Hi everyone,
I just adopted a 2 month old kitten from my local shelter and I have a few questions.
First, I already have an adult cat in the house, and I decided to keep the kitten in my big walk in closet with her own food/water, litter, toys, and bed because the adult cat is NOT happy with the kitten's presence and has been hissing/growling and swiping at the kitten and at me. This was the most suggested method of getting the two used to each other that I found on the internet (though the kitten seems to have no problem with the adult cat). I've also put towels with both of their scents in the living spaces of each cat. The adult cat seems to be a little bit less unhappy with the situation since the kitten has been in the closet, but she is still suspicious.
The kitten, however, cries non-stop when she is left alone in the closet no matter what I do. She also has a problem with suckling on my skin. I've tried to get her to stop or even to transfer her suckling behavior to another object, but she is completely uninterested unless it's my skin. I tried to let her sleep with me last night to stop her crying, and she kept trying to suckle on my hands and face. She is almost obsessively persistent and if I do NOT let her suckle, she will grab my hand. She kneads while suckling as well, and the claws and biting are starting to hurt. I don't want to cause her further emotional trauma, and I want to continue to build the bond between us, but this suckling and constant crying are becoming a problem already.
Any suggestions about any of this?!
I just adopted a 2 month old kitten from my local shelter and I have a few questions.
First, I already have an adult cat in the house, and I decided to keep the kitten in my big walk in closet with her own food/water, litter, toys, and bed because the adult cat is NOT happy with the kitten's presence and has been hissing/growling and swiping at the kitten and at me. This was the most suggested method of getting the two used to each other that I found on the internet (though the kitten seems to have no problem with the adult cat). I've also put towels with both of their scents in the living spaces of each cat. The adult cat seems to be a little bit less unhappy with the situation since the kitten has been in the closet, but she is still suspicious.
The kitten, however, cries non-stop when she is left alone in the closet no matter what I do. She also has a problem with suckling on my skin. I've tried to get her to stop or even to transfer her suckling behavior to another object, but she is completely uninterested unless it's my skin. I tried to let her sleep with me last night to stop her crying, and she kept trying to suckle on my hands and face. She is almost obsessively persistent and if I do NOT let her suckle, she will grab my hand. She kneads while suckling as well, and the claws and biting are starting to hurt. I don't want to cause her further emotional trauma, and I want to continue to build the bond between us, but this suckling and constant crying are becoming a problem already.
Any suggestions about any of this?!
