Aggressive Cat And New Kitten.

[Redwingsofbaron2]

Okay, so we have an older cat, about 5 or 6 years old, who has been pretty aggressive her whole life. She doesn't really like anyone except for me.

My roommate wanted a kitten, and we figured we would just play it by ear and see how it goes. Well were on day 5, and here are the results.

My cat constantly hisses and stalks the kitten, keeps her distance until the kitten runs under something, then my cat uses that opportunity to strike, and will chase under there after her. She is aggressive and hisses and lunges at ANYONE when the kitten is downstairs, and for a while after she's put up too.

She just now actually chased the kitten under something for the first time.

Then my older cat jumped on me purring, and afterwards hisses and swatted at me out of nowhere...

Is any of this normal?

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, it is all very normal. Cats are territorial and the kitten has invaded hers, making her stressed and unhappy. She will adjust much better if you introduce the kitten slowly rather than just putting the two together. This involves keeping the kitten in a separate room and letting them adjust to each other’s scent and presence through the door. Once the older settles down, you can have them together for meals and short play periods, and then lengthen them if they are getting along.

 

[Tabbytha]

Exactly what the poster above said Very normal. It can be a really unsettling experience for a cat to suddenly find their territory is now shared with another (smaller and possibly more boisterous!) cat. Take it slowly, even if you have to revert back to separating them and introducing them again through scent sharing.

My girl cat would react in a similar way when we had fosters - she'd be aggressive to them and to us also, hissing and growling us, but would sometimes be affectionate soon after. I figured it was her way of showing us how peeved she was, as well as smelling the new cat's scent on us, but then she'd forget that she was meant to be mad, ha. All those feelings! Don't punish your existing cat for feeling this way - give her space but talk to her in a soothing voice rather than reprimanding her.

Good luck!

 

[Redwingsofbaron2]

Thanks guys! couple more things:

1. They've already been loose around each other (with supervision) for several days, is it too late to separate them again? Wouldn't that probably just make my cat more anxious now?

2. Should I interfere if they go at it, or should I just let nature take its course? (barring serious injuries of course)

3. We have a dining room with French doors that the cats can clearly see through is that a good scenario?

 

[Olwince]

It'd be no problem to separate them at this point. You can always adjust the amount of time they are together. As long as they each have their own food, water and litter.

As long as they aren't overly aggressive and causing physical injury during play time then it's OK to let them go at it a bit. You could also get a cat nail trimmer and trim both cats claws.

See-through doors sounds like a perfect set up. Good luck!

 

[Olwince]

For me it took two months before all the hissing and swatting stopped, and another few weeks before they started hanging out.

 

[Redwingsofbaron2]

Hey guys thanks for all the insight, but my roommate sent me a video of the cats playing, (and my cat has a good 3 piece) I was just worried. More for my cat, because my roommate wasn't handling the transition too well, and I'd never seen her get mad at me before.

I had a cat a few years ago that viciously tried to kill a roommates new kitten, however that cat also sent 3 people to the hospital, so she was definitely crazy. It's just made me a bit paranoid. (I don't know why my cats turn out so friendly towards me with an attitude to everyone else)

I think we're on the right path!