Will a cat get jealous of another cat ?

I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I
took in a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of
my cats Lou Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss
of the new cat or if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

--
Count Baldoni

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:46:11 GMT from Baldoni :
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I
took in a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of
my cats Lou Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss
of the new cat or if he comes and sits by me.

Cats are highly territorial, and they are so conservative as to make
Dick Cheney look like a flaming liberal. (Translation: they don't
like change.)

Lou Lou is feeling threatened by the new addition. Make sure to
lavish lots of extra attention on him whenever the new cat is in the
room, and he will probably accept the new cat in time.

--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com/
"If there's one thing I know, it's men. I ought to: it's
been my life work." -- Marie Dressler, in /Dinner at Eight/

On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 07:43:08 -0500, Stan Brown wrote:
Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:46:11 GMT from Baldoni :
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I
took in a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of
my cats Lou Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss
of the new cat or if he comes and sits by me.

Cats are highly territorial, and they are so conservative as to make
Dick Cheney look like a flaming liberal. (Translation: they don't
like change.)

I once had a cat leave me because I switched catfood brands. Kitty vanished and
a week later I got a call from the people I used to rent a room from, that my
cat had shown up on their door step. He walked 2 miles and crosed either a
highway or a 7 lane blvd to get there. I never bought cheap catfood from 7-11
in an emergency again.


Lou Lou is feeling threatened by the new addition. Make sure to
lavish lots of extra attention on him whenever the new cat is in the
room, and he will probably accept the new cat in time.

"Baldoni" wrote in message
...
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I took in
a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of my cats Lou
Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss of the new cat or
if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

--
Count Baldoni

Cats most certainly get jealous - they don't have green eyes for nothing :~)

Although you need to welcome - and bond with - the new cat, you must still
put LouLou first in everything. She is your top cat (or alpha female, if
you prefer) and will not appreciate being overlooked. Always put LouLou's
dinner down first .. then Kitty 2 .. then New Cat. This will reinforce the
feline pecking order and, hopefully, reassure LouLou and your other furry
friend. Make to time to groom and pet LouLou (or whatever favourite routine
she enjoys) and praise her whenever she seems to accept New Cat. Whatever
else you do, don't allow New Cat to do something you've always barred LouLou
and Kitty 2 from doing.

Spider

I have a kitty psychologist book somewhere here in my house (I know
*groans* LOL) and I will probably have to dig it out now to prove my
point... But cats are extremely emotional creatures.

Cats, like dogs, can become very jealous of a new room mate.

Be sure to lavish your two older cats with lots of love and praise and
that should help them feel less threatened by the newcomer...

Just agreeing with those who wrote before me and re-enforcing what
they said I guess :-)

Good luck :-)

"Baldoni" wrote in message
...
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I took in
a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of my cats Lou
Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss of the new cat or
if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

--
Count Baldoni


Oh, yes. All of my cats are territorial to some degree, and especially when
I get another cat. They suspect that I got her because I am unhappy with
them for some reason, and they vie for my favors and hiss at the
newbie......but eventually, they get over this and come to accept the newest
member of the family......Time heals all wounds......

Spider pretended :
"Baldoni" wrote in message
...
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I took in
a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of my cats Lou
Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss of the new cat or
if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

-- Count Baldoni

Cats most certainly get jealous - they don't have green eyes for nothing :~)

Although you need to welcome - and bond with - the new cat, you must still
put LouLou first in everything. She is your top cat (or alpha female, if you
prefer) and will not appreciate being overlooked. Always put LouLou's dinner
down first .. then Kitty 2 .. then New Cat. This will reinforce the feline
pecking order and, hopefully, reassure LouLou and your other furry friend.
Make to time to groom and pet LouLou (or whatever favourite routine she
enjoys) and praise her whenever she seems to accept New Cat. Whatever else
you do, don't allow New Cat to do something you've always barred LouLou and
Kitty 2 from doing.

Spider

He stole her bed but she likes to stretch out on the back of the sofa
behind me.

I don't think I make more of a fuss of him she just meows and comes
over if I am smoothing him.

--
Count Baldoni

On Wed, 30 Jan 2008 08:51:35 -0800 (PST), mc
wrote:

I have a kitty psychologist book somewhere here in my house (I know
*groans* LOL) and I will probably have to dig it out now to prove my
point... But cats are extremely emotional creatures.

Cats, like dogs, can become very jealous of a new room mate.

Be sure to lavish your two older cats with lots of love and praise and
that should help them feel less threatened by the newcomer...

Just agreeing with those who wrote before me and re-enforcing what
they said I guess :-)

Good luck :-)


I don't even need the book. I've had Marlo for just about a year now
and Espy still glares at me when I pet her. And I mean a real intense
glare. The funny thing is, he doesn't even like being petted and gets
upset when I pet Marlo. As I write in so many posts to this group,
cats are weird.

