Older cat (M13) not tolerating new kitten (M5mo) - advice needed!

[absbees]

This will probably be one of many posts like this on this forum! However, I just want some reassurance that what we are currently doing is right or some tips to make it easier for both our cats!

We adopted a kitten (Otis) about 2 months ago, he is now coming up to 5 months old. We already have an older resident male cat (Pepsi) who has just turned 13. We started off the introduction by scent swapping for a few days, before letting them see each other face to face with the kitten in a carrier. This went fairly well so we then let them meet face to face 10 mins once a day with a lot of supervision. At all other times of the day we would keep them separated.

Pepsi would constantly hiss and bat at the kitten, and try to avoid him as much as possible. The kitten just wants to play and is almost 'obsessed' with his older brother - basically there is no aggression from the kitten's side! Pepsi goes outdoors, so his usual reaction when Otis is annoying him is to go and sit by the door and be let out. After about 3 weeks, we noticed that Pepsi was still getting quite stressed, so out of concern for him we decided to separate them once again and reintroduce them. Pepsi seemed to be a bit more relaxed this time round and we have had a few instances where they smell each other. However, since then their relations barely improved.

2 months in and Otis still just wants to play, which we fully appreciate is normal. We get them to eat together, with Pepsi on the worktop in the kitchen and otis on the kitchen floor. Pepsi always gets his food first. Then about twice a day, when Pepsi is inside and in the lounge, we let Otis and him interact. The majority of the time Pepsi will hiss/occasionally growl and bat at Otis when he approaches. Otis has a habit of running after Pepsi or jumping on him which does NOT go down well. Otis is very very slowly learning not to do this, as we have had a few instances where he will stay back from Pepsi and give him space. During these sessions we try to distract Otis with play/toys as much as possible but it can be very difficult as Otis always wants to get over to Pepsi. We also give Pepsi treats and praise as much as possible and also reward Otis for staying away or being gentle with Pepsi. This strategy occasionally does work and Otis stays away. Equally though it doesn't work and Otis will still try and play with Pepsi by running at him/pouncing at him, which results in a very unhappy Pepsi with lots of hissing and swatting.

I'll also add that Pepsi is very unhappy with me and occasionally hisses at me too - as his favourite person in the household I can understand. We have bought Feliway friends over the past month, however we aren't 100% sure if it has had an effect, if it has it is minimal.

We are aware that it can take months for cats to get along, and we are only at month 2, however I guess my main questions are:

- Is our current strategy ok? Should we continue to persevere and have these mini meetings with them, letting Pepsi put Otis in his place?
- Can anyone suggest any other tips for helping them get along?
- How else can we distract our kitten from constantly wanting to play with the older cat? We are due to have the kitten neutered next week - will this help or is it just something we will need to wait for him to grow out of?
- Does Feliway actually work?

Thanks so much!

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi and welcome to TCS! Pepsi is an older cat, established in his ways, and it seems has been a lone cat for a while, if not all his life (?). It could take months for Pepsi to tolerate Otis, which might be your best case scenario. It doesn't sound real bad right now, but you do need to make sure that Pepsi has places (besides just outdoors) to retreat to when he wants some peace and quiet.

Getting Otis neutered might also help matters too. And, since you are going to do that shortly, you might not push things too much more until after Otis is back home and fully healed. Some cats will react negatively to another one who smells differently after being at the vets, and there is a good chance Pepsi might be one of those.

Ensuring lots of play time with Otis, perhaps right before you have a mini meeting might help, so that Otis' energy has been at least a little bit depleted when he is exposed to Pepsi. Using toys to toss so that Otis might chase them instead of Pepsi is another tactic to try.

As far as Feliway, it works with some cats and not others. I have even heard of some cat reacting negatively to it, so take your cues from Pepsi and if you notice any such reaction from him.

Check out these TCS articles on introductions and see if there are some tips/ideas in them for you to try.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat [A Guide] - TheCatSite
How To Successfully Introduce Cats [The Ultimate Guide] - TheCatSite

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Yes, what FeebysOwner said. And keep in mind that Pepsi is the equivalent of a man in his upper 60s, while Otis is a 6-year-old boy. There's a certain amount of, "HEY KID! GET OFF OF MY LAWN!" going on, which is not unnatural. However, Otis is going to mature, and settle down a bit over the next few months, which will also help.

 

[Alldara]

I'll just add to brush them with the same brush daily.

And lastly that I personally found Feliway Optimum worked well, as did classic but Multicat did not.

 

[absbees]

Thanks everyone, the situation is still the same. Otis is has been snipped now so that is out of the way. We’ve continued what we’ve been doing and also following FeebysOwner ‘s advice. Alldara the brushing is a great idea, we’ll try that.
Mamanyt1953 Hopefully with time as Otis matures he will become less boisterous with Pepsi. We are making sure to give Otis lots of play while also spending quality time with Pepsi.
It’s good to know we are doing as much as we can!