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Help Please! Cat trying to Kill Kitten

post #1 of 41
5/3/11 at 10:36am
Thread Starter 
I think this goes beyond play fighting and I really need some help as I may have to give a on of these cats away. 7 days ago I purchased a new kitten, he is roughly 8 weeks old. Around Christmas time I purchased my first kitten who is now 6 months old.

They seem to play rough but no puffy tails or hissing. Just now things got weird though. My older kitten keeps walking up behind the 8 week old baby and trying to wrap his entire mouth around the kittens neck (from the back of the neck). It looks like a lion trying to kill a gazelle with a choke hold. He never quite goes through with it as the young one turns on his back and flails his claws which causes the old kitten to move away.

Is this normal and safe cat behavior or is the old cat planning on murder? It looks very, very worrying but with no hissing I cannot be sure.

I really need some advice, I cannot leave the house right now out of fear that I will come back to a dead kitten. Is it playful/normal for a big cat to try and wrap his jaws around a smaller cats neck?
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post #2 of 41
5/3/11 at 10:56am
You need to keep them separated for now. 7 weeks old is way to young for a kitty to deal with an older cat or even an older kitten especially an alpha. Your description indicates an alpha behavior. I suspect your older kitten also isn't neutered? You are describing mating behavior something even neutered cats will do to show dominance, and yes, if you keep them together you may come home and find a dead kitten in your home.
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post #3 of 41
5/3/11 at 11:04am
Thread Starter 
He has been neutered two weeks. Thanks I will separate now, how long should I separate?

Can I ask why would hiss suddenly start after 48 hours of normal play fighting?

The other issue is that we live in a two bed apartment so it is a little hard to keep them separate. All day but me and my gf work from home so we are around most days.
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post #4 of 41
5/3/11 at 11:18am
You have a bathroom, I assume it has a door on it. As should your bedroom.

Older kitten is not trying to kill little kitten, nor is he likely going to accidentally. You're more likely to have the little one become shy/fearful of the bigger one because it feels bullied.

I'm more concerned with:
a) You brought home a kitten too young to be away from it's mother.
b) Young kittens shouldn't be left out in the home unattended. Aside from getting themselves into trouble, many haven't figured out litter boxes yet and don't have the capacity older kittens do to hold pee and poops long enough to make it to the box.
c) Never kept them separated in the first place. The young kitten is too young to have all of it's shots (minus rabies) done and you didn't separate for a couple weeks to do a precautionary deworming. There's a possibility that both could have roundworms now, at the very least. Did you even take the young kitten to a vet right after getting it?

Note: The problems mentioned under c) is because no one ever seems to do this! Then they have all sorts of complications to deal with. Why people can't do a two to three week quarantine on new animals (dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, fish, etc), proper introductions, and vet checks before sticking them together is beyond me. If you don't have space to do it right maybe adding extra animals at that time just shouldn't be done.
And the "you" here isn't just intended for the OP but for anyone reading (member or non-member lurker) who does this. Slow down, you have time and there's a life at stake that you're responsible for.
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post #5 of 41
5/3/11 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
I am not sure about America but here in the UK 7-8 weeks is the standard age for buying a kitten. He is 8 weeks and 4 days now so we bought him at 7 weeks 4 days.

He was/is completely competent with the litter and has had absolutely no mistakes. He was/is also off his mothers milk and was on wet food. He has already been wormed and he requires no rabies shots as we do not have rabies here in the UK. As for his vaccines my first kitten is vaccinated and the mother of the new kitten was vaccinated. Furthermore they are all indoor cats so I really do not agree with most of what you have said.

As for the introduction I may have been mistaken but it seemed like 7 days is the norm from what I read. If it isn't then yes it was too fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
You have a bathroom, I assume it has a door on it. As should your bedroom.

Older kitten is not trying to kill little kitten, nor is he likely going to accidentally. You're more likely to have the little one become shy/fearful of the bigger one because it feels bullied.

I'm more concerned with:
a) You brought home a kitten too young to be away from it's mother.
b) Young kittens shouldn't be left out in the home unattended. Aside from getting themselves into trouble, many haven't figured out litter boxes yet and don't have the capacity older kittens do to hold pee and poops long enough to make it to the box.
c) Never kept them separated in the first place. The young kitten is too young to have all of it's shots (minus rabies) done and you didn't separate for a couple weeks to do a precautionary deworming. There's a possibility that both could have roundworms now, at the very least. Did you even take the young kitten to a vet right after getting it?

