Growling and other weird noises...

Hello, (sorry this is long)
So since Shermie was a kitten I have been taking him up to my parents' house when I go. My mom has a cat too - Frisky. When I first started bringing Shermie up, I kept him separated from Frisk. Then my cousin came to live w/ my mom for a while bringing her kitten, Salem. They kept Frisk and Salem separated for a while also. However, it seemed that Frisk - a senior cat - started to be able to tolerate Salem. Then when I brought the kitties up for Thanksgiving, it seemed that Frisk also tolerated Shermie. Shermie was gregarious and friendly and tried to play w/ her, but mostly they stayed out of each other's way. (Luna usually just comes up and hides).

But recently (Shermie has just turned a year old) When I bring Shermie up, he growls and hisses while walking around (sometimes when Frisk isn't even in his line of sight). Even when he's separated from her he'll growl, hiss and do this half growl/half chirp sound. He doesn't seem terribly stressed out as he doesn't hide, run around crazily, attack Frisk or even poof-up his tail. The only time he seems to freak out is when I pick him up (and normally he likes being picked up) then he'll do the growl sound and the chirp sound and struggle to get down.

Why this sudden change of behavior? Is there anything I can do to insure that the two will at least tolerate each other? It is important that the kitties can come to my parents' house b/c I live alone, sometimes house-sit for them and they are my outlet in an emergency.

maybe he has flea. that will make the cat thinks someone is attacking him and growl.

How do they react to each other now? Any fights/direct contact? Does either one seem stressed? How does Frisky react when Shermie growls/hisses? Are both of them neutered/spayed? How long have you let it play out (ie. if Shermie growls at Frisky, do you automatically separate them, or have you let them play it out to see if they adjust)?

Originally Posted by plar

maybe he has flea. that will make the cat thinks someone is attacking him and growl.

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He doesn't do the growl-thing when he's at my house tho.

Originally Posted by zoeysmom

How do they react to each other now? Any fights/direct contact? Does either one seem stressed? How does Frisky react when Shermie growls/hisses? Are both of them neutered/spayed? How long have you let it play out (ie. if Shermie growls at Frisky, do you automatically separate them, or have you let them play it out to see if they adjust)?

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Well I'm up here right now, and last night I kept Sherm in the room that I was using and he didn't see Frisk. He did OK, at one point (probably when Frisk was mad that I don't get up at 7 like my parents to feed her) I could hear her growling on the other side of the door. Shermie ignored it for a while and then growled back a little. Then he came to snuggle with me. And tonight I let them see each other (I also plugged in one of those Comfort Zone things). Frisky just kinda walks around looks at him and walks away nonchalantly. Sometimes she'll hiss a little at him, but only after he hisses a lot at her. So tonite Shermie walked around growling for a while, and now he's sleeping in her bed. Frisky is sleeping in her other bed (she has like 10 beds up here!) And all seems quiet now.

No direct contact in their fights. Both are fixed. Frisky is like...15 and Shermie is 1. BOth are very friendly towards people and really vocal. Frisk has this little "Mrrrrrow-eep" sound she does and a very loud "ROWR" sound. Shermie in general walks around chirping or making tiny meows when he wants to get my attention (or even when he doesn't seem like he wants my attention LOL)

I'm no expert (in fact, before 5 months ago, I'd never owned a cat in my life), but by the sounds of it, you are doing the right thing. Hopefully the diffuser helps...but I would give them a chance to get used to each other. If they are not fighting and neither seems all that stressed, I don't see the harm in letting them share space and figure out that neither is going to hurt the other.

Maybe make sure that Shermie and Frisky both have spots that are just their own, where they can go and feel safe. Shermie is in unfamiliar territory (even if he's been there before, it's not home) and Frisky has someone to share her space, toys, food, attention, etc with (even if they are eating separately, I'd imagine they'd still be a little protective over their food).

They may never be good friends, but as you said, they can probably get to the point where they can tolerate each other without the hissing/growling. Belle hissed at me quite a bit when I first brought her and Delilah home, but not all she does is purr. They even growl at each other every now and then (to be fair, it's mostly Belle growling at Delilah) even though they are best friends...it usually involves a toy or food.

The other day, Shermie did go up to Frisky and swat at her. She swatted back and they both hissed. Then he got scared and kinda ran away. I think he may have approached her b/c I was in the same room as her and I was getting her food. Usually though, he doesn't go up to her and just follows me around. But I'll definitely keep him supervised when he's running around so that nothing bad happens.