my grandmother and i have had a cat, keba, for a little over a year. keba is 3, but wasn't raised around other cats. we got a kitten today, chloe, who is 6 weeks. they are both female. keba has been growling and showing aggression towards chloe since she was brought into the house, but hasn't made any attempts to physically hurt her. we are showing both cats equal attention, but are keeping chloe in her carrier with the exception of a few minutes every hour. we're afraid that keba might attack her if given the chance. will keba get used to this in time, or is this something that could be a problem without any resolution? any advice you can give is great, or let me know if there are any other details regarding either cat that would be helpful. thanks, james.
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2 cats, 1 apartment
- Thread starter xc1270
- Start Date
These things take time, it could takes weeks for them to get along or just a few days, it depends on the cats. They also might never get along because unlike dogs cats can sometimes be picky about who they hang out with. You should thread search "Introducing Cats" or even google it because there is a ton of information on how to introduce cats.
welcome to TCS James....
Firstly, what you are describing is completely normal! This happened in my household for the first few days. I left the new kitten (cedar) in the bathroom while Tipsy (resident cat) had access to the whole house. I brought Cedar out a few times a day, sometimes I would let the 2 cats interact (with supervision) but other times I put Tipsy (resident cat) in the bedroom and let Cedar have run of the house.
It can take some time. keba has had you all to herself for a year, this is all new to her. Take things slowly...
here is a good thread to read. It should help you with how to do introductions.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67321
Good luck!! keep us updated
Firstly, what you are describing is completely normal! This happened in my household for the first few days. I left the new kitten (cedar) in the bathroom while Tipsy (resident cat) had access to the whole house. I brought Cedar out a few times a day, sometimes I would let the 2 cats interact (with supervision) but other times I put Tipsy (resident cat) in the bedroom and let Cedar have run of the house.
It can take some time. keba has had you all to herself for a year, this is all new to her. Take things slowly...
here is a good thread to read. It should help you with how to do introductions.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67321
Good luck!! keep us updated
oh and on this...
My two were friends initially and cuddled and played a lot, maybe for a year. Now a 5 years later, they just live in harmony. They don't hate each other, they just exist together and occassionally play.
yes Keba more than likely will. As I said, what your describing is completely normal. Your two cats will do one of two things... they will become friends or they will choose to live together in harmony but never being friends (ie, playing, cuddling and such).
My two were friends initially and cuddled and played a lot, maybe for a year. Now a 5 years later, they just live in harmony. They don't hate each other, they just exist together and occassionally play.
Can you put the kitten in the washroom if you dont have a spare bedroom?
Keeping her in a carrier may make her seem 'hostile' since cats HATE carriers (thats just my experience)
Also, when you are able to keep them in a seperate room, you can switch them around so they get use to their smell. Give a toy of the older cat to the new one. The kitten will get use to her quickly but the older one might need some time.
It is normal to show aggressiveness and dominance the first week or more, just be patient. Sometimes it feels like they will never get along, but they do!
Welcome btw ^_^
Keeping her in a carrier may make her seem 'hostile' since cats HATE carriers (thats just my experience)
Also, when you are able to keep them in a seperate room, you can switch them around so they get use to their smell. Give a toy of the older cat to the new one. The kitten will get use to her quickly but the older one might need some time.
It is normal to show aggressiveness and dominance the first week or more, just be patient. Sometimes it feels like they will never get along, but they do!
Welcome btw ^_^
Welcome to the site, James! I think sticking her in the bathroom is a good idea if you are able. Just make sure that the toliet lid is down and there is not little stuff (or breakable) that she might get into trouble with. It might take a while but eventually they will get used to each
other.
other.
Hi and Welcome,
What your cats are doing is 100% normal, and it sounds like they are doing better then most if there is no physical aggression. Please use the search feature on this forum and put in 'cat introduction' or something of the like and you will get tons of helpful advice!
They will indeed learn to co-exist, maybe even become friends but it will NOT be overnight, cats can take weeks to adjust to eachother.
