- Joined
- May 8, 2024
- Messages
- 3
- Purraise
- 1
Hi everyone,
I wanted some advice because I can't tell if my cat is growing to accept my new kitten or if I went too fast and now she is becoming irritated to the point of aggression.
My resident cat is 3 years old and we've had her since she was 2 months old. We've never had another cat in the house but recently we offered to foster a group of kittens and we wanted to adopt one of the fosters from the shelter.
When the kittens were brought home, my cat was aware of their presence and hissed at their scent and anything having to do with them. She was pretty grumpy. Right now, she doesn't hiss at their scent, which I would say is a good thing. However, we did introduce her visually to the kitten we wanted to adopt. The kitten is pretty demure and doesn't like to play fight, she is a female. We thought it would be a good match because she is able to play by herself and isn't too energetic or domineering.
Recently, we have allowed them to have supervised contact. My cat and the kitten will approach each other for a sniff, then my kitten will wander off and my cat will watch and follow her. She will occasionally chase and "bite" the kitten while standing over her, but the bite will graze the fur so it's not harmful. I've read that it's to assert her dominance so I've let it go.
However, yesterday my cat grabbed and bunny kicked the kitten and went for her belly with the mock bite, which I broke up. The thing is, the kitten rarely tries to play with her or touch her. Sometimes she will pounce but stop short of touching my cat. It doesn't seem like my cat is trying to teach her boundaries or tell her to stop doing something, the kitten is just completely minding her business. I'm worried she actually dislikes the kitten.
I've tried to distract her because I feel like she is too hyper focused whenever I let the kitten roam around but she will only stop for food or to play with a toy for a tiny bit and then she will go back to following the kitten.
Should I go back to no visuals? Should I continue? Need some advice!
I wanted some advice because I can't tell if my cat is growing to accept my new kitten or if I went too fast and now she is becoming irritated to the point of aggression.
My resident cat is 3 years old and we've had her since she was 2 months old. We've never had another cat in the house but recently we offered to foster a group of kittens and we wanted to adopt one of the fosters from the shelter.
When the kittens were brought home, my cat was aware of their presence and hissed at their scent and anything having to do with them. She was pretty grumpy. Right now, she doesn't hiss at their scent, which I would say is a good thing. However, we did introduce her visually to the kitten we wanted to adopt. The kitten is pretty demure and doesn't like to play fight, she is a female. We thought it would be a good match because she is able to play by herself and isn't too energetic or domineering.
Recently, we have allowed them to have supervised contact. My cat and the kitten will approach each other for a sniff, then my kitten will wander off and my cat will watch and follow her. She will occasionally chase and "bite" the kitten while standing over her, but the bite will graze the fur so it's not harmful. I've read that it's to assert her dominance so I've let it go.
However, yesterday my cat grabbed and bunny kicked the kitten and went for her belly with the mock bite, which I broke up. The thing is, the kitten rarely tries to play with her or touch her. Sometimes she will pounce but stop short of touching my cat. It doesn't seem like my cat is trying to teach her boundaries or tell her to stop doing something, the kitten is just completely minding her business. I'm worried she actually dislikes the kitten.
I've tried to distract her because I feel like she is too hyper focused whenever I let the kitten roam around but she will only stop for food or to play with a toy for a tiny bit and then she will go back to following the kitten.
Should I go back to no visuals? Should I continue? Need some advice!
