My Cat Cheerios is growling at a less than 3 week old kitten

[Cheerio&Yeti]

We took in a young motherless runt, and my female cat cheerio is growling at her. When I got cheerio the same way and when introducing her to my past cat Yeti he just took her in right away. But time has passed and we take in this kitten and Cheerio is growling like this kitten is going to murder her. The kitten is less than 3 weeks old. What can I do to get Cheerios to not be so Territoral?, and accept she is gonna be raising a more than likely neice?

 

[jefferd18]

Hi, Cheerio & Yeti! Welcome to the site.

Cats have different personalities and she may feel threaten by this kitten for some reason- may not be the type who will ever like kittens.
I have had some cats who were naturals with kittens and some who had no use for them. It was usually the females when it came to the latter.

The baby is at a very vulnerable age right now so please make sure Cheerios is not left alone with her.

 

[ArtNJ]

Cats growl at kittens really often. More often than not I'd say. They get over it. A little growling doesn't mean its going poorly or that they won't be friends. It almost never means the adult cat wants to attack -- they don't do that w true kittens. Indeed, the real danger will come if the adult wants to play with the kitten too soon. I definitely agree not to leave them alone though. Heck, even a "get away from me" swat -- which, like growling, is also totally normal -- could be dangerous at such a young age.

After a bunch of cats, you get where you can interpret the growling and realize whether it is actually going poorly or not, but for now, just assume your older cat is a bit stressed, but will likely get over it as they have time together. And they do almost always get over it -- when problems last, it is more because the kitten wants to jump all over the older cat, rather than this initial "OMG its a kitten" reaction which does fade away.

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for rescuing the little kitten. If you need any help or support, do post a new thread in our Pregnant Cats and Kitten Care forum.

About Cheerio, for now, since the kitten is so young, I would keep them separated. Then once the kitten is older, re-introduce them. TCS has this article that might be helpful: How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

 

[flybear]

we brought home a 5 week old kitten about a week ago ... both sides growled and hissed. I have those pheromone plug ins and put kitten in the bathroom adjoining the cat room ... we exchanged scents, rotated toys and blankets for a few days and then ... kitten stopped fussing, played "pat a paw" under the door - and started to try and climb over the door gate ... one week later and kitten lives in the cat-room all day long but I still have him sleep in the bathroom ( to give everyone a break ) ... Now kittens rubs himself on the adults and they lick him in return and they play wrestle ... They don't sleep together but are clearly fine with each other. We has another foster kitten last year who was clearly not welcome ... my girls especially threw a fit ... no idea why ... we did not keep that little guy too long but ... somehow they all liked this kitten better than the first ( personal preference ??) ... Give it time and let them have separate spaces and ... whenever you fuss over baby- first fuss over resident kitty - my 3 can be jealous and I make sure always to say "hi" to them first, give them treats first before feeding the baby ... I think it will work out well in the end ... the kitten will start smelling like you and your household ... give kitten it's own territory to start with ....

 

[cataholic07]

At 3 weeks old I would not introduce them until the kitten is 6-7 weeks old. And even then do it slowly.

 

[mwallace056]

when my youngest was a newborn kitten, along with her brothers. from the very day they were born, i would let my adult cats smell my hands after each time i handled the kittens. when they were about two weeks old, i let Gray meet them face to face. as far i remember there were no issues plus i knew he adores kittens and knew he wouldn't try to play with them or hurt them in any way otherwise i would probably wait until they were bit older before a face to face. he took to them right away, groom them, even help them go potty by licking their bottoms then two weeks later, i let Tucker meet them and he took to them right away too. grooming them, helping them go potty. so yeah it appears they has some motherly instincts.

my suggestion is get the kitten scent on something like a blanket or a towel and put it in a where where your adult spends time so she can smell it, and every other day, i would reinforce the scent by rubbing it on the kitten. so when you introduce them, your adult cat is desensitized to the kitten scent and may respond better.