- Joined
- Oct 22, 2016
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- 5
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Hi all!
I recently adopted a 2-3-month-old female kitten to be a companion for our resident 3 year-old female cat. The resident cat was raised and lived peacefully among other cats for two years before we adopted her. Additionally, the new kitten was fostered among two adult resident cats and loved them.
I made sure to be VERY careful to do the introduction process exactly by the book - kept them separate for a week, swapped scents, let them see each other through the door, eventually letting them see each other (supervised) in the flesh. They were making some progress (playing within a few feet of each other, but not with each other), sitting on the same bed peacefully, at a distance. My resident cat seems completely OK with the new kitten - relaxed body posture, slow blinking, even a friendly exposed belly flop.
But the new kitten remains terrified of my resident cat. Resident will go up to sniff her and she'll hiss and growl even though resident shows no signs of aggression. The kitten growls and hisses pretty much any time resident gets too close, regardless of the context.
What's more, after a few weeks of resident acting peacefully towards the kitten, she's started to stalk and chase her. I think its meant to be playful as resident neither hisses, growls, bites, nor scratches the kitten, just the chasing a few light paw swats (neither of them get injured. But this, of course, terrifies the kitten even more and she responds with flattened ears, defensive body posture, and loud, scared yowling. They have gotten to the point where they can touch TENTATIVELY touch noses, but this usually elicits a growl or two from the kitten still.
I've tried distracting them with toys, rewarding good behavior with tuna, separating them, swapping scents again, paying equal amounts of attention to both, everything, and the fighting continues.
My question is this: is this normal "getting to know each other" behavior? I've read that most cases its the opposite, where the resident cat won't accept the new kitten, and its been really difficult to find resources regarding the reverse situation. I've also read conflicting information on different websites, some saying to let them work this out on their own and others saying that I should separate them and start the introduction process from scratch again. It's been about a month.
Please let me know if they're on the right track!! I keep second guessing myself and its maddening thinking they may never get along if I do something incorrectly!
I recently adopted a 2-3-month-old female kitten to be a companion for our resident 3 year-old female cat. The resident cat was raised and lived peacefully among other cats for two years before we adopted her. Additionally, the new kitten was fostered among two adult resident cats and loved them.
I made sure to be VERY careful to do the introduction process exactly by the book - kept them separate for a week, swapped scents, let them see each other through the door, eventually letting them see each other (supervised) in the flesh. They were making some progress (playing within a few feet of each other, but not with each other), sitting on the same bed peacefully, at a distance. My resident cat seems completely OK with the new kitten - relaxed body posture, slow blinking, even a friendly exposed belly flop.
But the new kitten remains terrified of my resident cat. Resident will go up to sniff her and she'll hiss and growl even though resident shows no signs of aggression. The kitten growls and hisses pretty much any time resident gets too close, regardless of the context.
What's more, after a few weeks of resident acting peacefully towards the kitten, she's started to stalk and chase her. I think its meant to be playful as resident neither hisses, growls, bites, nor scratches the kitten, just the chasing a few light paw swats (neither of them get injured. But this, of course, terrifies the kitten even more and she responds with flattened ears, defensive body posture, and loud, scared yowling. They have gotten to the point where they can touch TENTATIVELY touch noses, but this usually elicits a growl or two from the kitten still.
I've tried distracting them with toys, rewarding good behavior with tuna, separating them, swapping scents again, paying equal amounts of attention to both, everything, and the fighting continues.
My question is this: is this normal "getting to know each other" behavior? I've read that most cases its the opposite, where the resident cat won't accept the new kitten, and its been really difficult to find resources regarding the reverse situation. I've also read conflicting information on different websites, some saying to let them work this out on their own and others saying that I should separate them and start the introduction process from scratch again. It's been about a month.
Please let me know if they're on the right track!! I keep second guessing myself and its maddening thinking they may never get along if I do something incorrectly!
