Introducing a new kitten - territorial aggression help!

[fz80]

Hello, I tried to introduce a new kitten (8 weeks) to my 6 month old kitten and I am struggling! It has now been 4 weeks and I have tried following all the advice online like Jackson Galaxy but any progress is small, should I be concerned? The cats are kept in separate spaces with site swapping throughout the day.
Initially my resident cat couldn’t go near the door to the room or any blankets that had the newbies scent on them but now we are able to feed the cats with the door open and all hissing and growling has stopped. The main issue is the cats pouncing and fighting each other. Initially my resident cat would not be distracted with treats or toys when in the same room as my newbie but he is now being distracted for a few minutes before he pounces. The new kitten isn’t running away and sometimes tries to instigate the fights. I am trying to separate them as soon as aggression begins but as I said the progress is very slow. I live in a fairly small house and find whichever cat is put in a room becomes bored easily and begins scratching at the door even if they have had play time or clicker training.
My resident cat is staring down the kitten anytime he is in a room with him and I don’t know if there is any coming back from this territorial aggression. I have tried feliway diffusers, keeping them separate and beginning re introduction if there is any aggression but I worry I am doing this for myself rather than the cats. As the resident is a house cat we had wanted to get a friend for him but I’m starting to wonder if he liked living alone! On the first few days I found my resident cats personality had changed however he quickly went back to his old self and when he is alone there is no signs of aggression.
When I have asked the vet for advice initially I was told to carry on what I was doing but a different vet has said they think the separation will fuel the aggression and essentially to let them fight it out as long as there is no injury which is the opposite of all the advice out there! If anyone can give any advice or even experienced something similar please help! I know all cats aren’t the same and it’s hard to put a time scale on these things but it would be nice to know how long it took others and if there is light at the end of the tunnel! Sorry for the rambling and thank you in advance!

 

[fz80]

Just to add both cats are male, the resident is neutered but the newbie isn’t yet due to his age

 

[ArtNJ]

It stinks when someone suffers because of a crappy guide that can't be bothered to tell folks kittens are different. Truth is, two kittens this young become friends every single time no matter what a person does or doesn't do, and that happened to you. There was never a need for a lengthy formal process. Separating at first for a few days does have some modest benefits, but a true formal cat introduction is not necessary at these ages. And indeed, yours are clearly friends. They are playing normally. It looks rough to you, because cats a predators and practice fighting and defense behaviors in their play. However, it is merely play -- if it was for real, the younger one would already be dead. You can trust the small kitten. The fact that he starts it sometimes means that all is well. If play was too rough, he would act afraid all the time and not initiate play sometimes.

Its normal for the smaller kitten to hiss and disengage when uncomfortable. But its just that, a little bit of discomfort. Doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy having a playmate. He wouldn't initiate play sometimes if he wasn't feeling confident.

 

[di and bob]

It sounds pretty normal to me, as long as the new kitten is coming back after the roughhousing, and is not getting truly hurt (deep scratches that draw blood and bites) everything is normal. I watched kittens grow up all summer here and their play looks really aggressive. There is always a LOT of yelling, hissing, and screaming. You might get a large dog kennel and put a box in it for them to hide and keep one in it, for the other to actually watch them and get used to their movements. Kittens are VERY rarely really hurt by other cats. Now if he hides and doesn't come back fairly soon, or leaves the room when eth older kitten comes in, that is a different story, the kitten IS getting hurt. I would leave them together more and watch, separating them after a while so the much smaller kitten doesn't get hurt.

 

[fz80]

As always, I am sorry when someone suffers because of a crappy guide. Truth is, two kittens this young become friends every single time now matter what a person does or doesn't do, and that happened to you. There was never a need for a lengthy formal process. Separating at first for a few days does have some modest benefits, but a true formal cat introduction is not necessary at these ages. And indeed, yours are clearly friends. They are playing normally. It looks rough to you, because cats a predators and practice fighting and defense behaviors in their play. However, it is merely play -- if it was for real, the younger one would already be dead. You can trust the small kitten. The fact that he starts it sometimes means that all is well. If play was too rough, he would act afraid all the time and not initiate play sometimes.