Note: The problems mentioned under c) is because no one ever seems to do this! Then they have all sorts of complications to deal with. Why people can't do a two to three week quarantine on new animals (dogs, cats, reptiles, birds, fish, etc), proper introductions, and vet checks before sticking them together is beyond me. If you don't have space to do it right maybe adding extra animals at that time just shouldn't be done.
And the "you" here isn't just intended for the OP but for anyone reading (member or non-member lurker) who does this. Slow down, you have time and there's a life at stake that you're responsible for.
I do have room to keep them separated for two weeks. Hissy said

Quote:
You need to keep them separated for now
If 'for now' is another two weeks then fine I can work with that. However, I do not have room to keep two cats separated for the next 2-3 months.

Also I took the kitten to the vet. The vet said it is fine to introduce them, in fact the vet suggested 7 days!

I asked for urgent help not to be chastised by you. You have assumed a whole lot in your post.
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post #6 of 41
5/3/11 at 12:02pm
It sounds like fairly normal behavior, boys like to play rough. But, since the little guy is so much smaller than the bigger boy, I would give him a couple weeks to get bigger before allowing them to stay together unattended. The play style of cats is very predatory, and as a "teenager", your older boy might not know his own strength. But it does sound normal--when they get bigger they'll probably play so rough that it'll seem like they're killing each other!
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post #7 of 41
5/3/11 at 12:18pm
Thank you for neutering- that helps a lot although it is weeks to months before the testerone is out of the neutered male and that can cause aggression problems.

By your description the stronger alpha one is showing dominance. Dominance is shown in three ways in the cat world- for males, mounting behavior (such as you describe) sleeping in high spots and eating first. Because your older cat sounds like a strong alpha he is showing the newcomer that he's in charge. I beg to differ with the above poster who said the older kitten won't kill the younger one- as I have seen it happen in real life. He may not intentionally want to kill the younger kitten but it can happen and sadly it does.

Plus the young kitten shouldn't have the run of the house unless you have kitten-proofed the rooms. The best way to kitten-proof is to lie down on your stomach in the middle of the room and look at all the points. Is there a heater vent he can get into? Do you have a recliner that he can creep up into (also the foot rest) you can hurt a kitten in seconds by a recliner. Drape cords hanging low to the floor? Blind cords? All kinds of dangers to inquisitive kittens.

Ideally, kittens should stay with mom till they are twelve weeks old. But people, so "eager' to have kittens in the home in the first place, tire of them after a few weeks. They want them off the milk, and out of the home and so they have been pushing kittens younger and younger off mom. This turns out to hurt everyone in the long run. You get kittens not familiar with litter pans, missing mom and littermates, yet if the person had waited, the kittens would be wanting to leave mom, bond quicker with resident cats and not be so needy or submissive. It is by staying with the litter and wrestling with the stronger that the weaker find out how to survive- I refer to these kittens as half-baked. They really need to stay with mom.

I'm not chastising you at all, just letting you see the mind-set of this little kitten. If you can, get a portable pen and set it up for this kitten to be in. They make them all sizes this should accomodate a litter pan, food and water bowls and a nice soft bed. You can take this pen around the house with you, kitty can be in the middle of all the activity, other kitty can get used to the newcomer and everyone stays safe. This is how ethical breeders treat their kittens in their home and it works well.

if you are crafty, find an old playpen, put wheels on it, line it with pet proof screen or small mesh chicken wire (not large mesh) fashion a roof on it and use that.

Good luck!
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post #8 of 41
5/3/11 at 12:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxTucker View Post
It looks like a lion trying to kill a gazelle with a choke hold.
haha thats cool, my lil kitty looks like a black panther.
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post #9 of 41
5/3/11 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MaxTucker View Post
You have assumed a whole lot in your post.
You've been a member here maybe 3 days. Try sticking around 3 months, or even 3 years and see what your view on people and kittens/puppies and rushing into things becomes. Most people do not take the time needed, nor take into consideration the health issues that can happen. Unfortunately, for getting such a young kitten, you look like a lot of the people that come on here who get their 5-8 week old kittens and have not prepared for them.

