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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
Hi, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten from the shelter about 3 months
ago, and now she is 5 months old (named Cali) and we decided to get her a friend. We adopted a 7 week old male kitten (named Trey) from the shelter yesterday, and we tried to introduce them and Cali did not like her new pal! She spit and hissed and growled (i didnt even know she could growl...) and we immediately separated them and soon after read online how to properly introduce them, so we are working on that. However, since then she hasnt seemed very happy. It has been super hot in the Northeast here, and we do have AC but its not freezing cold, so i know that can be one reason. We are spending time with her, playing with her, giving her treats, etc, but is there anything anyone can suggest to help her adjust. She has always been a little nervous, and i just dont want her to stress out. Please help me help her! I have seen the stuff at PetCo and PetSmart called like Calm Cat or something to help calm cats, does it work?! If anyone has any ideas let me know, any help is good! Thank you!! Kristen |
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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
On 2 Aug 2006 15:49:31 -0700, "uscchicas" wrote:
Hi, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten from the shelter about 3 months ago, and now she is 5 months old (named Cali) and we decided to get her a friend. We adopted a 7 week old male kitten (named Trey) from the shelter yesterday, and we tried to introduce them and Cali did not like her new pal! She spit and hissed and growled (i didnt even know she could growl...) and we immediately separated them and soon after read online how to properly introduce them, so we are working on that. However, since then she hasnt seemed very happy. It has been super hot in the Northeast here, and we do have AC but its not freezing cold, so i know that can be one reason. We are spending time with her, playing with her, giving her treats, etc, but is there anything anyone can suggest to help her adjust. She has always been a little nervous, and i just dont want her to stress out. Please help me help her! I have seen the stuff at PetCo and PetSmart called like Calm Cat or something to help calm cats, does it work?! If anyone has any ideas let me know, any help is good! Thank you!! Kristen Don't worry too much about the hissing and growling. They will work out how to handle their territory. |
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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
uscchicas wrote:
Hi, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten from the shelter about 3 months ago, and now she is 5 months old (named Cali) and we decided to get her a friend. We adopted a 7 week old male kitten (named Trey) from the shelter yesterday, and we tried to introduce them and Cali did not like her new pal! She spit and hissed and growled (i didnt even know she could growl...) and we immediately separated them and soon after read online how to properly introduce them, so we are working on that. However, since then she hasnt seemed very happy. It has been super hot in the Northeast here, and we do have AC but its not freezing cold, so i know that can be one reason. We are spending time with her, playing with her, giving her treats, etc, but is there anything anyone can suggest to help her adjust. She has always been a little nervous, and i just dont want her to stress out. Please help me help her! I have seen the stuff at PetCo and PetSmart called like Calm Cat or something to help calm cats, does it work?! If anyone has any ideas let me know, any help is good! Thank you!! Kristen Normal behavior for cats. They'll fight it out for awhile (hissing, chasing, etc.) and then settle down after territories have been established. My two boys fought for a few hours and then became best friends. 5 years later, they're inseparable. Good luck! |
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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
Hi Chicas!
Fortunately, yours are young enough so they should adapt to each other better. It just might take a bit longer since Cali is a bit nervous. We went through this a year ago. I had five BIG adult cats, ages 4-10, and we adopted two 8 week old kittens (I had just lost my beloved cat Rocky). We kept the kittens separted from the big cats during the day but when we were at home we let them out amongst the rest. There was some hissing, but there was also a lot of running...oddly enough, by the big cats from the kittens. It turned out that the kittens were not afraid of the big cats at all, which was surprising since a couple of the big cats can be bullies at times. We did this for about a two weeks before we were comfortable enough to leave them all together during the day. If you have your two kitties separated at the moment, I would suggest exchanging their bedding with one another so each can get the others' scent. I know this second suggestion may raise a few eye brows, but if you have two litter boxes, exchange a small bit of waste as well. In observing my own cats, they seem to be all about scent. I have never seen so much butt sniffing in all my life amongst cats (and here I thought only dogs did that ). It appears to me that they "identify" one another by smelling one another...some more intensely than others, I might add! LOL You could also hold Trey for a bit then hold Cali afterwards, again exchanging the scent. Once that scent becomes normal for them, the hissing and spitting and growling should start to decline. I have one kitty, Kona, who is a fraidy cat and hides in my office closet. She has her food, water and litterbox nearby and she does come out to eat and drink when I am in the room, but aside from that, she seldom leaves the closet. She is afraid of her own shadow and cannot stand to be touched, but on occasion I will pick her up to cuddle her because she is such a beautitul cat. On one occasion after a quick cuddling session with Kona, I reached down to pet one of the kittens, Raskel, now almost a year old, and as I touched her she growled and hissed at me because she did not recognize Kona's scent. So what did I do? I rubbed my hands all over her and on her nose, then I picked her up and cuddled her. Talk about an unhappy kitty! Sometimes, though, cats want to be the "one and only". When this happens, and it is usually with older cats, the introduction of another can be quite exhausting for all. I had one friend who actually had an upstairs kitty and a downstairs kitty because of the fighting. I do not know how long she tried to get them used to one another or if she even took the time to introduce them to one another. I just felt bad for both kitties because they seemed trapped to me and the upstairs kitty always got more attention than the downstairs kitty since my friend was upstairs more. I applaud you for adopting strays from the shelter. Although my husband would probably pop a vein if I were to get another cat, I am thinking about adopting another from our local Petsmart which works with the ASPCA and has cats up for adoption. Hope this helps! Deeanna uscchicas wrote: Hi, my boyfriend and I adopted a kitten from the shelter about 3 months ago, and now she is 5 months old (named Cali) and we decided to get her a friend. We adopted a 7 week old male kitten (named Trey) from the shelter yesterday, and we tried to introduce them and Cali did not like her new pal! She spit and hissed and growled (i didnt even know she could growl...) and we immediately separated them and soon after read online how to properly introduce them, so we are working on that. However, since then she hasnt seemed very happy. It has been super hot in the Northeast here, and we do have AC but its not freezing cold, so i know that can be one reason. We are spending time with her, playing with her, giving her treats, etc, but is there anything anyone can suggest to help her adjust. She has always been a little nervous, and i just dont want her to stress out. Please help me help her! I have seen the stuff at PetCo and PetSmart called like Calm Cat or something to help calm cats, does it work?! If anyone has any ideas let me know, any help is good! Thank you!! Kristen |
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Introducing my 5 mth old to my 7 week old
Hi everyone!
Thanks for all of the advice, it was very helpful! I am happy to say that Trey has "moved out" of our bedroom and him and Cali are becoming friends. There is no more hissing or growling, they love to chase eachother and wrestle. They even cuddle on the couch sometimes! Thanks again Kristen |
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