new kitten with older cat

u_c_thesecond

Hi all.

We have a cat 1 and a half years old- names fudge- we abopted him 6 months ago. He seemed a bit lonely recently so we were discussing getting another cat.

We were in town today and their was a cat sancutary around lookn for owners for kittens and we fell in love with a little 10 week old kitten, looks the same as fudge, and even though we were wary about fudges reaction to him we said we would go for it.

We home now- and fudges not 1 bit impressed, he hissing away at kitten and runs away if the kitten goes near him, he (fudge) keeps hissing at me and scratched me when i tried to rub him.

The kittens scared of him and is now behind the couch and hasnt come out for the last hour, fudge after jumping out an open window and wont come back in.

Has anyone any tips on how to make things go smoother with them. i know its only been a few hours but anything i can do to help i will.

kneemos

Solitary animals i always thought.Think they generally hate each other unless raised together

planetX

kneemos wrote: »

Solitary animals i always thought.Think they generally hate each other unless raised together

not at all. Don't worry OP it's totally normal. It doesn't mean they won't be friends. It generally takes a couple of weeks of hissing for them to get to know each other. For now just keep them seperate and gradually introduce them for longer and longer periods. As the kitten is so young start off with him in a carrier and let your cat in for a quick look. Don't have any escape routes for either cat. Before you know it they'll be sleeping on top of each other:)

Just saw that you only got kitten today - it's a bit much for him to go to a new home and meet a big cat the same day. Keep the kitten in a seperate room for a few days and let him settle in. Your cat meanwhile will start getting used to the smell of the new arrival. Try again when the kitten has had a chance to recover his confidence.

Happyman42

Same situation here, except new cat has been here over a year, still hissing and squabbling.

MaryK666

We originally got two feral cats who became very tame lap cats.
Two years later we introduced two 6/7 week old rescue kittens. And earlier this year we introduced another rescued 3 month old kitten.
We've had a few wobbles along the way but they're a big happy family now and all are indoor cats.

PlanetX is right - it's a HUGE thing for both cats. And to take a kitten from their original home to a new place and then show them a big strange hissing cat is terrifying.

Firstly, I'm assuming your original cat is neutered. If not, this needs to be done asap.

Your best bet is to keep the kitten in isolation for a few days to let him get used to the sights and smells of his new home. Put an old shirt or towel with your scent on it into his bed so he gets used to the smell of his new owner. Leave it for a night and when you replace it with a new one, take the original out and leave it somewhere your resident cat can smell it to help him get used to the smell of his new little brother.

It's a good idea to feed both of them at the same time, on opposite sides of a closed door initially, and then after a few days you can start to open the door just a crack so that they can see each other while eating and leave a large gap between bowls so neither cat feels threatened. But make sure it's not enough to allow either one to get through.

After a few days of this you can try introducing them again, keeping the new arrival in a carrier while allowing the other cat to examine him a bit more. Do this in a room with no way out so that your resident cat can't bolt if he feels threatened. You may need to do this a few times before it's safe to allow them free in the same room.

With a little time and patience they should get on fine. They might never be best friends but if they can live together then that's half the battle.

I have found that Feliway spray is a great help when introducing new arrivals. If you spray it liberally around the house it can help with the stress involved.
I would also suggest that you keep your original cat inside at all times until the introduction is complete. I'm sure you know that you can't let the new arrival out for several weeks (I'd personally suggest about 7 to 8 weeks) until he settles in and learn that this is now home.

Hopefully they'll get on well together and all will be peaceful but expect a few bumps in the road on the way and don't panic if it takes longer than expected.

u_c_thesecond

Bit of bad news- this morning the kitten had to go back to the shelter.

Fudge attacked him numerous times and he really hurt him this morning, the little thing was bleeding and we had to bring him to the vet.

It seemed to be going ok- for the first 24 hours fudge just hissed at him, but then he started snarling at him- and he attacked him out of nowhere.First time i dont even know what happened i was in kitchen and fudge was upstairs and kitten was asleep on chair in siting room and all of a sudden i heard screaming and snarling from the sitting room and Fudge was ripping the kitten to shreads. Poor little mite was shaking in my arms.

I kept fudge away from the kitten after that, but my husband left bedroom door ajar by acc and fudge got out and went for him again, and then the final one is when the kitten wasnt even near him, once again he was asleep on the couch. i went out to hang out the washing and fudge was outside too. then when i went in i heard the screaming again and the kitten was bleeding and fudge was once again attacking him (i assume fudge got in a window- it is summer so they do be open- i just didnt think hes use them to get at kitten)

When we brought him to vet he was bleeding on back of neck- he had bites and scratches and was wimpering. Vet told us not to bring the kitten back into the house and that Fudge will kill him. He said he was surprised with Fudges behaviour as he is netured so shouldnt be overly territorial. But thats the way it goes

MaryK666

The poor little child, he must have been terrified.
I know it's a serious case of shutting the stable door when the horse has bolted but I do think that confining your original cat while allowing the kitten to stay out was part of the problem.
If you go down the route of getting another cat in the future, I'd advise confining the new arrival while making a huge fuss of the original cat.

That said, there is always a chance that no matter what you had done, they weren't going to get on.
It's just lucky that you were there to make sure that you got the little fellow out of there before Fudge made mincemeat of him and that you got him to the vets in time.

Kittens are so vulnerable and easily injured and you being there may have saved his life.

It's a shame it didn't work out for you but hopefully he'll find a home with no scary big cats.

u_c_thesecond

Thanks MaryKKK i guess we are just resigned to the face that we made such a fuss of him when we got him (Hed come from a bad home) that we have kinda spoilt him, and hes not going to allow anyone else in our lives.

He looks so sweet and innocent- but when he was snarling away he was pretty frightning, best we let him be the only cat