Jealous Kitten?

Question

Well last week I got a 12 week old female kitten. She's playful, happy etc..
Well yesterday we got an 8 week old male kitten as a play mate. She hisses at him,
he hides and well I think its because I am always holding the little guy because he is so scared,
I still pet her and play with her but I think she is just so jealous of him! What can I do??
I tried letting her next to him but she just hisses at him. He wants to get next to her and say Hi and
smell her but she just wont allow it. maybe give it a few days? What can I do though, to try and get them to bond?

And also, I know its not that she hates males. We have a 15 year old male cat
who she adores, tis her best friend she plays with him, lays with him etc...The thing is she wares him out alot, thats why we wanted to attempt to get a new playmate.

Answer 1

My female cat was like that when we first got my younger male cat. He used to hide everywhere, give it a week max and they will be fine.

Answer 2

Well, I give this same advice to alot of people with fighting cats, it may be a territorial issue.

The older cat is getting tired, so it's ok with a more mature cat, so when the kitten came the Female probably took over for the older cat to protect the territory. That's my best guess for ya.

If she just hisses at him it may be ok just to put them in a single room and stay with them for a little while without interference. So maybe they'll bond.

Answer 3

I know this sounds crazy, but I've heard that it works. Smear both cats with cod liver oil and put them in the empty bath tub together. Take all the towels/mats out of the bathroom and shut the door. After an hour or so, my friend's kittens were licking eachother like crazy! :)

Also, when I foster kittens, I feed them each some wet food in seperate bowls right near eachother. While they eat, I pet them and talk softly. Cats are so food driven, it can sometimes motivate them to get over their fear or jealousy.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Jealousy is very possible. The proper way to introduce a new pet is to isolate the new one and give the current residents time to adjust to the fact that there's a new animal in the house. It seems like it is too late for that, so the best solution is to give it time. Female cats can be difficult, but she is young so it's very likely things will get better. They may never be best friends.