older cat growling

[chris1970]

Hi , we have just brought home a new kitten (1 week ago) and our older cat is having none of it growling and hissing and generally being grumpy. Will this situation improve? Thanks

[boxtops]

It's a really hard call. Your older cat may not want all the hassle of a little kitten belting around the house and disturbing its peace - and kittens have a habit not leaving well alone. How old is your older cat?

[Kathyan]

We have a male who's 6 and when he was 2 years old we got a female kitten. He wasn't pleased at first but they get on fine now. Then two years ago we got another male kitten. The older male gets on fine with him, but the female won't have anything to do with him at all, even though it's been two years! There is no answer to your question, it's a case of 'wait and see'!

[boxtops]

I think a lot depends on how old the cat is. Mine was 9 when my brother brought his kitten over to stay for a few days - severe disapproval is putting it mildly.

[nungate]

Sorry to say it might not improve. We've had Molly for 12 years and she hisses and growls whenever any of our other cats venture anywhere near her. There is the odd time when she will share a food bowl but that is rare.
Is your older cat a male? He might feel threatened from his role as "senior" cat if your kitten is also a boy. Our first cat,(sadly he died last year) after his initial disgust took to Molly after half an hour. You'll need lots of patience and it might be a good idea not to leave the little one alone in the same room. I used to keep a travel box in the living room to pop a kitten into whenever I had to leave the room for a few minutes, otherwise I'd keep the little one in the kitchen if I had to leave the house for anything longer than I few minutes.

[Eve]

Maybe try some Feliway to see if it calms things a little and relaxes them to ease in the introduction. Make sure they both have their own territory in the house and preferably that the kitten has it's own which hasn't already been claimed by the older cat. Make sure the older cat is treated and fussed and maybe a treat or two so the new kitten doesn't get a lot more attention.

My two are sisters, adopted together from a rescue place and still aren't that keen on each other most of the time, sisterly (not invader cat aggressive) fighting and such. They are very different personalities and invariably annoy each other from time to time.

[Nosha123]

When oldie is around... Ignore kitty. Fuss over oldie so he knows he is boss. Feed them apart. Treat them differently. Favour oldie. We have either been lucky or it's something I am doing but twice we have introduce 2 male kittens to N old male cat and they all get along fine! Boss cat needs to know he is still boss!

[chris1970]

thanks for all the great advice ,i guess we will just have to see how they pan out

[Nosha123]

Incidentally... I kept kitties and oldie separate for a few weeks to start with... Kitties shut in a room and oldie not allowed in there. He smelt they were there but I knew they would come to no harm as he couldn't attack them. I would be careful if left on their own as oldie cant be trusted just yet!!!