Hints For Adopting A New Under-socialized Kitten!

[kristenann]

Overall things are going well! Reylan got a clean bill of health on Friday!

The cats have progressed to a point where they are fine in the same room with supervision. The only problem is Reylan will not leave Tiberius alone!

Reylan wants to play and Tiberius does not and he won't stand up for himself. I try to play with Reylan but he's not nearly as interested in me and toys.

I don't know what to do! I can't have him harassing Tiberius. He just needs to leave him alone and things will be fine.

Sadly, another kitten playmate is not an option. What do I do?

 

[danteshuman]

That is the way it usually goes. The kitten bugs the bejezus out of the adult cat. The adult cat bops the kitten on the &/or growls or hisses. You can work on building up Tiberius confidence by giving him some one on one play time. In the meantime, maybe do not leave them alone together unsupervised?

 

[kristenann]

Tiberius has been bopping and hissing at Reylan but he doesn't seem deterred for more than a moment.

We have been keeping Reylan in a separate room when we are not home and I've still been sleeping separately with him - which I'm hoping to change very soon. I want to get back to my bed!

Even though I'm supervising I have no idea how to respond! I don't want to punish Reylan for playing but I don't want Tiberius sad either.

Tiberius is not a playful cat. He's a big fuzzy blimp lol. Truthfully, I expected Reylan to be way more intimated than he is!

 

[Blakeney Green]

In my opinion this is one of those things that your cats are just going to have to work out between them. There isn't really any human intervention that is going to help here aside from making sure you supervise them together so no one gets too rough.

Eventually your big cat will get fed up enough to give the kitten a few good swats, and then the kitten will start learning some feline etiquette. That's just kind of the natural order of things between cats.

 

[Summercats]

Hi,
You have been given good advice. I would also add have a tall cat stand that fits only Tiberius, so if he wants to jump up out of the way he can and maybe some cat shelving as seen on Jackson Galaxy clips. Giving Tiberius a way to escape should help.

 

[kristenann]

It's been awhile so I wanted to post an update

Things are going really well! Tiberius definitely gets overwhelmed at times but overall they are really starting to bond. They play wrestle daily and Tiberius will occasionally groom Reylan!

 

[danteshuman]

Yeah!!!

 

[kristenann]

Thank you! I do have one MAJOR concern that I am not sure how to address. Or if I should start a new thread?

But,

Tiberius is DETERMINED to steal Reylan's food. I have currently cut a whole in a box just large enough for Reylan and put his food inside but it's not foul proof. Sometimes Tiberius manages to squeeze his bloated booty in there!

And with his wicked IBD we are all suffering the stinky consequences. My nostrils are desperate, please advise.

 

[Letta]

A simple suggestion but maybe you could feed them in a different room for the moment and at the same time so Tiberius is busy while Reylan is eating.

 

[ailish]

I have a question that maybe should be a separate thread, but I'm getting the sense from this discussion that snowshoe cats have some personality differences. I thought snowshoe was a color pattern, but wasn't aware that it had ramifications beyond that. Can somebody explain or point me to some info?

Thanks,
Owner of a Coal Black Cat

 

[talkingpeanut]

Or could you feed the kitten the same food as Tiberius?

 

[kristenann]

I am planning on feeding Reylan the same food as Tiberius when he is an adult but I thought he should eat kitten food now? Tiberius eats prescription RC rabbit.

We are gone all day also which is why I wanted Reylan to be able to gaze as he's a growing baby. He seems a bit too young for 2 meals in early morning and the evenings?

And to answer your question ailish Snowshoes are a breed with that as their specified coat pattern. They are related to Siamese cats. Below is a link to more info about the breed if you are interested

Snowshoe Cat Breed

 

[talkingpeanut]

I think that given the circumstances, I would leave Tiberius’s food out for them both during the day. I would then feed meals of the wet kitten food when you are home and can monitor.