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- May 23, 2015
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Hi all, this will be a bit long, but please help me if you can...
So a little over a week ago, I got a new kitten from the shelter - 3 months old, female. I already have a resident cat who is 11 years old. When we brought the kitten home, we first went through the scent introduction phase for about 5 days, where we kept the new kitten locked in one bedroom and let the resident cat have the rest of the house. That first day she picked up on the scent immediately and spent about half of the day hiding under the bed. Then, she came out and began to, as it seemed, get accustomed to it. She did laps around the house, even spent some time sleeping on the couch in the living room, before going back under the safe place under the bed in my bedroom. The next few days, she wasn't hiding anymore and spent a good amount of time in various places in the house, often stopped by the door to the kitten's room to check out the scent, and went about her business in the house as usual.
After about 5 days or so, we began visual introduction. For the first 2 days, we placed a large screen in the doorway to the kitten's room and left the door open so the kitten could see into the hallway (and the cat could see the kitten) but so that the kitten could not come out, nor the cat in. At first, the resident cat hissed a few times, growled a bit, but after the first day, she seemed more curious than aggressive (in fact, she didn't seem aggressive at all, but a bit cautious). On the second day, we repeated the same thing.
Then, on the third day, we brought our kitten out into the living room while the cat was elsewhere and just held her in our laps. The cat came into the room, realized the kitten was there, did not approach, but otherwise seemed fine. She did not growl or hiss, and even seemed comfortable enough to rest on the other side of the room. She did not hide. Since she seemed to be taking this fine, we got a harness and leash for the kitten and for the next few days we let her walk throughout the living room and kitchen on a (very short) leash so we could always be there in case the resident cat got threatened or tried to attack. The cat seemed fine - she would even be comfortable enough to lounge on the other side of the couch. She did not seem to mind the kitten terribly as long as the kitten did not get too close to her, which was understandable, since we'd only been doing this phase of introduction for a few days.
Today, however, a problem began. This morning was fine, as usual. I was on the couch with the kitten and my resident cat was in and out of the living room and at one point even came to rest within a few feet of me and the kitten, which I took to be a good sign, meaning she was becoming more comfortable with the kitten. At around lunchtime, I let the resident cat outside (in harness and leash) to hang out on my balcony, since she typically loves being outside in good weather like today. She did fine for a few hours and seemed happy. Then, I noticed she was beginning to walk off the balcony onto the grass (we live on the first floor) as she was attempting to hunt birds. This was straining the leash and I was afraid if she lunged at them, the force of the harness against her body would hurt her, so I called her inside. She didn't come, so I went out and tried to pick her up to take her in. When I picked her up, she let out a really blood-curling, horrifying yowl. I swear if you didn't know any better you'd think she was being murdered. I immediately unhooked her leash as I thought she would go inside, but she ran out onto the grass around the house. I would approach her, and she would growl at me. I couldn't pick her up to take her inside and she wasn't going in herself.
At this point, I was really worried she would run away or I would be unable to get her in the house. I tried to use food and her favorite treats to entice her in but nothing worked. Eventually, she calmed down just a bit and I was able to pick her up and quickly carry her inside without injury to me or her. Since then, she slept on my bed with me for a bit and ate some food, and I thought she was coming around from the little incident we had earlier. Then, my dad came home and tried to pet her. She began yowling horribly again and ran under the bed. She has been there since, for about an hour now.
I really have to note, we take her outside onto the balcony regularly, and usually she is very obedient when we ask her to come inside. What happened today was entirely new and unusual.
Now, for my question. I really think this new behavior is because she is stressed out from the new kitten. But why is she acting out like this if she seems to otherwise be fine when we have the kitten in the same room? She never had any such episodes in the week she has been around the kitten, and I'm not sure if what happened today was a nervous breakdown or something. Has anyone had any experiences like this? Do you know what I should do? How can I help her? I'm very worried, please send any feedback or advice..
So a little over a week ago, I got a new kitten from the shelter - 3 months old, female. I already have a resident cat who is 11 years old. When we brought the kitten home, we first went through the scent introduction phase for about 5 days, where we kept the new kitten locked in one bedroom and let the resident cat have the rest of the house. That first day she picked up on the scent immediately and spent about half of the day hiding under the bed. Then, she came out and began to, as it seemed, get accustomed to it. She did laps around the house, even spent some time sleeping on the couch in the living room, before going back under the safe place under the bed in my bedroom. The next few days, she wasn't hiding anymore and spent a good amount of time in various places in the house, often stopped by the door to the kitten's room to check out the scent, and went about her business in the house as usual.
After about 5 days or so, we began visual introduction. For the first 2 days, we placed a large screen in the doorway to the kitten's room and left the door open so the kitten could see into the hallway (and the cat could see the kitten) but so that the kitten could not come out, nor the cat in. At first, the resident cat hissed a few times, growled a bit, but after the first day, she seemed more curious than aggressive (in fact, she didn't seem aggressive at all, but a bit cautious). On the second day, we repeated the same thing.
Then, on the third day, we brought our kitten out into the living room while the cat was elsewhere and just held her in our laps. The cat came into the room, realized the kitten was there, did not approach, but otherwise seemed fine. She did not growl or hiss, and even seemed comfortable enough to rest on the other side of the room. She did not hide. Since she seemed to be taking this fine, we got a harness and leash for the kitten and for the next few days we let her walk throughout the living room and kitchen on a (very short) leash so we could always be there in case the resident cat got threatened or tried to attack. The cat seemed fine - she would even be comfortable enough to lounge on the other side of the couch. She did not seem to mind the kitten terribly as long as the kitten did not get too close to her, which was understandable, since we'd only been doing this phase of introduction for a few days.
Today, however, a problem began. This morning was fine, as usual. I was on the couch with the kitten and my resident cat was in and out of the living room and at one point even came to rest within a few feet of me and the kitten, which I took to be a good sign, meaning she was becoming more comfortable with the kitten. At around lunchtime, I let the resident cat outside (in harness and leash) to hang out on my balcony, since she typically loves being outside in good weather like today. She did fine for a few hours and seemed happy. Then, I noticed she was beginning to walk off the balcony onto the grass (we live on the first floor) as she was attempting to hunt birds. This was straining the leash and I was afraid if she lunged at them, the force of the harness against her body would hurt her, so I called her inside. She didn't come, so I went out and tried to pick her up to take her in. When I picked her up, she let out a really blood-curling, horrifying yowl. I swear if you didn't know any better you'd think she was being murdered. I immediately unhooked her leash as I thought she would go inside, but she ran out onto the grass around the house. I would approach her, and she would growl at me. I couldn't pick her up to take her inside and she wasn't going in herself.
At this point, I was really worried she would run away or I would be unable to get her in the house. I tried to use food and her favorite treats to entice her in but nothing worked. Eventually, she calmed down just a bit and I was able to pick her up and quickly carry her inside without injury to me or her. Since then, she slept on my bed with me for a bit and ate some food, and I thought she was coming around from the little incident we had earlier. Then, my dad came home and tried to pet her. She began yowling horribly again and ran under the bed. She has been there since, for about an hour now.
I really have to note, we take her outside onto the balcony regularly, and usually she is very obedient when we ask her to come inside. What happened today was entirely new and unusual.
Now, for my question. I really think this new behavior is because she is stressed out from the new kitten. But why is she acting out like this if she seems to otherwise be fine when we have the kitten in the same room? She never had any such episodes in the week she has been around the kitten, and I'm not sure if what happened today was a nervous breakdown or something. Has anyone had any experiences like this? Do you know what I should do? How can I help her? I'm very worried, please send any feedback or advice..
