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- Jan 20, 2019
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Hi!
We have a 6 year old cat (Barbarella) and have just adopted a new (4 month) old kitten and are working through the introduction. I’ve seen a lot of articles about dominant resident cats but it seems like as the days go on, the kitten is becoming more and more dominant. Babs has always had a fairly conservative nature and will hide if she’s uncomfortable. The kitten, on the other hand, came from a cat café so has been around heaps of people and kittens and really just wants to be with people. The kitten will lie across doorways to “block” Babs in rooms, will rub her scent all over my husband and I and is always trying to eat her older sister’s food. Babs does hiss at her but is ignored pointedly. As such, she’s been eating less (even when we put the kitten back into her pen), hiding in cupboards and her (usually clockwork) routine is disrupted.
We’re only a week into the introduction so are considering re-segregating them to calm Babs down and let her adjust but are worried that her lifestyle will be impacted if she’s no longer able to eat her own food and sleep in her own bed and wander around the house as she likes. Is this normal kitten behaviour? Does anyone have any tips on how we can increase Babs' confidence around the kitten, or are we just over-reacting?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
We have a 6 year old cat (Barbarella) and have just adopted a new (4 month) old kitten and are working through the introduction. I’ve seen a lot of articles about dominant resident cats but it seems like as the days go on, the kitten is becoming more and more dominant. Babs has always had a fairly conservative nature and will hide if she’s uncomfortable. The kitten, on the other hand, came from a cat café so has been around heaps of people and kittens and really just wants to be with people. The kitten will lie across doorways to “block” Babs in rooms, will rub her scent all over my husband and I and is always trying to eat her older sister’s food. Babs does hiss at her but is ignored pointedly. As such, she’s been eating less (even when we put the kitten back into her pen), hiding in cupboards and her (usually clockwork) routine is disrupted.
We’re only a week into the introduction so are considering re-segregating them to calm Babs down and let her adjust but are worried that her lifestyle will be impacted if she’s no longer able to eat her own food and sleep in her own bed and wander around the house as she likes. Is this normal kitten behaviour? Does anyone have any tips on how we can increase Babs' confidence around the kitten, or are we just over-reacting?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!