Kitten and other cats

[elephantnellie 10]

ok...well due to unseen circumstances with thanks to a horrible person, we have now been given the kitten that my friends was supposed to have...

the only problem we have though is that we have a 2 year old ish female and an 8 year old male...the males fine with her but the females horrible, makes a horrible noise everytime they see each other...so at the moment we are keeping them seperate but we are really worried that things aren't going to go well and she will have to go else where...

what do we do as we weren't expecting this and we don't know how long it will take for them to settle...

 

any advice would be welcomed

sammie x

[Lotti 10]

Try contacting Medusa, she's brought new cats and kittens into her clan and they all live in harmony...

[katkin 10]

Samantha, give it time- it's still early days. Give your existing cats pletny of space- lots of high up places they can perch and cat nap. Reassure them that the newbie won't usurp them - try to play with you other cats if they're up for it, generally make them realise the newbie isnt going to take their places. I would be tempted to try to keep your cats indoors for the next couple of weeks if youre in an area where fireworks and bonfires are prevalent too, because if either decide to go into a sulk and stay outdoors, this is the time of year when they are most vulnerable and could go astray. Generally, cats learn to tolerate and get along with one another, but they dont always become busom buddies. If they are indoor, make sure they have at least one litter tray each and put them litter trays in different locations so there' no danger of competition and hogging all of them.

[kittenta 10]

Our Honey doesn't get on with our Sheba. They were terrioble at first, hissing at each other, growling and spitting. They do calm down! Some cats just learn to live in the same home without interacting with each other at all. Some become close friends and spend all their time together. Your cat is just feeling a little threatened at the minute. Give your cat plenty of attention so that she knows that she isn't going to get pushed out. Let them sort out the disagreemnet between them, unless they really start to hurt each other, which isn't very likely. Give them time and things will improve.

[Plain Talker 11]

Samantha, give it time- it's still early days. Give your existing cats pletny of space- lots of high up places they can perch and cat nap. Reassure them that the newbie won't usurp them - try to play with you other cats if they're up for it, generally make them realise the newbie isnt going to take their places. I would be tempted to try to keep your cats indoors for the next couple of weeks if youre in an area where fireworks and bonfires are prevalent too, because if either decide to go into a sulk and stay outdoors, this is the time of year when they are most vulnerable and could go astray. Generally, cats learn to tolerate and get along with one another, but they dont always become busom buddies. If they are indoor, make sure they have at least one litter tray each and put them litter trays in different locations so there' no danger of competition and hogging all of them.

 

I'd also provide an cage/ cat basket where the kitten can go to be "safe" if things get a bit heated.

[medusa 16]

How long have you had the kitten? If it's anything less than a month then I think you're premature in your judgment that things aren't working.

 

One of the key things with introducing cats is that growling, spitting and hissing are perfectly normal during the early stages of introduction and don't mean anything at all about whether it's going well or going to work.

 

Everyone else's ideas about making sure that your existing cats have lots of space to escape the kitten are good- introductions with cats take LOTS of time and they need to have space to observe each other without needing to be pushed together.

 

As an example, the kitten I'm currently fostering (who has been kept entirely by himself as he's been hand reared) is not paying attention to Molly or the adult cats after less than a week. Molly likes kittens so that wasn't an issue to start with, and 2 out of my 3 adult cats are reacting positively towards him now too. They have their own room which means that they don't have to interact all of the time (with the kitten or the dog) and so everything is calm.

 

Maybe my lot are calmer than most since lots of kittens come and go from my house, but ALL cats can learn to be polite to other cats providing you allow them the time and space to get used to the newcomer in their own time.

[elephantnellie 10]

thanks guys

i think i was a bit premature in my judgement medusa...i was just so worried because i don't ever want my lula(the girl cat) to be upset because shes always loving.

what we've done is made sure that the kitten can't get upstairs and then made sure the other cats can. lula get loads and loads of attention and she has begun to start purring and dribbling again which is good and she still goes out but somes straight back in...so i think i was just panicking :S

kittens lovely though, it is ashame she came under such stressful circumstances though but shes in a safe place now

thanks everyone!

[katkin 10]

thanks guys

i think i was a bit premature in my judgement medusa...i was just so worried because i don't ever want my lula(the girl cat) to be upset because shes always loving.

what we've done is made sure that the kitten can't get upstairs and then made sure the other cats can. lula get loads and loads of attention and she has begun to start purring and dribbling again which is good and she still goes out but somes straight back in...so i think i was just panicking :S

kittens lovely though, it is ashame she came under such stressful circumstances though but shes in a safe place now

thanks everyone!

 

she's very lucky to have found a fellow cat-lover to live with, even if it wasnt planned. Glad to hear things are settling down now xK

[medusa 16]

I'm really glad to hear that things are going better for you and your furries Samantha- kittens are generally accepted by other cats providing that there's enough time and space for them to work out the pecking order and family structure.

 

Give them all a fuss off me.

[raskel 10]

Hi, we have recently moved Bailey (8 weeks old) into the house, but we already have Lucy (11 years old). She stays upstairs and he is downstairs, but her food is downstairs, and she hasn't eaten for days. She's happy upstairs when he isn't around, otherwise she'll hiss and growl at him etc.

 

But im worried about the not eating part. Dad doesn't want her food upstairs

 

Please

[medusa 16]

If your dad is adamant that her food isn't going to go upstairs, even temporarily, then you really are up a gum tree.

 

Personally I'd feed her wherever she can cope with being relaxed enough to eat just for a week or two and then gradually move her dinner back to the spot where it used to be.

 

The other alternative is to take her downstairs in a basket, set her up with a litter tray etc in the same room as Bailey and keep her in the same room for a few weeks with her in sight of her food for that time. You'll need to keep the doors shut very carefully to make sure that she doesn't escape, and if she does you'll have to start all over again

 

It's likely that this will be a battle of wills- cats can take months to accept changes to their circumstances. One of mine is only starting to accept Molly in the house and she's been here for almost 6 months now.

[lilmisstiger 10]

Hi, we have recently moved Bailey (8 weeks old) into the house, but we already have Lucy (11 years old). She stays upstairs and he is downstairs, but her food is downstairs, and she hasn't eaten for days. She's happy upstairs when he isn't around, otherwise she'll hiss and growl at him etc.

 

But im worried about the not eating part. Dad doesn't want her food upstairs

 

Please

 

bailey! (delilah) mummy izzy and big bro bruce send their love!!

 

why dont you just play with bailey while you feed lucy like take him upstairs for a few minutes or something and make sure lucy knows hes out of the way??