Integrating new kitten into one cat household

[HJ88]

Hello

I recently bought home a rescue kitten and he is approximately 14 weeks old. I have a cat already, she is 2 and a half and is used to being the only cat in the household. I have had the new kitten for nearly three weeks now and unfortunately, i am having to keep the separate the majority of the time because my older cat hisses and growls at the kitten and then just wants to get out of the house. I'm struggling for them to get used to each other because the older cat just wants to go out when the kitten is about and i feel bad an let her out because he is clearly causing her upset and i don't want that.

I have a feliway diffuser and spray that i use but they don't seem to be having any effect. It's upsetting me as i think i may have to get rid of the kitten, who now after being feral is finally coming out of his shell and getting comfortable in the house. I'd hate to have to find him a new home but at the moment, i see no other choice.

My other cat, she is not overly fussy and doesn't seek attention from me. She is very independent. The only time she really comes to me is for food and for a little bit of affection first thing in the morning. However, it is now very rare that i get a purr from her and she will go to bite me when i stroke her, i think because of the scent of the kitten. I have followed online advice on sharing scents but that doesn't seem to be working, she avoids blankets that he has been on and just goes to her own places where he hasn't been.

I got the kitten as i will be changing jobs soon, i currently work from home so my cat has been used to having company during the day but as i will be starting a new job i won't be here during the day anymore and wanted my cat to have company.

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

This is a tough one - but it's still early days as yet. There's a free service on here re behaviour problems; you can email [email protected] and get advice from a behaviourist - hope this helps.

It's always a amble introducing a new cat or kitten; sometimes everything goes well; at others the older cat/s get very annoyed - no way can you know in advance. I do hope your girl comes round, and that you don't have to rehome the new boy.

All the very best - paws crossed for you all.

[Gill_2017]

Hi, reading my post on here regarding exact same issues may help you as people given me some really good advice. I also wanted to get a kitten as a companion for my 3 year old male tabby as I am soon to be back at college again 4 days a week and my partner works full time.

We have feliway friends diffuser for multicat household and we really don't know if it's working so can't say if that is what has improved my situation but getting to the point and to give you some hope my situation has improved to where the cats are now able to be left alone when we go out. We will be attempting our first leaving them over night at the end of the month.

Now the only issue we have is that he is occasionally mounting her and pinning her down but we are now fairly confident this is due to sexual agression and once she gets spayed it should hopefully calm down.

It does take time and it's taken me over a month to get to where I am now, which doesn't seem long but when I think of where we were in the beginning it feels like a life time.
They may never be best friends but hopefully they will at least learn to tolerate each other which is what mine are now doing.

Oh and your other cat will come round mine was the same, wouldn't cuddle with me, wouldn't sleep with us at night became distant and now he's back to his old self which only makes me feel even more confident that he is now becoming at ease with little one.

[HJ88]

Thanks for your replies

I have emailed the behaviourist for further advice, thanks for the recommendation.

Gill - I read your post, it is a fairly similar situation and i'm glad to hear yours have resolved their issues now.

My concern is that Bellatrix (older cat) she isn't exactly showing aggression unless Loki runs at her, which he has stopped doing now she has swiped at him a couple of times. Bellatrix appears to be scared of him and just watches him from height before making a run for the door to get out of the house. I'm concerned that if she is never around him because she's gone out to get away from him, then they won't ever get along or at least tolerate each other. It's so hard because i hate seeing Bellatrix distressed but Loki is so friendly and loving.

Fingers crossed it will get better in time. (I really don't think the feliway diffuser has helped mine at all).

Thanks again for your replies