Kitten Killer ???

Hi everyone!! We are having a bit of a problem with our resident cat Charlie (7 months) and his new little brother Casey (6 weeks?). Charlie has been an "only cat" since we got him at the end of July at the age of 10 weeks. He's a really sweet cat, but he can be very aggressive during play. We wanted to get a second cat both for company and for "play" since Charlie is left alone all day.

On Friday night we got Casey, it was a spur of the moment decision (wrong, I know) and we were told that he is 6-7 weeks (although I think he is probably closer to 10-12). Casey has his own little "room" in the bathroom and that is where he stays when we're not around. We probably introduced them way to fast (another no-no) but it is very hard to keep Casey in a very small bathroom (and our ONLY bathroom) at all times. The hissing/growling has pretty much stopped but Charlie seems to see Casey as a "toy" that he can chase, pounce, and attack. This is where my concern lies.

When Charlie plays with his toys he is quite aggressive. His favorite "game" is to pounce on his stuffed cow, grab him by the throat, and then do a summersault so that the cow is on top of him. This action is followed by vigorous kicking and biting. The problem is that he is trying this with poor little Casey!! I want them to get to know each other but I dont't want Casey getting hurt (or worse) .

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas? We are pretty much willing to try anything! We love Charlie to death and would never give him up... but we are also getting attached to Casey and don't want to lose him either!

Thanks for your help!!!

If you think the play is to rough for Casey then I think going back to seperating them would be a good thing, especially if he is as young as you were told. A 7mo might not understand how far he can go and would need to be told by hissing and growling but Casey sounds a little to young to be able to stand up for himself. We never left the kittens alone with our older cat Autumn until I thought they could defend themselves properly in case something happened. I think it was around 4 months when I felt more comfortable (only supervised interaction) but shes not as playful as Charlie sounds.

It's more a territory thing: You brought a foreign cat into Charlie's realm. Charlie is going to be quite agressive towards Casey.
I do agree with SolarityBengals. as tough as it may be to keep Casey separated, it's easier on Charlie, as he'll become familiar to Casey's scent over time (say 2-3 weeks).

Don't worry though it does get better, trust me, my bf and I did something similar (merged our cats together w/o an introduction)...but if you continue with allowing Casey to runaround when you're home it can take 4-6 months before some calm situations happen (thats how long it took Beauty & Patches to accept Luna and really it's not always bliss). So I would vote for the Bedroom/bathroom thing for 3 weeks over the 4-6 months!

I agree with what has already been said. Keep the two of the separate unless you can supervise them. Dont worry, in time everything should settle down and hopefully, they will get on together. We had this problem with adult cats and kittens a while ago. When we were home, they were kept together but when we went to work, kittens and adults were kept in a separate room. After a while, they began to get on well and we no longer had to separate them. Good luck.

If the bathroom doesn't work, you might get a nice large cage or mesh enclosure for the new kitten. That would protect him when you aren't there to supervise, but also let both kitties observe each other and get acquainted.

I agree with what everyone has said. Our cat plays EXTREMELY rough with our dog (large German Shepherd) and I too would be scared he might hurt a kitten by "playing rough".

Well, the hissing and growling have stopped ... but we simply don't trust Charlie with the kitten. Even when we are there to supervise, things get out of control quickly (pouncing, biting etc). We have decided that we are definitely keeping Casey so therefore we are going to have to work something out.

We are planning on getting a large "dog kennel" (you know the kind with the plastic floor and wire mesh sides/top) to keep Casey in until he's big enough to defend himself. It's hard though...Casey cries when he's confined and Charlie gets upset too ('cause his new "toy" is missing). We are thinking of putting the "kennel" in the livingroom so that they can still interact with each other but Casey will stay in one piece.

The plan is to keep Casey in the kennel while no one is home and then to allow supervised contact between the two cats (depending on Charlie's aggression level) as much as possible. I was thinking of starting off slow (i.e. 5-10 minutes) and then gradually increasing the "play" time as things improve. We are also trying to give Casey some solo play time (usually when Charlie is having a nap in the bedroom). Hopefully we can get to the point where they can behave (somewhat) while we are around.

Hopefully by the time Casey is 4ish months he will be able to defend himself against Charlie. Although I guess we'll have to play it by ear depending on Casey's size/weight. Charlie is currently 9.5lbs and he's only 7 months so Casey has ALOT of catching up to do.

Wish us luck and if anyone has any other ideas please let me know.


P.S. would Feliway help the situation??

P.P.S If anyone wants to see some pics of Charlie click on the link below

Charlie's pics

Everyone has given good advice and I have nothing to say except.....

Awwwwwww, Charlie is SO cute!!

Charlie is so beautiful . I love his smokey grey color. Not to mention he's a shorthair( i know i know i play favorites). I didn't really do the whole introduction thing with my cats either. They were about 7(buttons) months and 11(simba) months. Simba was a skittish cat and buttons was curious. the only scuffles were when buttons wanted to play. And fortunately that was never to the degree of injury (there were some yelps though). I think it will work out better when Casey is a bit bigger(make sure you give him plenty of exercise so he'll be able to stand up to Charlie ).