Hello!
I adopted a 4-year-old spayed female, Babe, 3 months ago. A shy, kind of scared cat, but affectionate at times (on her terms). Her foster mom told me that she was given up because she was scared of and was being chased by the other cats in her old home. 1 month ago, a 5-month-old kitten (now 6 months old) showed up at my door--hungry, injured, crying. Reported to shelters and pet clinics, and no one claimed him, so I have made him welcome at my home. I named him Buddy. My vet fixed his injury, dewormed, vacinated, neutered him. I did the whole introduction routine: separate rooms at first, introduce the scent first, feeding at either side of the door (although Babe is too smart to take bribes when she knows it's a bribe). My 4-year-old did not like him, but as long as he doesn't go nearer than perhaps 3 feet, all is fine. Since Buddy has become healthy, he has grown a lot bigger, and is a lot more energetic than when he first showed up. He likes to chase things, and ever since all his worms were gone, he has been chasing Babe non-stop (it didn't used to be that way when his stool was still loose). I tried to play the laser pointer, and the feather thing with him a lot, but that's still not enough. He also has plenty of toys. He LOVES to chase my 4-year-old--chased her out of her potty, out from her favorite window sill spot, etc. etc. I feel sorry for Babe, but at the same time Buddy is only being a kitten.
My questions are:
(1) do I do the whole introduction routine again? They never fought. I think Buddy just wants to play, but Babe doesn't!
(2) do I separate them until Buddy is 1-year old (hopefully an adult, and not so energetic then)?
(3) what is the best way to make Buddy know that he should stop during the chase? Buddy is clicker trained to follow a target, and comes when called (sometimes)--but when I fish out my target during the chase, he's not interested in anything other than my 4-year-old.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
Annie
I adopted a 4-year-old spayed female, Babe, 3 months ago. A shy, kind of scared cat, but affectionate at times (on her terms). Her foster mom told me that she was given up because she was scared of and was being chased by the other cats in her old home. 1 month ago, a 5-month-old kitten (now 6 months old) showed up at my door--hungry, injured, crying. Reported to shelters and pet clinics, and no one claimed him, so I have made him welcome at my home. I named him Buddy. My vet fixed his injury, dewormed, vacinated, neutered him. I did the whole introduction routine: separate rooms at first, introduce the scent first, feeding at either side of the door (although Babe is too smart to take bribes when she knows it's a bribe). My 4-year-old did not like him, but as long as he doesn't go nearer than perhaps 3 feet, all is fine. Since Buddy has become healthy, he has grown a lot bigger, and is a lot more energetic than when he first showed up. He likes to chase things, and ever since all his worms were gone, he has been chasing Babe non-stop (it didn't used to be that way when his stool was still loose). I tried to play the laser pointer, and the feather thing with him a lot, but that's still not enough. He also has plenty of toys. He LOVES to chase my 4-year-old--chased her out of her potty, out from her favorite window sill spot, etc. etc. I feel sorry for Babe, but at the same time Buddy is only being a kitten.
My questions are:
(1) do I do the whole introduction routine again? They never fought. I think Buddy just wants to play, but Babe doesn't!
(2) do I separate them until Buddy is 1-year old (hopefully an adult, and not so energetic then)?
(3) what is the best way to make Buddy know that he should stop during the chase? Buddy is clicker trained to follow a target, and comes when called (sometimes)--but when I fish out my target during the chase, he's not interested in anything other than my 4-year-old.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
Annie