For anyone who hasn't seen my other posts, about a month ago I brought home a 10 week old kitten and have been introducing her to my beloved 2 year old tabby, Kaylee. By this point my husband and I have tried every trick in the book and then some - you name it!
Both cats are completely happy when they're alone. We've had them eating side-by-side for a while now with no problems. When they're both tired, they can sleep in the same room for hours, even within a couple feet of each other. I know these are all good signs, but that's where it ends. Every other waking minute of every day other than the situations described above, they are fighting. Nearly constant chasing accompanied by hissing, growling, screaming, swatting, pinning...I haven't seen any actual biting yet but it's hard to see exactly what's going on, just the horrible cat fight noises and then we use a loud noise to break them up and give them time apart.
Despite Kaylee giving pretty obvious instructions that she does not want the kitten anywhere near her, the kitten won't give up. She's almost constantly trying to pounce whenever Kaylee's back is turned. This is usually what starts the fights. If the little one actually gets the hint and goes off to play on her own, Kaylee will watch for a while and then eventually she'll be the one pouncing and starting a brawl.
I am at my wits' end! It's getting very difficult to do anything else in our lives right now because we're constantly either shifting their stuff around to keep them apart while still giving them both plenty of attention, or breaking up cat fights. It's really starting to feel like it's not fair to either one of them to keep trying to work this out. Sure, maybe someday they'll be able to ignore each other for the most part, but is it really worth what they're both going through right now? I'm starting to think about finding a good home for the kitten. She's absolutely adorable and tons of fun, so I don't think it would be a problem finding someone good to take her. I even imagine she'd be fine with other cats...just not this one.
The thought of this absolutely breaks my heart, but I just want to give them both the best lives they can have.....
The only thing we haven't tried yet that our vet suggested is giving Kaylee an anti-anxiety medication to help her feel more comfortable around the kitten. I'm not sure that would help though, as the kitten would surely keep pouncing on her and no amount of drugs is going to make her be okay with that.
Both cats are completely happy when they're alone. We've had them eating side-by-side for a while now with no problems. When they're both tired, they can sleep in the same room for hours, even within a couple feet of each other. I know these are all good signs, but that's where it ends. Every other waking minute of every day other than the situations described above, they are fighting. Nearly constant chasing accompanied by hissing, growling, screaming, swatting, pinning...I haven't seen any actual biting yet but it's hard to see exactly what's going on, just the horrible cat fight noises and then we use a loud noise to break them up and give them time apart.
Despite Kaylee giving pretty obvious instructions that she does not want the kitten anywhere near her, the kitten won't give up. She's almost constantly trying to pounce whenever Kaylee's back is turned. This is usually what starts the fights. If the little one actually gets the hint and goes off to play on her own, Kaylee will watch for a while and then eventually she'll be the one pouncing and starting a brawl.
I am at my wits' end! It's getting very difficult to do anything else in our lives right now because we're constantly either shifting their stuff around to keep them apart while still giving them both plenty of attention, or breaking up cat fights. It's really starting to feel like it's not fair to either one of them to keep trying to work this out. Sure, maybe someday they'll be able to ignore each other for the most part, but is it really worth what they're both going through right now? I'm starting to think about finding a good home for the kitten. She's absolutely adorable and tons of fun, so I don't think it would be a problem finding someone good to take her. I even imagine she'd be fine with other cats...just not this one.
The thought of this absolutely breaks my heart, but I just want to give them both the best lives they can have.....
The only thing we haven't tried yet that our vet suggested is giving Kaylee an anti-anxiety medication to help her feel more comfortable around the kitten. I'm not sure that would help though, as the kitten would surely keep pouncing on her and no amount of drugs is going to make her be okay with that.