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Hi All

I'm really worried about my 2 yr old cat so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Basically we got a rescue cat from Battersea in August 2019 and all seemed to be going ok until we went away for a few days at xmas. My mum came to look after her but since then she has not been eating as she used to and really went off her food - we tried every food possible but she would only really seem to be happy if there was roast chicken in the oven. We would leave food down and she would seem to graze a bit during the day but her appetite was definitely not the same as she used to wolf down her breakfast. Other than that she seemed happy as larry and still purring etc. Secondly we thought it might be nice to get a kitten so that she could have some company for when we are at work but this seems to have back fired massively. We have had the kitten for about 2 months but they really do not get on and hiss and swipe each other at any given opportunity. To make matters worse every time we try and feed them the kitten will eat his food but then go to eat her food so we cannot leave her food out without him scoffing it. So now we're in the situation that she doesn't seem to be eating at all. In the mornings all she wants to do is go outside so i've tried feeding the kitten inside and feeding her outside so they are separate but she still only rarely eats a few biscuits. The kitten also has seemed to take over the places she used to like to sit, like her chair in the front room so now all she wants to do is go outside so she is way from the kitten. I can sometimes get her to sit upstairs with me in the afternoon if I shut the bedroom door - we can then have an hour or so cuddle time while my wife entertains junior. It got to the point last night where my wife slept in the living room with the kitten so the older cat could at least sleep upstairs without being disturbed as all the kitten wants to do is play but the older cat just wants a bit of peace and quiet. I feel really bad for both of them but am so worried about the older one as she seems to feel really put out and i'm so worried about how little she is eating.
I'm sorry for the essay but if anyone has had any similar experiences i'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks for listening.

it would help if you knew something of your older cat's past history - if your home was the first proper one she had had for some time, then having to share it would have been a shock - and if she had been a stray for a while having to fight for her food, that would explain why she stopped eating so much after realising food was always going to arrive

I would weigh her to see if she is underweight, and also weigh her biscuits - some varieities can be surprisingly dense - do you feed her a good quality biscuit, so she is sure to get sufficient nourishment even if she doesn't eat that much

and I wouldn't worry too much about the hissing and swiping, if they don't actually come to blows, as it is fairly common - trying to engage both cats in play, with a wand toy for instance, might work by distracting them and bringing them together in harmony more