- Joined
- Jul 23, 2018
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Hello! I am new to this site and am really looking for advice. I live in an apartment and adopted a 4 month old kitten (now around 10 months old) in January. Her name is Kitticita. I do not know what her kitten-hood was like before I adopted her from a shelter. All I know is that she had not been socialized with humans yet. I was originally her foster mom (tasked with helping her to adjust to human contact) and had great success in getting her used to me. She is such a sweetie with people now (runs up to them, loves being pet, sits and sleeps on laps, etc). That is why I ended up adopting her.
I wanted to have two cats, and I felt that it would be best to get Kitticita accustomed to another cat while she is still a kitten. I also thought she was less likely to be threatened by a younger, smaller kitten, so I adopted Baby (haven't thought of a better name yet).
While Baby has been socialized with other cats (she was with her siblings when I adopted her), Kitticita probably was not. I introduced the two cats slowly (kept them in separate rooms for a few days, switched bedding, opened the door a crack, used a baby gate, etc) until Kitticita stopped hissing and growling and they were regularly calmly sniffing each other. I have been letting them interact under close (very close) supervision, but every time Kitticita even sees Baby, she runs and chases her under the sofa, the bed, a chair, the shower curtain, whatever is available for baby to hide under. It is very frustrating! I have tried keeping Kitticita at bay, scolding her, etc, but she only has eyes for Baby. She slinks after her and stares at her with dilated pupils. It is getting to the point where if poor Baby sees Kitticita she immediately runs for cover. There is only peace when they are in separate rooms, but Kitticita starts crying and pushing at whatever door she is closed behind if I am spending time with Baby in another room.
Help!
P.S. Both cats are spayed and I have been using a Feliway Multi-cat diffuser for about a week, although I am really not seeing any results with that.
I wanted to have two cats, and I felt that it would be best to get Kitticita accustomed to another cat while she is still a kitten. I also thought she was less likely to be threatened by a younger, smaller kitten, so I adopted Baby (haven't thought of a better name yet).
While Baby has been socialized with other cats (she was with her siblings when I adopted her), Kitticita probably was not. I introduced the two cats slowly (kept them in separate rooms for a few days, switched bedding, opened the door a crack, used a baby gate, etc) until Kitticita stopped hissing and growling and they were regularly calmly sniffing each other. I have been letting them interact under close (very close) supervision, but every time Kitticita even sees Baby, she runs and chases her under the sofa, the bed, a chair, the shower curtain, whatever is available for baby to hide under. It is very frustrating! I have tried keeping Kitticita at bay, scolding her, etc, but she only has eyes for Baby. She slinks after her and stares at her with dilated pupils. It is getting to the point where if poor Baby sees Kitticita she immediately runs for cover. There is only peace when they are in separate rooms, but Kitticita starts crying and pushing at whatever door she is closed behind if I am spending time with Baby in another room.
Help!
P.S. Both cats are spayed and I have been using a Feliway Multi-cat diffuser for about a week, although I am really not seeing any results with that.