Advice from Cat Owners (long)

[Keggy]

We have a 4 yr old Cat (Maverick) who we adopted when he was 10 weeks old. He has always been very protective of me. He will swat and growl when people come over to the apartment. We always looked past it since he was so good with my husband and I. He has been neutered and has his front claws removed.

About 3 weeks ago we adopted a kitten (Ernie). She is a female and was spayed when we adopted her. She is very playful and we can tell wants to be "friends" with Maverick.

We followed the instructions given to us by our SPCA in regards to introducing the new cat to the resident cat. All was fine for about 2 weeks - they could actually be sitting near each other and get along. We made sure to spend alone time with Maverick so he was still getting personalized attention from us.

So - this past week has been awful. Maverick is hissing and growling and swatting at everyone - DH, Me, and Ernie. He has started only staying in our loft and will not come down. He isn't really eating. We called the vet to ask for advice from her. Her advice was to get rid of the new cat. That really isn't the advice I was looking for. Is there anyway that we can get the behavior to stop from Maverick? I realize that they aren't going to be friends - but a peaceful existence would be nice... At this point I am thinking I might have to find a home for Maverick because I can't imagine what he will do when we have kids...BUT - I really don't want to do that.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Kelly

 

[Tigger_Magic]

We've gone through this... there is sometimes a honeymoon period, but almost always there is an adjustment while the 2 pets get used to each other. I'm pretty sure Maverick is eating... we had the same problem with Molly (our newest). She hid under our bed and refused to come out -- at least while we and our other cat were up and about. However, we discovered she was out and about -- at night. She chowed down at night, while the rest of the house slept.

Give it some more time. It took Molly a good month before she ventured out while we were up and about. We slowly encouraged her and now she roams freely and gets along fairly well with Marco. It just took time and a lot of patience.

 

[jennyl772003]

My ex-boyfriends mom adopted one of my moms kittens years ago. After about a month, she decided she wanted another, so she took his brother as well.

Even though they had only been apart for a month, they now HATED each other. Chasing each other around, growling, hissing, it was bad. My ex's mom regretted taking the second kitten. But after a while (months), they started to tolerate each other. Then, they started to actually hang out together. Eventually, they were inseperable. They still chased each other around sometimes, but it was in fun.

It just took time.

 

[pearlieq]

First of all, time for a new vet.

Others are right, it will just take more time--they will eventually get used to each other. Make sure there is food out when he decides to venture out, and make sure there are plenty of little hiding nooks for both of them. Maybe introduce a new toy or two so he has something to take his attention off of the situation and redirect his energry.

This will pass! Almost all cats can get to the point where they at least tolerate each other, but I bet they'll become friends, especially since Ernie is still young and adaptable.

 

[Rajah]

I agree, time for a new vet.

Have you tried total separation for a little while? Putting the new kitty in one room and leaving her locked in there while Maverick has run of the house? I think a reintroduction is in order.

May I suggest a book called "Think Like a Cat"? It should help you help her get settled with Maverick.

 

[Keggy]

Thank you for your advice! We will definitely give it more time and a little more patience. We are going to redo the seperation and reintroduction phases that the SPCA suggested.

This is a new vet for us, since we just moved up here - I will call around to get another one.

I think the hardest part is (I know this will sound cheesy) that I feel bad for Maverick. He is still my first and my baby! I hope he knows that!

Kelly

 

[Lisa F]

I know how you feel. Gracie (grey) was my first cat but she loves everyone, including other cats. I got Daniel (orange) second as a kitten and he's "my boy". When Bagheera (black) showed up on my doorstep, Dan was NOT happy about it. Gracie will cuddle with both of them but the two boys still hiss and fight 18 months later. I figure it's just normal cat behavior. Sometimes they will stay on the same bed as each other but a few feet apart, but they are getting a little better around each other all the time. I think it's just going to take time for maverick to get used to the new kitty.

I also agree with getting a new vet, I would hate to have a vet who thinks of pets as disposable like that! Our vet told us that it would take time, maybe a LOT of time, because unlike dogs, cats are not pack animals. They tend to be much more territorial. A slower introduction and confining the kitten to one room for a while longer might be a good idea. I think it helped a bit with Bagheera since it took us several days to get him checked out by the vet and he was under quarantine (being a stray).

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Call us mean--but we just make our cats deal with it. We have 5....so the 2 oldest have been introduced 3x to new kitties. Hissing and swatting is normal. It's when they decide to come to paws a number of times that it is a problem. We correct our kitties by a stomp or loud voice to get them to stop the undesired behavior. The only one that hisses now we are okay with as she is disabled and just wants the cat to know she doesn't want to be played with. We are at the point where all 5 can sleep in the same room peacefully.

I wouldn't get rid of either cat. Cats are pretty independent and easy to have multiple kitties. You get rid of the older kitty--he very well may find the same situation again and again.

I agree that some separate kitty/human time at least lets the older cat know that he is still loved.

But the swatting/hissing at people does need to be stopped. Not a cool thing for a kitty to do.