New Kitten and Older Cat Troubles

[theatricals]

My first time posting here, but I'm just a little frustrated and will take all the help I can get.

Recently, we had to put our cat, Yoda, down. She was three years old and highly anemic, to the point where she needed to be force-fed. It was a decision and I made and despite how unfair it was, I knew it was the best thing for her to end her suffering.

Five days later, I got another cat. This is the shortest amount of time I have waited before getting another cat. Everyone copes differently, and I was losing sleep over my heartbreak that there was no one in my bed or sleeping on my lap. I was lonely, and desperate to fill the whole. I went to the shelter and picked out a little black kitten who I knew would help me heal.

She has been a great source of comfort over the few short days that I have had her. I didn't think I could fall in love so fast, but I really think it was a good choice for me. Others, however, might not have taken the same joy as me.

My older cat, Patches (4 years old), did not have much of a problem when we first brought Yoda home. They were a year apart, and while she wasn't particularly happy about it, Patches grew to tolerate, and later love her house-mate. She would cuddle with her (to Yoda's displeasure) and lick her head when Yoda wanted nothing more than to ignore her.

While I feel like Patches did acknowledge the change after Yoda's passing, she didn't act too different. The moment we brought home our new kitten, Yuffie, her behavior (predictably) changed. Although, it was not in the way we expected.

She's been hiding in my mom's room for the past few days, and only coming downstairs to eat or use the litterbox. She still acts friendly with us when we go upstairs to pet her, but she refuses to come down. None of our cats have been so put off by a new cat that they literally hid for days. I am very concerned, especially considering the fact that out of all of the cats we have owned over the years, Patches has been the most loving of other cats in the household. Maybe it was too soon for her, and I feel bad. I'm not sure what to do.

The other issue we're having is with the kitten herself. She goes to the bathroom in the litterbox, but only when it's in sight and/or you bring her to it. Her litterbox is in the furnished basement, and it can't be moved, as there really isn't anywhere convenient that we can place it. I've been bringing her to the litterbox periodically to hopefully get her used to it, but she's had several accidents already in the same spot in the living room. We have washed the carpet the best we could so the smell wouldn't encourage her to keep doing it. My concern is that she doesn't even know where the litterbox is.

For the past few days, I've kept a makeshift litterbox in my room since Yuffie has taken a liking to sleeping with me at night. Whenever she needs to go, she's totally fine with using it, because it's a mere 8 feet away. But like I said, she does not bring herself to the actual litterbox, and will only go when you bring her to it.

Any advice for these two situations? I'm a bit stressed, and I only want things to work out.

 

[mani]

Hi @Theatricals and welcome to TCS! 

I'm sorry it's taken a while for a reply and I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Everyone is different, as you say, when it comes to bringing home a new cat after a loss;  there's not right or wrong.

I would be keeping the kitten in a small space for a while (how old is she?)  Keep her food away from the litterbox and her water away from both and let her just adjust there.  I would then begin to go through the introduction process with them both, even through they've already met.  It's fine to start again. 

Patches was much younger when you brought Yoda home.. more resilient and open to change.   It's best this time to go slowly.

 [article="32680"]How To Successfully Introduce Cats The Ultimate Guide​[/article]  

Hopefully others will help with more advice. 

 

[theatricals]

I would be keeping the kitten in a small space for a while (how old is she?)

Unfortunately, she already has free reign over the house. She is so energetic that my attempts to keep her confined in the beginning only resulted in her freaking out. :/ Thankfully, though, she seems to stay away from the places that my other cat hides.

Keep her food away from the litterbox and her water away from both and let her just adjust there.

I have been doing this, but like I said, she doesn't seem to know where the litterbox is. Since she's taken to sleeping with me, I made a makeshift litterbox in my room that she's been using. I'm scared that if I take that away, she still won't know where the actual litterbox is, and go on my bedroom floor instead.

I would then begin to go through the introduction process with them both, even through they've already met.  It's fine to start again. 

I just found out that I can't do this at the moment, because after a recent doctor appointment, they recommended that we keep them apart for the time being due to Yuffie having ear mites. :/ Once she's clear though, I think I can start with this.

Patches was much younger when you brought Yoda home.. more resilient and open to change.   It's best this time to go slowly.

I figured that age had something to do with it. I feel horrible and I keep checking on her to make sure she's okay.

Thank you for the help. I really do appreciate it.

 

[mani]

Quote:

I would then begin to go through the introduction process with them both, even through they've already met.  It's fine to start again. 

I just found out that I can't do this at the moment, because after a recent doctor appointment, they recommended that we keep them apart for the time being due to Yuffie having ear mites. :/ Once she's clear though, I think I can start with this.

