Now kitten is scared of resident

Heres an update on everything from this....
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=174733

My resident cat (3 yr old female, Malia) is no longer hissing and the kitten (Nala) and she sometimes tries to play with her. When I mean play with her, she kind of sneaks around the corner of the bed and runs after her but thats how she plays with her toys. When Malia does that Nala hisses and growls at her and runs under the bed and this has happened quit a bit. Nala is comfortable in the room now and she is always playing with toys while Malia is in the room and they even both sleep next to me. Usually Nala comes and sleeps next to me first while I am laying in bed and then Malia will come short after and sleep next to me. They are usually not Right next to eachother but less than 6 inches from one another.

I am afraid that Nala is going to stay scared of Malia because as soon as they make eye contact Nala will start growling. I would be scared too if a huge cat came running after me, but that is how cats play, right?? I have never had 2 cats so I have never seen cats playing together...
I have been letting the kitten wander around the room because they are both comfortable but Nala seems to not really care about Malia unless she is chasing her, then she hisses and growls. Nala sometimes meows at me for attention also and I give both of them lots of attention and love.

Also, whoever has tried the "urine" thing.. how exactly did you do it? I don't think I will need to do this because they know that one another is living in the room, but I am just curious if this will help. They already both have vanilla under their chin.

Should I start letting Nala stay in the bathroom again or should I just let them be?? Everytime I put Nala in the bathroom she will meow because she wants to come out. Will Nala be scared of Malia forever??? Im getting worried!

Originally Posted by amoore

Should I start letting Nala stay in the bathroom again or should I just let them be?? Everytime I put Nala in the bathroom she will meow because she wants to come out. Will Nala be scared of Malia forever??? Im getting worried!

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No. Just leave 'em be. If you've got them sleeping on the bed together after four days, you are doing great!

If I recall a few years back when we tried to introduce a kitty and an older cat, it took us four days just to get them in the same room with each other!

Give it some time. It sounds like you don't have any worrisome aggression, just normal attempts at cat "play". If the kitty is sleeping with you, it sounds like it's adjusting well -- it just took us four days to get one of our new kitties out from under the bed!

The best thing you guys can do is make sure that both cats are getting plenty of attention. They'll acclimate to each other at their own pace and it will end up somewhere between tolerating each other and being best buddies.

PS: I wouldn't worry about putting cat pee on them. At this point, they already know what each other smells like.

Originally Posted by hwc

It sounds like you don't have any worrisome aggression, just normal attempts at cat "play".

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Well as I am watching them, Malia seems to want to whack Nala a lot. Nala runs under the bed but not all the way under the bed because i have plastic containers under there and my comforter hangs over touching the floor. Malia chased her under there just now (Nala hissing and growling) and kept whacking her through the comforter and then Malia ran back and her tail was very puffed and I think I saw her hair standing up on her spine a little bit and she stood and stretched up really tall for a second and then ran into the comforter "tunnel" and all I heard was hissing and growling from Nala. Does this sound like shes playing or is she trying to attack/scare Nala?? They will eat right beside eachother too but as soon as they make eye contact Nala will start growling.

I would guess they may still be testing each other and sorting out their place. Especially if this is a back and forth one minute eating together, next minute hissing. Sounds like you are doing a great job monitoring the interactions. They will work it out themselves. Time and paticence.

Originally Posted by amoore

Does this sound like shes playing or is she trying to attack/scare Nala?? They will eat right beside eachother too but as soon as they make eye contact Nala will start growling.

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Kitty play always seems to have an element of hunter/prey, sado/masochism, domination/submission, is it real aggression or play aggression? I watched our kitty interact with our old teenage cat for three or four years. I never understood the almost ritualistic stalking behaviors between the two. The old cat stalked the little one in exactly the same way, around the same chair, day after day after day, always ending with a single swipe of a single paw, embedding five claws into the poor kitty's flank.

The kitty dutifully came for his daily ass-whuppin', even though he was more than capable of bringing home a dead hunted bunny bigger than the old cat. He could have torn our big old cat to shreds, but learned "his place" around the house. I couldn't understand the interaction, even when I was watching it. Play? Aggression? Yeah. Both.

I'm just sayin' -- if you've got 'em eating and sleeping next to each other, I'd just keep doing what you are doing.

Of course your new little one is going to exhibit some real fear behaviors when the big cat is on the prowl. They are still feeling each other out.

Thanks!! I feel a whole lot better now. I am sorry if I seem impatient. I just had one of those worried/freaking out moments. The kitten actually tried and chased after my older cat but then she ran away and was scared but I know she will open up and be fine in a couple of weeks.

Thanks again!!!