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- Aug 24, 2016
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So basically my step sister decided to adopt a kitten shortly after she gave birth to her daughter; her intention was for her daughter and the kitten grow up together to be best friends. Sadly she soon find out that taking care of a 5 week old kitten and a newborn is too much for her to handle; especially with her husband working 24/7. She want to give the kitten away to one of her friends; but no one wanted to take the kitten. Of course I eventually agreed to take the kitten off her hand. I read many articles online about how to introduce a new kitten to a resident cat; I was very confident that my cat and the kitten will get along with time and patience. Sadly things did not turn out to my initial expectation, this situation is getting worse and worse each day. Now let’s get into more details, my resident cat is a 7 month old female. She is spayed 3 month ago and I adopted her since she was 8 weeks old. She lived with 5 older cats at a foster home before I adopted her. Here is a detail description of the last 7 days since I had the kitten:
Day 1- I put the new kitten in an isolated room by herself (with food, water and litter box), she was very happy to be there by herself. My resident cat do not know the kitten is in an isolated room, she is acting normal and seem like her normal self.
Day 2-Suddenly the new kitten doesn’t want to be left alone; she cries whenever I leave the room. My resident cat heard kitten’s crying and now knows she is living inside the room. My resident cat is still acting normal and don’t seem to be bothered by the existence of a new kitten. Later that night I did a 30 minutes “site swap”. I put the new kitten in the living room and put the resident cat in kitten’s room. Both the kitten and resident was okay with the site swap and got a chance to exchange scent.
Day 3-I decided to put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. My resident cat approached the carrier and saw the kitten for the first time. She was very friendly! No hissing and growling at all! Both kittens were sniffing each other and neither one is scared or aggressive. After about 1 hour, I put the kitten back to the room. My resident cat was normal afterwards, not strange behavior.
Day 4-Just like the day before, put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. My resident cat once again approached the carrier trying to sniff the new kitten. She seem friendly and no sign of aggression. After 20 minutes, I decided to let the kitten out of the carrier and have both interact with each other. Once the kitten is out of the carrier, she immediately started to run around and explore. My resident cat kept her distance and watched the new kitten as she explored the living room. My resident cat would hiss or growl when the kitten gets really close; however whenever the kitten is standing still; my resident cat would go near the kitten and sniff her. After 2 hours, I put the kitten back in her room. My resident cat was acting normal afterwards, no strange behavior.
Day 5- Today is the calm before the storm. I did the same thing I did yesterday. I put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. Let my resident cat sniff her for about 30 minutes then release the kitten from the carrier. Just like yesterday, my cat hisses when the kitten gets too close, but the “hissing” is very weak and she doesn’t seem too aggressive towards the kitten. About 40 minutes after I let the kitten out of the carrier, I got a phone call from a friend. Since I didn’t sense much aggression from my resident cat, I would to my room to take the phone call. I ended up on the phone with my friend for about an hour. When I go checked on them after the phone call; I was surprised by what I saw. Resident cat and the new kitten are laying down in the same cat bed! Their body are touching and no sign of aggression from the resident cat! No hissing or growling but also no sign of affection! “They are sharing a bed at least! This is going well” I thought to myself! Before I go to bed that day, I put the kitten back in her room.
Day 6-As soon as I woke up, I let the kitten out of her room to hang out with my resident cat. My resident cat seem relaxed, no hissing and growling even if the new kitten got really close. I decided today is the day to do a joint feeding session. I put food in two different bowls and my resident cat started eating right away. The kitten was busy playing with toys, I had to pick her up and put her in front of the bowl. This is where my problem/nightmare begin! The resident cat is eating from her own bowl, I had a brand new bowl prepared for the kitten and the kitten is eating from the new bowl. For some reason, my resident cat got really angry as soon as the new kitten touches the food. She started hissing/growling aggressively, and this time she actually smacked the new kitten with her paw. As soon as the kitten is near the food, she would smack her. I had no choice but to separate them, this time my resident cat is really stressed out. She is hiding under the couch and she have a decreased appetite.
