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- Dec 31, 2015
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Hey everyone,
So I'll probably give a bit too much detail here so sorry for that but thanks in advance!
So I have a 5yr old female tortoise shell named Pepper. I've had her since she was about 8 weeks old. She grew up with a male cat for the first few years but after that relationship ended Pepper and I have been on our own. She's very loving and kind towards me but has always been shy around strangers.
So I decided to get another cat so my partner has his own pet. I got her Xmas eve. She's got lots of energy and no problems at all really. I've got her own bedroom setup with everything she could want. I let her out for a few hours at a time and let her have a run of the house while Pepper is locked in our bedroom, she always likes to sleep there anyway.
Now I tried introducing them by mistake on Boxing day (so she'd been here for 2 full days) and Pepper just hissed and moaned and stalked her around the house a bit. I separated them as Pepper would've tried to go at her.
So I've had them separated since Mid boxing day. On the first few days Pepper walked around the house moaning and hissing constantly. Everytime the kitten would meow (and she meows in her room a lot) Pepper would get really upset. Everyday she seems to get better to where she generally ignores the meows. Sometimes she backtracks and has a few grumpy hours but I keep talking to her but not constantly trying to pet her either. Just giving her some space.
Now I think I made a mistake with food. Pepper always has food down. Shes really good at rationing herself. She'll grab a few bites and come back a few hours later for a few bites more. I brought her food up near the kitten room and had been creeping it ever closer and she sort of stopped eating. I think the kitten took some food on one of her romps and pepper could probably smell it so I've washed the dishes but still. She drinks her water but shes not eating. I've got some can food and I can get her to eat some but then she just kinda mucks around in it. She didn't poop in the last few days but just went now.
So my question is two fold. #1 is do you think I should get something like Feliway? Thinking if I can bring down her stress levels she might be interested in eating more. The last day she's been the best with not hissing but she'll come rub on me and then hiss at me so the stress still seems to be there.
The next question is when should I try to introduce them? I could keep this up for a few more weeks if needed. Right now really its the kitten crying in her room and Pepper stomping around and occasionally growling. Progress has slowed down quite a bit. I could put a babygate across the door and slightly open it but the kitten will just scream and pepper hiss im guessing.
Thanks for the help!
So I'll probably give a bit too much detail here so sorry for that but thanks in advance!
So I have a 5yr old female tortoise shell named Pepper. I've had her since she was about 8 weeks old. She grew up with a male cat for the first few years but after that relationship ended Pepper and I have been on our own. She's very loving and kind towards me but has always been shy around strangers.
So I decided to get another cat so my partner has his own pet. I got her Xmas eve. She's got lots of energy and no problems at all really. I've got her own bedroom setup with everything she could want. I let her out for a few hours at a time and let her have a run of the house while Pepper is locked in our bedroom, she always likes to sleep there anyway.
Now I tried introducing them by mistake on Boxing day (so she'd been here for 2 full days) and Pepper just hissed and moaned and stalked her around the house a bit. I separated them as Pepper would've tried to go at her.
So I've had them separated since Mid boxing day. On the first few days Pepper walked around the house moaning and hissing constantly. Everytime the kitten would meow (and she meows in her room a lot) Pepper would get really upset. Everyday she seems to get better to where she generally ignores the meows. Sometimes she backtracks and has a few grumpy hours but I keep talking to her but not constantly trying to pet her either. Just giving her some space.
Now I think I made a mistake with food. Pepper always has food down. Shes really good at rationing herself. She'll grab a few bites and come back a few hours later for a few bites more. I brought her food up near the kitten room and had been creeping it ever closer and she sort of stopped eating. I think the kitten took some food on one of her romps and pepper could probably smell it so I've washed the dishes but still. She drinks her water but shes not eating. I've got some can food and I can get her to eat some but then she just kinda mucks around in it. She didn't poop in the last few days but just went now.
So my question is two fold. #1 is do you think I should get something like Feliway? Thinking if I can bring down her stress levels she might be interested in eating more. The last day she's been the best with not hissing but she'll come rub on me and then hiss at me so the stress still seems to be there.
The next question is when should I try to introduce them? I could keep this up for a few more weeks if needed. Right now really its the kitten crying in her room and Pepper stomping around and occasionally growling. Progress has slowed down quite a bit. I could put a babygate across the door and slightly open it but the kitten will just scream and pepper hiss im guessing.
Thanks for the help!