My cat hates being separated from visiting kitten

[ellenmcampbell12]

Hello!
My boyfriend’s mother is out of town for a couple of days, so we are watching her kitten at our house for the time being. We have two cats ourselves, and while there were no issues upon introducing them aggression-wise, my female cat stares at her and refuses to leave her side. They do not cuddle together or play together, but my cat becomes extremely upset if separated from the kitten. They do not cuddle or play together, my cat just stares at her and wants to be next to her. The kitten seems indifferent to her. We just had to separate them so the kitten could eat, and my cat is crying loudly and cannot be calmed down no matter what I do. My cat also wouldn’t eat her dinner. Is this normal behavior? I’m worried that my cat will be devastated when the kitten leaves in a couple days.

 

[ellenmcampbell12]

Hello!
My boyfriend’s mother is out of town for a couple of days, so we are watching her kitten at our house for the time being. We have two cats ourselves, and while there were no issues upon introducing them aggression-wise, my female cat stares at her and refuses to leave her side. They do not cuddle together or play together, but my cat becomes extremely upset if separated from the kitten. They do not cuddle or play together, my cat just stares at her and wants to be next to her. The kitten seems indifferent to her. We just had to separate them so the kitten could eat, and my cat is crying loudly and cannot be calmed down no matter what I do. My cat also wouldn’t eat her dinner. Is this normal behavior? I’m worried that my cat will be devastated when the kitten leaves in a couple days.

Just realized I typed “they do not cuddle or play together” twice, sorry about that if that was confusing to read! I’m not the best writer so I went back and tried to correct my grammar a few times, I must’ve gotten confused at some point.

 

[ArtNJ]

Is your female cat spayed? My first guess would be she isn't spayed, and this is a hormone related thing.

Young cats often accept kittens right away, and many adult cats are curious about kittens right away, BUT this does sound like a very quick, unusual reaction! Hard to explain if there aren't some hormones making her act like a momma kitten, but I guess it could be random variation!

Yes, she will probably be distressed for a few days when the kitten leaves.

 

[ellenmcampbell12]

Is your female cat spayed? My first guess would be she isn't spayed, and this is a hormone related thing.

Young cats often accept kittens right away, and many adult cats are curious about kittens right away, BUT this does sound like a very quick, unusual reaction! Hard to explain if there aren't some hormones making her act like a momma kitten, but I guess it could be random variation!

Yes, she will probably be distressed for a few days when the kitten leaves.

I should’ve mentioned this but she actually is spayed, which is part of the reason why I found this behavior so strange. She’s a strange girl in general though, lol. I’m mainly just worried about her not eating and any anxiety she might be feeling.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, they take kittens from momma cats all the time, and this shouldn't be worse then that.

Get your phone ready. I'm guessing there will be plenty of opportunities for super cute videos before the kitten leaves.

 

[flybear]

there are some cats who just like other cats and kittens ... I have a boy here who is very happy with any new foster I bring home ... especially young kittens ... when he was young and a single cat he seemed quite miserable. He was so overbearing towards the two sister kittens we fostered ( and later kept) that we had to keep both of them to make sure he would't annoy either one of them too much - he was so happy not be be alone anymore and he still prefers to sleep with at least one of them ... Cat or kitten friendly cats exist. All three of my adult cats sleep and mother the foster kitten we currently have ( interestingly my boy is very " nurturing" lol) ... They also get annoyed sometimes but I do think they enjoy the enrichment to have someone new to play with ... Usually my cats go back to normal once the fosters are out of the house- they can smell them when they are in a bathroom .. and vocalize but once kitten is out of the home completely there is little reaction ...