And 8 weeks is not normal. Ask the breeders in other countries on here. Few let their kittens go before 12wks. A breeder happily pushing them out the door sooner should be suspect and so should the physical and behavioral health of the kitten. Here the ones that do that are just breeders looking to make money.
Shelters will let them out a bit sooner, but shelter/foster kittens can come from rough backgrounds and go into their new homes with worms, protozoal infections, ringworm, URIs, etc. (usually it's the unlucky foster pet parent that has to cure them of these)

I'm not sure who said anything about 2-3 months? Can you quote the post that directly said that? It usually only takes two weeks, and two doses, to deworm a cat. Protozoa infections are a different matter, though.
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post #10 of 41
5/3/11 at 1:31pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
Thank you for neutering- that helps a lot although it is weeks to months before the testerone is out of the neutered male and that can cause aggression problems.

By your description the stronger alpha one is showing dominance. Dominance is shown in three ways in the cat world- for males, mounting behavior (such as you describe) sleeping in high spots and eating first. Because your older cat sounds like a strong alpha he is showing the newcomer that he's in charge. I beg to differ with the above poster who said the older kitten won't kill the younger one- as I have seen it happen in real life. He may not intentionally want to kill the younger kitten but it can happen and sadly it does.

Plus the young kitten shouldn't have the run of the house unless you have kitten-proofed the rooms. The best way to kitten-proof is to lie down on your stomach in the middle of the room and look at all the points. Is there a heater vent he can get into? Do you have a recliner that he can creep up into (also the foot rest) you can hurt a kitten in seconds by a recliner. Drape cords hanging low to the floor? Blind cords? All kinds of dangers to inquisitive kittens.

Ideally, kittens should stay with mom till they are twelve weeks old. But people, so "eager' to have kittens in the home in the first place, tire of them after a few weeks. They want them off the milk, and out of the home and so they have been pushing kittens younger and younger off mom. This turns out to hurt everyone in the long run. You get kittens not familiar with litter pans, missing mom and littermates, yet if the person had waited, the kittens would be wanting to leave mom, bond quicker with resident cats and not be so needy or submissive. It is by staying with the litter and wrestling with the stronger that the weaker find out how to survive- I refer to these kittens as half-baked. They really need to stay with mom.

I'm not chastising you at all, just letting you see the mind-set of this little kitten. If you can, get a portable pen and set it up for this kitten to be in. They make them all sizes this should accomodate a litter pan, food and water bowls and a nice soft bed. You can take this pen around the house with you, kitty can be in the middle of all the activity, other kitty can get used to the newcomer and everyone stays safe. This is how ethical breeders treat their kittens in their home and it works well.

if you are crafty, find an old playpen, put wheels on it, line it with pet proof screen or small mesh chicken wire (not large mesh) fashion a roof on it and use that.

Good luck!
Thanks Hissy and sorry but I was not saying you were chastising me, that was directed to strange_wings. I appreciate your responses Hissy they're extremely helpful. Thank you.
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post #11 of 41
5/3/11 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
You've been a member here maybe 3 days. Try sticking around 3 months, or even 3 years and see what your view on people and kittens/puppies and rushing into things becomes. Most people do not take the time needed, nor take into consideration the health issues that can happen. Unfortunately, for getting such a young kitten, you look like a lot of the people that come on here who get their 5-8 week old kittens and have not prepared for them.

And 8 weeks is not normal. Ask the breeders in other countries on here. Few let their kittens go before 12wks. A breeder happily pushing them out the door sooner should be suspect and so should the physical and behavioral health of the kitten. Here the ones that do that are just breeders looking to make money.
Shelters will let them out a bit sooner, but shelter/foster kittens can come from rough backgrounds and go into their new homes with worms, protozoal infections, ringworm, URIs, etc. (usually it's the unlucky foster pet parent that has to cure them of these)

I'm not sure who said anything about 2-3 months? Can you quote the post that directly said that? It usually only takes two weeks, and two doses, to deworm a cat. Protozoa infections are a different matter, though.
I feel horrible that I took the kitten from his mother too early. Unfortunately 8 weeks is completely normal in this country. If you look at kittens for sales ads you will commonly see 6-8 weeks as the starting point.

Either way I am not here to argue if this is ethical or fair on the kitten. If 8 weeks is too young then I am sorry for the kitten. It was certainly not my intention to take my new kitten before he was ready. I just thought this was normal as it is what everybody else does.

I hope you understand that I did not rush into getting a kitten I was in contact with the lady who sold me him for several weeks. She started giving them away at 6 weeks but I opted to wait a little longer. I wanted to wait until he stopped drinking his mothers milk. I also organized a vet appointment for the day I got the kitten. We went right from the seller to the vet.

