My cat wants to "eat" our new kitten

[miskinsincap]

I know the how ridiculous the title sounds, but that pretty much summarizes our situation. Ok, here is the story:

A few days ago we found a tabby boy about 1,5-2 months old, abandoned in a metro station. He was quite weak, hungry, and one of his hind legs was semi-functional. My guess is that he was beaten badly by a cat (because he is scared of cat meows), somehow escaped and got lost. So we brought him to our house. 

But our house is the reign of my 17-year old, very agressive, very dominant female cat. In the past, we did look after several animals (cats, dogs, birds) temporarily, and she always hated them. She even tried to get rid of my husband when we got married, but he patiently endured and won her respect. We do have an idea about how to deal with her agression. But this time it is different. At first, my cat completely ignored the newcomer's existence. Then on the third day, they accidentally met. The kitten got scared and hissed at her, and that was followed by a fierce paw attack from my cat. Nothing bloody, but it was a lot scary. 

After that incident, whenever we tried to introduce the two, my cat began to treat the kitten as if he is some kind of cat food. She looks at the kitten, and then me, and she begs me in the tone she uses to ask food. If they get closer, she begins to take her hunting pose (not the one she uses to chase toys, it's the pose she takes when she's after birds, and no she never managed to catch any birds, she's such a bad hunter). I am completely clueless about why she does that and how to deal with it. 

To make things worse, we're moving to a new house in a couple of days. There's plenty of room in the new house for both of them, and my cat is used to change houses with me, but this house was her conquered territory, whileas the new one will have to be shared with a kitten right from the beginning. 

On the positive side, the kitten's fears about cats seems to be vanishing. He showed a complete trust to us right from the beginning, and he quickly learns and adjusts his behavior according to our reactions. 

At this point, it's appearent that this boy is gonna stay with us indefinitely, so we have to find a way to make these two felines get along. I'd really appreciate your advice about how to proceed. 

PS: The kitten's leg is fast healing. There will be some more vet trips in his near future, and he probably will lose a bit of functionality of that leg, but he's already walking running jumping and even climbing with all his four legs. 

 

[tulosai]

You have introduced them way too quickly.  They definitely should not have met fact to face yet, especially since the kitten is injured and you know your 17-year old is very unfriendly to other animals. In addition, you should always isolate new animals in your home to prevent them from spreading any diseases to resident cats.

I highly suggest you read this: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats  and start reintroducing them.  Since you are moving soon it may be an ideal reset.

 

[miskinsincap]

*sigh* you're absolutely right, it was too quick, but it was never our intention, The kitten managed to escape from her isolation just in the blink of an eye, and ran directly towards the master of the house who was sunbathing at her favourite spot. We seperated them quickly, and consulted our vet after that. Luckily both are ok.  

We did try to introduce them with each others scent, and none seems to be bothered from the other's smell. We also switch their territory every now and then, and none seems to be uncomfortable, no hissing, growling or anything like that, though senior cat likes to rub her nose and reclaim her favourite spots back. Actually, she has never been so calm towards any living soul until now (except me perhaps). Maybe I'm way too much worried, but considering her aggressive past and his fragile condition, I'm scared to make mistakes. 

So you think a new territory can be an advantage to reintroduce them? That's a relief. And thanks for the link, it is really helpful. 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I also think the new territory may be helpful!  Even the playing field a bit so to speak.  Things like this do happen.  Usually we say just go slowly with introductions and if you try a new step and it goes bad; just step back a bit and try again.  It can be completely normal for introductions to take a few months; so don't be discouraged.  

Please keep us updated on how things are going! 

 

[miskinsincap]

Well, I'd gladly take a few months, even several months. I certainly don't want to rush things and make life miserable for any of them. The good thing is that the new house has an upstairs and a downstairs, so we'll be able to seperate them with each having plenty of space if we need to be away (actually that's one of the reasons we choosed the place). And I'm thinking that it might also help them getting used to each other's presence slowly. 

As for the update, they haven't seen each other for the last couple of days, but they both are aware of "the other one". "Your highness" developed this habit of asking for attendance whenever the kitten calls for us. We attend to her first and she seems to have no problem of letting us go after that. The kitten also doesn't seem to have any objections about waiting for his turn. It looks like a truce, and I hope I'm not mistaken about that. 

We'll sleep in our new place before this weekend. I'll keep you updated. And thanks for your advice