A few weeks ago, I posted our sob story about our new kitten hating our older cat. Well, things have calmed down between the two of them, for the most part. They co-exist peacefully now, though they are not friends, by any stretch of the imagination.
The exception to this rule is dinner time.
Our older cat is a big dominant tom-cat, but he has never been a jerk about food. He has always shared with other animals.
Not the kitten. Oh no.
We put down a bowl of food, Mercury will hiss, growl, and even swat at our older cat--and even drive him away from the food dish. I feel so sad for our older cat, who just sort of ambles off, depressed and hungry. He weighs 13lbs more than the kitten, so I don't understand why he doesn't just swat him and put him in his place.
The kitten, for his part, actually got so aggressive with his food that he growled at my husband. This earned him a time-out. Growling at us is not acceptable.
I don't understand what's going on here though. Is the kitten not getting enough food? Does he think he's starving? Why is he so greedy and mean? Why is my older cat, who has always been a very dominant cat, putting up with this?
The exception to this rule is dinner time.
Our older cat is a big dominant tom-cat, but he has never been a jerk about food. He has always shared with other animals.
Not the kitten. Oh no.
We put down a bowl of food, Mercury will hiss, growl, and even swat at our older cat--and even drive him away from the food dish. I feel so sad for our older cat, who just sort of ambles off, depressed and hungry. He weighs 13lbs more than the kitten, so I don't understand why he doesn't just swat him and put him in his place.
The kitten, for his part, actually got so aggressive with his food that he growled at my husband. This earned him a time-out. Growling at us is not acceptable.
I don't understand what's going on here though. Is the kitten not getting enough food? Does he think he's starving? Why is he so greedy and mean? Why is my older cat, who has always been a very dominant cat, putting up with this?