New Cat Problems

[aresandxena]

I was hoping someone could give me advice or maybe some wisdom as to what I should do, if anything about my new kitty. I got my first cat Xena about 3-4 years ago. She grew up with my former roommate’s cat since she was a kitten and they always played and attacked each other but were loving to each other. My roommate got married last year and Xena and I have been living alone. She has always been very attached to me, but she has been even more so since it’s just been the two of us. I know cats don't need companions, but I began to feel bad that she was alone/”not getting attention” so much of the day while I went to work or slept. So, recently I got married and my husband and decided to get another cat. Since Xena was way more "my cat" I let my husband pick out our newest family member (Ares). We got little Ares about two months ago; he is a kitten and very energetic. I knew that he was going to want to play with Xena more than she would want to play with him, but I'm starting to feel bad for her. When my roommates cat played with Xena she played back. With the new kitty, most of the time Ares is attack/playing with her and she just yells/hisses/growls and runs away which makes him chase her. I'm beginning to feel like I should intervene, but my husband says they'll work it out. I know Ares will eventually calm down some, but I don’t want Xena to be stressed if she doesn’t have to be. They will sleep on the same couch, eat next to each other, and walk around together, so I know they can get along. Any advice??

 

[franksmom]

Hi and welcome to the cat site!

I think the problem here may be that it sounds like the cats were not properly introduced. You may want to start again and follow some or all of the tips in this great article (http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats). Here is another article on managing a multi-cat household (http://www.thecatsite.com/a/the-multi-cat-household). Some additional tips for introduction include using vanilla extract on both cats to make them smell the same and using feliway.

I think you really need to spend a lot of time with Xena reassuring her. You should also limit their time together so Ares will not bother her too much and stress her out. Kittens can really stress out older cats and you want to prevent this from happening because they can get sick. My 4 year old started having hairball/stomach issues after we got our kitten and I think that played a role in his health problems. They are now settled and seem to like each other so there are no more issues but it does take some time.

 

[aresandxena]

I actually thought I did better with this kitty then when we introduced xena and my roomies cat. My roommate and I were so excited to introduce them xena ended up giving her eye infection to my roomies cat I kept them separated for about a week. I read that I should give them their own space for awhile so I kept ares in one room and xena had freedom to roam free. I switched them a couple times before they met. I would put xena in the bedroom and let ares get the rest of the house. When they first met there was no real reaction. They smelled each other and i didn't have any real problems. Xena didnt sleep on the bed with ares and I for like a week when i finally let them be together. It's more the past month that ares has been doing this whole attack xena thing. I can try separating them again but I feel like its almost mean to keep him on one room now that he's been free for so long.

 

[franksmom]

I actually thought I did better with this kitty then when we introduced xena and my roomies cat. My roommate and I were so excited to introduce them xena ended up giving her eye infection to my roomies cat

I kept them separated for about a week. I read that I should give them their own space for awhile so I kept ares in one room and xena had freedom to roam free. I switched them a couple times before they met. I would put xena in the bedroom and let ares get the rest of the house. When they first met there was no real reaction. They smelled each other and i didn't have any real problems. Xena didnt sleep on the bed with ares and I for like a week when i finally let them be together. It's more the past month that ares has been doing this whole attack xena thing. I can try separating them again but I feel like its almost mean to keep him on one room now that he's been free for so long.

Ok well now with this further information- it does seem you did a pretty good introduction. You may want to try the blanket trick mentioned in the article or putting vanilla extract behind both their necks. A feliway diffuser wouldn't hurt and may be helpful. Since there haven't been any major fights it doesn't sound too bad and they will most likely adjust in time, but I would suggest doing her best to prevent ares from really bothering xena. You can give xena a break from ares by putting him in another room for a while or  you can re-direct his attention with a toy. You could also try playing with them both when you re-direct him. I find wand toys helpful when trying to stop my kitten from bothering frank too much and I get them both involved in the game.