The vet told us that technically this would be his second worming as the mother was wormed whilst pregnant and that covers the baby. Is this correct or does the vet have no clue either? I did not really like her as a vet she was covering for my normal vet. Honestly that sounds a little strange to me that worming a mother during pregnancy covers the babies.

The vet said it is perfectly safe to introduce the kitten to my current cat. If this is wrong too then I am sorry but I did not know better. If the vet says it is ok I just assume she knows what she is talking about.

I am no expert but if the mother and father are both house cats and have never been outside how would they get roundworm or a protozoal infection? In humans worms and other parasites usually find a host outside. I know there are food borne parasites such as tape worm but for the most part people need to be outdoors to get a parasitic infection.

As for being prepared I bought everything needed for this kitten before he arrived. I even bought a baby barrier fence and I kitten proofed everything. I have completely encased all computer cables and taken other precautions. I believe that I prepared very well for this new kitten. If I mistook the length of time required before introducing a new cat to an established cat then that is my fault and I admit fault on that.

Making assumptions about me based on other newcomers to this forum is silly.

As for the 2-3 months. Hissy told me I would likely need to separate them again. So I was asking how long I would need to separate them for at this point. If I need to separate for 2-3 months it could be a problem as it would become hard to maintain the separation on a long term basis. If I need only separate them for 1 more month then that is fine.
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post #12 of 41
5/3/11 at 2:03pm
Just an FYI - The big cats (lions, cheetahs, etc..) kill their prey by biting down on the bottom (ventral) part of the neck. A bite on the top (dorsal) side of the neck is not an attacking bite, it can be (as mentioned above) mating behavior, or just a show of dominance. I totally agree with all the other advice - kitten is too young and needs to be segregated for a while.
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post #13 of 41
5/3/11 at 2:06pm
Thread Starter 
I can't believe I have been so mislead into thinking 6-8 weeks is ok. I feel bad for taking him now. If I ever get another cat I will definitely wait for the we week mark to bring him/her home. It is unfortunate that it is standard procedure here to separate cats when they're no ready. Thanks for the advice on this.
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post #14 of 41
5/3/11 at 3:33pm
MT- it sounds like you are doing everything within your power RIGHT with this kitten. But yes, the new baby needs to be somewhere (large dog crate) portable pen would be best, so the resident kitty doesn't need to show dominance so harshly. The kitten could be injured and I believe you would feel horrible about this situation.

Honestly, most vets are clueless about kittens that are under 6 months old. It's just how they are schooled. Here, my vet would never worm a pregnant mother or vaccinate her either because of the risk to the kittens. He would wait till the kittens are born, then worm mom when the kittens were off her milk. Each vet has different protocols and we place our trust in them as much as we are able to.

If there is someway you can make this kitten feel a part of the household yet stay safely contained and not stick him in a room away from everyone, the introduction phase will go quicker. It should only be a matter of a few weeks not months before the two are accepting of each other and there are tricks you can use to help that along. If you would like you can email me a love at felinexpress dot com and I will share them with you.
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post #15 of 41
5/3/11 at 4:41pm
I'm glad you seem to be reading up. I'm not trying to say you're a horrible cat parent, only that you got ahead of yourself. At least these weren't adult cats getting into serious fights, you mistakes can be forgiven( by the cats) since they'll forget some at that age.

What you see in newspaper ads is not indicative of proper responsible breeders. I doubt any of them on here would ever advertise in a paper, some might be insulted at the suggestion. I can't imagine it's different there, but here ad puppy and kittens come from bad BYBs to mills.

Worms and protozoa don't need an animal to be outside to spread. Roundworms and protozoa have this amazing ability to hide (encyst) in tissue and spread through pragnacy and milk. This defense and amazing ability to spread is why we can't wipe them out.

Kitten needs another dose of dewormer a two weeks to date of the first dose. If you have Revolution over there that's another option, one which will easily let you treat both kittens. Otherwise you might want to deworm big kitten, too.

Again, 2-3 weeks, not months, are all you need to wait. Deworming will be done and any lantent GI parasites or respiratory virus should make themselves known. (Thats the purpose of waiting a short while)

Anyone selling kittens away from siblings and mother that young can't be said to be that concerned for the kittens. So their cats may not be parasite free. I don't know what breed you bought, but make sure you read up on that breed's common genetic diseases and be on the look out if the breeder never presented proof that their lines are completely free of them.
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post #16 of 41
5/3/11 at 6:05pm
As far as worming your cat and kitten goes, go with the vet's recommendation and ONLY use what he or she provides. That is the safest way. You can always have them run a fecal to see what if any parasites you might be dealing with.

