Cat keeping her distance after a new house cat comes along?

[wonderchild]

We just got a kitten a few weeks ago and my cat Lily wasn't happy. Not unexpected though because she has never done well with any of our other pets. She is an outdoor cat and during warmer weather she enjoys spending most of her time outside. However, she doesn't seem to ever travel far and is usually on/under the porch. She has been missing for a few days though and I'm worried. I'm trying to stay positive and not think about worse case scenarios but it is so unlike her to just up and disappear.  My question is whether or not it would be normal behavior for a cat to stay away when a new animal comes into the picture? Lily tends to keep to herself when she's inside the house (hangs out in the bedrooms) and has been on edge with the new kitten (who is very rambunctious).

Like I said, I'm trying to stay positive but the longer she stays away the more nervous I get. I was also thinking that maybe it's an instinctive thing to go off during mating season? I'm not even really sure if it's mating season but I thought maybe that could be a possibility. Perhaps I'm just grasping at straws here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[shadowsrescue]

First off, is Lily spayed?  If not she certainly will come back pregnant.  Mating season for cats can be all year long, but typically runs from late winter/early spring to late fall/early winter.  Hopefully since you let her outside she is spayed.

She very well might be stressed by the new kitten.  Typically you want to do introductions between cats, but with Lily being mostly outdoors it might be more difficult.  Yet if she is inside during colder months, you might want to try and do some introductions.  Also giving Lily a bit more attention so she knows she is special.

Have you tried looking for her or leaving food out for her?  Cats will typically come out from hiding at dusk and dawn.  I hope she returns safely to you.

Here is a link to an article on cat to cat introductions.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats