Brought New Kitten. Having Problems

[rudysparkie]

I have a 4 months Ragdoll kitten. I had him since he was 8 weeks. I recently purchased another Ragdoll, 8 weeks. I got her last Saturday. The unexpected is happening. The larger kitten is bullying the little one. He first started hissing at her. Now he's chasing her all around the apartment, and play bitting her, which is hurting her. Sometimes I think it's not even play biting but actually aggressive bitting. I had to lock my 4 months kitten in the bathroom now and have the little kitty with me in the room. I have tried to introduce them slowly but it is not working. They've already smelled each other and all. The bigger kitten is just being a bully and I am afraid of any harm to the little kitty. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.

 

[mwallace056]

Can you post a video of him chasing her?
how does the smaller kitten acts around him? Does she acts scared like hide and try to avoid him or does she goes back for more? If it the latter then I'd say all is good, nothing to worry about.

 

[rubysmama]

Congrats on the new kitten. Hopefully in time they'll be best buds, but for now and until the new kitten is bigger, keep them separated, and continue the slow introductions.

Here's a couple TCS articles that might be helpful:

How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
Introducing Cats To Cats | TheCatSite

How is the new kitten reacting to the older ones behaviour? Does she seem scared? Or does she keep going up to him for more "fun". Generally as long as there's no fur flying, blood, or one cat seeming scared/stressed, it's probably just play. Here's another TCS article that explains the difference between play and fighting. Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? | TheCatSite

 

[Kieka]

I think you may be misreading the situation just a smidgen. Bear with me, your four month old has been with you since he was a month old. That is akin to a toddler being alone until they are in 1st grade. When you put an only child in school they usually are either really shy or overly expressive because they simply don't know how to interact with others. Your boy is the same thing, he doesn't know how to interact with other kittens. The girl is probably hissing or yowling when he is overly excited to tell him enough. Honestly, you need the take a step back and let them work things out. A few times of him pouncing on her and she should tell him to stop all on her own.

Now she is a little young, so you may want to take the role of mom cat and step in when he pushes too far. A little hiss of your own, pick up the girl to pet her while ignoring him will tell him he did something wrong and needs to back down. It will probably take a week or two but he will learn and they will be fine.

If it helps, these are my two playing at age 1 and 2. The bigger one, my boy, has been at least twice the girls size as long as they've been together. Never any major injuries just a few accidental scratches occasionally. But my girl has no problem telling the boy when enough is enough (which she actually isn't in this video, that's just her loud play sounds).

View media item 420658

 

[neely]

I'm sorry you're having a problem introducing your Ragdoll kittens. Here are a few Articles that may give you some helpful advice:

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction
Introducing Cats To Cats

 

[neely]

rubysmama I think our posts must have overlapped - great minds think alike!

 

[Libby.]

I have two Maine Coon mixed siblings. Leo will go to his sister and grab her in a full headlock, throw her to the grown and start nipping her. She'll wriggle from under him and throw herself at him and give him a what for. They adore each other but they play rough.