I have an older cat who is twelve years old - he's a sizeable 11-12 pounds. I recently got a rescue cat, a young female who is about a year old. She's very small, less than six pounds.
She's very accustomed to being around other cats and doesn't mind him at all, but he's a different story, since he's been our one and only for so long. She's extremely bouncy and energetic, but he's obviously a lot more reserved and laid back. I've been largely keeping her in her own room, occasionally allowing them to interact, but it isn't exactly going well.
He hisses and swats at her whenever she gets near, and sometimes will even chase her and swat at her backside. She doesn't react to it at all, but then I quickly separate them because I really, really don't want it to escalate to where someone could get hurt.
I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Could her rambunctiousness being annoying him too much? Could it be because we haven't had a chance to have her spayed yet (and he is neutered)?
Does anyone think one of those feline diffuser things would help? I'm hesitant because they're very expensive, but I may be running out of options here...
She's very accustomed to being around other cats and doesn't mind him at all, but he's a different story, since he's been our one and only for so long. She's extremely bouncy and energetic, but he's obviously a lot more reserved and laid back. I've been largely keeping her in her own room, occasionally allowing them to interact, but it isn't exactly going well.
He hisses and swats at her whenever she gets near, and sometimes will even chase her and swat at her backside. She doesn't react to it at all, but then I quickly separate them because I really, really don't want it to escalate to where someone could get hurt.
I'm not sure what to do, honestly. Could her rambunctiousness being annoying him too much? Could it be because we haven't had a chance to have her spayed yet (and he is neutered)?
Does anyone think one of those feline diffuser things would help? I'm hesitant because they're very expensive, but I may be running out of options here...
