Cat Shows New Behaviour Since Kitten Joined The Household

[Britney91]

I moved to another place together with my adopted cat and my boyfriend and then we got a kitten to join the house. Before this I lived alone with my girl for 1,5 years. Since we got the kitten, she started to develop some new behaviours for some reason that I never experienced before... Suddenly she would start miauwing in the middle of the night when she would be in the living room and hall. Sometimes she does this a lot! Me, my boyfriend and the kitten are in the bedroom. The door is open so it's not like she can't come sleep next to all of us. She also does this sometimes during the day when she's in another room alone and she will start miauwing and she will pick up a toy with her mouth and bring it to us while miauwing. One time I was taking a bath and she did this three times. I then had cat 3 toys on the bathroom floor. I tried to play with the toy and stuff, but it doesn't seem to be what she wants. Also, she is never locked away from us, the cats can get into every room, so she goes to another room by herself and then starts miauwing because she's alone, haha. What does this miauwing mean and why does she bring the toy? It's almost sad-ish miauwing. And how come this has started since the kitten joined the household? I have never ever experienced this with her before. It's very cute though, but I am suprised and curious to where it comes from? Thank you in advance!

 

[Britney91]

No one?

 

[Calmlybreathe]

If there are no health concerns, she could just be missing her territory. Was the move very recent?

 

[margd]

I'm so sorry you had to wait for a reply. You certainly should have gotten one before C Calmlybreathe 's almost 24 hours after your first post.

Your resident cat could very well be responding to the presence of the kitten, especially since the kitten joined your household after a lot of other major changes in your girl's life. The fact that she is bringing the toy to you sounds to me as though she is seeking your attention, one on one. No boyfriend, no kitten. Just you.

Did you use to play together before you moved? If that was a part of her routine, she may be trying to reproduce something that she knows brings her joy. It's important in these kinds of situations that you actively seek out your Resident Cat to reassure her that she is still important to you. She is probably very confused right now. Everything has changed in her life: new territory, new human, new cat and loss of her status as the number one (and only) focus of your attention.

This article might help you: Do Cats Get Jealous? (and What To Do About It When They Do) It mostly discusses cats who have become aggressive in response to a new member of the family, which isn't your situation, but it does explain things from a cat's viewpoint.

Did you go through a full introduction, or even a partial one when you first brought the kitten home? Going through an introduction process helps a resident cat become gradually accustomed to the presence of a new cat so that it is less traumatic to her (and the new cat) when they finally meet. This article describes the process: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide You may not need to start at the very beginning but one thing that would probably help is territory swapping. Give Resident Cat the run of the house and your sole attention while the kitten was sequestered in another room and then reverse the situation.

There is one thing you should do, and that is take Resident Cat to the vet to make sure there is no underlying medical problem. It's always wise to do this when a cat suddenly changes behavior.

Resident Cat sounds like a darling and a sweetheart. I hope that she soon feels secure and happy in her home again. Please let us know how it goes!

 

[Britney91]

I'm so sorry you had to wait for a reply. You certainly should have gotten one before C Calmlybreathe 's almost 24 hours after your first post.

Your resident cat could very well be responding to the presence of the kitten, especially since the kitten joined your household after a lot of other major changes in your girl's life. The fact that she is bringing the toy to you sounds to me as though she is seeking your attention, one on one. No boyfriend, no kitten. Just you.

Did you use to play together before you moved? If that was a part of her routine, she may be trying to reproduce something that she knows brings her joy. It's important in these kinds of situations that you actively seek out your Resident Cat to reassure her that she is still important to you. She is probably very confused right now. Everything has changed in her life: new territory, new human, new cat and loss of her status as the number one (and only) focus of your attention.

This article might help you: Do Cats Get Jealous? (and What To Do About It When They Do) It mostly discusses cats who have become aggressive in response to a new member of the family, which isn't your situation, but it does explain things from a cat's viewpoint.

Did you go through a full introduction, or even a partial one when you first brought the kitten home? Going through an introduction process helps a resident cat become gradually accustomed to the presence of a new cat so that it is less traumatic to her (and the new cat) when they finally meet. This article describes the process: How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide You may not need to start at the very beginning but one thing that would probably help is territory swapping. Give Resident Cat the run of the house and your sole attention while the kitten was sequestered in another room and then reverse the situation.

There is one thing you should do, and that is take Resident Cat to the vet to make sure there is no underlying medical problem. It's always wise to do this when a cat suddenly changes behavior.

Resident Cat sounds like a darling and a sweetheart. I hope that she soon feels secure and happy in her home again. Please let us know how it goes!

Thank you so much for the advise!! My girl is indeed an absolute darling and sweetheart! There was indeed a lot of change and playing has become less between me and her because of the new kitten and she seemed to now play with him. I will read those links you send to educate myself more.

When the kitten joined the household we intruduced them under supervision and she was very angry at all of us. We then kept them mostly seperate, and when they would be together, we would supervise them, never ever leave them alone. She would lash out at the kitten and when he grew a little bigger she would show dominance by the "biting" in neck thing. I fed them together because I read that it could help and switched their blankets so they would get used to eachothers scent. They started playing together quite soon but now the kitten usually turns aggressive towards her after a while of playing. He is already bigger than he eventhough he is just 6 months.

In general she seems happy, and I cuddle and give her a lot of love every single day. Whenever I do start to play with her, the kitten starts to run after the toy and she will back away. Perhaps I need to create some alone time between me and my girl. The kitten then needs to be entertained by my boyfriend though, because if the kitten notices I am behind a closed door he will start "crying" haha. Is this a good idea?

Her urinary problem also creates distance unfortunately i cant let her sleep by my side every night if she lets the urine flow when she sleeps. i have to wash the covers every single day then. I have put a thick blanket on my bed cover for her to lie on though!

 

[Britney91]

If there are no health concerns, she could just be missing her territory. Was the move very recent?

She has urinary issues, but not much changed with that. The move was about a half year ago!

 

[carebare]

Give the old cat alone time with you and her. Perhaps during feedings.

 

[margd]

In general she seems happy, and I cuddle and give her a lot of love every single day. Whenever I do start to play with her, the kitten starts to run after the toy and she will back away. Perhaps I need to create some alone time between me and my girl. The kitten then needs to be entertained by my boyfriend though, because if the kitten notices I am behind a closed door he will start "crying" haha. Is this a good idea?

Some alone time with your girl would help enormously. She needs to know that she's still important to you. Having your boyfriend play with the kitten while you play with your original cat is a great idea. The kitten needs that kind of attention as well.

What kind of urinary tract problems does she have? These can be extremely painful. Her issues may have grown more serious which would help explain her recent needy behavior. It really is a good idea to take her to the vet and have her thoroughly checked out.