You should only worm your kitten when listening to your vet because he or she knows how healthy the kitten is at that time. Most clinics will send out reminder cards for worming if you ask them too-
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post #17 of 41
5/3/11 at 7:58pm
Welcome to the site. Congratz on your new kitten. Don't worry about getting your kitten too young. There is nothing you did wrong. Yes, ideally ten weeks is best, but eight weeks is fine and you already have the kitten and we will help you in anyway we can. Your older kitten is just showing dominance and probably won't "intentionally" kill the young kitten. When you are home, you can have supervised play sessions with the two of them. Put the kitten away in the bathroom when you have to leave. I would do this until the kitten is at least three months old and the two kittens are totally acclimated to one another and have a good solid relationship. It is always best to keep any new kitten or cat in a "safe" room for a couple weeks upon bringing them home. Then start short periods of supervised introductions after that. Kittens will play very rough like you are describing. Pipsqueak, my oldest cat, does the exact thing you are describing all the time when the cats roll around and rough house together. Much luck to you and your kittens
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post #18 of 41
5/4/11 at 3:33am
Max, being from the UK myself my eldest cat (Rosie) was only 6 weeks old when i brought her home. At the time there were no kittens at shelters so it was either leaving her stuck in a pet shop or take her home which i'm pleased l did the latter.

Stick with us and we'll see you through any problems
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post #19 of 41
5/4/11 at 5:39am
It can take anything from hours to weeks and months to introduce them, I got both of my kittens at 6 weeks old and will agree it seems the norm here both are very well behaved for being taken away from mum so soon so i stay away from the argument that they arent old enough to be sociable because i dont agree, Im pretty sure another english member here got her kitten at 6 weeks to and shes fine to

Im sorry i cant help you any more but i do wish you luck with the re-introduction of the two
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post #20 of 41
5/4/11 at 5:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rosiemac View Post
Max, being from the UK myself my eldest cat (Rosie) was only 6 weeks old when i brought her home. At the time there were no kittens at shelters so it was either leaving her stuck in a pet shop or take her home which i'm pleased l did the latter.

Stick with us and we'll see you through any problems
Being said member I mentioned
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post #21 of 41
5/4/11 at 7:06am
Just filter the advice you are given MT regardless who gives it. Weigh your situation and look at your reactions from the kittens in question and move ahead that way. It really depends on the kittens because not all of them are the same. Some are just wired different. Pet store kittens here in the U.S. the majority of them come from kitten mills (very dismal sad places) even if they look pedigreed, chances are there is something wrong with them emotionally or physically.

So use your common sense and weigh each option carefully. You have a strong alpha kitten on your hands and I bet he is a lot of fun. But they get jealous of newcomers and need to show dominance and sometimes that can go a bit far.

Years ago from anothe website I run, I received an email from a man who had bought his wife a kitten as a surprise. They already had an older cat- just about a year old, so this man went on a website and asked the group how to introduce the two. The answers were varied, but sadly, the one he went with caused the demise of the kitten. He was told (and it wasn't this website by the way or mine either) but he was told that if he took tuna juice and rubbed it on the kitten and put them together in the room, all would be well! He didnt know, so he did just that and didn't get the kitten to the vet in time to save her. He was devasted and never wanted another kitten again. I did an article around this email and today I am happy to report that he and his wife have three cats and everyone is doing great!

So like I said, filter all the advice you are ever given on the Internet and go with what feels right in your heart for you and your cats. We aren't there to see the interaction you are.Sometimes what you post that you see isn't what is really happening for them. It's all a matter of perspective.
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post #22 of 41
5/4/11 at 7:23am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the help guys and you especially Hissy. Most of what I am hearing is normal and as you suggest Hissy I am filtering the advice here.

I am tempted to agree with you as you all clearly know more than me about cats in general. However, I just wanted to go into further detail as now I have had more time to see this behavior in action.

The neck biting is consistent and every time they're together it is constant. Just now in a 10 min play session the big cat tried to wrap his jaws around the neck of the smaller one 14 times.

Also, the neck biting does not happen in the middle of play fights. It happens when the kitten is minding his own business with his back turned. The older cat approaches like a shadow and silently wraps his mouth around the kittens neck. He backs off only when he gets clawed in the face.

Does the above sound normal?