"A. Baldoni" wrote in message
...
Spider pretended :
"Baldoni" wrote in message
...
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I took
in a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of my cats
Lou Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss of the new
cat or if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

-- Count Baldoni

Cats most certainly get jealous - they don't have green eyes for nothing
:~)

Although you need to welcome - and bond with - the new cat, you must
still put LouLou first in everything. She is your top cat (or alpha
female, if you prefer) and will not appreciate being overlooked. Always
put LouLou's dinner down first .. then Kitty 2 .. then New Cat. This
will reinforce the feline pecking order and, hopefully, reassure LouLou
and your other furry friend. Make to time to groom and pet LouLou (or
whatever favourite routine she enjoys) and praise her whenever she seems
to accept New Cat. Whatever else you do, don't allow New Cat to do
something you've always barred LouLou and Kitty 2 from doing.

Spider

He stole her bed but she likes to stretch out on the back of the sofa
behind me.

I don't think I make more of a fuss of him she just meows and comes over
if I am smoothing him.

--
Count Baldoni

Maybe if she just meows (not meanly, nor spits), she is simply telling you
she wants to be stroked, too. Perhaps she's saying "you used to stroke me
like that". Include her, if she'll let you, and stroke both cats at once.
It may even help to 'annoint' her with the scent of New Cat, and visa versa.

I wonder if you offer treats during this bonding period? If you do, give
LouLou (and Kitty 2 if she's there) a treat first, then K2, then New Cat.
This will reinforce the feline heirarchy.

It is a pity New Cat stole LouLou's bed ... but it may be useful ... When
this happened, did LouLou hiss/spit/growl/attempt to defend her bed? If she
didn't, it may be a sign that she (willingly?) gave it up. If this is the
case, she may be more relaxed about New Cat than you suspected. However, if
New Cat spat at her, then she may have felt threatened into abandoning it.
I suspect that, as someone suggested earlier, she is more worried about
losing you or some portion of her time with you. You obviously care about
her and will make sure she is frequently reassured.

Hope all goes well.
Spider

Spider was thinking very hard :
"A. Baldoni" wrote in message
...
Spider pretended :
"Baldoni" wrote in message
...
I always thought they didn't as they seem to do their own thing. I took
in a new young cat and now have 3. I have noticed the oldest of my cats
Lou Lou come running over and making a noise if I make a fuss of the new
cat or if he comes and sits by me.

I don't treat any of them any different to the other. Has anyone else
noticed similar to this ?

-- Count Baldoni

Cats most certainly get jealous - they don't have green eyes for nothing
:~)

Although you need to welcome - and bond with - the new cat, you must still
put LouLou first in everything. She is your top cat (or alpha female, if
you prefer) and will not appreciate being overlooked. Always put LouLou's
dinner down first .. then Kitty 2 .. then New Cat. This will reinforce
the feline pecking order and, hopefully, reassure LouLou and your other
furry friend. Make to time to groom and pet LouLou (or whatever favourite
routine she enjoys) and praise her whenever she seems to accept New Cat.
Whatever else you do, don't allow New Cat to do something you've always
barred LouLou and Kitty 2 from doing.

Spider

He stole her bed but she likes to stretch out on the back of the sofa
behind me.

I don't think I make more of a fuss of him she just meows and comes over if
I am smoothing him.

-- Count Baldoni

Maybe if she just meows (not meanly, nor spits), she is simply telling you
she wants to be stroked, too. Perhaps she's saying "you used to stroke me
like that". Include her, if she'll let you, and stroke both cats at once. It
may even help to 'annoint' her with the scent of New Cat, and visa versa.

I wonder if you offer treats during this bonding period? If you do, give
LouLou (and Kitty 2 if she's there) a treat first, then K2, then New Cat.
This will reinforce the feline heirarchy.

It is a pity New Cat stole LouLou's bed ... but it may be useful ... When
this happened, did LouLou hiss/spit/growl/attempt to defend her bed? If she
didn't, it may be a sign that she (willingly?) gave it up. If this is the
case, she may be more relaxed about New Cat than you suspected. However, if
New Cat spat at her, then she may have felt threatened into abandoning it. I
suspect that, as someone suggested earlier, she is more worried about losing
you or some portion of her time with you. You obviously care about her and
will make sure she is frequently reassured.

Hope all goes well.
Spider

She never made much fuss about it and she can still go there when he is
not around. He would not turf her out anyway it is just that he seems
to have hijacked it and spends longer in it. It is in a high position
on top of the fridge. He must like the high ground, Lou Lou always got
up on the fridge and I used to leave food for her up there as well.

--
Count Baldoni