Hi all,
A few weeks back I wrote about the introduction of a kitten into my home and my fear of the reactions of the resident cat. Well, I think I can now pretty much sum up what the biggest problem is likely to be:
Kitten's utter lack of the concept of danger/ punishment.
1. When we initially began the introduction process, our biggest fear was that the resident cat would attack the new kitten. Well, that seems to be far from what's happening now. Firstly, despite what I would expect as obvious danger signs, such as resident hissing, yowling, raising hackles, and growling, kitten totally has no idea what all that means. Secondly, no only isn't she cautious, she often runs straight for resident in all innocence and friendliness.
We don't know if this is for fun or whether she sees resident as a surrogate mother. What I do know is that instead of restraining resident cat we are working full time to restrain kitten from making a mad dash for aggressive resident, even to the point of ambushing her.
2. With resident, all I need do is raise my voice, call out "No!" or roll up the ol' newspaper, or any other warning signs and she stops what she's doing. With kitten, it doesn't matter what I do, she doesn't get the concept of punishment or reproach. Even after a whack with the newspaper roll or open palm, she gives a puzzled look, and is instantly back at my feet playing with my toes. Stern, authoritarian, stentorian voice does absolutely nothing to warn her she's getting out of line or in danger.
Lest bleeding hearts go off at any perceived cruelty or the wrongness of punishment, I want to point out that our very real concern is that without any concept of consequence there is a very real danger when we do need to warn her. For instance, strangers breaking and entering, dangerous dogs, etc.
The biggest concern right now is we feel we really cannot keep her in isolation any longer and need to start letting her out of the room as it is pretty cruel to keep her confined even with the amusements we try to give her.
So my question is: How does one start to teach a totally clueless kitten about danger? I don't want resident to outright attack kitten before she learns the concept of pain avoidance. If both cats were wary of and unfriendly to each other I would be a lot less concerned about letting them roam about, but this is a case where we have one clueless kitten having no concept of danger in very real danger from a resident with a history of aggression.
Thanks and many regards!
A few weeks back I wrote about the introduction of a kitten into my home and my fear of the reactions of the resident cat. Well, I think I can now pretty much sum up what the biggest problem is likely to be:
Kitten's utter lack of the concept of danger/ punishment.
1. When we initially began the introduction process, our biggest fear was that the resident cat would attack the new kitten. Well, that seems to be far from what's happening now. Firstly, despite what I would expect as obvious danger signs, such as resident hissing, yowling, raising hackles, and growling, kitten totally has no idea what all that means. Secondly, no only isn't she cautious, she often runs straight for resident in all innocence and friendliness.
We don't know if this is for fun or whether she sees resident as a surrogate mother. What I do know is that instead of restraining resident cat we are working full time to restrain kitten from making a mad dash for aggressive resident, even to the point of ambushing her.
2. With resident, all I need do is raise my voice, call out "No!" or roll up the ol' newspaper, or any other warning signs and she stops what she's doing. With kitten, it doesn't matter what I do, she doesn't get the concept of punishment or reproach. Even after a whack with the newspaper roll or open palm, she gives a puzzled look, and is instantly back at my feet playing with my toes. Stern, authoritarian, stentorian voice does absolutely nothing to warn her she's getting out of line or in danger.
Lest bleeding hearts go off at any perceived cruelty or the wrongness of punishment, I want to point out that our very real concern is that without any concept of consequence there is a very real danger when we do need to warn her. For instance, strangers breaking and entering, dangerous dogs, etc.
The biggest concern right now is we feel we really cannot keep her in isolation any longer and need to start letting her out of the room as it is pretty cruel to keep her confined even with the amusements we try to give her.
So my question is: How does one start to teach a totally clueless kitten about danger? I don't want resident to outright attack kitten before she learns the concept of pain avoidance. If both cats were wary of and unfriendly to each other I would be a lot less concerned about letting them roam about, but this is a case where we have one clueless kitten having no concept of danger in very real danger from a resident with a history of aggression.
Thanks and many regards!