My girlfriend describes our older cat as damaged. The lady we got him from had bought him at 8 weeks old and had introduced him to their established cat right away. This led to an attack in which the kitten received a swipe and a bite. She immediately put an ad online to give him away. The next day we went to pick the kitten up but he was traumatized. For a week he would hide under the couch and he has always been extremely wary. So I am thinking that this might come into play.

I can video the neck biting behavior and post it on YouTube for you guys to see. Maybe by watching it you can see if it is normal or more sinister. Would this be ok?
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post #23 of 41
5/4/11 at 7:53am
You can certainly link to a vid of the encounters if you wish.

But do go through with separating them for a bit. This will give the older kitten time to finish getting male kitty hormones out of his system and the little one time to grow and be able to retaliate better.

Part of what you're describing in the older kitten can be blamed on him not having the social interaction he needed as a young kitten. The positive interaction with same aged siblings that teaches boundries and how to play. I wouldn't doubt that woman's inproper introductions could have a little affect. Does he ever play rough with you? Bitting or grabbing hands or feet?
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post #24 of 41
5/4/11 at 8:01am
Thread Starter 
Yes he has always been rough with me. I tried to teach him not to be rough but he never learns and always plays rough with humans. Bites and scratches (rarely breaking the skin) are common from him.
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post #25 of 41
5/4/11 at 8:14am
That would have been a good bit of info to have shared at the beginning. Honestly that needs to be worked on. There are ways to teach him boundaries with you, and this information is in the stickies in the section for you to read through when you have time.

Honestly, I don't think you should have gotten another young kitten with him being under socialized like that. Had you joined a while back and asked you probably would have been told to adopt an adult cat. A lot of us cheat that way in these sort of situations. Have a kitten that needs social training he/she missed? Let a tolerant adult cat do the work.
But what is done is done so you're just going to have to watch him and be careful.

One thing you can do is address his kitten energy. At his age I bet he's turning into the teenage terror kitten. (if not, you're lucky) During this time lots of play and stimulation helps keep this age group out of worse trouble. You have a laser pointer? If not, that and wand toys would be excellent for a hand biting kitten. You can look into other interactive toys in local stores, too. If you have questions about particular ones you can search or post in the care and grooming section as most people have tried just about every toy.
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post #26 of 41
5/4/11 at 12:31pm
I would try another tact with the older one. Marilyn Krieger wrote a book Naughty No More. It is a step-by-step guidebook to clicker training problem cats. I had one here that I tried this process on and it worked great. It allowed some one-on-one bonding time, harnessed the kitty's energy and took the negative traits he was showing and turned him into a loveable kitty. It's not hard to do and the cats seem to really like it. I would go that route but still keep the two away from each other for now.
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post #27 of 41
5/4/11 at 12:55pm
When l brought Sophie home Rosie hissed and growled at her for 2 weeks, but l kept them in seperate rooms until l could be with them to supervise. After a couple of month's l left them alone for 2 hours and increased it every few days until l was comfortable to leave them all day.

Rosie would bite on Sophie and she would rabbit kick her as well, but l used to grab Rosie's attention so Sophie could jump up and run for sanctuary. The ironic thing was as soon as Rosie was looking at me Sophie would pounce back onto her and the wrestling would start again

This is what happened often!

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post #28 of 41
5/4/11 at 4:52pm
Hi there, Just a note to make sure the toilet seat is down when there is a kitten being kept in the bathroom.

Terrible accidents can happen .
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post #29 of 41
5/4/11 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
I would try another tact with the older one. Marilyn Krieger wrote a book Naughty No More. It is a step-by-step guidebook to clicker training problem cats. I had one here that I tried this process on and it worked great. It allowed some one-on-one bonding time, harnessed the kitty's energy and took the negative traits he was showing and turned him into a loveable kitty. It's not hard to do and the cats seem to really like it. I would go that route but still keep the two away from each other for now.
I second this advice with the older kitten. Clicker training is very fun for both cat and owner. I do use it as well and it has saved a few ambushes in my home. It is really fun to train a cat tricks, especially one that has lots of energy and want something to do. If you kitten is food motivated, then the clicker training is a great option for you. I also would keep them separated for awhile as well, with only supervised, short sessions together.
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post #30 of 41
5/6/11 at 2:33am
hiya i actually have the opposite my cat is trying to play mum to my other cats kittens.

and it is 8 weeks for a kitten to go to its new home here in ireland.
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