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- Jan 7, 2014
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About 3.5 years ago we adopted a 6-month-old set of siblings (Peanut: female and Bean: male). Both cats are pretty timid and anxious with humans due to their rough start in life, but they loved other cats. They got along with their foster’s cats and their adoption advertisement even said they’d “never met a cat they didn’t like.” They ADORED the senior male cat already in our home, who passed away about a year after their adoption.
About one year ago now a friend unexpectedly gifted us (against our will!) two very young kittens, male and female. There was some uncertainty as to whether we’d keep them, but of course one of us fell in love with them and that was all she wrote. I would have strongly preferred an older addition tbh.
We followed the slow introduction guidelines. Scent-only first, then sight (still separated), then integration over the course of a few months. Plural! We absolutely did not rush this, especially as the kittens were too small to have the run of the house anyway. At first Peanut & Bean were surprisingly terrified of them. Bean even threw up the first time he truly saw them! It was slow-going, but eventually the kittens had access to everything. There was hissing to be sure, a few bops on the head mainly from Peanut (adult female), but NEVER any true fighting. Still, it definitely wasn’t insta-love.
Fast forward to today and the kittens (teenagers!) are a little over one year old. They are still…mischievous. Here is the problem: the relationship between Peanut, the adult female, and the kittens has deteriorated. Both kittens enjoy trying to engage Peanut in play. Sometimes they DASH after her, which she finds terrifying. Twice now the male kitten has tried to engage her in a game of chase, not disengaging when she screams and hisses, and she has involuntary lost control of her bladder in terror. That said, she’s much more fond of and calm around the male kitten. It’s mainly the female she’s scared of because she’s the one more insistent on playing.
I thought eventually the kittens would realize from her hissing that she’s not interested and they’d back the heck off. The adult male, Bean, LOVES wrestling and chasing. These kittens have really brought him out of his shell. They have both each other and Bean to play with, not to mention the six cat trees and variety of toys in this house. There is also no lack of resources here. Six litter boxes, four food dishes, two big water fountains… But by God, they still want Peanut. I suspect her reacting like a prey animal (timid, running, screaming) is part of the problem/attraction. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt obviously, but I almost wish she would stand her ground and dole out some punishment.
To be clear, there is never any true fighting. When the kittens chase her, it’s not in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. They are very clearly in happy play mode, and this is a game to them. Punishment methods I’ve used include snatching them up as soon as possible so they pursue Peanut no further, firmly telling them “no.” I’ve also tried time-outs (putting them in the master bedroom) after an incident.
I’ve tried multiple Feliway plug-ins throughout the house (Classic and Multi-Cat), Bach’s Rescue Remedy (administered to Peanut only), and Zylkene (administered to Peanut only). The latter two were just intended to put Peanut at ease and maybe stop her from reacting so dramatically, as she is anxious and a bit of a drama queen. But I’ve seen no results with any of these methods.
I truly have no clue what my next steps should be. I’m at a total loss here. Does anyone have ANY tips? The thought of rehoming any of these cats makes me want to throw up.
About one year ago now a friend unexpectedly gifted us (against our will!) two very young kittens, male and female. There was some uncertainty as to whether we’d keep them, but of course one of us fell in love with them and that was all she wrote. I would have strongly preferred an older addition tbh.
We followed the slow introduction guidelines. Scent-only first, then sight (still separated), then integration over the course of a few months. Plural! We absolutely did not rush this, especially as the kittens were too small to have the run of the house anyway. At first Peanut & Bean were surprisingly terrified of them. Bean even threw up the first time he truly saw them! It was slow-going, but eventually the kittens had access to everything. There was hissing to be sure, a few bops on the head mainly from Peanut (adult female), but NEVER any true fighting. Still, it definitely wasn’t insta-love.
Fast forward to today and the kittens (teenagers!) are a little over one year old. They are still…mischievous. Here is the problem: the relationship between Peanut, the adult female, and the kittens has deteriorated. Both kittens enjoy trying to engage Peanut in play. Sometimes they DASH after her, which she finds terrifying. Twice now the male kitten has tried to engage her in a game of chase, not disengaging when she screams and hisses, and she has involuntary lost control of her bladder in terror. That said, she’s much more fond of and calm around the male kitten. It’s mainly the female she’s scared of because she’s the one more insistent on playing.
I thought eventually the kittens would realize from her hissing that she’s not interested and they’d back the heck off. The adult male, Bean, LOVES wrestling and chasing. These kittens have really brought him out of his shell. They have both each other and Bean to play with, not to mention the six cat trees and variety of toys in this house. There is also no lack of resources here. Six litter boxes, four food dishes, two big water fountains… But by God, they still want Peanut. I suspect her reacting like a prey animal (timid, running, screaming) is part of the problem/attraction. I don’t want to see anyone get hurt obviously, but I almost wish she would stand her ground and dole out some punishment.
To be clear, there is never any true fighting. When the kittens chase her, it’s not in an aggressive way, if that makes sense. They are very clearly in happy play mode, and this is a game to them. Punishment methods I’ve used include snatching them up as soon as possible so they pursue Peanut no further, firmly telling them “no.” I’ve also tried time-outs (putting them in the master bedroom) after an incident.
I’ve tried multiple Feliway plug-ins throughout the house (Classic and Multi-Cat), Bach’s Rescue Remedy (administered to Peanut only), and Zylkene (administered to Peanut only). The latter two were just intended to put Peanut at ease and maybe stop her from reacting so dramatically, as she is anxious and a bit of a drama queen. But I’ve seen no results with any of these methods.
I truly have no clue what my next steps should be. I’m at a total loss here. Does anyone have ANY tips? The thought of rehoming any of these cats makes me want to throw up.