Day 7-My resident cat started spraying for territorial markings, I find urine stain all over the house. My house smells like cat piss. To make things worse, then kitten is now so stressed out that she is scared to use the litter box. I found poop near the corner of the room. Both of them are stress out and I don’t know what to do anymore.
Any advice is appreciated!
Day 1- I put the new kitten in an isolated room by herself (with food, water and litter box), she was very happy to be there by herself. My resident cat do not know the kitten is in an isolated room, she is acting normal and seem like her normal self.
Day 2-Suddenly the new kitten doesn’t want to be left alone; she cries whenever I leave the room. My resident cat heard kitten’s crying and now knows she is living inside the room. My resident cat is still acting normal and don’t seem to be bothered by the existence of a new kitten. Later that night I did a 30 minutes “site swap”. I put the new kitten in the living room and put the resident cat in kitten’s room. Both the kitten and resident was okay with the site swap and got a chance to exchange scent.
Day 3-I decided to put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. My resident cat approached the carrier and saw the kitten for the first time. She was very friendly! No hissing and growling at all! Both kittens were sniffing each other and neither one is scared or aggressive. After about 1 hour, I put the kitten back to the room. My resident cat was normal afterwards, not strange behavior.
Day 4-Just like the day before, put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. My resident cat once again approached the carrier trying to sniff the new kitten. She seem friendly and no sign of aggression. After 20 minutes, I decided to let the kitten out of the carrier and have both interact with each other. Once the kitten is out of the carrier, she immediately started to run around and explore. My resident cat kept her distance and watched the new kitten as she explored the living room. My resident cat would hiss or growl when the kitten gets really close; however whenever the kitten is standing still; my resident cat would go near the kitten and sniff her. After 2 hours, I put the kitten back in her room. My resident cat was acting normal afterwards, no strange behavior.
Day 5- Today is the calm before the storm. I did the same thing I did yesterday. I put the new kitten in the carrier then place the carrier in the middle of the living room. Let my resident cat sniff her for about 30 minutes then release the kitten from the carrier. Just like yesterday, my cat hisses when the kitten gets too close, but the “hissing” is very weak and she doesn’t seem too aggressive towards the kitten. About 40 minutes after I let the kitten out of the carrier, I got a phone call from a friend. Since I didn’t sense much aggression from my resident cat, I would to my room to take the phone call. I ended up on the phone with my friend for about an hour. When I go checked on them after the phone call; I was surprised by what I saw. Resident cat and the new kitten are laying down in the same cat bed! Their body are touching and no sign of aggression from the resident cat! No hissing or growling but also no sign of affection! “They are sharing a bed at least! This is going well” I thought to myself! Before I go to bed that day, I put the kitten back in her room.
Day 6-As soon as I woke up, I let the kitten out of her room to hang out with my resident cat. My resident cat seem relaxed, no hissing and growling even if the new kitten got really close. I decided today is the day to do a joint feeding session. I put food in two different bowls and my resident cat started eating right away. The kitten was busy playing with toys, I had to pick her up and put her in front of the bowl. This is where my problem/nightmare begin! The resident cat is eating from her own bowl, I had a brand new bowl prepared for the kitten and the kitten is eating from the new bowl. For some reason, my resident cat got really angry as soon as the new kitten touches the food. She started hissing/growling aggressively, and this time she actually smacked the new kitten with her paw. As soon as the kitten is near the food, she would smack her. I had no choice but to separate them, this time my resident cat is really stressed out. She is hiding under the couch and she have a decreased appetite.
Day 7-My resident cat started spraying for territorial markings, I find urine stain all over the house. My house smells like cat piss. To make things worse, then kitten is now so stressed out that she is scared to use the litter box. I found poop near the corner of the room. Both of them are stress out and I don’t know what to do anymore.
Any advice is appreciated!
