Misbehaving

[yasmincittaa]

I got a new kitten about a month ago, and of course I knew my older cat might not like it. At first she would just watch the kitten all day and then soon after they would play and I had no trouble. But in the recent two weeks my older cat has been hissing and growling a lot at the little one. I am about 90% sure its because the little one always wants to be with my older one and when my older cat wants to sleep or have alone time the little one just won't let her be. So my older one will first growl at the little one and if she doesn't get the message she'll smack her and hiss. This isn't what's worrying the most because I'll just take the little one out of the room when the older one wants to sleep and everything's fine. But the older one sometimes can be aggressive with the little one and I'm looking for a way to get the older one to be less aggressive while she's awake.


The baby is about to be 3 months and the older one is two years. Any advice would be great!

 

[di and bob]

Unless it is truly hurtful to the kitten, I would say the older cat is teaching the young one manners. The kitten would be more and more aggressive if not disciplined. They have to be taught boundaries. Try to get some more toys to keep the over energetic youngster occupied. A wonderful toy is the Kickeroo, I get mine at Amazon but see them all over. They are a long catnip stuffed toy teat encourages 'bunny kicks' and gets rid of a lot of excess energy. Or a corrugated cardboard 'scratcher', my cats use those a lot for exercise. Female older cats do like to rule the roost too, my tiny little female hqs all the big boys afraid of her, even the big feral toms give her a wide berth. I really don't think you have anything abnormal here, just be observant to break it up if it gets out of control. Good luck!

 

[Columbine]

I agree with di and bob that your adult is just putting your little one in his place. The best thing you can do is give your kitten plenty of daily interactive playtime to work off some of that excess energy and give your girl a break!
Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

You might find it helps, too, to set up a sanctuary space for your girl, somewhere that the kitten can't access. One way of doing this is to install a microchip-sensitive cat flap in one of your inside doors (maybe in the room door to one of your girl's favourite sleeping places), and program it to only recognise your girl's chip. Just having that safe, pester free space could make all the difference

 

[yasmincittaa]

I agree with di and bob that your adult is just putting your little one in his place. The best thing you can do is give your kitten plenty of daily interactive playtime to work off some of that excess energy and give your girl a break!
Playing With Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know

You might find it helps, too, to set up a sanctuary space for your girl, somewhere that the kitten can't access. One way of doing this is to install a microchip-sensitive cat flap in one of your inside doors (maybe in the room door to one of your girl's favourite sleeping places), and program it to only recognise your girl's chip. Just having that safe, pester free space could make all the difference

It seems that my older girl is just grumpy all the time! She isn't just growling and hissing at the baby but all of us, parents, sibling and myself. I have no idea what to do to get her to stop being upset and it's starting to stress me out.

 

[Columbine]

It sounds like she's just ultra stressed right now. Definitely get her checked out by a vet, to rule out anything physical. As she's growling at everyone she may be in pain.
35 Signs That Your Cat May Be In Pain

It sounds like she might benefit from a calmer of some sort - something like Composure is ideal. Don't neglect daily playtime with her either - it's a wonderful stress buster, and will help reassure her of her place in your house and her bond with you.

Stay calm, stay patient, and hang in there. Things will work out in time, I'm sure.

 

[mizzely]

Has your older cat been to the vet recently to make sure she's feeling okay? If she's lashing out at everyone it could simply by displaced aggression, but I'd want to rule out anything medical to be sure

 

[yasmincittaa]

It sounds like she's just ultra stressed right now. Definitely get her checked out by a vet, to rule out anything physical. As she's growling at everyone she may be in pain.
35 Signs That Your Cat May Be In Pain

It sounds like she might benefit from a calmer of some sort - something like Composure is ideal. Don't neglect daily playtime with her either - it's a wonderful stress buster, and will help reassure her of her place in your house and her bond with you.

Stay calm, stay patient, and hang in there. Things will work out in time, I'm sure.

Has your older cat been to the vet recently to make sure she's feeling okay? If she's lashing out at everyone it could simply by displaced aggression, but I'd want to rule out anything medical to be sure

Will make an appointment asap, what should I do if its not anything physical? She'll attack the baby, not badly just like jump at her when she gets to close, and growl at her when she sees her. If anyone picks her up or pets her she growls a ton. I'm getting a bit worried

 

[Columbine]

Don't get ahead of yourself. With the amount of growling going on there's a strong possibility that there's a pain issue of some sort. If she IS ok physically, then definitely try a calmer for her. It should reduce her stress levels and help her slowly adjust to having a kitten around.

Remember that this is a HUGE change for her, and she's entitled to be a little miffed and to let the kitten know who's boss. Keep them separated when you can't supervise them, and if things DO escalate into contact you'll be on hand to intervene. It may never get that far though. Don't stress about things before they happen (though I know that's far easier said than done!)

 

[yasmincittaa]

Update: I took my older girl to the vet and it turned out she had a eye infection. So we got her medicine and within a couple days she stopped growling and being in a bad mood, she still gets upset with the baby sometimes but mostly when the baby jumps on her or scares her.

 

[Columbine]

I'm so glad you were able to find (and treat) the problem with your girl I bet she's feeling a whole lot better now! I think a little wariness with the baby is normal - they can be very unpredictable from a cat's perspective, and it's ok for her to get spooked or annoyed occasionally. Just be sure to keep her claws clipped as a safety precaution (you could even fit claw covers if you want extra peace of mind)