2 new cats bully original 1

My girlfriend moved in with an 8 y/o female declawed and fixed. Soon after we adopted a 4 week old male kitten. They get along fair after some initial worries, but they are complete opposites lol. 2 months pass and we adopt a rescue 1 y/o female, fixed. She's very sweet to us, and after a week or so, her and our male kitten are best friends and playmates. However, our original cat has taken to the closet, or behind furniture, or in any hidden place where she stays for days. She is terrified and after 8 years of being the only cat in the house, I feel like she is living her life in fear.should we worry? Or will this work itself out?
Also the old female is the only cat with no front claws, which makes her a n easy target right?

I won't 'de-claw' the other cats,I think that's inhumane

I think being declawed make her insecure and afraid of other cats. She can fight back even if it's only playing so she must feel shy and scared. I have never de-claw a cat because i also think is wrong so i don't know what kind of advice I can give you :/

It's a LOT of changes in a short amount of time.  Cats as a general rule do not like change and the older the cat, the harder is seems to be for them to accept changes.  You need to separate her and rebuild her confidence.  Try some calming diffusers like Comfort Zone with Feliway (many have great success with it, but not all do).  Just try to make her feel more secure and like she has her own area (not hiding) but that she can claim in the house as hers again.  Pay lots of attention to her.  Then Slowly reintroduce the kittens to her one at a time.  Keep visits short and drama free as possible.  If aggression occurs, just remove and separate without any shouting or negative reaction from you.  Jackson Galaxy of My Cat From Hell has many excellent videos on just this occasion.

Hi and welcome.

Yes, you should worry frankly.

The new 1 yr old FEMALE is the problem actually.

Girls are the dominant of the 2 sexes, the males submit to her top position in the home and once she acts up at first and lets him know she is the boss, then she feels confident that her position is intact.

WELL.....add an adult female to the mix and disaster hits.

SHE now wants that top position and will run the older cat down to the point of her becoming withdrawn and depressed, add on top of that no defenses, and she is not going to be okay, sorry to say.

If she weren't declawed, and such a big age difference, then with time, and alot of stress, and battles, hissing, all that, the stronger willed cat wins, and the other cat is resentful but at least they will somewhat live in peace, but they will NEVER be friends, I can say that with confidence.

The 1 yr old is so young and strong willed, she is just getting started in her adulthood.

The 8 yr old knows she is in trouble, and will also tend to not befriend the young male now either.

catwoman707 said:

 
Hi and welcome.

Yes, you should worry frankly.

The new 1 yr old FEMALE is the problem actually.

Girls are the dominant of the 2 sexes, the males submit to her top position in the home and once she acts up at first and lets him know she is the boss, then she feels confident that her position is intact.

WELL.....add an adult female to the mix and disaster hits.

SHE now wants that top position and will run the older cat down to the point of her becoming withdrawn and depressed, add on top of that no defenses, and she is not going to be okay, sorry to say.

If she weren't declawed, and such a big age difference, then with time, and alot of stress, and battles, hissing, all that, the stronger willed cat wins, and the other cat is resentful but at least they will somewhat live in peace, but they will NEVER be friends, I can say that with confidence.

The 1 yr old is so young and strong willed, she is just getting started in her adulthood.

The 8 yr old knows she is in trouble, and will also tend to not befriend the young male now either.

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No offense but you are getting very ahead of yourself.  We do not know enough to know the one year old female is the problem.  Females can co exist and bond very lovingly.  I have living proof of that.  If they are spayed, it should be no problem and it's rare for a shelter to adopt one out unsprayed.  And I can say that with confidence.  Saying they will never be friends is inaccurate.  Jackson Galaxy has proven that the worst cases can be resolved.

timmyd said:

My girlfriend moved in with an 8 y/o female declawed and fixed. Soon after we adopted a 4 week old male kitten. They get along fair after some initial worries, but they are complete opposites lol. 2 months pass and we adopt a rescue 1 y/o female, fixed. She's very sweet to us, and after a week or so, her and our male kitten are best friends and playmates. However, our original cat has taken to the closet, or behind furniture, or in any hidden place where she stays for days. She is terrified and after 8 years of being the only cat in the house, I feel like she is living her life in fear.should we worry? Or will this work itself out?
Also the old female is the only cat with no front claws, which makes her a n easy target right?

