my adopted kitten is fighting my older cat

[SueLinda]

Penguin and Rhett fight from time to time. Penguin my 8 month old adopted kitten is now bigger than Rhett who is 7 years old. Penguin runs to Rhett, tackles him and goes for the throat. Both are hissing, ears back. I separate them and put one in the bedroom for a while until they chill. It concerns me how aggressive Penguin is with Rhett sometimes. Penguin gets plenty of play time with me, has interactive toys, gets exercise (aka zooooomies) , etc.
Some days, they walk right by each other, sometimes Penguin will give Rhett a bath for about 30 seconds before Rhett says "enough". But then other times Penguin will get aggressive and go for Rhett's throat. No injuries, Rhett is normally super chilled and calms down quickly.
Any advice/thoughts? Thank you.

 

[Kris107]

Does Rhett ever initiate? Rhett doesn't sound like he avoids Penguin generally, right? I think what you're doing sounds good. You have to help them learn when it's too rough and they need to knock it off and have a time out. When they fight, does Rhett try to get away or does he stay?

 

[SueLinda]

Does Rhett ever initiate? Rhett doesn't sound like he avoids Penguin generally, right? I think what you're doing sounds good. You have to help them learn when it's too rough and they need to knock it off and have a time out. When they fight, does Rhett try to get away or does he stay?

Rhett never initiates it, and he sometimes avoids Penguin. When Penguin goes after him, usually Rhett will jump on the table to get away, or fight back. But when Rhett jumps on the table, Penguin pops up and tries to wrap his paws around Rhett's neck to bring him down. By that time, I separate them and usually put Penguin in the bedroom and check on Rhett. My vet said to watch his stress level.

 

[FeebysOwner]

You just have to try to 'train' Penguin that he needs to stop that one behavior - so pick him up, say 'no' or hiss in his face (pick one) and put him in a 1-2 minute time out (no longer than that). That will also show Rhett you have his back and help him to feel more confident, which should help reduce his anxiety over time.

 

[SueLinda]

You just have to try to 'train' Penguin that he needs to stop that one behavior - so pick him up, say 'no' or hiss in his face (pick one) and put him in a 1-2 minute time out (no longer than that). That will also show Rhett you have his back and help him to feel more confident, which should help reduce his anxiety over time.

Thank you, I've been doing that for a few weeks now and it hasn't helped but the time out has been longer. I'll make it a couple minutes and see if that helps. Thank you.

 

[FeebysOwner]

It could take weeks, maybe months, for him to 'get it'. The real key is consistency, as in doing it each and every time. The reason for a shorter time out is because after so long cats tend to 'forget' why they are in one.

 

[SueLinda]

It could take weeks, maybe months, for him to 'get it'. The real key is consistency, as in doing it each and every time. The reason for a shorter time out is because after so long cats tend to 'forget' why they are in one.

Ooooh----good point. One to two minutes then. Thank you!

 

[SueLinda]

FeebysOwner Thank you for suggesting time out for only one or two minutes---it's working!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Yay!!!!