Introducing a new kitten to an old cat - problem isn't the old cat though...

[minsooky]

Hi!  I've been trying to do some research on this but not having much luck.  I find plenty of resources explaining how to deal with an old cat being aggressive towards an old cat, but not the other way around.

For my birthday my husband got me a kitten, about 4 months old, not de-manned yet.  He is quite a gentle and playful kitty, isn't aggressive at all.  I've had for two days and we're already getting along well, he loves getting head rubs from me  But, I also have an old cat, who is 17 and is probably the most docile cat on the planet.

I have the kitty in a separate room to help him adjust to his new settings, but he really does not like the old cat lol.  My old cat will meow (like meow? as if he's asking a question lol) and try to get close to him to check him out, not aggressively but curiously, but the kitty will hiss and growl.  I make sure the kitty cannot attack my cat, usually by putting something between them.  My old cat usually just walks away or flops on his side and goes to sleep when he does this lol.

I'm not quite sure how to deal with this.  What can I do to make sure the kitty doesn't want to kill my old cat every time they meet?  I understand the kitty probably needs time to adjust, but do you guys have any tips on how I can help them transition more smoothly?  My husband suggested a baby gate but idk if that is a good idea or not.  Seems like my old cat doesn't have any problem with the kitty, but the kitty doesn't like him too much...

 

[rad65]

The normal recommendation when you have a resident cat that is that old (congrats BTW, that speaks very highly of the level of care you provide your cat) is to get two kittens rather than one, because kittens are bundles of energy and can really stress out older cats. The thing that worries me is the age of your cat. A couple members on this site introduced kittens to older cats and then saw their older cat's health deteriorate due to the constant stress of a high energy kitten. If it's at all possible, I would recommend getting a second kitten to act as a playmate and energy drain on your current kitten. Also, and not to sound macabre, but your kitten will have a best friend and won't be as heartbroken when your older cat inevitably dies when your kitten is still relatively young.

As for the constant fighting, I don't think the kitten is attacking out of spite. The same thing happened when I got a kitten for my 2-year-old cat. The kitten was the dominant one right off the bat. The thing about cats is they are still animals with ingrained instincts. Like most animals, there is a heirarchy among groups of cats. In every household, there needs to be an alpha or dominant cat, and the others are lower on the pecking order. This isn't something you can control, either. The cats have to duke it out and figure out for themselves who is the dominant one, or neither will be happy.