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Sorry but I do not agree that they can or will work this out.

In time with alot of work, and then more time, they MAY learn to tolerate one another, but re-read the original post. 

SHE IS HIDING FOR DAYS, TERRIFIED, AND DECLAWED. (which causes a huge amount of insecurity on top of things) In fact she may have reacted differently if she had claws, possibly held her ground as my cat did when my second female was brought home despite the fact that the new girl could tear her up if she wanted to.

But my first girl is very confident and did not ever back down.

Nope, I've seen this scenario plenty, why do you think she did okay with the male? 

BTW, they are both spayed, which has zero bearing on the problem, that is in male cats who are not neutered.

It is the naturally occurring dominance in the females that is the issue here.

She won't stop hiding, and will become withdrawn and depressed, just as any other female cat does who lacks confidence when a new girl comes into the picture.

I just tell it the way I see it, and that is clearly what I see.

One of the many down sides to declawing. It also removes their confidence. 

catwoman707 said:

 
Sorry but I do not agree that they can or will work this out.

In time with alot of work, and then more time, they MAY learn to tolerate one another, but re-read the original post.

SHE IS HIDING FOR DAYS, TERRIFIED, AND DECLAWED. (which causes a huge amount of insecurity on top of things) In fact she may have reacted differently if she had claws, possibly held her ground as my cat did when my second female was brought home despite the fact that the new girl could tear her up if she wanted to.

But my first girl is very confident and did not ever back down.

Nope, I've seen this scenario plenty, why do you think she did okay with the male?

BTW, they are both spayed, which has zero bearing on the problem, that is in male cats who are not neutered.

It is the naturally occurring dominance in the females that is the issue here.

She won't stop hiding, and will become withdrawn and depressed, just as any other female cat does who lacks confidence when a new girl comes into the picture.

I just tell it the way I see it, and that is clearly what I see.

One of the many down sides to declawing. It also removes their confidence.

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My main point was you are so quick to blame the female.  That's very biased.  The OP never states that the younger female initiates any attacks at all.  According to the poster, she has problems with BOTH.  It is a lot of changes in a short amount of time:  A move, a new cat, then another new cat.  It's a lot for an older cat.  Of course she's unsure and terrified.  But, with WORK they can make it work.  They just have to be dedicated to doing so.  Jackson Galaxy has proven that.

Basically you are telling the poster to not even try, just give up.  That's not an option if you love your cats.  There's always a way to make it so they can at least co exist.

P3 and The King said:

 
My main point was you are so quick to blame the female.  That's very biased.  The OP never states that the younger female initiates any attacks at all.  According to the poster, she has problems with BOTH.  It is a lot of changes in a short amount of time:  A move, a new cat, then another new cat.  It's a lot for an older cat.  Of course she's unsure and terrified.  But, with WORK they can make it work.  They just have to be dedicated to doing so.  Jackson Galaxy has proven that.

Basically you are telling the poster to not even try, just give up.  That's not an option if you love your cats.  There's always a way to make it so they can at least co exist.

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I like to think that nothing is impossible if you are willing to consistently put the work and constant effort into it, but this one would seriously call for Jackson himself to help them out here.

The OP's title speaks volumes here.

My reaction is genuinely how I see this. I feel sorry for the older cat, and the new girl has only been with them for a week, which is when the hiding began, so rather than make it sound as if it will eventually work itself out, or with time, some work and patience, and so on, in my opinion it's early in this, and it might be in the best interest for everyone, at least the older cat and the OP and mate, that they rethink having another female cat along with a declawed older female cat.

Trust me, I have a cat rescue group! The thought of returning the new girl bothers me, but at the same time, it bothers me even more that an 8 year old insecure female just was moved, then given the new additions, to the point she is hiding for days? Ugh, that is sad......I can only imagine how upset she must feel.

