How can I get my 2 year old female cat to get along with an 8 week old kitten?

Question

I have a two year old Tabby who has always been very sweet. Yesterday, me and my fiancee were at a pet store and we saw an aborable black kitten that was 8 weeks old. We decided to purchase the kitten. I thought it was a good idea because it could keep the older cat company. Boy was I wrong. The old cat does not like the kitten at all. Everytime the kitten goes by it she hisses and swats at it. I am almost worried the cat is going to hurt the Kitten. Now I think the cat is mad at me. If the kitten is in the room she will hiss at me if i try to pick her up or pet her and she has never hissed before. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can get these two to co-exist in the same house???

Answer 1

Is the older cat male? Is he fixed? If not, that would help tons... if so just give them time... I went through that type of thing before. Most likely the older cat just doesn't understand the other cat is so much younger and smaller. Just give them space from each other. Also don't let the male cat witness you loving on the kitten. That will only create more jealousy. Once the little cat becomes bigger she will stand her ground with him and show him who is boss. He is just trying to state his dominance and territory. There is a possibility that their personalities just do not mix and they may never get along. Hopefully for everyone's sake they will just ignore each other and not start trouble. Good luck!

Answer 2

Did you introduce the cats correctly? Meaning, keep the kitten locked in a bedroom with it's own food, water, box, etc. That way the cats can interract through the door for a while. This helps the older cat get used to the new smell. It will also allow the older cat to develop some curiosity about the new addition to your home. Even if you didn't do it right the first time I think you could get away with doing it now. However, if I was a kitten and knew that my environment was a lot bigger than the room I'm now stuck in it would drive me a little bonkers. Make sure not to scold your 5 year old cat when he/she hisses and runs. He/she is just letting the kitten know that it doesn't like that behavior. Sometimes there is nothing you can do, but I'm sure you will get lots of helpful suggestions. Good Luck!

Answer 3

It's never a good idea to just dump a new pet on an existing one and expect things to work out. Cats, particularly, are very territorial, and they will defend their territory against perceived intruders. But there are ways to get them past that and help them accept new additions.

Start right now by putting the kitten in a separate room, with its own litter box, toys, and food. It's a good idea to have it in a quiet place at first, anyway, to help it acclimate. Visit regularly. Your older cat will be able to smell it through the door, and smell its scent on you. Periodically, put your older cat in the room and let the baby out to explore. That gets them used to each others' scents. You will probably have to deal with some complaining (hissing, growling, even howling as if you've broken your kitty's heart by bringing this new trespasser in). Don't worry. It will pass. When things seem calmer, start giving them closely supervised visits with each other. Don't intervene unless there is actual physical aggression. Hissing and spitting are normal. But don't leave them alone together until that subsides, and you see them starting to groom each other, and you can pet the baby without your new kitty watching like a predator.

It took about two weeks to get my first kitty used to my second. And she still goes back to the hissing and spitting and has to be separated if the little one goes to the vet, even for just an hour. But the rest of the time they get along fine.

Believe it or not, it may actually be good for your cats to keep them together. While some cats NEVER really adjust to sharing space, the fact is that feral cats typically live in colonies. They can become fast friends, and be good for each other by providing ways to play and exercise. Give it a proper chance, and it should work.

Enjoy your kitties!

Answer 4

Honestly, there is nothing YOU can do to make them more friendly towards one another. I was in the same situation that you were in. I have a 2 year old tabby (female)and got a black kitten also (male). The black cat LOVED my tabby and wanted to play all the time. My tabby hated it. She hated that cat. He was invading her territory that she had for 2 years before him. Now my tabby is about 3 and a half, and she still hates the black cat. She isn't as stand-offish with him still, but she still won't let him touch her.

That's just the way cats are.

Answer 5

I can try. Pumpkin my black cat of ten years was alittle miffed when I kept rescuing others. But I kept a blind one, also black , BOO BOO he was really sick and due to be killed and I took him from the lady at the Humane Society and nursed him..anyway sorry. I kept them separate for a bit. Kept loving both and had to hush and shhh the older one. Not too many scoldings and I don't believe in hitting anything but some discipline was required. A time out in the bathroom Boo Boo stayed in so he got a break and felt like it was his home again too.
They are jealous of your attention and their territory big time. After some tuff love mine were never sleep buddies (one btwn my legs small one in my hair) but Pumpkin would show him the hood and took amazing care of the little dude. He did not make it past three years once I had to go away no one looked after him and he disappeared but the other survived. They just need time and lots of treats, time outs and even a knock on the nose if they get cross. They can teach the small ones bad habits too so get it down quick b4 u get a WW 3. XX Cat lover here missing them, now dog Mom, Melekai my 4yr old Lab. ALOHA

Answer 6

Hi Ron,

Unfortunately most cats won't get along with each other straight away, and they need time to get used to the scent of each other before making a face-to-face introduction.

