My two grown cats LOATHE my new kitten!

I have two grown cats, one male, one female. They're outside cats, They're both "fixed" and are noramally really nice kitties. I Love 'em both, but they hate the new kitty on the block. I just took in an abononed female kitten, a little orange kitty that looks to be a few months old at the most. I found her on the edge of death's door at a car-lot a week ago and just couldn't stand to hear her pitiful meow any more. So I took her home, cleaned her up and fed her. Afterwards I showed her to my two resident cats, but the male hisses at her if she gets too close, and the female won't get anywhere near her and just sits back a hundred feet and hisses like a wounded cheetah. She won't even eat out of the same bowl! I figured they would take a while getting used to having a new cat (kitten) around and all, and the situation's improved with the male. He'll let her rub up against him at least a few times before taking his paw and shoving her away. He'll hiss at her if she really gets on his nerves. The female however, doesn't even want me to pet her with the same hands that pet the kitten. WHAT'S the deal? I'm not a cat-pro or anything, so any help would be GREATLY appreciated! THANKS!

Cats are very territorial. I have four female cats (all adopted from the local animal shelter). Each time I introduced a new one it took a few months for the others to accept it. Mine are all inside only so I was able to keep the newcomer in a seperate room with its own food and litter for about a week or so before introducing it to the others. I start out just bringing the new kitten/cat out of the room for short periods of time. I believe in another post you said your cats were outdoor cats? If this is the case, I guess you'll just have to let them work it out on their own. Give them a few months. The last cat I adopted was an adult (3-5 years old) long haired Tuxedo cat. It was somewhat harder getting my other cats to accept her. Before her I had only ever brought kittens home from the shelter. It was a rough few months, but they all got through it. My 3 other cats acted like your female is acting (lots of hissing and growling). I figured as long as no fur was flying and nobody was bleeding they would work it out and in the end they did. Really only one of my cats is what I would call "friends" with my newest cat but the other two tolerate her. Maybe that's what will end up happening with your female (she will learn to "tolerate" the new kitten). I read an article somewhere on the internet that said that female cats are more territorial than males (I would think they were talking about neutered males, because intact males would be very territorial in my opinion). Maybe it is true, since you said your male is already softening up to the new kitten.

Thanks for the reply! Yea, the male cats that are still packin' (not fixed) are way more aggressive to newcomers than females (fixed or not), but the fixed males act like lazy lions. They just kind of sit around and as long as the newbie isn't up in his face, he's alright. That's how Gray is (the male) towards the kitten. He swatted at her once or twice when she was sticking her nose in his face, but he just swatted (sword of a warning shot) and didn't actually make contact. Now, they'll eat side-by-side and he hasn't hissed at her in the last few days. That's good. I did a trick with the female yesterday and today that may be improving the situation. Check this out: I took her, and her alone (the 3yr old hisser) in the garage (she loves it in there for some reason), fed her her very own can of Tuna, pet her for over an hour, and let her sleep in my lap while I read Motor Trend. After she awoke, she seemed to warm up to me more and actually wanted to be pet and cuddled again like she was before the kitten came along. I brought her outside and she didn't run a hundred feet away from the kitten. Tonight after church, I did the same thing with the food and pampering, and she actually hung out within twenty feet or so of the kitten and didn't hiss but maybe twice. BIG IMPROVEMENT. Maybe making her feel like a queen erased any possible notions she may have had about being put on the back burner. Gray looked kind of suspicious after he sensed the tuna on her breath, but he was alright when I gave him a good belly-scratching! Thanks again for the reply!