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Nobody knows your cat better than you. But when you have a question or need an expert opinion, the Purina® Cat Chow® brand Cat Food Mentor panel is here for you.
The Purina® Cat Chow® brand Cat Food Mentor Panel is comprised of qualified cat care specialists ready to help answer your Physical, Nutritional, or Emotional cat care questions - no matter what your cat’s life stage. |
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Purina® Cat Chow® has experts who specialize in the fields of emotional behavior, physical health, feline nutrition, and life-stage-specific issues. |
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| Cat-Kitten Relations |
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Q: I have a nine-year-old cat that does not like my new kittens. How do I go about helping them to get along?
Answer: First of all, congratulations on your new cats! And secondly, to set your mind at ease, hissing and posturing is very normal cat behavior so if they object to each other's presence, that's to be expected. You will want to keep in mind that some older, adult cats may take longer to adapt to a newcomer in the family because they do not like changes in their environment and/or routine, much less TWO energetic, bouncy, playful kittens who can be sooo annoying.
There are some tricks to introducing cats to each other. Sometimes, it's love at first sniff and they're friends for life. More often, they need time to warm up to each other. And if neither have been around other cats before, then it will likely take quite a bit of patience and time. To be honest, some cats never will like each other and the best you can hope for is that they will tolerate one another.
Before anything else, level the playing field by having each cat spayed or neutered. Then they won't feel the need to play that status card once they are no longer intact.
For the best chance of success, keep them separate for the first few days (or even a couple of weeks). Cats are very territorial, so your resident cat reacts normally to the threat of an intruder on his turf. The newcomer is in a strange place with strange smells, sights, and (gasp!), a strange other cat, so he/she's feeling quite vulnerable and defensive. Slow, calm, step-by-step introductions are the key.
So keep the new cat in his/her own room with all necessary kitty accoutrements-- scratch post, litter box, food, water and toys. Keep the door shut. Allow the resident cat the run of the rest of the house so she/he feels that only a small part of her/his territory has been invaded. They can "meet" each other with beneath the door paw-pats and get used to each other's smells.
After a day or so, switch places. Put your resident cat in the room, and allow the newcomer to explore the rest of the house. Cats have no interest in making new friends until they are comfortable with their surroundings. He/she needs to sniff out the house, put his/her cheek-rub marks everywhere, scope out the good hiding places before he/she'll be willing to concentrate on meeting a new pet or person.
The next step is to open the door and allow the cats to meet at their own pace, on their own terms. It's a good idea to pay lots and lots of special attention to your resident cat whenever the new one is present. That lets her/him know you've not forgotten her/him in favor of the interloper, and also helps her/him associate the other's presence with good stuff for her/him! Maybe offer a treat. You could also try feeding the cats at the same time, but on opposite ends of the room, or playing with one or the other to keep him/her occupied.
A certain amount of posturing and hissing is normal. Do not allow it to escalate to actual attack, though. Cats have a long memory when it comes to aggression and once they've had a violent encounter, it may only take the sight of the other to trigger another attack.
You can also help the cats adjust by making them smell like each other. Cats identify their family group by smell-- everybody has the same scent-- and that's why they cheek-rub their favorite people. So use a towel and rub all over each pet. Or work some cornstarch into the fur of each pet -- that won't hurt them if they lick themselves clean. The vanilla trick also helps -- dab a bit of the extract on the back of each pet's neck and above the tail area so all pets smell the same. These tricks can help ease the introductions.
Finally, be sure that there is a litter box available for each cat, and that each has a "safe place" retreat where they can go and not be pestered by the other. Good luck! With time, and patience and consistent understanding, you can help build a wonderful kitty relationship between them. |
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| Often owners describe unusual behavior from their feline companions. One such behavior involves twitching of the skin along the back, sudden apparent bursts of energy and exaggerated grooming of the dorsal back. Cats may appear somewhat frantic. These are some of the signs of feline hyperesthesia syndrome. See your veterinarian if your cat is displaying these signs. |
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