Introducing 8wk old kitten to resident 1yr old cat?

Question

We recently got a kitten as company for our older kitty (as my husband and I work nights) I know it usually takes awhile for new cats to warm up to each other but, my older cat seems very agressive always hissing,batting and growling at the kitten no matter if she's sleeping or off doing her own thing. I'm just wondering what is normal..how long will my older cat be doing this for and what can I do if this behaviour doesn't digress.
Any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Have them in seperate rooms for a time... preferably with a gap under the door. Won't take too long before they start playing with eachother under the door.

Make sure you cuddle the old cat LOTS :D

Answer 2

My experience with introducing a newer kitten to an older cat has been that within in time, sometimes a week even can go as long as a month, your older cat will probably calm down to the idea of the kitten. This will depend on your older cats personality. The older cat may also choose to just ignore the kitten altogether.

Answer 3

We just went through this so this is how we are handling it.
At first we kept the kitten away from all of our pets, we have 2 big dogs and 3 adult cats. We left it up to her as to when she felt brave enough to come out of her "safe room", we would leave the door open when we were home. She finally came into the kitchen and step by step she got braver and now is all over the house.
As to how the animals have been, my female dog took the role of "Mom" and wouldn't let any of the others near the kitten, she would try to herd her back into her room, lol. It was so sweet. Our other dog now lets her climb all over him and attack him everywhere. Our two older female cats either ignore her or hiss at her and ignore her but our male cat has accepted her and she is all over him and attacks him every day.
We more or less just let them work it out themselves but kept an eye on the situation early on. She is all over the house skittering around and we are enjoying the antics of a kitten, there is nothing cuter than a silly little kitten : )

Answer 4

i just had this situation in my home about 3 months ago.

i have a 4yr old tabby and decided that i too wanted her to have a friend to play with since i also work nights.

i brought home my 9 week old tabby and for about two weeks-my older cat would hiss if the kitten got too close or she was just find somewhere to hide. after being together for the two weeks (and having the kitten chase her all over the house to play with her), the two finally adjusted to one another and love to play together now. they always sleep at the foot of my bed together and are always playing!!

give it some time-i'm sure they'll adjust to one another with no problem...

i never separated them-i would have if there would have been an injury that occured between the two. i felt that separating them slowed the getting used to each other process.

if the behavior doesn't seem to be getting better after a few weeks try put the kitten in a room with a baby gate across the door so they can still see each other and when you come home and are awake-allow them both to roam freely. cats are stubborn so it might take your older one quite a bit longer to adjust

Answer 5

I had a similar situation a few months ago. After a week of hissing and spitting, our older neutered male started spraying (marking his territory) inside the house. I spoke to the local vet clinic who suggested a hormone spray, this helped the older cat settle a bit. Eventually we took him in for a check up as he became very antisocial, and the vet prescribed a week of cat Valium. It calmed him down a lot, and gave him time to get used to the new arrival. However, he did become very sleepy whist he was on the pills, definitely a last resort.

Answer 6

well, with quite a larger age difference...

we got a kitten & our cat was around 10 at the time. the grown cat was really mean to begin with & both are males. it took a good 6 months for the cat to adjust to the kitten. he still gets annoyed, but that is in his nature. they do play & show some love from time to time! overall, things are fine & i think deep inside they do really love eachother!

so, my best advice is time. just let them do their own thing & it will all be fine. do make sure you have at least 2 litter boxes for the cats! this will help cut down on territorial issues.

Answer 7

I think that 2 weeks is usually probably time period. Just out of curiosity, was it 2 males or females, or one of each. Two males you will probably have problems for a day or two down the road too.