I found so weird b/c he was the aggressive one but when it came time to eating I'd give them both a bowl of food and he'd wait until she was finished...can't explain that one. But all I can say is give it some time. Its good you are easing her into the situation, at the time I had no idea so I just brought the other cat home and put them both in the house no separation, but he got over it. I would say it took a good two weeks. At first we were like uhhh this is not working but later they get along and even sleep together and it was the cutest thing ever.
KiTTeN0819
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Re: update on my kitten situation, need advice from cat smart people!
In your original thread i posted the way I introduced my cats. Its takes months some times for cats to be comfortable with each other. Your kitten is not aggressive, he is playful. Your female is not wanting any part of it which is normal. Male/female pairs usually wont be 'friends', but can live together fine, they just wont cuddle or play together.
How old is your kitten? You say he was just neutered so unless he is from North Shore im guessing 4-5 months. After the 4 month mark kittens tend to be bouncing balls of furry energy. The have little fear and really havent learned boundries yet. I bet one or two good swats from your female and your kitten will back off a bit.
Your female is spayed right? It doesnt always make a difference but it helps with being territorial.
Im all over the place this early in the morning but keep them separated for another week before introducing again. Reread the other thread. This is advice i had gotten from another rescuer who had successfully introduced 11 adult cats into her home at all different ages.
