It's been an ambitious year. New Boyfriend, new kittens, new apartment.
I brought a man into my two cat household a year ago. He was a FANTASTIC hit. My boy cat who rarely seeks attention chilled on his LAP! Even my lady sassafrass sought out scratches from him. My littermate cats turned 10 this summer and we decided things were going well with our new clan and we gave them quite the gift ... kittens. Boyfriend and I decided we would move in together in August and our friend's cat had just had a litter. I selfishly got attached and talked us into taking a kitten, which turned into a pair of kittens. By mid-June we had litter mates on litter mates.
We did a proper introduction in my old apartment - Jackson Galaxy style. We kept the new babes in the bathroom and worked on the feeding introduction. At night, the kittens would sleep in the bathroom and the big guys would have the apartment. Toward the end of July, the two generations seemed tobe able to tolerate each other, but my queen bee sassafrass was obviously nervous.
We got everyone into the new apartment by mid-August and my vet tech friend had recommended letting everyone free in the house so that no one had a territory. Things have been ok, but somewhat rocky. My 10 year old boy (tuxedo) pretty much keeps to himself, but when a kitten tries too hard to play with him, he'll hiss. He gets better and better by the day - even coming to the group more and more for attention.
My ten year old lady friend (a calico) is a total other story. The kittens are really gentle with her, but they're fast and they like to surprise. Often when they approach her, they'll immediately flop on their backs, but she has none of it. She's been known to just walk up to them and swipe at them from no where. She has a sleeping spot on the other end of the house and mostly avoids them. I can only get her to purr when I carry her like a baby and snuggle her close, but sometimes, even then, she gets growly in fear that she's about to get a surprise and can't properly watch or prepare. Feeding time is the worst - she gets HANGRY, she's runs the halls hissing at everything: door knobs, litter boxes, her brother even. We feed everyone in the kitchen - she has a safe space and we monitor feeding time - she and her brother in separate corners and the kittens together in the pantry. I've been giving her alone time in the office with me and she'll sleep, sometimes crawling in my lap. I've been trying to take her to the bedroom with me, but she seems to be overwhelmed by their scent (the kittens and sometimes her brother sleep with us) and can't take it in there, even if it's the two of us. She stares at the floor under the bed (a favorite hiding spot of the kittens) or at the bottom of the door because the sometimes stick their paws through - and she hisses at them.
My boyfriend is getting upset with her, but all I see is a girl who is threatened and trying to establish her reign on the apartment. She used to be quite playful, but now she's scared to play because the kittens will immediately flock to her. We got a couple pharamone plugins a week or two ago, but they haven't seemed to help too much. At the moment, she just seems to hiss at them whenever she sees them. Last night, the kittens were sleeping in a cuddle pile, she went and sniffed them, one of them moved a bit because they sensed her and she just hissed and ran.
Any other calming tips would be much appreciated. Does she need more alone time? Alone play time? Private feeding? Should we try the re-introduction?
I brought a man into my two cat household a year ago. He was a FANTASTIC hit. My boy cat who rarely seeks attention chilled on his LAP! Even my lady sassafrass sought out scratches from him. My littermate cats turned 10 this summer and we decided things were going well with our new clan and we gave them quite the gift ... kittens. Boyfriend and I decided we would move in together in August and our friend's cat had just had a litter. I selfishly got attached and talked us into taking a kitten, which turned into a pair of kittens. By mid-June we had litter mates on litter mates.
We did a proper introduction in my old apartment - Jackson Galaxy style. We kept the new babes in the bathroom and worked on the feeding introduction. At night, the kittens would sleep in the bathroom and the big guys would have the apartment. Toward the end of July, the two generations seemed tobe able to tolerate each other, but my queen bee sassafrass was obviously nervous.
We got everyone into the new apartment by mid-August and my vet tech friend had recommended letting everyone free in the house so that no one had a territory. Things have been ok, but somewhat rocky. My 10 year old boy (tuxedo) pretty much keeps to himself, but when a kitten tries too hard to play with him, he'll hiss. He gets better and better by the day - even coming to the group more and more for attention.
My ten year old lady friend (a calico) is a total other story. The kittens are really gentle with her, but they're fast and they like to surprise. Often when they approach her, they'll immediately flop on their backs, but she has none of it. She's been known to just walk up to them and swipe at them from no where. She has a sleeping spot on the other end of the house and mostly avoids them. I can only get her to purr when I carry her like a baby and snuggle her close, but sometimes, even then, she gets growly in fear that she's about to get a surprise and can't properly watch or prepare. Feeding time is the worst - she gets HANGRY, she's runs the halls hissing at everything: door knobs, litter boxes, her brother even. We feed everyone in the kitchen - she has a safe space and we monitor feeding time - she and her brother in separate corners and the kittens together in the pantry. I've been giving her alone time in the office with me and she'll sleep, sometimes crawling in my lap. I've been trying to take her to the bedroom with me, but she seems to be overwhelmed by their scent (the kittens and sometimes her brother sleep with us) and can't take it in there, even if it's the two of us. She stares at the floor under the bed (a favorite hiding spot of the kittens) or at the bottom of the door because the sometimes stick their paws through - and she hisses at them.
My boyfriend is getting upset with her, but all I see is a girl who is threatened and trying to establish her reign on the apartment. She used to be quite playful, but now she's scared to play because the kittens will immediately flock to her. We got a couple pharamone plugins a week or two ago, but they haven't seemed to help too much. At the moment, she just seems to hiss at them whenever she sees them. Last night, the kittens were sleeping in a cuddle pile, she went and sniffed them, one of them moved a bit because they sensed her and she just hissed and ran.
Any other calming tips would be much appreciated. Does she need more alone time? Alone play time? Private feeding? Should we try the re-introduction?
