Looking for a bit of advice with my Kitten

Hi all,

The day me and my girlfriend were going to take the feral cat she's been feeding to the vet, we get a call from her neighbor that there's a kitten with her.  We do remember the mom being pregnant at one point, but never saw the kittens, and she was always at the front stoop.  Anyway, we decided to take the kitten as well, because we knew it needed it's mom.  The mom came out find with blood tests at the vet, but we had to wait for the kitten.

After taking the kitten to the vet (when it was around 8 weeks, which happened to be last week), the mom started swatting at the kitten when we took her back home.  At one point, it was a vicious 4-5 hit combo followed by a hiss.  I've read that momma cats can try to kill the kittens if they think they are sickly (the baby might've been a bit hurt from the blood-test needle), and also that momma cats stop wanting to be momma cats at some point.  In any case, this seemed to be that point.

Ok, now down to business.  The kitten's bloodtest came back ok (still waiting on the stool test).  I let her our to hang out with my house-cat that i've had for 7 years.  He is very interested in smelling her hiney (which is bad since we didnt get the stool test back.)  Anyway, then he starts to run after her and pounce on her (trapping her) so he can get a good sniff (the kitten yelps at this point.  I'm not really sure if he's hurting her, but it doesn't really seem vicious.  Looked like he might've nipped her at some point though.  I get nervous because he's trapping her like he'd trap one of his toy mice.  He's never hissed though (actually in 7 years I've never once heard him hiss), but his tail did get fluffy at one point.  This is the first time he's been with any other pet in the same house.  Any tips?

Also, another thing on my mind.. when can I feed the kitten normal Wellness cat food instead of the kitten formula?  She seems to like the cat food better.... and the kitten food is pretty expensive!  She is around 9-10 weeks old.

Thank you!

Welcome to TCS.  Bless you for taking care of these kitties.  There is a good article on introducing cats to cats in the cat behavior section of TCS (not the forums). You probably need to slow down on the introductions, or at least supervise any together time for a while.

When the kitten comes back from the vet it smells different.  That could be what mom is reacting to, or she could just be saying "I'm done."  My cat started walking away from her kittens when they were about 8 weeks old, although she never actively chased them off. You could try giving both of them a bath to make them smell more alike, but that would be a whole new adventure.  I would say just keep an eye on them for now.

On the food, if the Wellness is all-stages it should be fine for the kitten.  You could also look at the guaranteed analysis of the two.  If the percentages are close, then there shouldn't be a problem with switching.  If the adult food doesn't have the concentrated nutrition a kitten needs, you might find that she is eating a lot more, which basically negates the lower cost.

Good luck with your new furkids.

Hi and Welcome to the TCS Forums!

Im essentially agreeing with Goldy.

Mom is prob reacting to the smell from vet. This is quite common even among good friends! Takes perhaps a day to the smells got off.  Or you can bathe both of them, as Goldy suggests.

Your resident, I read in this he is doing a dominance thing. So essentially he has already accepted her, but wants to make sure the young one knows who is the master here.

If he overdoes it, you can break off, perhaps simply by mildly pushing him aside with your hand.

Dont shout, so he dont get sour on her.

Do cuddle him a lot, so he knows he is nr 1 in your eyes.

And dont cuddle her too much when he looks on!

One tip may be, DH cuddles her, and you cuddles him at the same time...

How is your resident with the mom?  Or is she perhaps still in quarantine?

Tx a lot for helping these two!

Good luck!  *vibes*

Hey, I'd suggest that if your new cat has parasites, you treat your resident cats too. You can't be too safe, when it comes to fleas and worms, especially with kittens. Ask your vet for an extra dose of meds for your current cat.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.  I've been keeping the mom (Princess) away from Oreo (resident cat), and the kitten (Raven/Rae).  Today I received news that the kitten's stool sample came back negative for parasites (woo-hoo). 

Right now I am letting Rae and Oreo hang out.  He keeps chasing her and now I noticed that he is biting her.  He did the thing where he traps her again, and now I noticed he is biting her then too.  I have been yelling at him slightly when he tackles her, thanks for the advice to push him aside a bit - seems like he responds to that better.  I am going to put Rae with princess again so they can make up.

I am bit bit wary of putting Princess and Oreo together.  Princess had something of an attitude problem, and barely lets me and my girlfriend get near/touch her.

And lastly, I've been keeping Princess and Rae away from Oreo for the last 3 weeks because of the parasite/no blood test thing.

Thanks again guys.

PS: Just let Rae and Princess together.  Princess attacked + hissed at her again. 

Oreo Eats said:

Right now I am letting Rae and Oreo hang out.  He keeps chasing her and now I noticed that he is biting her.  He did the thing where he traps her again, and now I noticed he is biting her then too.  I have been yelling at him slightly when he tackles her, thanks for the advice to push him aside a bit - seems like he responds to that better.  I am going to put Rae with princess again so they can make up.

I am bit bit wary of putting Princess and Oreo together.  Princess had something of an attitude problem, and barely lets me and my girlfriend get near/touch her.

Click to expand...

If you barely noticed he is biting the little one, so it isnt no serious bites right?

The dominance demos is often also some biting involved, typically on the neck/shoulders, or gnawing at the throat...

Another variation, if he was neutered late, so he perhaps remembers there was something with cornering and biting  LOL... Some spayed males do remember there was something with biting, but dont remember where - and do bite in the flanks or stomach...

Anyway, although he apparently overdoes what he does, he isnt not really hostile to her.

Shy homeless are usually submissive to residents. So normally I would expect there oughnt not to be big problems between Princess and Oreo.

But if you already did tried and she was aggressive to him??

Or are you just thinking on it?

Make sure she is known with the room where they shall meet, and there are a lot of places to take a retreat into...

Good luck!  *vibes*
 

StefanZ said:

If you barely noticed he is biting the little one, so it isnt no serious bites right?

The dominance demos is often also some biting involved, typically on the neck/shoulders, or gnawing at the throat...

Another variation, if he was neutered late, so he perhaps remembers there was something with cornering and biting LOL... Some spayed males do remember there was something with biting, but dont remember where - and do bite in the flanks or stomach...

Anyway, although he apparently overdoes what he does, he isnt not really hostile to her.

Shy homeless are usually submissive to residents. So normally I would expect there oughnt not to be big problems between Princess and Oreo.

But if you already did tried and she was aggressive to him??

Or are you just thinking on it?

Make sure she is known with the room where they shall meet, and there are a lot of places to take a retreat into...

Good luck! *vibes*

Click to expand...

Key: Oreo=Resident, Rae=Kitten, Princess=Mom(Feral)

Thanks Stefan, Well it is noticeable now. The kitten yelps when he is biting her. I'm doing the "throw a towel over them" thing when it seems like he's getting too rough. I've let Princess and Oreo see each other through a doorway. Princesses tail got all fluffy a few time. Once I let them get a bit close between the crack of the door, and princess swatted and hissed at Oreo. Oreo ran away into the other room! Lol.. So much for the feral being submissive.

And my girlfriend let Princess walk around the living room all last night while Oreo was with us in the bedroom. Pretty ironic since I am just now reading your suggestion to let he get acquainted with the meeting room.

My plan is to let Oreo become comfortable with Rae first, since it seems like it'll happen easier -- then work on Oreo and Princess. Princess stays in her own room until I feel Rae and Oreo are used to each other's company.

How's that sound? Thanks again!