help my cat hates my new kitten?

Question

Hi there i have a four year old neutered male cat, and we have just brought home a new kitten she is only seven weeks old, i know that this is a bit early but she was hand reared.
when i introduced my cat to the kitten(kitten was in the carrier) my cat hissed quite a bit then ran away, since then he has been very interested in the kitten but just hisses when he sees her, this morning he walked right up to the kitten no hissing but then he took a swipe at her than ran off, the kitten is fin but will they ever get on or am i just going to split the house in two and keep them seperated????

and by the way no my cat has Not been declawed that is a wicked thing to do.

Answer 1

We had a single cat for a year before we introduced her to a kitten. It all kicked off: hissing, growling, looks of abject disgust all from our cat. It took two days before we would trust them in the same room together, as the cat clearly had murderous intentions toward the kitten.

Then something strange happened. Our cat chased the kitten, caught it, and didn't know what it was supposed to do next. So it let it go, and chased it again, and soon realised that she had a new playmate. They now eat sleep, and groom each other on a daily basis, and are very close.

The moral is, at some point you will have to let them confront each other, and the sooner the better. Otherwise your cat will start to feel resentful at what it will percieve as preferential treatment. Let them get close to each other, and let your cat see the advantage of having a new friend to play with.

Answer 2

It is important to introduce a new addition slowly and properly to the existing resident cat.

It's his territory that is being invaded here.

It might be a good idea to seperate them for a couple of days and swap their bedding over during that time, so they can get used to each others scent.

Then when you are ready to re-introduce them have a peice of cooked chicken to hand ( no bones of course). Hold the kitten by you and give her a little piece of the chicken and keeping a grip on her throw a piece to your other cat. Dont let your kitten run after the piece of chicken you throw or all hell could break lose. Just keep repeating this until all the chicken is gone.

Then observe them, there will be some hissing and spitting from the older cat, but he should be more ready to accept the kitten, as she brought her kill home with her to share with him.

Make sure the older cat has an escape route.

There will be some rough and tumble as he teaches her survival skills, by play fighting.

Dont rush things he will eventually accept her, you'll see. But dont leave them alone together until you can trust him.

Try to stay calm and relaxed, as the older cat will be feeding off of your energy and if your panicky he will re-act that way too.

Good Luck to you and your cats, you have some fun times ahead of you. Enjoy

Answer 3

It's perfectly normal behaviour! And the fact you have introduced a female rather than another male is good! It always seems to work better than same sex pairings.
I've kept cats over 50 years and been in this situation regularly. I have a 14 year old male and a 3 year old female now and it took a week for them to become so used to each other that I felt it safe to leave them alone together. They still 'play' fight but not as often and it usually ends with them both settling down to sleep together.The older cat teaches a kitten more than we ever could about being a cat. If you interfere too much it causes problems.The kitten is usually the one who makes the advances, they want to play and to them that means learning to fight and hunt. It's how they behave in the wild and as long as both have somewhere to retreat to they soon settle down. As to the cat taking a swipe at the kitten then running off, that wasn't aggression but an invitation to play! If he really hated the kitten he would have attacked it and bitten it and certainly would not have run away. You should get used to what cats consider normal play and don't be surprised if the male starts bringing dead mice home. My older cats always have, it's their natural instinct to teach the young about hunting!
Enjoy your cats and remember they ARE Cats not little furry humans, so don't judge their behavior on our rules.

Answer 4

Yep, Yep, Yep, lots of us have been there. You end up thinking you've done the worst thing in the world. But it definately does pass.
Your kitten will need lots of attention as its so young, try not to do this in front of tomcat as he'll feel snubbed, which he will get over, but it will take longer.
When you come in or get up in the morning go to him first, stroke his face to get his scent and then go to the kitten, do the same and go back to tomcat. Do this whilst you are feeling calm and they will sense things are ok when every one is around. They will start to accept each other.

In the worst case, they will tolerate each other, in the best they'll be inseperable!

Mine were hissy and spitty, I had a 4 year old and a 10 week rescue kitten. I was so upset they didnt get on I could barely stand to be at home with them. It seemed like nothing I could do helped, I scented them and did as I advised you to do and things got easier, they tolerated each other. But then when kitten went out she got into some trouble with the other neighbourhood cats and made such a din that my 4 yr old stepped and saw em off! Since then its love all the way!

