Hello. We have a 2 year old female bengal cat who is very needy and a scaredy-cat. She was obsessed with our 11 year old male cat, who passed away few months ago. She became depressed after his passing, so we decided that she needed another cat to cuddle and play with. We adopted a 4 month old male cat, who is very loving and playful. We separated the cats for several days and slowly let them have interactions. Older cat was very interested but would initially hiss and swat at the kitten. As the time passed (a week) the hissing stopped but our older cat keeps chasing after the kitten and swatting at him. That scares the kitten tremendously. Today during one of those chases he went behind the tv stand and pooped there. The older cat seems like she just wants to play, as with our former cat they would chase each other around. We just don’t know what to do to make her be a little less rough and for the kitten to stop being scared. We tried separating them, stopping the “play” when it gets rough and praising the older cat with pets and treats when she behaves nice near the kitten. We are also worried that the kittens personality will change if this continues. Currently he is very active, but also loving and cuddly. Any advance will help. Thanks in advance!
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Older Cat Chasing and Scaring the New Kitten
- Thread starter Catladiz
- Start Date
Hello and welcome to TCS. It's good that your older cat wants to play with the new kitten, but due to the kitten being scared by her chasing him, and particularly due to him pooping where he ran to hide, I think you should take a few steps backward, and restart the introductions.
It's not completely unusual for a kitten to run and hide after playing with an older cat, but if they quickly run back for more "fun", then all is well. But in your case, your kitten seems really scared / stressed, so I think your introduction is going to need to proceed more slowly.
Here's a couple TCS articles on cat introductions that should have some tips for you:
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Also one on Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
It's not completely unusual for a kitten to run and hide after playing with an older cat, but if they quickly run back for more "fun", then all is well. But in your case, your kitten seems really scared / stressed, so I think your introduction is going to need to proceed more slowly.
Here's a couple TCS articles on cat introductions that should have some tips for you:
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Also one on Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – Cat Articles
Could not have said it better than
rubysmama
did! Time and patience. I think this has an excellent chance of working, just take it slowly.
rubysmama
did! Time and patience. I think this has an excellent chance of working, just take it slowly.