Its normal for the smaller kitten to hiss and disengage when uncomfortable. But its just that, a little bit of discomfort. Doesn't mean he doesn't enjoy having a playmate. He wouldn't initiate play sometimes if he wasn't feeling confident.

Thank you for your advice! I grew up with two cats and don’t ever remember having the separate rooms for introduction so was a bit shocked when I saw that was the norm now. I also wondered if the cats were just playing however if I wasn’t to separate them I don’t think they would stop. The older kitten always goes straight for an attack which makes me think it isn’t just rough play.

 

[Catherine32]

I am pretty new to being a cat mom but I was also going to add it sounds normal to me as well. My boys have always been a little ruff with each other and they come from the same litter. They adore each other though. .

 

[fz80]

It sounds pretty normal to me, as long as the new kitten is coming back after the roughhousing, and is not getting truly hurt (deep scratches that draw blood and bites) everything is normal. I watched kittens grow up all summer here and their play looks really aggressive. There is always a LOT of yelling, hissing, and screaming. You might get a large dog kennel and put a box in it for them to hide and keep one in it, for the other to actually watch them and get used to their movements. Kittens are VERY rarely really hurt by other cats. Now if he hides and doesn't come back fairly soon, or leaves the room when eth older kitten comes in, that is a different story, the kitten IS getting hurt. I would leave them together more and watch, separating them after a while so the much smaller kitten doesn't get hurt.

Thank you so much for your advice!

 

[ArtNJ]

Thank you for your advice! I grew up with two cats and don’t ever remember having the separate rooms for introduction so was a bit shocked when I saw that was the norm now. I also wondered if the cats were just playing however if I wasn’t to separate them I don’t think they would stop. The older kitten always goes straight for an attack which makes me think it isn’t just rough play.

Let them do their thing and you will start to see some breaks. Kittens just have sooo much energy. And with a size and age difference like this, its almost always the older one that wants to play more. As long as your kitten initiates play sometimes though, thats a clear sign your all good.

 

[fz80]

Let them do their thing and you will start to see some breaks. Kittens just have sooo much energy. And with a size and age difference like this, its almost always the older one that wants to play more. As long as your kitten initiates play sometimes though, thats a clear sign your all good.

Thank you, that is reassuring!

 

[fz80]

After everyones advice I’ve let the cats be around each other more today and it’s just been constant fighting. While the younger boy is sometimes running towards the older and initiating play he is also cowering away and running from the fights. I’ve been separating when I hear noises from the little one. My older boy is just constantly eyes locked on the wee one and only moving away if I am stood between the pair. Is this normal?

 

[danteshuman]

I would say normalish? Kittens rarely hide from adult cats. So at 8 weeks I would only allow your current cat near the kitten when the kitten is within arm’s reach at all time! (I call this the my precious intro method ) Ectra cuddles, treats, play & wet food happen around the baby kitten but you will supervise it closely! Once the kitten hits 4 months it shouldn’t need you to protect it all the time.

When you are not there to closely supervise, the kitten goes in the kitten room. At 8 weeks, it is a baby that should still be it’s family for another month or two!

You resident cat may be territorial or may be playing to rough or may be bullying the baby kitten. Time is your best friend in this case.

 

[fz80]

I would say normalish? Kittens rarely hide from adult cats. So at 8 weeks I would only allow your current cat near the kitten when the kitten is within arm’s reach at all time! (I call this the my precious intro method ) Ectra cuddles, treats, play & wet food happen around the baby kitten but you will supervise it closely! Once the kitten hits 4 months it shouldn’t need you to protect it all the time.

When you are not there to closely supervise, the kitten goes in the kitten room. At 8 weeks, it is a baby that should still be it’s family for another month or two!

You resident cat may be territorial or may be playing to rough or may be bullying the baby kitten. Time is your best friend in this case.

Thank you for your advice! My younger kitten is now 12 weeks but still a wee tiny thing! Will keep going with supervised interactions and hope for the best. Just at the point of second guessing myself and hoping they are both ok!

 

[fz80]

Update - we have been letting the cats be around each other when we are home and although there’s been a lot of fighting there has been progress! Today is the first day there has been real breaks in the fights and the cats have actually relaxed a bit in each other’s company! The fights have also seemed more like play recently rather than one cat constantly obsessing and pouncing on the other.