Old cat jealous of new kitten - HELP!

I got a new 6 week old kitten "George" on Sat. am. It was a spur of the moment thing - just followed a free kitten sign. We have a 14 month cat named "Raven" who has been with us for 8 months. When we got home, I immediately introduced Raven to George - not a good idea. Raven is very upset. She hisses, growls, and wimpers in response to George. We live in a small 1 bedroom apartment. I have been keeping Raven in our bedroom with the door closed, but she seems to be depressed. She just lays on the bed in the same spot. Her 5' treehouse condo is in the living room and I'm sure she doesn't like being stuck in the bedroom. I've tried holding Raven and walking around with her, but when we get near the kitten, she starts digging her claws into my arms and starts with the evil hissing (she looks like the devil when she does that). I have tried letting her loose and supervising on the first night, but she started swatting and the kitten is just too small to risk him getting hurt. At night, Raven usually sleeps in the bedroom with us. The first night we let her, but when I got up in the middle of the night, the kitten ran into the bathroom meowing and I had to switch the cats out. So last night we just started with the kitten in the bedroom and the cat outside, but all she seemed to do was sit outside the bedroom door! I feel so bad about how upset Raven is feeling. I hate having to keep one of them locked up in the bedroom. Additionally, I am by myself during the day and do work on the computer for our eBay business mostly in the bedroom. If I leave the kitten in here, he wants to go out to play in the living room, but if I leave him outside he just meows to get in by me. Both the kitten and Raven need my attention, but how do I do this when they have to be kept separate? I know I shouldn't have introduced them right away like I did. Please somebody tell me there is still some hope!

There is hope but you pretty much have to start all over again with the introductions.

The cats will have to be kept separated but able to hear and smell each other. Some folks suggest rubbing a towel on each cat and then putting that towel with the other cat to get them used to the scent of each other.

We kept Bijou and Mika separated for one month except for short supervised visits in the evenings. Now, even though they love each other and curl up to sleep together, sometimes they play rough and you'll hear the occasional yowl, but they work it out between them and we don't interfere unless we feel things are getting too rough.

Do you think it's a problem that I switch who is in the bedroom and who has run of the rest of the apartment? I know Raven can smell the kitten's scent when I switch rooms. The kitten doesn't care at all. He just runs around and wants to play and climb on everything. It just seems that Raven is so sad being stuck in the bedroom, but I let her have the rest of the apartment at night. She is more nocturnal and does tend to sleep during the day....Also, have you heard of Feliway? It's supposed to help ease anxiety with cats. Do you think that would help? Thank you for your reply!

Hi Kristin, Raven & George! Glad to know we're not alone, eh? So, we put our kitten in her own room last night and intend to keep her there for several weeks. I also bought a Feliway plug-in, and hope that will calm everybody down. As for who gets the bedroom at your place ... does Raven have a specific routine/"territorty"? For example, our 3-yr old always sleeps on one end of the sofa during the day and on our bed at night. As a result, I won't let the kitten in our room or on the sofa. I think trying to maintain Raven's schedule and surroundings is most important. If she normally "runs the house" then locking her in your room is probably disconcerting for her. I realize your space is limited, but if Raven has no particular attachment to your room, perhaps this is a better place for the George.

That's what I was thinking, except Raven's "routine" consists mainly of following me around! She seems to stick mostly to the treehouse in the living room during the day and our bedroom at night so I've decided to let her have the apartment during the day and come in with us at night. Unfortunately both cats know the other one is on the other side of the door. Yesterday Raven realized she can get at the kitten under the bedroom door and was sticking her arm under with claws extended. I opened the door and the two cats were nose to nose. Raven looked like she would lick the kitten, but her paw was raised and she backed away. It really seems like she is more afraid than anything else. Raven was a shelter cat and stuck in the hole for 4 months before we got her and possibly abused her first 2 months. She is a very skittish cat to begin with. Hopefully Feliway will help ease her stress and anxiety.

What I found that helped. I had the same problem a few months ago when I added a new kitten to my cat family of 3. Was putting one of those baby gates up to the bedroom door. That way they could observe each other and smell each other.The resident cats where very interested in watching the new kitten with the safety of the gate up. I only left the door open with the gate when I was right there .Of course they could jump over the gate if they wanted to, They never did though. They would give a hiss the first few days when the new kitty got right up close to the gate. But that was it. it only took a few days of doing this. Then I could let them in one at a time with supervision.
Within a week they where all getting along fine.. Good Luck ..

I tried something like that. The first time it was the kitten that managed to get over the gate, then the cat would jump over as soon as I looked away for one second. I decided to just let them both out together and let 'em at it. They fight a bit, but as long as I'm there to supervise that the swatting isn't too hard.....I got a Feliway plug-in and we'll just hope they get along soon. If the kitten would stop antagonizing Raven they would be fine, but he just wants to play with her. When he runs up to her and she hisses at him, sometimes he just rolls over on his back with his paws up. It's very cute. Thank you for all the advice. Unfortunately we have a hurricane coming towards us so we'll all have to be locked up in the bathroom together for a short time adn hopefully they'll deal okay. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Yosemite

There is hope but you pretty much have to start all over again with the introductions.

The cats will have to be kept separated but able to hear and smell each other. Some folks suggest rubbing a towel on each cat and then putting that towel with the other cat to get them used to the scent of each other.

We kept Bijou and Mika separated for one month except for short supervised visits in the evenings. Now, even though they love each other and curl up to sleep together, sometimes they play rough and you'll hear the occasional yowl, but they work it out between them and we don't interfere unless we feel things are getting too rough.

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What's the definition of "too rough" for cat play? Tigger has been with us for awhile, and Callie came to us in July. We followed the slow introduction steps, etc. They are not best friends but they seem to enjoy each other's company... sometimes. I still keep them separate at night and during the day when I'm away, because Callie is smaller and Tigger picks on her sometimes. Tigger will trample right over top of Callie, and then pin her down and bite on the back of her neck. When she's being bitten, Callie's mouth and eyes are wide open and she looks to be in pain. But there's never any blood or marks on Callie's neck. Because of the pained look on Callie's face I always break it up by stomping/clapping/yelling. Some people said this is the right thing to do, others say I should leave them alone and that I'm only delaying their "process". I just don't know!!!

Kathy