Hello!
So about a week ago I adopted a 13 week old kitten. I had been contemplating adding a second cat to my house for about 6 months or so as my resident cat would cry loudly when I left for work in the morning and when I came home. He's 2 years old, but is still a very energetic boy. He can easily play for 2-4 hours in a day (Not straight, but total) if given the chance, but my dear kitty boy was extremely clingy... he hated playing alone and would mostly only play when I played with him (Chase and wands are his favorite). He was so clingy he would get quite upset if I left him on weekends as he expected me to spend those days entirely playing and lounging with him. After doing some research I thought maybe if he had a kitty friend that would alleviate some of this behavior, specifically because when I adopted him (He was 8 months) he had been living with a woman and was quite bonded to her cat, so much so that he continuously followed the other cat around when I first met him and tried to interact with him. I even witnessed him cuddling with her cat!
Naturally, because of his previous behavior I assumed he would welcome a new cat with open arms, so I adopted my brand, new little kitten with high hopes, but decided to play it safe and do a slow introduction. I separated them completely for the first day, but as soon as I brought the new kitten home, my resident cat new something was amiss. He could smell the new kitten on my hands and for the first time ever hissed at me and even bopped me with his paw!
Even with the kitten locked in the bathroom my cat was not pleased at all, but I persisted in trying to make things work. I separated the two with a baby gate and started playing with the kitten where my cat could see us play. By day 4, I let them meet as there wasn't any hissing/growling through the baby gate or door at this point.
The introduction didn't involve any hissing or growling, but my cat seemed rather indifferent and started acting depressed and ignoring me and the kitten almost completely. By day 5 my cat and the kitten had begun playing together, but my cat doesn't want to play with the kitten for very long and he still acts relatively depressed. It's been an entire week now and my cat still doesn't seem to like the new kitten. He'll play with him briefly, but spends most of his time ignoring me and the kitten. Before my cat was extremely clingy and now he acts like I've ruined his life! He refuses to get on the couch when the kitten and I are lounging on the couch together and will not join in any games between the kitten and I. He'll play with me individually or with the kitten (Briefly) but he doesn't seem to want to be around the kitten AT ALL!
It's difficult because when I put the kitten up, my cat gets really happy and more affectionate with me, unfortunately, the kitten is super clingy with me and constantly follows me and wants me to pick him up and hold him. Basically both boys want my attention but my resident cat wants ONLY my attention where as the kitten seems fine with my cat and wants to be around me.
My question is... how normal is this behavior? I had read a lot of information about this but most of the time people have complained of hissing and growling between the cats whereas in my case there isn't a lot of violence involved, just dislike on my cat's part? So is this normal? Will my cat forgive me? Why does my cat dislike the kitten so much (I chose a kitten that I observed playing very nicely with his litter mate, so he enjoys other cats!)?
Any insight into this would be great!
So about a week ago I adopted a 13 week old kitten. I had been contemplating adding a second cat to my house for about 6 months or so as my resident cat would cry loudly when I left for work in the morning and when I came home. He's 2 years old, but is still a very energetic boy. He can easily play for 2-4 hours in a day (Not straight, but total) if given the chance, but my dear kitty boy was extremely clingy... he hated playing alone and would mostly only play when I played with him (Chase and wands are his favorite). He was so clingy he would get quite upset if I left him on weekends as he expected me to spend those days entirely playing and lounging with him. After doing some research I thought maybe if he had a kitty friend that would alleviate some of this behavior, specifically because when I adopted him (He was 8 months) he had been living with a woman and was quite bonded to her cat, so much so that he continuously followed the other cat around when I first met him and tried to interact with him. I even witnessed him cuddling with her cat!
Naturally, because of his previous behavior I assumed he would welcome a new cat with open arms, so I adopted my brand, new little kitten with high hopes, but decided to play it safe and do a slow introduction. I separated them completely for the first day, but as soon as I brought the new kitten home, my resident cat new something was amiss. He could smell the new kitten on my hands and for the first time ever hissed at me and even bopped me with his paw!
Even with the kitten locked in the bathroom my cat was not pleased at all, but I persisted in trying to make things work. I separated the two with a baby gate and started playing with the kitten where my cat could see us play. By day 4, I let them meet as there wasn't any hissing/growling through the baby gate or door at this point.
The introduction didn't involve any hissing or growling, but my cat seemed rather indifferent and started acting depressed and ignoring me and the kitten almost completely. By day 5 my cat and the kitten had begun playing together, but my cat doesn't want to play with the kitten for very long and he still acts relatively depressed. It's been an entire week now and my cat still doesn't seem to like the new kitten. He'll play with him briefly, but spends most of his time ignoring me and the kitten. Before my cat was extremely clingy and now he acts like I've ruined his life! He refuses to get on the couch when the kitten and I are lounging on the couch together and will not join in any games between the kitten and I. He'll play with me individually or with the kitten (Briefly) but he doesn't seem to want to be around the kitten AT ALL!
It's difficult because when I put the kitten up, my cat gets really happy and more affectionate with me, unfortunately, the kitten is super clingy with me and constantly follows me and wants me to pick him up and hold him. Basically both boys want my attention but my resident cat wants ONLY my attention where as the kitten seems fine with my cat and wants to be around me.
My question is... how normal is this behavior? I had read a lot of information about this but most of the time people have complained of hissing and growling between the cats whereas in my case there isn't a lot of violence involved, just dislike on my cat's part? So is this normal? Will my cat forgive me? Why does my cat dislike the kitten so much (I chose a kitten that I observed playing very nicely with his litter mate, so he enjoys other cats!)?
Any insight into this would be great!
Hopefully time will improve all this!