 You actually can do it now, as keeping them apart is the first step..

  Have a read through the article and see how it's done.

 

[sweetpie]

I am very new on this as well and was in almost the same position as you with your kitties hiding from the new arrival. We have three other cats besides our new 11 week old Sassie. My cat Honey has always been friendly towards me but a little skittish around other people. When we first brought the kitten home, her and her sister hid in the basement for about a week, coming upstairs for food and to go to the bathroom (just like you mentioned). It took a week or so but eventually our kitties started to venture out more and to slowly get used to the kitten. It's just a matter of time. The kitten of course wants to play play play, and the other cats are growing more tolerant of the rambunctious behavior. I wish you luck with your kitties! I hope this helped.

 

[theatricals]

I return to you guys with both good and bad news.

Good news:

Patches has been coming out more and more, and spending more time in her usual hang out spots. She was on top of the dresser while Yuffie bounced around on my mom's bed (Patches' main spot) and didn't even run. And today, she was spending time on a chair next to a window (because Yuffie was back in my mom's bed) and didn't even run when Yuffie came downstairs to eat, just about 6 feet away from her. She didn't even hiss. I think she's making progress, and I'm kinda glad I left her alone to give her time to get more comfortable instead of pushing her. :3

Now... onto the bad news:

I'm assuming that Yuffie has been using the litterbox in the basement, since I'm not taking her down there myself anymore and I haven't found any evidence that she's been going on the carpet (so far...). However, last night was the first night I took the makeshift litterbox out of my room. I normally leave a doorstop in front of my door to crack it open enough for the cats to come and go, but she never really left my room at night, so last night, I left it wide open. She didn't sleep with my last night so I assumed she was just hanging out around the house and hopefully heading to the litterbox when needed. When I woke up this morning... I found that she peed on my bed, and it soaked through the sheets and the mattress. I thought she was doing good, but apparently not. I'm curious as to why she would pee on my bed--if anything, I prepared myself to find that she relieved herself in the spot her temporary litterbox was. But nope. Do you think she's making progress? If so, I can tolerate this knowing she'll eventually learn.

If she's not making progress, do you think there's anything extra I can do to help her?

 

[theatricals]

EDIT: Just found that Yuffie pooped on my bedroom floor. I'm getting really frustrated. >_>

 

[catpack]

How old is Yuffie?

 

[theatricals]

 How old is Yuffie?

Yuffie is 11 weeks old.

 

[catpack]

Ok. I'm going to suggest what mani suggested earlier and say that she needs to be confined to a smaller space while she gets acclimated to her new home. She needs to have easy access to a litter box at all times. Once she is using the box consistently, you can expand her space gradually.

You many have to have several additional litter boxes around the house for a few weeks. Once she is using the boxes without accidents, you can start to slowly remove the boxes. (Start with the least used box.)

My guess is she was asleep, woke up in the night abd had to potty and got confused when her box wasn't there. During the day if there are accidents it's likely because she is so distracted playing/exploring that when she realized she HAS to go...she has to go right then and if the box isn't easily accessible, she goes wherever *she* deems is the nearest appropriate place.

I don't think it will take more than a week or two to solve this problem if you take appropriate steps now.

 

[theatricals]

 Ok. I'm going to suggest what @Mani suggested earlier and say that she needs to be confined to a smaller space while she gets acclimated to her new home.

The big issue is that she has been roaming around the house for a week now, and really lets you know that she's not happy being confined. As far as I know, she has been using the litterbox (the fact that the whole house doesn't smell like poop or pee is an indication), but she is just really drawn to my room. When we brought her home, she had a couple accidents in the living room, but she stopped that after a couple days and hasn't had an accident anywhere else but my room since.

I didn't think about it at first, but Yoda was the first and only cat that I've had that has slept with me, so I thought that Yuffie might have been able to smell her in my room (and by extension, my bed) and chose to relieve herself there because of it. I also thought that maybe Yuffie thought she couldn't go use her litterbox, so I left my door wide open last night. She spent a good amount of time around the litterbox before I went to bed and she didn't sleep with me, so I thought it was a success.

I'm trying to experiment and see what her pattern is so I can work from there. I really worked at cleaning the spots that she soiled to try and remove as much of the scent as possible, but I still plan to keep my door closed tonight, with her outside of my room.

I'll try and use the tips you guys gave me, but I apologize if I sound frantic and inexperienced. We've had quite a few cats in the past, but all of them took to the litterbox with no problem, so I was just really confused at what to do. I'm still a bit frazzled.