Help - has anyone successfully overcome a resident cat attacking a new kitten?

[danteshuman]

Do not let them even see each other for a month! Avoid bad episodes at all costs becuase each one puts you behind step one!!! Expect it to take time & do not lock the kitten in your bedroom/her throne room. The bed is coveted space.

I slept in the living room for a month so I could care for the bottle babies and not disrupt my cats from my room. Siamese are slower to trust & females are more territorial by instinct (they must protect their turf just in case they have kittens.) So respect her turf and that she is queen.Feed her first and give her attention first when needed. Let the kitten run around the house (but not her room) while she is locked up for half the day. Maybe switch scratchers or their beds.

Dante was not thrilled to have the kittens and was super attached/over owning of me. Heck he owned the top half of my bed from my other cat that he liked! He would observe the kittens from afar and I would pet him. After 6 weeks he finally accepted the kittens and took a shine to the trouble maker kitten.... I guess since he was trouble as a kitten.

 

[trixielim]

Hi everyone, I'm losing hope and wondered if there are any success stories out there? Our resident 4 year old spaed female siamese is still attacking our new male kitten. It's been almost 7 weeks now.

We've done the careful introductions and been keeping them separate after each bad episode. She is used to love our other older male cat who sadly died earlier this year...we thought she'd like a companion.

At one point we thought things were slightly improving, but then she launched an attack when the kitten was on my husband's lap, leaving husband with lots of scratches. We separated them for a week and then we've tried reintroducing via a large dog cage (kitten inside for safety). Try to feed them both while he is in there, which works when the food is out but afterwards she attacks the cage.

Today the kitten ran out of his room when my daughter opened the door. Completely unprovoked Roxy chased him under the bed and there were a lot of fighting sounds. Really hard to break it up as we couldn't reach them. He seemed unhurt but very shaken up. He's only about 4 1/2 months and the sweetest little thing.

Every opportunity she gets she seems to want to attack him, it's so stressful.

I've read lots of advice on here, I guess I'm really curious if anyone else has experienced this and eventually things settled?

Thank you

Hi Laylac! I saw your question on the thread the other day but cannot seem to reply, hopefully, you'll receive this message. After 6 months of countless efforts to try and make our cats get along, sadly, they never worked out. We've consulted multiple vets and professionals, and they also said they might never get along. We made the painful decision to rehome our kitten, which was really difficult since we'd grown to love her so much. She's always been the sweeter one, but it wouldn't be fair to rehome our resident cat. I still miss her up to this day, and it was challenging for me to let our kitten go. I spent countless hours crying about the idea of having to rehome our kitten but knew it was the best solution. Being in the same household with my resident cat was dangerous for the kitten, and if I truly loved her, I would want what was best for her. We rehomed our kitten around 2 months ago, to a family member. At present, I am glad to say that our kitten has been thriving with her new owners, and is living a great life. She has also been able to make friends with another cat and is cuter and healthier than ever. Our resident cat, who is now alone has also grown happier.

I wish you the best of luck and hope that your cats will get along. However please take into account that rehoming might be the best option if any of your cats are at risk of getting hurt. Rehoming is a difficult decision, but it may be best for you and your cats. Please update me on the progress of your cats, would love to know if they get along.

 

[Laylac]

Hi there, and thank you so much for your reply.

I'm so sorry to hear that it didn't work out with your two cats If I'm honest I'm getting very worried that we will be in the same situation and I'm trying to figure out whether we should re-home him soon or try for a bit longer. I think by 6 months you probably know, we are on 7 weeks at the moment, so it's not been as long.

My daughter will be so upset if we have to re-home him (as will we). Our situation sounds similar in that he is definitely the more affectionate and enjoyable of the two cats- the other one has always been quite aloof. I don't feel it would be fair to re-home the existing one either - my husband is not in agreement with me on that one.

I'll keep you posted if we make any headway...it's pretty stressful at the moment, and also means we can't really go away anywhere for more than half a day, as one of the cats has to be confined to a room which isn't fair for long periods.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply x

 

[Furballsmom]

one of the cats has to be confined to a room which isn't fair for long periods.

Hi - I really don't believe that you should let this aspect of the situation hold you hostage so to speak, especially with the holidays and the opportunities that you might want to take advantage of to go shopping and visiting.

If the room has toys, litter food water, some Cat Music now and then (not constant), a cat tree in front of a window with a bird feeder and if this isn't possible a cat tree nonetheless but maybe some video now and then of nature such as squirrels, birds etc (but again, not constant even if the cat really likes it), that cat will be more than fine for quite a lengthy stretch of time.