# My old cat is Abusing the new little kitten , help !



## Lithium (Jun 16, 2003)

hi everyone !
i got a new kitten about 3 weeks ago ... a very cute kitten called vicky and she's about 4 months old !
i already have my cat mishka for 2 years now .... she is about 2 1/2 years .
vicky was immediatly introduced to mishka .... since my parents didnt want to wait a week or 2 for slow introduction !
at first mishka got all upset and defensive .... growling , hissing etc.
a week after she got used to her and they started chasing each other around the house as in playing !!
now its been about 3 weeks, and looks like my older cat mishka totally got used to her , and maybe TOO used ..... she keeps following her everywhere , chasing her all the time and hitting her ... the poor little kitten keeps hissing at her but no use ..
we ofcourse shout at mishka when she does this , also spray her with water some times , but she still does it again !!
and btw , i forgot to mention that they share the same litterbox though!!

so i need some help on how to make those 2 cats get along , i mean the little cat is ok with the older car , she is just scared of her .... but my older cat hates her !! so some help on how to get them to become good friends is appreciated ..

cheers.


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## moomooT (Mar 28, 2004)

If she is not hurting her and just intiminating her by hissing and swatting at her, i wouldnt worry about a thing. 
Just give them time and they'll be fine. The older one is trying to let the kitten know who's boss. there is no way you can MAKE them be friends. but eventually they'll both accept each other and leave each other alone. even still, they might duke it out once in a while! :lol: LOL perfectly normal cat behavior. :wink:

and also, i wouldnt discipline the cat for that... like i said, its very normal.


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## Lithium (Jun 16, 2003)

well , its not actually just playing ....
the older cat keeps chasing her and hitting her all the time , and i mean agressive behaviour ......
she's been doing it a lot , the whole time .... and poor little kitten seems very annoyed and keeps hissing back and then just hides or runs away !
i just think my older cat is being jealous , and considers the new kitten as an intruder , there must be some advices and tips to ease down the aggression and the tension between them !


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## moomooT (Mar 28, 2004)

no, i know their not just playing... All im saying is that no matter how much they fight theres nothing much you can do about it. Give them time. its way too soon to say they hate each other. my cats must have fought for almost 6 months before they got along! just let them figure it out by them selfs. they'll be fine 

and make sure to give each cat equal attention. you dont want the big cat to think that the kitten is intruding on its relationship with you. cats can easily get very jealous.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Feliway might calm down the older cat. I think time will help. As the kitten grows, she will realize that she can stick up for herself. Eventually, I think they'll get into "fair fight" and reach a settlement. 

The kitten is young, so you'll have to protect her. I hope someone has some better ideas for you. I would rather that you protect the kitten than punish the older cat. Can you keep the kitten in the same room with you?


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## meowmix (Feb 29, 2004)

i'm not sure if this might make sense but i think the older cat maybe defending it's litterbox, i heard you should have have 1 litter box percat plus one. 2 cats using 1 litterbox in the entire household? seems like that's the problem to me.. :?


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Litterbox and food issues can be significant, so make sure there are "plenty" of both to go around.

I agree, absolutely do not punish the adult. If she comes to associate unpleasant things (squirting, shouting, etc.) with the kitten, she will resent the kitten even more and it will make the problem much worse. This may already be happening.

It's not too late to separate them and start over on the introduction. That would be the best way to go. Your parents goofed. Admit that a mistake was made, and now you get a "do-over". There are a couple of articles on kittens, base camp, and cat introductions in our free article library, http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... w&item=002

Cheers,
Dr. Jean


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