Kitties who were introduced wrong

My husband decided to surprise me with a new kitten while I was away. We already have an 8 month cat who is family to us. Although his intentions were good, he only separated them for a few hours and then allowed them to meet face to face. I came home to a beautiful 10 week old kitty who is absolutely terrified of my otherwise gentle older cat. He keeps lunging at her and hissing, trying to fight with her every time he sees her having fun. They are now separated and I'm trying to reintroduce them. Is there anyway to reverse those two horrifying days? Are they going to hate eachother forever?

~Little Mamma

I don't think they are going to hate each other forever...but I think you need to start the introductions all over again..and MUCH SLOWER this time. Here is a thread on introductions:

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...threadid=22138

BTW..you aren't the first person to have to reintroduce your cats...so don't feel bad.

Katie

What good hearted people you and your husband are! I agree with Katie...simply start all over again by following the directions in the link Katie gave. I think you will have success after a longer separation and re-introduction process.

Good luck!

Little Mamma, hissy has written a great article on introducing a new cat here. Once the first phase of introductions is done,you can try the vanilla extract trick. Place a dab of vanilla extract under both cats chins, between the shoulders and at the base of their tails, 3 times a day. This helps the cats to smell the same.

Something else that has been found to be successful is a Comfort Zone plug-in. You can read about it here.

As to your questions, yes, it is possible to 'undo' the fear the new kitten has of your older kitten and if the introductions are re-done properly, you will most likely find they'll be best buddies soon.