Resident Cat Overly Agressive Towards New Kitten

[MagicCat]

Hi there,

First time poster here and glad I found this site, up until now I'ts been very useful in providing advice and guidance on all types of introduction issues.

However, something about the interactions between our new kitten and our resident cat is troubling myself and my partner.

Resident cat is a 2 year old female British Shorthair and the new kitten is a 10 week old female Birman. (Both indoor only cats)

We have followed all normal procedures with the introductions over the past week including - Seperate room, swapping scents, feeding them within a couple of meteres of each other etc.

Our resident cat (Mouse) is very intrigued by the new kitten but during the supervised introductions she seems to want to hunt and prey on the Kitten (Mittens). Earlier on today Mittens was sat a few feet from Mouse just cleaning herself and Mouse pounced on her from behind cover and swiped Mittens' side with her claws out. Mittens let out a cry and we put a stop to the interactions.

This was the first time we felt fear for the kittens safety as up to now it's been the usual hissing, paw raising, some growling etc.

The kitten is desperate to interact with Mouse and will slowly walk up to her. They do get within touching distance but then Mouse will go for an agressive swipe and let out a weird sounding meow.

We're afraid that any further interactions are going to result in injury as our BSH is just so much bigger than the small kitten. It's mainly the fact that intrigue has turned to hunting/preying on the kitten rather than the usual show of dominance.

Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Welcome!!

Mouse pounced on her from behind cover and swiped Mittens' side with her claws out.

oh gosh, that's not good. I'm with you, I would be very concerned!

I don't know if the "normal" methods of working on Mouse to get her mind out of the hunting mode will have an impact on her, but you can certainly try. It will take some time, consistency and repetitiveness, but hopefully shakes her out of thinking of Mittens as prey.

These things would be filling a can half full of coins and giving it a good shake or two, and/or throwing your keys on the ground near to her when you can tell she's about to act out, and a big HISS to get Mouse to stop. Saying HEY, a firm NO, all that sort of thing.

You could also try some calming products, there are diffusers, collars, treats in a wide variety of ingredients, from CBD oil to valierian, chamomile, casein etc.

All the VERY best of luck to you - let us know how things go

 

[MagicCat]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

We do tend to shout NO when we can see Mouse is being OTT. It was just that one incident where we felt it went from intrigue to attack. Up until now it's been great. They even eat within 6 feet of each other no problem.

Mouse is awful at retracting her claws anyway, even when playing with us or a piece of string or a foil ball etc she has her claws out.

She's normally a pretty grumpy cat and doesnt like being picked up or stroked (Ive heard that is a trait of BSH) so we're not sure if we are being over-protective of the Kitten and we should let it play out. Mittens does back off when Mouse raises a paw or gives her a little hiss or growl so the dominance is starting to become effective but we dont want it to go too far and become bullying.

It's only been 7 days since the arrival of the new kitten and they can already be in the same room when supervised. It's just that quick sudden movement from Mouse or Mittens that will result in agression.

We have Mittens back in her room now playing with some toys.

Also, is it normal for resident cats to be preotective over thier toys and get annoyed when seeing another cat playing with them?

Thanks

 

[Furballsmom]

so we're not sure if we are being over-protective of the Kitten and we should let it play out.

Not when there's a swipe to Mittens side with claws out. Kittens are fragile, and that swiping that Mouse is doing simply can't be allowed to happen.
You could look into claw caps, but that doesn't address the underlying issue.

About the toys issue - with some cats, definitely yes LOL.

Cats!!

 

[Pjg8r]

Could you clip the reaident cat’s claws to reduce the damage potential? The only toy Alex gets possessive over is da Bird. If he gets a good grip on it he will drag the entire thing into another room and “growl.” I don’t know if he would really do anything if one of the others tried to get it. He’s not possessive over any other toys even other wand toys or the Cat Dancer.

 

[MagicCat]

Just a thought. We purchased a soft play pen for the new kitten but she hates it. Mouse loves it though! Could it be a solution to have Mouse in the pen and the kitten outside it for more secure interaction?

 

[ArtNJ]

Its pretty normal for an older cat that doesn't want a kitten in their space to hiss and defensively swat. If the claws are out and its more of an attacking swat I agree that is an issue, but if its the more normal defensive swat then you can let them work it out. And older cat play with kittens tends to look very rough as well, but is also fine.

I'd definitely cut the nails, but am not entirely sure about varying from the usual let them work it out advice. Its just super rare for an older cat to hurt a kitten, apart from a stray harmless scratch. A video might be helpful.

 

[Furballsmom]

Could it be a solution to have Mouse in the pen and the kitten outside it for more secure interaction?

You could certainly try this and see, I'd be really curious to know how things go

 

[MagicCat]

So we tried again and things seem a little better this time around. It was just meowing and Mouse raising her paw to Mittens and Mittens laying on her back almost submitting. They can be within 2 feet of each other and its fine, its just when Mittens gets TOO close for comfort Mouse will react with her paw. No hissing or spitting or growling though.

 

[Furballsmom]

It sounds like boundaries have been set and accepted
Of course, they're cats LOL, so it's all a work in progress

 

[MagicCat]

A bit of a backwards step today.

Both cats tend to be ok towards each other when they are both calm. However, if the Kitten runs around our older Cat chases and pins the the kitten down on the floor. This morning the fur flew off the kitten and the loudest screech was let out by the Kitten too. We immediatley put a stop to it. It's been a month now and we're starting to worry it will always be like this.

It's almost like our older cat is taunted and wound up by the kitten running away in a playful manner and will go OTT when chasing her down.

Will this stop eventually?