New Kitten in the house, my 1 year old cat is Biting him severely!

Good Afternoon,

I just have a few simple questions, i'm hoping maybe you can help me.

I recently just brought home a beautiful 7 week old kitten, and my other beautiful 1 year old cat is attacking him and biting him every chance he gets. I recently just adopted Chewy(1 Year Old) around christmas time. The owners had problems with him biting visiously so they gave him up. They had declawed him very early, I myself don't agree with it, but I think maybe he bites so much because of it.

He is a good cat when he wants to be, I can pat him for 5 minutes, and out of nowheres he would attack me and bite. Now that the new kitten is in the house, chewy is sneaking up on him every chance he gets. A few people suggested the best way to solve it, would be to get a kitty Muzzle. I have looked online for them but i could only find muzzles that cover the cats eyes as well. I would prefer it just cover his mouth when he is being punished.

What do you suggest I do?
Thank you for your time, I appreciate your opinion greatly.
I'm new to the site, any suggestions would be great!

Has Chewy seen a vet to determine whether there is any medical reason for his attacking?? That would be the first thing I would do...sometimes cats show behavioral issues because they are "hurting" physically but can't tell us.

I also sent this link to Petnurse who is a vet tech and may have some suggestions.

Katie

I would get with your vet and do a complete physical exam, and explain the situation to him/her, this sounds to a point where some anti-anxiety drugs may be helpful. Have you tried Feliway, it wouldn't cure this but it might help. Till you can do this I would keep the cats completely seperated so the new kitten is not injured physically or psychologicaly.

Welcome to TCS! I've moved your thread to our Behavior forum, where your problem will get the proper attention and you should get good advice.

I took him to the vet for an exam, as he had jumped off the Deck and hurt his paw, i had told her she better do a complete exam, and explained to her my situation. Everything was great. I separated them, i'm running out of ideas. Maybe someone has had a similar experience and can maybe suggest a list of thing's I could do.

Thanks everyone.

Did the vet have any suggestions for you? If it is residual pain from the declaw I just recently read an article on dealing with it once and for good, so there are options out there. If the vet you went to isn't willing to help you solve this problem I would call around till you find one that does.

Hello there..

She had said there was no pain or left over declawing bacteria or anything..Everything was great. I think maybe it's just natural for him, instead of clawing, he uses his teeth. I don't know why hes like that, i would prefer if he used his niceness instead of his razor sharp teeth.

It is the belief that cats who are declawed end up using their teeth since their claws were taken away, and for some cats that may be true. I would try the Feliway, and do you have toys for him? Maybe redirect his agression to some toys and see if that helps (a laser pointer works great too ). When you are doing the introductions try locking the new kitten in a carrier (to keep him safe) and leave it where you can watch and give the older cat a chance to sniff at the new one through the carrier, also you can try sticking a cat toy or ribbon or string (as long as they don't eat it) where it is half in the carrie and half out and see if you can get them to play with it and maybe together. The big thing is to go slow, don't try to rush anything.

Please don't get a kitty muzzle, there is no need for those at all! Separate the two cats, start over from scratch and let them adjust to each other at their pace and not yours. Chewy is biting and ambushing because cats are smart and Chewy knows his primary weapons (claws) are gone Therefore, he does not want to let this new cat get the best of him, so he is becoming the aggressor out of self preservation.

Please see my article on introducing cats, and purchase a couple of feliway comfort zone room diffusers, make sure you have a nice tall condo, or cat perch where Chewy can get up and off the floor-

http://www.thecatsite.com/Cats/Cat_B...cing_Cats.html

That is great, thank you very much. Yes, i just brought the kitty in and let him take over. I should of thought, I got too excited. So I will try what you have suggested, i think this might work, i'm very excited. Lets wish me luck!!

Hi MissyMay. I just wanted to chime in with the separation and reintroduction idea. There's a member of this site--I can't remember, maybe it was Yosemite?--who kept her new cat separated from her old cat for close to a month, I think, with very good results. Since you've worried about Chewy, it might be a good idea to keep him separated from the kitten for more time than is usually recommended. You haven't had Chewy for all that long, either, and since he is pretty young, he may generally be more active (and thus aggressive).

Also, is Chewy neutered? If not, that can really help if he's acting territorial.

With a cat who bites from overstimulation (petting), you really have to learn his signs and try to stop petting before he bites. You might see his expression change, or he might tense up his body, or he might pull his ears tight back--all of these are signs that he might bite, and that you should separate yourself from him. If he does still get a bite in, loudly (but calmly, not angrily) say "No!" and immediately leave him alone. Do not approach him again until he approaches you.

Good luck, and enjoy the new kitten!

Yes he is indeed neutered. I can tell when he is about to attack, because he always has that "I'm gonna get you" face, or he'll stare. He doesn't seem like he gets very mad. He just likes to bite. I have done the NO thing, it seems that it works for 1 minute, then as soon as i'm gone out of the room, he'll try and attack him again. The kitten is in his little kitty cage, chewy is going up and smelling him very often. Chewy seems very relaxed now and isn't biteing us now that the kitten is in his kitty cage. So when I go out, should i put the kitten in the room, or chewy in the room? I would suggest the kitten go in the room. Would you agree?