I agree with what everyone said. Try to keep them seperated, in rooms not carriers, when you are not supervising them. Make sure when they are out together you have atleast 1 litterbox per cat. Switch around the rooms you keep them seperated in so they get used to eachothers smell. A trick some people reccomend is rubbing some vanilla extract into their neck, so that they smell the same. Do the introduction slowly overtime, and eventually you will notice under your supervision that they pretty much ignore eachother, at this point you can probably leave them loose together and hopefully they'll become friends! But maybe not.......after all they are cats
Goodluck to you! Please post any other questions you might have! Oh.....and pictures are ALWAYS encouraged
What your cats are doing is 100% normal, and it sounds like they are doing better then most if there is no physical aggression. Please use the search feature on this forum and put in 'cat introduction' or something of the like and you will get tons of helpful advice!
They will indeed learn to co-exist, maybe even become friends but it will NOT be overnight, cats can take weeks to adjust to eachother.
I agree with what everyone said. Try to keep them seperated, in rooms not carriers, when you are not supervising them. Make sure when they are out together you have atleast 1 litterbox per cat. Switch around the rooms you keep them seperated in so they get used to eachothers smell. A trick some people reccomend is rubbing some vanilla extract into their neck, so that they smell the same. Do the introduction slowly overtime, and eventually you will notice under your supervision that they pretty much ignore eachother, at this point you can probably leave them loose together and hopefully they'll become friends! But maybe not.......after all they are cats
Goodluck to you! Please post any other questions you might have! Oh.....and pictures are ALWAYS encouraged
My addition would be to tell Keba,the 'old' cat, that the kitten is her kitten, that Keba is #1, that you love her, and always give Keba attention (food, treats, etc.) first before you take care of the bitty. Keba may be feeling a little insecure since her world has pretty much turned upside down and now there's this adorable kitten soaking up attention. Also, female cats tend to be a bit more territorial anyway - so this is totally normal, and actually I think pretty hopeful, since Keba's just hissing, etc.
When I got my second cat, I tried very hard to give them treats or feed them when they were fairly close to each other, so they got the idea that good things happened when they were 'nice' - but it took a few weeks, and I was told my intro phase went quickly.
Do keep an eye on them til you're pretty comfortable that no serious attacks will happen - but try to be patient (easier said than done, I know!). Also, if you can provide Keba a few places to retreat to when kitten wants to play too much (like a cat tree, or someplace high), that may help - cats usually like to find their own 'territories', and vertical space can help a lot - at least it did in my two bedroom condo!
When I got my second cat, I tried very hard to give them treats or feed them when they were fairly close to each other, so they got the idea that good things happened when they were 'nice' - but it took a few weeks, and I was told my intro phase went quickly.
Do keep an eye on them til you're pretty comfortable that no serious attacks will happen - but try to be patient (easier said than done, I know!). Also, if you can provide Keba a few places to retreat to when kitten wants to play too much (like a cat tree, or someplace high), that may help - cats usually like to find their own 'territories', and vertical space can help a lot - at least it did in my two bedroom condo!
my experience with this is a little different, as my two cats were much younger, 8 week old kitten meeting five month old kitten. try doing everything everyone else suggested, because they helped me a lot. my only suggestion is to get a special treat, whatever your older cat loves the most, and get down on her level, like on the floor, and give her a few treats, while the younger kitten is out running around. for the first three days i had my new kitten, my oldest was freaking out and being horrible- fighting, hissing, growling, even at me! but for some reason, when i laid down on the floor and paid attention to only her, for maybe a total of 10 minutes, she suddenly softened up and was completely nice to the kitten after that.
but my kittens are younger and they say the younger the better. but the other, best advice i was given, was that unless you see fur flying or blood shed, don't worry about them fighting. your older cat wants the kitten to know that she is the boss, and that the new baby isn't going to be calling the shots.
but my kittens are younger and they say the younger the better. but the other, best advice i was given, was that unless you see fur flying or blood shed, don't worry about them fighting. your older cat wants the kitten to know that she is the boss, and that the new baby isn't going to be calling the shots.
