New kitten bullying older cat

Hi, I have the same problem with yours, the difference is that my new kitty named Max is playing to hard with Charlie which annoys him so much, even Charlie is showing that he is angry but the little kitty would still play. What I did is that I follow others TCS posters (thanks to them) to provide hiding places and toys for the new kitty, it helped me somehow!

My new kitty Max looks like your Fable and Max is the same age as yours

Cats dont use their claws vicously when they're playing with each other, for the same reason marines don't use live ammo in training excercises. Claws only get extended when they need to kill something or climb on something. Two friendly cats playing with each other will knock each other down using their paws, but they will rarely if ever just swipe at each other. That is more of a defensive reaction. So your declawed cat can defend itself perfectly fine, even without claws.

Hey LadyGananoque. Your situation could've easily been mine back in 2005 when I got Daisy. She'd try to swipe at Penny when Penny was using the litterbox. I stopped it as soon as I could in order to lay down the law for this new ball of energy (Daisy) - Plus I was between jobs at the time so it made monitoring her much easier. The big thing I did everytime was vocalize a highly annoying "car alarm" sound with my vocal chords if I sensed Daisy was planning mischief against Penny. Eventually Daisy understood I "was on to her" and that I would tolerate play but would not tolerate crossing the line because I make the rules, not her. Also - I purchased a "Panic Mouse" toy for her - It whips a piece of fluffy fabric around in a fast way, so she'd chase it -That depleted a good amount of her energy. Kittens need that sort of thing in my opinion, some kittens more than others. I just ordered a "Frolic Cat Bolt" toy which makes a fast squiggly red laser on the floor for chasing. Daisy is mellow these days (age: 5.5 years) but I am trying the laser toy simply because I have a feeling she'll like it. But my point is, in your case, perhaps the more energy-depleting toys around for Fable, the better. After 5 years I still think if I had let Daisy run the show and was working a hard full-time job, she'd definitely be an out-of-control cat today with all types of problems. Today she is a sweet and well-behaved cat. Maybe even a little sweeter and better behaved than Penny!

This is perfectly normal behavior. Kittens are all about play. Everything is a toy and other cats are to be played with. Part of what's happening is that the two of them are working out who's the top cat. Part of it is that Stella is learning to accept (or not) the new intruder in her territory. It's been my experience that resident cats like to keep things status quo and don't want new kitties in their domain.

You'll need to provide Stella with lots of "safe places" so she can escape. A box turned upside down or a dark closet with a nice place to sleep or even an enclosed bed will work. When you see that Fable is getting too rough with Stella, or Stella's had enough, use a towel to "herd" Fable away into a separate area and play with her there so Stella can get some relief. Basically, you have to stand up for Stella. Distract Fable when she's getting on Stella's nerves. Give Stella LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of love, attention, and show her favor. She's unsure of her role with this new addition and she needs to be reassured that she's still loved and cherished.

Also, run Feliway diffusers in your home to help reduce stress.

Maybe if you got your kitten another kitten to play with the same age? Luna constantly bothered Lynxx. We got Midnight in the hopes they'd play together and leave Lynxx alone. Only Midnight was way to young. Luna still bothered Lynxx. But now that Midnight is older and can play with her, they both seem to leave Lynxx alone.

The new kittens and Lynxx aren't working out. Lynxx is so stressed by them he's stopped eating, lost a ton of weight, and is on Prozac.

Try using Feliway, Feliway has helped Lynxx become more social with us.

As for biting, is the kitten playing? Luna will bite hard when she's playing. I don't even think she realizes it.

Contrary to intuition, getting a second kitten means lots less problems. Two kittens tend to play with each other and wear each other out while leaving the resident older cat alone most of the time. It works with most pets, we did it with puppies, guinea pigs, kittens, and ferrets growing up and the older animal always garned a bit of extra rest when we added the second child

LadyGananoque, do you use any olfactory cat products in your house such as Feliway diffuser or catnip spritz, etc? Sometimes they can be of help.

LadyGananoque, Just wanted to let you know my FrolicCat Bolt automatic laser arrived today and it's worth the price (less than $20 including the shipping). I thought the auto mode would be faster, but it still does its job of entertaining.

Both I think. Amazon has them I think. I got mine on eBay.