It's often harder to get two females to get along than it would have been if you'd bought a male kitten, but it's not impossible! I only mention that it's harder because you might have people telling you "oh, mine were friends within a week", then when a week has passed and your cat still hates your kitten, you might panic and despair!

You will need to start from scratch, so to speak, and start the introduction process again. Even though you live in a one-bedroom apartment, you need to provide a room or area to isolate the kitten in. The bathroom works well, if your existing cat likes to sleep in your bedroom. The bedroom's probably not great anyway, since most bedrooms have a lot of dangerous wires from lamps, TVs, stereo, etc. Never leave the kitten in the living room when you are not in the house - it's way too dangerous for a little critter that loves to chew.

I bought a new kitten 5 days ago for my 1 year old male, and I found the following websites really useful:

http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/catintro.pdf
http://www.tulsa-animalshelter.org/tips/intro%20cat.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1838&articleid=2926
http://www.vetontheweb.co.uk/pet-clinic-detail.asp?id=471
http://www.fabcats.org/introducing.html

So what you'll need to do is set up the bathroom (or your bedroom, if your older cat doesn't sleep with you) with cat litter, food bowl and water, toys and bedding for your kitten and keep her in there for the next day or two. If your older cat is not hissing at the kitten's scent, still wait at least one day, but after that you can proceed to the next step - bringing the kitten out in a cat carrier and letting your cat sniff her. My cat hissed like mad at my kitten when we did this, but it's normal.

A day or two after that (providing older cat isn't hissing at kitten's scent), place older cat in the bathroom, shut the door, but let kitten explore the flat for an hour or two. This will give older cat time to adjust to kitten's smell, and will give kitten a chance to scope out her new home. If this goes ok and older cat is not too upset, you can do this every evening if you want so that the kitten stretches her legs. Obviously, even when you keep her in the bathroom, you'll still want to go and see her every hour to make sure she's ok.

It's your older cat that needs the most love and affection at the moment - the kitten will be fine!

Take it very slowly over the next week, but definitely separate them. Don't listen to those people who say "just chuck them together, they'll be fine" - maybe their cats were fine, but we did this with our childhood cats and they never got along afterwards. If you separate your kitten now, you've got a better chance of success.

You'll need to take your kitten to the vet in the next week anyway for her first check up and injections, so when you're there speak to him about it and get professional advice to put your mind at rest. My vet told me to keep the kitten isolated in one room, but to get them to meet for longer periods each day - only separating them if a proper cat fight broke out (i.e. drawing blood, the kitten cries when being attacked and the cat doesn't stop attacking, etc).

When they do meet, try to be calm. Don't tell your cat off for hissing - just say "it's ok [name]" in a soft, calm voice. It may be useful to have a spray bottle handy. I never use spray bottles with my cat, but they are useful in the event of a real fight, as you don't want to get your hands in there. Some hissing and swatting is totally normal and it's just your cat's way of showing your kitten that she is the Queen Bee.

My vet said that if they get into a scuffle, but there is minimal hissing, no proper scratching, no screaming, and the older cat stops biting if the kitten cries out, it's a good sign. It might take you a week or so to even get to that point, but I'm sure you'll get there.

Good luck!

xx Emmie

Answer 7

Spend time with the both of them i had this problem. Then eventually start bringing them together, when the older one is sleeping and purring slowly move the kitten closer to it and see what happens it usually works for me try it for a while.

Answer 8

its going to take time and plenty of patience but it will happen I have a 2yr old calico and my vet rescued a kitten which we took in and my 2yr old HATED the new kitten but I was determined to make it work...i watched them when they were together and when I wasnt home I put the baby in a carrier or separate room so she would be safe ...now 3 weeks later they LOVE each other play with each other run around and the 2yr old even mother's the baby just be patient I guarantee they will learn to love each other

Answer 9

Make them spend time together and watch them. Be stern with the Tabby and sweet to the kitten. It will make the cat be nice because she wants you to get rid of the kitten, so she will be nice to kitten until you get rid of it. but that's the trick.