My Adult Cat Hates My New Kitten?

[Gabrielle53635]

So I have a six year old cat named Chester whom I’ve had for about five years and we have a very special bond. He’s friendly and sense he was so good with the past couple dogs we had who were very hyper and loud I thought he wouldn’t mind another cat in the house so I decided to get a male kitten (named Dexter).
I did the thing where I put the kitten in separate room and let them smell each other under the door for almost a week. Chester has stopped hissing at him under the door so I let them meet but Chester really dislikes him and he hisses at him for no reason. Dexter will just be minding his business on his kitty mat and be grooming himself, Chester will go up to him and start sniffing him and then Dexter twitches one ear or moves his tail one inch or just simply meows at Chester and Chester freaks out, hisses, swats, and runs away.

Like why is he doing that? Why does he get so riled up when Dexter does one thing? It’s weird because Chester’s the one always y following him around but gets mad when Dexter meows at him or even makes one twitch of and ear or tail or moves at all. I have them separated again right now but what should I do to help Chester accept him more?

 

[czygyny]

Time and patience have been my best allies.
I have one cat who took five months before she welcomed a new comer, others, not so long.

 

[sivyaleah]

This sound pretty normal to me.

As long as Chester isn't being aggressive to the kitten, I wouldn't worry to much. Hissing doesn't mean anything much except he's unsure and nervous. And swatting the kitten is his way of saying "back off". Kittens are resilient - Dexter will learn to give Chester his space when he does this, and Chester will eventually get used to Dexter being there.

Is Chester eating ok? Using his box ok? Does he seem relatively happy otherwise? If so, just let them be and go about your daily life as always. Give Chester some more love and attention than usual for a while. Make sure he knows he's still Number 1.

It can take a while for them to become friends. Or, learn to live with each other at minimum. They may never become cuddle buddies, so don't have that expectation. The goal is for them to just co-habitat nicely - anything else will be icing on the cake. When we introduced a 2nd cat to our resident, it took quite a long time for them to become friends although they lived with each other ok. In all the years they were together (the older one passed this year) we only saw them curl up together 3 times LOL - but, they did sleep near each other ALL the time, within inches of the other, and at times, barely touching, but they were touching.

I wouldn't keep them separated during the daytime, that might only extend the timeframe of them getting to know each other. If you are concerned, perhaps keep the kitten in a separate room at night when you can't keep an eye on them, but really when you're up and around, just let them be and let them work it out together. Again, it doesn't sound aggressive so it's just a matter of time.

 

[Sonatine]

I agree that it doesn't really sound all that alarming. Hissing is really just communication. They may not be "saying" nice things to each other, but at least they're talking instead of fighting! Even cats who like each other will hiss occasionally.

As long as everyone is acting relatively normally beyond the occasional disagreement and there's no screeching, yowling, or fur flying, it sounds like it would be safe to let them work it out, especially when you're there to supervise. They may become friends, they may not, but if nothing else the hostility should ease up with time.