Cat Trying To Attack Kitten !!! Help !!

[mysticmama]

I rescued a stray female kitten from a storm drain at McDonald's about 2 weeks ago. Had her vet checked, surprisingly healthy, but just shy of about 5 weeks old. (Unsure where her mother was). She also prefers water over kitten milk replacer so I am assuming she had to adapt where I found her. My 9 year old female cat has smelled her and seen her through the little crate that she sleeps in in my bedroom. She is very energetic and becoming bored of my bedroom and the crate, so I decided to try to let them meet (in hopes that all will go well and she can have full roam of the house as the other cat does). She tries to play and get my adult cat's tail, but the adult hisses and swats and acts as if she will hurt her. The kitten is very curious about the adult. How will I ever get the adult to accept the kitten ? The adult has been an "only child" for 6 years now. She has been very jealous of the kitten, even showing "cattitude" towards ME. She acts like she doesn't even want me to touch her.

 

[susanm9006]

Hissing and swatting at the kitten are normal when a cat meets a kitten. Let them spend a small amount of time together, like when you are playing with both or feeding them, and then separate them, adding more time together as your older cat settles down. This might take a few weeks but I am sure she will eventually accept the kitten.

 

[mysticmama]

My adult cat doesn't seem to be bothered as much by her presence as much as she is her playfulness. The 9 year old is fat and lazy and overly affectionate, and of course the kitten is playful, clumsy, and craves attention. Ella (adult) isn't fond at all of Marley (kitten) grabbing her tail or standing up on her hind legs before she leaps at her. To me its as cute as it gets, but to Ella its unsettling. I'm more afraid she will try to hurt the baby rather than the attitude.

 

[susanm9006]

My adult cat doesn't seem to be bothered as much by her presence as much as she is her playfulness. The 9 year old is fat and lazy and overly affectionate, and of course the kitten is playful, clumsy, and craves attention. Ella (adult) isn't fond at all of Marley (kitten) grabbing her tail or standing up on her hind legs before she leaps at her. To me its as cute as it gets, but to Ella its unsettling. I'm more afraid she will try to hurt the baby rather than the attitude.

I would supervise their time together just due to the size difference but usually adult females will not really hurt a kitten. They can definitely give them a good hard swat as a message though. Years ago I had a 12 year old crabby cat and a totally obnoxious hyperactive kitten that pestered her and my other cat. At some point though there was an interaction between the two and a message delivered that I did not witness and which left the kitten with no visible injuries. However from that day forward not only did the kitten leave the oldest totally alone, but for the next six years each acted as if the other did not exist except that the youngest would cross the room to avoid getting too close to the oldest or crossing her path.

 

[mysticmama]

LOL thats funny !! I usually adopt my babies in adolescence, but I just couldn't bare to leave this little girl to continue eating garbage at McDs. I did have a boy cat that I got as kitten and he fit right in with 2 other adult females, so I guess I've never had this problem. I will just be patient and hope for the best.

 

[margd]

It might help you to read about cat introductions, which basically involve keeping cats separate and then gradually exposing them to each other longer and longer. How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide You've done some of the steps already by having the kitten in a cage apart from your adult cat and allowing your adult cat to see and smell her. From what you describe though, with your fear that your adult may hurt the kitten, it is too soon for them to be together. Take a step back to keeping them physically separated for now. I know that's very easy for me to say. I totally understand the difficulties you're facing with an energetic, curious kitten who wants to get out and explore and play and who does not want to be confined any longer. Perhaps you could try putting your adult cat in the bedroom every night for a period of time while you let the kitten have free range of the house. That brings up another issue, though.

Is your home kitten-proofed? If it is theoretically possible for a kitten to get into something, it will. Before you let her out, make sure you've gone over your place looking trying to look at it from the perspective of a kitten. Forgive me if this is something you've already thought about - I just always worry about kittens getting into things.

Some adult cats simply have a hard time coping with kittens, who may be too energetic for an older, more sedentary older cat. It helps in those situations to provide an escape for the adult cat in the form of vertical space that the kitten can not reach. Do you have a cat tree? That is one way to add vertical space to a living area - these articles may give you some more ideas:

How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats)
Cat Trees: 12 Designs That Will Make You Go "wow!"

It may take months for your adult cat to accept the kitten - patience is key here. It's hard to predict, though. One thing that's important is that you continue to give your adult cat a lot of one on one attention to reassure her that she is still important to you.

It's wonderful that you rescued this little mite from the storm drain. You really are her angel.

 

[margd]

I was busy writing and didn't see susanm9006 's comments about letting them work it out. She's absolutely right that much of the time the older cat will take care of a hyped up little kitten on its own. This is where you need to evaluate how hostile your adult cat is to the kitten, which is not always easy. My thoughts are - if your adult cat only seems annoyed with the kitten, let them be together under your supervision. If she seems seriously hostile, then it's best to step back a bit and take your time introducing them.

 

[mysticmama]

This is the baby Marley

 

[danteshuman]

Older cats often hiss, bat at & bop the head of kitten with their paw. It is kinda cat speak for : 'you will respect my authority!' & 'knock it off, you are seriously bugging me!' I would supervise but not overly worry about it. Your older cat is doing a crucial job of teaching your kitten what is & isn't appropriate cat behavior. One of our older cats seemed to hate the 2 kittens until they were around 6 months old. Then he became friends with 1 and seemed to be training her. We started calling him the godfather By around 1 year the 2 cats were best buds