I have 2 kittens Im still socialising the resident cat keeps attacking the small one?

Question

The kittens are about 4 weeks apart in age the oldest cat is the resident. At first there was growling and hissing from my resident cat, that has now subsided & I can feed them about 5cm apart from each other & can use distance toys at the same time with each cat problem starts when I stop one cat is shy the other wild

The resident is the dominant 1 when the games stop the little 1 retreats to a corner of the room & watches the big one often she attacks & the little one runs to find safety or if the little 1 gets up the big 1 attacks, there are other toys around not sure if big 1 is being a bully or if its territorial

Also ment to mention have done scent swapping & both accept each others scent seems that resident cant stand the sight of the new cat

Answer 1

It really just takes time and patience. I had a 3.5 month old kitten at home when we brought in the 7 month old kitten. Our res kitten is the "wild" one and the other is our shy/timid one. If ours can get along, there's hope for you yet! =)

Maybe the problems are starting because they don't have anything else to play with after you stop playing with them together with the distance toy. We always had other toys laying around so that when we finished playing with them with the distance toy, we could keep them in each others presence while occupying them with other things. A big part in our integration was that we made sure to keep them in the same room (supervised) even if they were doing different things. It was just to get each other adjusted to having another cat in the house.

We were able to have them co-habitate with no problems after only 2 weeks.

Answer 2

Cats can be very territorial. Even with time the resident cat may still resent and be unfriendly towards the newcomers. My cat had 3 kittens. We kept one of them and she continued to be a mother to it for a whole year - washing it and sleeping next to it. When that cat had its' own litter of kittens everything changed. On the day the kittens were born the grandmother cat completely altered towards her daughter. She hissed, spat and growled whenever she came near. I had to physically keep her away from the kittens (her grandchildren) until it was time for them to go to their new homes. That was 3 years ago. Even now she can be unfriendly towards her daughter - who is still a bit puzzled over the change and usually tries to keep out of her Mum's way. If I pick her up and make a fuss of her, her Mum walks out of the room. She is quite jealous and possesive. She had a sister who needed a home for 2 weeks while her owner was away - and when I volunteered to have her I thought it would be ok as they had come from the same litter and been brought up to together etc. But when the sister arrived my cat went wild and chased her around the house and attacked her. She couldn't stay. So, my cat is quite clear on who she does and doesn't like. Some things she will tolerate (like her grown-up daughter now that the kittens have moved on) but she would rather be the only cat in the house. I advise you to watch the situation carefully and look out for the safety of the kittens. Your cat has decided who the house belongs to and may well continue to make the kittens feel very unwelcome. All the very best of luck!!

Answer 3

I've read up on this... put the kittens in a separate area (like a bedroom or bathroom) away from the dominant cat. It could take up to two weeks or longer of gradually letting the kittens into the general house area with the res cat and these visits should be supervised by you. keep a blanket handy in case they cats look like they are going to fight so you can put it between the cats and scoop up the kittens without getting scratched up. But, it's important that your kittens stay safe and have a place where they can eat their own food without the res attacking them. Check out the websites of you local humane society or SPCA about socializing new pets.

Answer 4

They are currently establishing a pattern of behaviour where the game stops and then the smallest gets attacked. You have to put a stop to that, so intervene before the attack. Its not good socialising for the smallest! Take him to a different room and let him have some peace. The social period should end on a good note, not an attack.

Answer 5

some cats will never get along.

I foster cats for Cats Protection, if we get a pair we generally try to home them together but we've just slit up a pair because one cat was bullying the other. These cats had lived together for 9 years.

Keep trying but you may have to accept they may not get on.

Answer 6

you can try roll the kitten in the resident cats pee so it catches his odor, and then resident cat will find it related to him

Answer 7

could be a stage they are going thru who's dominate