Hi
I discovered this site when I was introducing my new kitten to my existing cats and the advice was sooo helpful
that I decided to join up!
A little more about my cats. I hope my story helps some people who are having similar issues
.
I have had 2 cats for 5 years, Will and Mika. They are rescue cats from Battersea cats and dogs home. We don't know their exact ages but they were estimated at 1 and 3 when we got them and they were very nervous cats. They had been kept with other animals and not looked after by previous owners. At first they would just run away and hide from us. It took Mika a few weeks to venture out from under the TV cabinet and settle in. Will took longer and finally a year later, he came to sit on my knee
They still hate being picked up tho!
A month ago we decided to get a kitten as I am working at home at the moment. Cats Protection found us a grey kitten who we called Oscar, 14 weeks old. He seemed timid compared to his littermates but when we got him home he was very confident and settled in immediately, and didn't stop purring
. I kept him away from the others in the spare room. After a few days of bedding swapping (to swap their scents) we introduced him to our existing cats. He hissed at Will, who just silently stood his ground and then they sniffed noses and were ok. Mika however hissed and growled on sight
. She went outside to the garden and over the next few days wouldn't come in except for food and to sleep which was very upsetting. Will was also getting cross at Oscar's attempts to play and at Mika. We were worried that we'd done the wrong thing
We made the difficult decision two weeks ago to get another kitten for Oscar to play with so he didn't bother Will and Mika so much. She is beautiful just over 8 weeks now
I read lots of advice on the forum, so I used a towel to swap their scents, wiping it over each of them, a feliway diffuser, fed them treats when they met, fed and played with them together and cross stroking. Yesterday, after a lot of Oscar hissing, Luna and him played chase and then went to sleep together
. Will is also happy with Luna and has gone back to sleeping on the bed (his usual sleeping place where he hasn't been since we got Oscar). Mika now only growls if Oscar invades her space and doesn't seem concerned about Luna.
So I hope things will start to settle down now. The kittens are so cute, but I love my big cats and missed them lots when they were away
Glad to be here and meet you all
Mika
Will
Oscar
Luna
I discovered this site when I was introducing my new kitten to my existing cats and the advice was sooo helpful
A little more about my cats. I hope my story helps some people who are having similar issues
I have had 2 cats for 5 years, Will and Mika. They are rescue cats from Battersea cats and dogs home. We don't know their exact ages but they were estimated at 1 and 3 when we got them and they were very nervous cats. They had been kept with other animals and not looked after by previous owners. At first they would just run away and hide from us. It took Mika a few weeks to venture out from under the TV cabinet and settle in. Will took longer and finally a year later, he came to sit on my knee
A month ago we decided to get a kitten as I am working at home at the moment. Cats Protection found us a grey kitten who we called Oscar, 14 weeks old. He seemed timid compared to his littermates but when we got him home he was very confident and settled in immediately, and didn't stop purring
We made the difficult decision two weeks ago to get another kitten for Oscar to play with so he didn't bother Will and Mika so much. She is beautiful just over 8 weeks now
So I hope things will start to settle down now. The kittens are so cute, but I love my big cats and missed them lots when they were away
Glad to be here and meet you all
Mika
