Hello everyone!
I’m new here today but am in need of some advice - I will try to be as short as possible.
We adopted a male kitten at the end of September 2020, and are still having major issues getting him to live in harmony with his new sisters — we have 3 additional cats who are all 9+ years old — 1 of the older girls tolerates him well, but the other 2 are always stalking him and attacking him. There have been chases and loud fights, but they have been completely separated since about December. I understand that introduction can be a long and difficult process, but it seems like we’re always moving back to square 1.
The male kitten, named Calvin, came to us extremely skittish, but has improved drastically, and he is in hyper play mode 99% of the time, which off-puts the others who are also a bit skittish, but very relaxed and sleepy most of the time. I worry that their personality differences might be too much if Calvin doesn’t learn to settle down.
We currently have him and the 2 girls that fight separated by a pet gate. We have them eat meals together and play between the gate, at least until someone hisses or charges the gate — then we drape a blanket over it and separate them.
I understand that the eating process is important to them getting comfortable with each other, but my main concern comes with how Calvin interacts with CC, the cat that tolerates him. They will occasionally play with one another; however, most of the time, if CC is out in the open, Calvin will run up to her and tackle her. CC hisses and raises her paw at him, asking him to stop. Most of the time, though, he continues to go after her until we have to physically separate them. He often looks at her with airplane ears and sort of puffs out his chest at her before attacking, which makes me wonder if he is trying to dominate (all cats in the house are spayed/neutered, I should add). I fear that even if the feeding process with the other 2 cats eventually gets them comfortable enough to remove the barrier, Calvin will treat them the same way and get himself hurt, even if he is just trying to play.
Is there any way to teach him not to go after CC like this? We play with him a ton already, but when he is really zeroed in on tackling CC, he will not go after other toys. What should we do?
I’m new here today but am in need of some advice - I will try to be as short as possible.
We adopted a male kitten at the end of September 2020, and are still having major issues getting him to live in harmony with his new sisters — we have 3 additional cats who are all 9+ years old — 1 of the older girls tolerates him well, but the other 2 are always stalking him and attacking him. There have been chases and loud fights, but they have been completely separated since about December. I understand that introduction can be a long and difficult process, but it seems like we’re always moving back to square 1.
The male kitten, named Calvin, came to us extremely skittish, but has improved drastically, and he is in hyper play mode 99% of the time, which off-puts the others who are also a bit skittish, but very relaxed and sleepy most of the time. I worry that their personality differences might be too much if Calvin doesn’t learn to settle down.
We currently have him and the 2 girls that fight separated by a pet gate. We have them eat meals together and play between the gate, at least until someone hisses or charges the gate — then we drape a blanket over it and separate them.
I understand that the eating process is important to them getting comfortable with each other, but my main concern comes with how Calvin interacts with CC, the cat that tolerates him. They will occasionally play with one another; however, most of the time, if CC is out in the open, Calvin will run up to her and tackle her. CC hisses and raises her paw at him, asking him to stop. Most of the time, though, he continues to go after her until we have to physically separate them. He often looks at her with airplane ears and sort of puffs out his chest at her before attacking, which makes me wonder if he is trying to dominate (all cats in the house are spayed/neutered, I should add). I fear that even if the feeding process with the other 2 cats eventually gets them comfortable enough to remove the barrier, Calvin will treat them the same way and get himself hurt, even if he is just trying to play.
Is there any way to teach him not to go after CC like this? We play with him a ton already, but when he is really zeroed in on tackling CC, he will not go after other toys. What should we do?
