New Member needs advice

Hi everyone,

I adopted a male Siamese about 3 months ago and he is doing awesome. He is now 8 months old. No issues at all with him. Then about 2 weeks later a DSH black & white kitty found me on my doorstep. The first month he was very skittish, but now he is doing 80% better and loves his 8 month Siamese buddy. I decided to adopt two more kittens this past Saturday. They are sisters, both DSH white females, 4 months old from the same litter. When I went to pick them up they were sleeping together and got along fine. When I let them out of the carrier in my house they hissed, spit and seem to hate each other. Why ? They were together for 4 months ? Any ideas ? My two neutered males like the girls alot and the boys are super cat friendly, but the girls are now NOT cat friendly. I had assumed they would be as they were in their previous home. It is getting better day by day as it only has been three days. The two new females are super people friendly, very very loving with people. I am hoping that they will soon REMEMBER each other and get to like the boys as well. Does anyone have any opinions on what has happened ?
They are still young and the previous owner never got them spayed so I already made the appt. for both of them. Maybe this will help. I hope so as I want to make this work and want to make this forever home. PLEASE let me know if you ever had this experience with your kittens and/or young cats.
Many thanks...
TONY
Tampa, FL.

It might be because they are not used to being at your place yet. It takes time. My Kitten just turned 8 Months. She was 3 Months when I got her but she went to Coco my 16 year old Cat. Give them time.

With cats, it's all about territory, and when the new ones came into your place, it suddenly became all about whose territory it was... their previous 'relationship' was irrelevant and taking over was more important (plus throw in two 'guys' to fight over and you've got a whole new dynamic!). I hope your guys are neutered?

Cats whole temperments can change when they are put in new and stressful situations. They could be scared and confused and stressed out in the new home, and it will probably take them some time to adjust.

I know my one male cat was terrified when we brought him inside for over 2 months. Then he came around and opened up, and became very loving and friendly. Then he got out of the house last year. He was not even the same cat we knew and loved. He was gone for 5 days, and was terrified when we were finally able to get him back inside. Took him some time to adjust again. Anything new to the house freaks him out...I came downstairs with a baseball hat on the other day because I was heading into the yard to do some work, and he had never seen me with a hat on...he freaked out and ran from me and we didn't see him the rest of the day.

I don't know what to suggest to make them less stressed out, but give it some time, and they should come back around.

Stress! Totally causing the problems. A few ideas to maybe help out...

The spaying might help. They are four months old - they could be approaching their first heat (our girl kitten did at 5 months...she is now spayed!). That also causes a lot of crazed behaviour, obviously! Once we got our girl kitten done, she was a changed kitten and much more comfortable in her surroundings. I think this might help.

Have you tried any herbal medicines? Bach's Rescue Remedy worked well for us in helping our kittens adjust to their new home (ours were ferals taken off the streets, so they were highly stressed). You can usually get it in health food stores and the like. It is totally safe for animals - they recommend it. Just put a few drops in their water (all cats can drink it - it has NO bad effects!) or rub it on the back of their heads. For some cats, it really soothes them. That being said, some cats are not affected by it at all.

The last, of course, is Feliway. We haven't used this yet (though, we are going to get it to help our last little kitten, Steve, who is still having some adjustment difficulties), but everyone swears by it.

Hope things get better - and of course, there is always just time. Cats are funny animals and I am sure they will surprise you.

Maybe they need to be put in a room by themselves, until they adjust to your place. That way they can rebond, and experience the new place slowly. If you search on introductions on this site, you will get advice on how to do it.