What do I do?

Question

I have two grown cats then brought in a kitten (a stray) now one of my two other cats is hissy towards her and growls - just plain mean. It hasen't gotten any better since a month ago when we brought the kitten in! Now the grown cat is throwing up and pooping in bedrooms and acting strange- what should I do? should I get rid of the cat and the kitten- bring the cat to the vet? what? Oh yeah- I should mention that my 5 year old is completely in love with the kitten and the cat that we've had for a while- HELP!!

Answer 1

Well, don't get rid of the cat! Throwing up doesn't sound good, unless she appears to be doing it on purpose. She could have a hairball, and if so, you can get hairball remedy anywhere and ost cats will eat it happily. You may need to take her to the vet, and the kitten, too, to make sure they're parasite-free. That said, are you paying more attention to the kitten? Try really loving your old cat a lot, pet her, tell her good kitty a lot, and, of course, encourage her to use the box. Pick her up and put her in it every time she looks like doing it somewhere else - I know that's hard, especially when you have children to watch, too, but it's the only way I can think of to keep them 'reminded'.

Answer 2

One of the 2 grown cats-the one that hisses and growls at the kitten is more than likely the same sex as the kitten and she'sor he is establishing the social order of cats--she or he hasn't hurt the kitten so just doing normal cat behaviour. The other grown cat is likely the opposite sex and so more tolerant in the social order of cats. I would take the grown cat that is throwing up and pooping away from the litterbox to the vet for sounds she may have a problem that needs a Vet and in my opinion not associated with the kitten or kitten cld have had something she passed on to that cat who was more susceptible than the other one. Why I never put a animal that I bring into the house right away close to my other pets until its been Vet checked esp stray for who knows. Were it me I would take all 3 cats to the vet to get checked-get a discount for multiple cats for their safety sake Is the cat throwing up food etc or hairballs--for if hairballs then give some PLain Vaseline to help and brush her and others to lessen hair swallowed when they groom. Also give the sick acting cat her own litterbox and food dish-----feed her away from other 2 and supervise her eating Would do until you can get to a Vet.. There should be no need to get rid of the cats or the kitten esp since it would be traumatic for the 5year old and children who grow in a home with pets and age appropriate learn to care for them make better human beings for they develop apathy.Also difficult to find good homes and giving to the pound--at most pounds animals that are taken and left by owners are destroyed(take my word on that) for swamped with too many animals. I hope I helped and that the cats, the kitten will be ok and that they'll be with the family for a long time. Bless you for taking the kitten in./

Answer 3

Remember, the big cat was there first. His throwing up and stuff is probably either out of spite or because of stress. Unless you can find a home that is better for the big cat than your own (because of your other cat's feelings) you should get rid of the kitten. You should probably take both the cat and the kitten to the vet (maybe separately or at least with someone else for assistance) and make sure the kitten didn't give some sort of infection or disease to your older cat. Hope it helps!

Answer 4

When I bought my Ragdoll cat, my older Persian cat pitched many fits!

Even though I had paid $500 for the Ragdoll, the time came when I was afraid I would have to take her back to the breeder. In the meantime, the Persian began to be sick - throwing up, forgetting to use her commode, etc.

I was crazy about both cats so, before taking the new kitten back, I took the older one to the vet. He said she was suffering from stress and would get over it if I put the kitten in a room to herself and reintroduced her to the Persian gradually.

That's what I did but when they would see each other they would both hiss and stand their fur on end. It was really funny to see how courageous the kitten was! I almost gave up when they seemed to begin to gradually tolerate each other. It took about three weeks but the time came when I was able to put them in a room together.

They marked out their territory - one claiming one chair and the other another, etc. but they continued to seem less than friendly and I began to think I had made a bad mistake in adding the kitten to my household.

Then one day I heard the older cat screaming as she never had before. I ran to her and she was pawing the outside door. I opened it and in ran the kitten, who apparently had slipped out without my noticing it. I didn't worry about them after that!

My suggestion is that you follow my example and keep the cats apart for awhile. I think you should isolate the kitten from the other two cats or the cat that has become hissy will blame her for losing her companion! Be sure to give the hissy cat a lot of extra love and attention. In fact, when you show her the kitten you may want to pay a lot of attention to her and none to the kitten.

I really hope this helps you.

Answer 5

I had a similar problem when I brought two kittens into the house with my two grown cats...one of them is great with them but the other still hisses at them from time time and I too found throw up in various places for a time. She seems to have gotten a lot better so give your cat more time and they may at least to grow to tolerate the other cats if not warm up to them.

Answer 6

The cat that is throwing up and pooping everywhere is stressed and marking her territory. I am not an advocate of getting rid of animals once they are taken in, but in a case like this, it may be necessary to give the kitten to someone you trust. I'm concerned that your older cat will continue the behavior.

I would definitely talk to your vet about the situation. Some animals are nervous little ones. I would definitely keep the one who seems to be sick lately. Giving her away would make things worse.

Good luck. So sorry you are having this problem.

Answer 7

I have the same problem - Take your cat to the vet to rule out any physical problems before you treat it as behavioral. My cat started pooing under the bed - he felt threatend by my new cats I brought in to the house about a year ago. Unfortunately I have to close of the bedroom and make it "his room" - the other cats have limited access. The inapropriate pooing has stopped and he is a much happier cat. Talk to a vet that specializes in kitties - see if they have any advice on behavioral issues like this. Good luck!

Answer 8

That's an awful dilemma. You can't really rehome your older cats and I assume you don't want to.

The kitten has a better chance of finding a good home so that seems to me the better option.

If you go to: www.spiritessence.com and look over Dr. Jean Hovfe's remedies. Maybe "Bully Remedy" or "New Beginnings" would help the mean one. Essences are easy to use, you just put them on the cat's fur between the ears. At $16.95 is not an expensive way to go. They will be mailed to you with instructions for their use.

Answer 9

This is exactly what happened when I got a new kitten. My other two cats didn't want anything to do with him. This lasted for months. What we did was this, we slowly reintroduced the kitten to our other two cats. I held my other cats by their scruffs so they would not hiss or growl and slowly scooted them toward our kitten. I did this every day for awhile. Eventually, after holding them together and slowly putting them together, they became buddies!!!!! Patience is the key!! GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 10

Talk to your vet. It could be coincidence and the older cat could really be sick.