New Kitten And A 2 Year Old Resident Cat.

motylek

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Hi everyone,

So we adopted a 2 month old kitten Zoey yesterday. And shes very tiny, full of energy and already fell asleep in my arms. Which im not used to and so excited about it because our cat Chloe is more like pet me now, okay that’s enough, bye.

So we did the thing where we put them in separate rooms, Zoey is in our bedroom and Chloe has the rest of the apartment. They smelled each other though the door, Chloe seemed to be very curious whats behind the door. We feed them with the door closed but had the bowls next to the door, we gave Zoey Chloes bed to smell and basically the whole room smells like Chloe.

Chloe smelled the carrier we brought Zoey in, and then we opened the door a little bit. Zoey doesnt seem to mind Chloe at all, shes just doing her thing. Chloe hissed when Zoey got too close when we were playing with both of them with a open door, while they were playing Chloe didnt seem to mind Zoey but would look if shes not getting to close. They are in separate rooms and probably will be for a while.

We are swaping them from the room to the whole apartment, but i also don’t want Chloe to think shes punished for something because we never locked her in a room before. And when we did now she would just stand by the door until she can come out.


But the thing is Chloe hissed which we know is normal but she also made a sound which is hard for be to describe and i don’t know what it could mean. it was like a humming noise and also like a dogs cry(whinning) she made, anybody has any idea what it means ?
 
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motylek

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Hi! It might have been a growl, but I think as long as you keep doing what you're doing, keep an eye on her when she's with the kitten and things should work out :)

How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat
oh yeah we read and saw videos on introduction.

the humming most likely was a growl but i don’t know what the whinning was. it was definitely different.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Just be careful about swapping areas so that Chloe has to be confined when she is not used to it. She could 'resent' Zoey because she sees Zoey get the run of the place while she is being isolated. I think you'd be better off, allowing Zoey into Chloe's area when you can closely monitor both. But, certainly follow all of the advice in the article Furballsmom Furballsmom provided you.

The sort-of crying noise - is that only when Chloe is the confined one?
 
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motylek

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Hi. Just be careful about swapping areas so that Chloe has to be confined when she is not used to it. She could 'resent' Zoey because she sees Zoey get the run of the place while she is being isolated. I think you'd be better off, allowing Zoey into Chloe's area when you can closely monitor both. But, certainly follow all of the advice in the article Furballsmom Furballsmom provided you.

The sort-of crying noise - is that only when Chloe is the confined one?
No the noise was when the door was a little bit open and Chloe looked like she wanted to go into the bedroom but I held her and she started making that noise.
 

FeebysOwner

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No the noise was when the door was a little bit open and Chloe looked like she wanted to go into the bedroom but I held her and she started making that noise.
Chloe must just hate the idea of not being able to be in whatever room she wants, I am guessing. Do you have baby gates that could be two-three tiered and placed in the doorway of the bedroom Zoey is in, with Chloe outside - all supervised of course. That lets them see each other but not actually get to each other.
 
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motylek

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Chloe must just hate the idea of not being able to be in whatever room she wants, I am guessing. Do you have baby gates that could be two-three tiered and placed in the doorway of the bedroom Zoey is in, with Chloe outside - all supervised of course. That lets them see each other but not actually get to each other.
no we don’t have a gate. but i was carrying Zoey in my arms a while ago and Chloe doesnt seem to care as longest Zoey is not close to her. I was able to have her in my arms on the sofa and Chloe was a couple feet away on a ottoman.
 
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motylek

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Hi guys, update and questions :)
So it looks like we are making progress, thinking of getting a baby gate today.

So Zoey was pretty close to Chloe, Chloe stopped hissing for now :D but my concern is when Chloe is laying down and watching Zoey and her tail is twitching a little bit, should that be a concern ?
 

susanm9006

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No, I wouldn’t worry about a twitching tail. Could be nerves, excitement or irritation.

Wondering whether the noise you heard was what I call “huffing”, where two strange cats will sort of puff out their cheeks and exhale loudly.
 
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motylek

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No, I wouldn’t worry about a twitching tail. Could be nerves, excitement or irritation.

Wondering whether the noise you heard was what I call “huffing”, where two strange cats will sort of puff out their cheeks and exhale loudly.
I don't think so, I am pretty sure it was just out of Chloe, she hasn't done it again. I still have no idea what that noise was.

But we are more confident to let Zoey out in the living room, we just make sure we are next to both cats because I start to panic, which is bad :(
Zoey actually tried to get Chloe tail but we stopped her.

I believe it was playing when I was with Zoey in the bathroom and theres a bigger gap under the door then to the bedroom and they were playing with their paws.

Also, when Zoey was around a box of Chloe toys in them, Chloe ran up to her and it seemed like she wanted to hit her.

Sorry for so many questions and everything, Chloe is our first cat ever and we actually don't know if she's good with cats or not.
 

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So Zoey was pretty close to Chloe, Chloe stopped hissing for now :D but my concern is when Chloe is laying down and watching Zoey and her tail is twitching a little bit, should that be a concern ?
As long as you are supervising them and can separate them if Chloe goes crazy, just see where it goes. I know what it would seem like as you watch Chloe: the little wheels turning in her head (aka the tail twitching) as she contemplates an attack on Zoey!!
 
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motylek

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As long as you are supervising them and can separate them if Chloe goes crazy, just see where it goes. I know what it would seem like as you watch Chloe: the little wheels turning in her head (aka the tail twitching) as she contemplates an attack on Zoey!!
Yes, exactly and then we feel like Chloe can just hurt her so easily.

But I was playing with Zoey on the bed and my fiancé was playing with Chloe on the floor, and then Chloe jumped on the bed and laid and just watch how Zoey was playing and Zoey was pretty close to her and she just stayed still.
 

jen

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But we are more confident to let Zoey out in the living room, we just make sure we are next to both cats because I start to panic, which is bad :(
Zoey actually tried to get Chloe tail but we stopped her
They will pick up on your stress and it isn't going to help them. They aren't going to hurt each other. All growling, hissing, and other sounds are NORMAL and you should be happy they are communicating. Do not stop them from communicating. Don't separate them when they are "talking" don't panic, step back and let them work things out. The more you interfere the longer this will take and the more stress will be present and the more neurotic your cats will end up. Don't stop Zoey from playing with Chloe's tail, if Chloe doesn't like it she will tell Zoey, if you stop her Zoey doesn't get the chance to learn that Chloe doesn't like that. Just relax and let them be. They are fine. Communication/vocalization between them is key and it NEEDS to happen for them to learn each other's boundaries. They will not learn if you keep intervening when they are learning and teaching each other what is ok. Make sense?
 
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motylek

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They will pick up on your stress and it isn't going to help them. They aren't going to hurt each other. All growling, hissing, and other sounds are NORMAL and you should be happy they are communicating. Do not stop them from communicating. Don't separate them when they are "talking" don't panic, step back and let them work things out. The more you interfere the longer this will take and the more stress will be present and the more neurotic your cats will end up. Don't stop Zoey from playing with Chloe's tail, if Chloe doesn't like it she will tell Zoey, if you stop her Zoey doesn't get the chance to learn that Chloe doesn't like that. Just relax and let them be. They are fine. Communication/vocalization between them is key and it NEEDS to happen for them to learn each other's boundaries. They will not learn if you keep intervening when they are learning and teaching each other what is ok. Make sense?
Yes, Thank you.
We actually let them be yesterday and they were playing and running around together, there was no hissing or anything. We were in the room but we let them be. Sometimes Zoey would chase Chloe or vise versa. I was very happy we ended it on a good time together with them and cannot wait to do it again today :)
 
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