Help! Trouble introducing an 8 week old to a 12 week old...

[JamesTheTat]

Hi there guys,

First, thank you in advance for any advice you can give us.

So 2 weeks ago we got Coco, a (now) 12 week old British Shorthair / Coated Sphynx cross - and she's lovely. Alone, she's very affectionate and playful.

Then, a few days ago we got a little friend for her to play with, another little girl, Blue, an 8 week old Russian Blue / Domestic Shorthair cross. Again, she's lovely, and spends all of her time sleeping and playing.

The trouble arises when we try to put the two kittens together. On the first day, they'd hiss and swipe at eachother, always resulted in them both being locked together in a fluffy ball of anger. We did some research online, and decided it was definitely best to separate them while we're not around, and at night, so we set Blue up in the kitchen with her bed, her own litter tray, and her own set of toys. Every few hours or so we thought we'd put them together for 10 minutes, while distracting them with plenty of toys and treats, so that they could get used to eachothers smell.

No dice. The minute Coco realises the game we're trying to pull, she'll stalk Blue and pounce on her, straddling her while biting her neck and sometimes kicking. I've also read online that the little squeels Blue makes while she's trying to escape are normal, and as there are no scratches or other signs of injury, there's nothing to worry about. That said, it's very difficult to stand by while they're doing this for very long at all, because it looks really rough and we're worried one of them will get hurt (scratched in the eye or something).

This morning we went out and bought a pheremone diffuser, and it's been on all day. We just got them together again and, while distracting them with toys and treats works for a little bit, Coco ultimately ends up playing her "let's pounce on the little one and bite her" game. Blue tries hissing at first and then runs away and hides whenever Coco does this, and we end up having to remove Coco because she's backed blue into a corner, or somewhere she can't run away from to escape. It sounds silly but it's really horrible to watch.

Now, it's only been 3 days or so, and we know it could take time... but what should our next steps be? We've tried correcting the behaviour in Coco (because it's relentless, and really only at times when she backs Blue into a hidey-hole and tries to go in to get her anyway) by removing her from the room for 5 minutes, tapping her on the nose, and spraying a little water. Nothing seems to work, and I don't want to risk damaging Coco's relationship with us by punishing her for something that's completely normal, so I thought I'd ask for some help on here.

Any help would be appreciated, and I do apologise if this post is a bit rambly!

Thank you

James

[Crewella]

Hi, and welcome.

To be honest, I think you're rushing things. Have a read of the introductions section here and the bit on the bonding room. Personally, I'd go back to step one and take it, slowly, from there.

http://www.catchat.org/hierarchies.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is no guarantee they will ever much like each other, some cats just don't hit it off, but with careful introductions they should learn to co-exist reasonably peacefully.

They sound gorgeous, by the way!