Well, it is very upsetting, I agree with you.  But, I still feel you are jumping to conclusions way too fast.  We don't know a whole lot yet.  The OP hasn't even said she's being attacked.  I just reread it again and it seems to me that on top of many new and upsetting changes, proper introductions and separation times were not put to use.  It seems as if this cat was just thrown in the mix.  To that, I would say separate them immediately.   Work on the older cats confidence and getting her secure as it doesn't sound as if she were afraid and timid BEFORE all of this occurred.  Try some Comfort Zone diffusers, it may help, it may not.  Then SLOWLY reintroduce the new ones again first by smell and then by sight and food.  Keep interactions brief but positive.  Using food or treats is always good.  But it is most important to build the older girls confidence again.  And is there any attacking going on?  Or is she just bolting because she doesn't really know the new kitten?  There's a big difference between showing aggression and just not having done proper introductions.  I truly feel that this could be a big part of it, a week is not a super long time.  You need to keep them separated for about a week and take it slow.

I also work for a adoption center/vet clinic and I am in school to be a behavior specialist.  So, that's what stands out to me.  The fact that there's not really a lot of information about what happens with the kittens and how they act... Only that the older female is upset and hiding.  Which is understandable given all the changes she has been through recently.

Please remember to keep remarks impersonal.  There is often more than one way to approach a difficult situation like this, and personal references to another's point of view may only distract from helping the original poster with their issue.

betsygee said:

 
Please remember to keep remarks impersonal.  There is often more than one way to approach a difficult situation like this, and personal references to another's point of view may only distract from helping the original poster with their issue.

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Thanks @betsygee  and I agree. 

I can agree to disagree too.

I've offered what I could to the OP, who can see there are different views, and may choose to go his own direction.

@timmyd  I have done this for much too long to make light of the situation, as I feel for the older cat, and have never seen this resolve in a good way, there is an enormous difference between eventually learning to tolerate each other and becoming friends. That is not going to occur unfortunately. The older cat will become the underdog, which she will never feel okay about.

It's hard and stressful enough having to move, okay but she will in time adapt fine. She hadn't had time yet to claim her new home, which is life as she had always known, then adapting to a new little kitten, okay, she could do this too, a male, young, it's doable in time, then as she is adjusting, she claimed her position with him, and along comes an adult female. The 2 new kids become friends, and she is out of the mix.

She will be the underdog. In time she will not hide, however she will always show a lack of confidence with the new girl. This is what declawing does. She is obviously not a tough cookie personality and confidence wise.

In the title of this thread, 2 new cats bullying the old cat, it's really not the male, he is just hanging with his new spunky friend.

It's the second female in the house now that is the issue here.

She doesn't even necessarily have to be doing alot to be intimidating either.

It is natural for her to challenge for the position, which she is doing already. And she WILL take it.

I believe that with Jackson himself working this out, you will not have a happy ending for the older girl. Even he can't make them become friends. He can only get them to coexist without battles.

Even that is a long process, and you will still end up with an unhappy older cat.

Sorry, wish I could have given you more positive advice here.

Good luck.

Again, I think there is lack of information to be certain.  But, I think it's irrelevant, as the poster has not been back. But, without details about how the kittens are acting toward her and more information, all we can do is speculate.  And ultimately, its up to you to decide what you are willing, can and able to do about correcting this or getting it to a nice co existence at the very least.  It will be work. Hard work and it will take lots of consistency and reinforcement on your part.  And ultimately, you may need to rehome the last kitten adopted because it was just too much for your older girl.  Too much change and not enough time to adjust.  It may not even be the female kittens fault, she may be doing nothing wrong.  However, the fact is that it was just too soon... Too soon to add another and too soon to make proper introductions.  At best we can offer opinions but without seeing it first hand, it is really hard to say what's going on.  That is why in Behavior Studies it is upmost important to see them in their own element and see the problem ourselves.