Answer 5

I'm having similar problems at the moment between my 3yr old female cat & our new 8wk old kitten. First it was hissing, on both sides then my older cat basically stayed out except for eating her food & refused to come in despite being offered treats. I've persevered & now a week later they still aren't sure of each other but will stay in the same room but a long way apart. I made sure I spent lots of time with my older cat giving her lots of attention etc & I think she's slowly realising she can still sit on my lap etc without any hassle from the kitten. Hope this helps reasure you that things will get better....honest!

Answer 6

Hi Gillian, stop worrying, your older cat WILL get used to this newcomer in time, but it does take time! Your 4 yr old is used to being the boss of his house and doesn't like this youngster coming in and getting all the attention he used to get ha ha. You cant force them together but dont keep them seperate either. Of course your older cat will swipe the youngster, he's trying to scare her off! She wont take any swipes to heart bless her, she's too young to hold a grudge and as she gets older, she'll swipe back! Always feed your 4 yr old first! Put their bowls about a foot apart and put the 4 yr olds down first. If the kitten goes for his food, pick her up and show her her own bowl then place it on the floor near his. Give him his treats before she gets hers and show him a little more attention than her! ( when he's not looking or he's not around, give the little one lots of cuddles so she doesn't feel left out! ) If they are indoor cats and have a litter tray, give her a seperate one! He may start wetting on your floors if he's forced to share his toilet! You dont have to spend money on one, just cut down a small cardboard box and put her litter in on top of some newspaper. Be patient and dont come down too hard on him if he hits her now and again, he's just teaching her some kitty manners! Good luck.

Answer 7

HI I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM

4 weeks ago i bought a 13 week old kitten into the domain of my 1yr old female cat.
It was carnage, we had hissy fits and scrapping.
This went on for a while, i tended to keep them apart when i went to bed or went out but when i was in the house i let them both roam the house.
I stopped getting involved as by doing that one was getting more attention than the other.
within 2 weeks they were inseperable, the older one cleans the younger. they eat together and sleep together, they even go to the litter tray as a pair.
Now they have ganged up on me and double team an ambush when i walk through rooms.
It is the best thing i did (although at first i thought i had made a huge mistake).
They play together all the time occassionally we have the odd scrap but its usually when the older one is asleep and the younger one jumps her.
it will all work out you will see
good luck

Answer 8

Don't worry a bit! I have had the same experience recently, exactly the same ages and sexes of cats. My male cat is quite ferocious and never liked other animals. I kept them apart for the first 2-3 weeks, only allowing them to be together for small periods of time, under my supervision. The periods they were together were more and more frequent and long. The kitten got beaten up and bitten a lot, but not too hard. That's how cats play and establish their hierarchy. At first, allow them to smell each other or smell each other's things. separate them when things get too rough for teh little one. Gradually, after week 3, they were together all the time, I just shut the little one in a room when I left the house, because they were playing rough and I was worried, because she was too small. Now, they are together all the time, they play, lick each other, sleep together, I couldn't believe it. He must teach her what the limits are, don't worry, just save her if he gets too rough and she starts screaming while he beats her. I had asked about my case on Y!Answers too, and people reassured me, and they were right. Just give them a month of gradual interaction.

Oh, and a good idea is to feed them when you bring them together, so that they associate their meeting with sth. good, like food. Or give them a toy they both like, like a ball.

Answer 9

I have a tom cat who is 7 and got 2 kittens which he did exactly the same thing too. hissing etc i believe he did this to show who was boss and it worked hes the king and they are his servants lol i wouldnt worry about them just try to introduce gradually and pay older cat lots of attention so he does not feel left out..... oh and the declawing thing omg how cruel thats like humans having finger nails pulled out !!!
GOOD LUCK WITH KITTIES!!

Answer 10

They will eventually ... I had a cat and then we got a new kitten and the same happened but in time the cat grew to love the kitten, slept on her blanket and even stuck up for her in a fight ... it's a matter of wanting your attention so the cat is sulking ... He was your number 1 and now feels that his place has been taken ... you need to show your cat attention and keep him happy whilst also showing attention to the kitten. Cats are like kids ... Call Supper Cat Nanny to help ... ha ha! Good Luck.