New Kitten in household

Hi there!

My male kitty passed away friday night and on saturday morning we were walking around and decided to go into the pet shop. We saw a male kitty that has the same markings and decided to bring him home. My female kitty initially sniffed at him and then realised that this tiny thing could move and completely freaked out!

We thought that bringing in the new kitty would help minimize her missing her brother and maybe help us as well. I know a lot of people do not agree with us on doing things this way or so quickly, but all her playmates have gone. First the cats next door moved and now her brother passed away, so she is all alone. I don't think she has realised that her brother is gone yet but we are hoping that the new kitty will distract her.

My problem is that she sees him and starts hissing and growling and as long as he is upstairs she will be calm downstairs. But as soon as he comes downstairs she runs outside and we don't see her for a few hours. He is not really scared of her, he cowers a little but is quick to hiss and growl back. But he runs away very quickly, just in case.

Sorry for the essay...is there anyone that has had this experience and know what to do about it?

JakkieS..welcome to the site. How much time did you take to do the "introductions"?? It is recommended to have them separated for at least a week to get used to the smell of each other before they even interact. I like this article:


http://www.pawschicago.org/PetCare/catintroductions.htm

Chances are...you can start the introductions over again with better results.

How old is your original cat?? It is recommended that if a cat is 5 years old or older to bring either another cat that is around the same age or 2 kittens so that the adult cat doesn't feel overwhelmed by the energy of the kitten.

Good Luck,

Katie

My cat did the same thing when I got a new kitten. I don't know if this is proper to do but i got my cat's paws and put the kitten close to it so it could smell it. It would start hissing but wouldn't actually bite the kitten. After like 2 days of doing this my cat found out that the kitten was no harm to it so it accepted it into the house. But you have to watch them carefully everytime they are together. Hope that helped!

Thanx for your replies!

This morning went much better, my oldest cat (almost three) decided enough was enough and walked right up to him. He hissed she hissed, he ran under our couch and she hunkered down to keep an eye on him and a little bit of "talking" ensued. She wasn't really growling at him it was more of a gurgle. But now she is walking around, even if it is a little cautiously but she isn't afraid of him anymore. Crazy really...such a big girl being afraid of something so tiny..

I'm glad that your introductions are making progress.

Katie

It is going slowly, sometimes there seems to be progress and sometimes it feels like we have taken a step back. She still hisses a lot but no growling or anything like that. She hasn't tried to swat at him and he seems to try and be as subservient as possible when he sees her.

But I am still worried that the hissing will lead to more aggression, but I suppose we will have to wait and see.