new kitten and my adult cat not impressed!

kerryberry

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Hi i have a 4 year old female (bella) and in last 2 days got an 8 week old female (sherbet) and the introduction is not going well
the initial reaction of bella when introduced to sherbet was to turn tail and run out of the door as fast as her legs would carry her we tried sitting in a closed room with them both and that produced a little hissing and lots of throat noises from bella but she again ran away as fast as she could at the first opportunity. bella tends to sleep in the spare room all day and be out during the night but she has a flap and comes and goes as she likes but the last 2 days has refused to enter the house unless i bring her in and lock the flap. sherbet is quite happy and runs after bella who cant get away fast enough. I dont want bella to feel she cant come in and certainly dont want her to run away she is a star. Help i dont know how to deal with this as it is the last reaction i expected!
 

laureen227

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first of all, make sure they smell alike. this can be done in a couple of ways - rub a towel all over one, then all over the other, then back to the first - you get the idea... another way is to put vanilla extract at the base of each cat's tail... and you might want to read this article for some more ideas: introducing cats.
welcome to TCS!
 

sweetkara

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I think you introduced them way too soon. You need to start over and keep them separate for a good week to let them get used to each other.
 

goldenkitty45

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Females tend to be more territorial then males and take a lot longer to accept any new animal in the house - especially if its another female.

You need to put the kitten in a room by herself for awhile and slowly introduce them. You cannot expect a cat to just walk up to a stranger and be friends. It can take weeks or months before acceptance.

When we brought Charlie home, he was put in the library for a few weeks. In 2-3 days he was friends with the dog, but Ling hated him and would avoid him for months! She showed no interest in wanting to know him, so his playmate was the dog.

Eventually she accepted him but still (they've been together for almost 2 yrs) doesn't cuddle with him much. She likes the dog better. I know we will go thru this all over again when baby Jack comes in next spring - but I'm sure Charlie and Jack will be buddies in a few weeks
 

mews2much

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You need to go slower. I have 4 females and teh last one I got was Oreo last Nov. I let her see Coco my 16 year old Cat when we got home. That went great except she tried to nurse on Coco and she let her. Coco excepts new Cat right away. She excepted Sasha the same day also and she tried to nurse on her. Meeko met Coco when she was two and she wasnt very nice to Coco. Now they are best friends. When we got Sasha Meeko hissed and growled at her and now they are good firends. When we got Oreo meeko didnt growl or hiss. Sasha hissed like crazy at Oreo when we first got her but they are friends now. I think it depends on the Cat. My Stormy that died last year hated Sasha so much at first. She would go crazy but they became friends. Yoshi my Male that died in Jan smacked Sasha and Oreo when I got them and whined. Try putting the kitten in the carrier and then the bathroom on go slow.
 
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kerryberry

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thanks for the advice i am now keeping them seperate as possible ie bella upstairs in her favourite spot and sherbet downstairs. I have also put vanilla on them both for last 2 nights we have spent 15 mins or so sat in a room with both cats and let them suss each other out. Bella still isnt one hundred percent happy but she is showing a little interest and keeps having a look and a sniff then curling up and relaxing 3 or 4 feet from the newcomer so i think that is definate progress! Other than that i am letting bella have her sulk and sleep in the garden while the wonderful english weather is actually dry so thanks and i will keep you posted on our progress

Kerryberry X
 
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