Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   I found a little kitten behind where I work about five days ago. When I found her, I guessed she was about 4 weeks old. Now that she's gotten some good food into her and gotten used to my house, I think she's closer to 5 or 6 weeks old. She's teething and playing with kitty toys, but she's still rather small.

   We kept her separated from our other two cats until we got her combo-tested (60 bucks for a kitten I didn't even think I'd get to keep - thats dedication!) and since she came back clear, we let the house become desegregated again. This was when the fun began.

   Our older cats are both from the same litter, a male (Gabe) and a female (Sienna), coming up on two years old this November. Sienna queened once before we got her spayed and was allowed to fully raise her babies before we placed them all into homes or the no-kill shelter. Gabe... well, he's an oddball. Before we got him neutered, he would try to mount younger male cats. We got him snipped hoping this would stop that behaviour, but it didn't. So we adopted out the younger male. I think Gabe is gay, weird as that sounds, but he was never interested in females at all. But we still love him.

   So the interactions between the three cats as they met each other were very interesting. I was personally looking forward to it since we haven't had any new cats in the house since Sienna's litter. Sienna did the typical hissing and no-claws-extended batting. Gabe was afraid. He literally ran away and hid under a bed. Fast forward two or three days, and Gabe is no longer afraid. He's not exactly snugglefriends yet, but he lets her be within two inches of him and doesn't run away if she runs up to him and tries to tell him something. The hissing and batting from Sienna has toned down a little, but is still present. We don't punish Sienna for this behaviour, she's not hurting anyone and we know that it's just part of establishing the pecking order.

   However, Sienna is the only one of the two who seems interested in establishing that order in the first place. I can't figure out whether this is because she's had kittens before or because she took up Gabe's neglected role as alpha male. Has anyone else ever noticed anything similar in their families?

   Posted 2 years ago by jessesgirl #

2. 

   Hi Jessesgirl. We had two sisters and introduced a young (at that point intact) male after about a year - he's six months younger than they are; they're about two and a half.

   The two sisters - Pickle & Button - have very different personalities, (Pickle is timid at first, then friendly, whereas Button is brave but aloof) and both get on with neighbouring cats in the garden, so I thought (foolishly in hindsight) that introducing a new cat would be easy.

   It wasn't!!

   We had all out war on both their parts for about 2 weeks - Eric (the newbie) would try and be friendly, but neither of the girls was having any of it.

   1 year down the line, and Pickle and Eric are best buddies, and Button still only tolerates him. They are all however united in the terror of Bones, my Mum's eighteen and a half year old cat who we now look after, and who uses the most despicable language if any of them get too close!!

   This probably isn't very helpful, but what I'm trying to say is that it sounds like you're making excellent progress, being only a few days in, and I think they'll all be happy in each others company very soon. Keep us updated!

   Posted 2 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #

3. 

   Four years ago, I brought a male kitten into my home of just girls -- two older twins, and a younger solo female. One of the twins, Lily, is the alpha cat. Although the three girls were spayed, I had Stanley neutered as soon as possible to prevent the possibility of spraying as he grew into maturity and possibly laid claim to the Alpha position. Now four years later, Stanley is a cremepuff -- shows no interest in being the boss, thus Lily, now 10, has maintained her throne.

   Your situation is certainly interesting, and it's very insightful of you to understand the pecking order will be as they see fit, and not the way we might think it should be.

   Posted 2 years ago by Jo in Blairsville #

4. 

   Jessesgirl, in my experience some cats are much more territorial than others. From what you've indicated, Sienna is more territorial than Gabe. In addition, some cats handle changes, in general, better than others (not quite the same thing as territory, but it can sometimes be related). So it may be that Gabe just isn't too bothered by the kitten, it's just different and he's handling the adjustment well. Sienna, however, is definitely a bit more put out, and will probably take more time to be comfortable around the kitten.

   (What's the kitten's name?)

   Most striking instance of this was when I adopted two cats from the animal shelter in Chicago. They were unrelated, but both female brown tabbies; one longhaired adult, and one shorthaired 18 week old kitten.

   I let the kitten (Mal) out of her carrier first. She was visibly nervous and a bit spooked, and started slinking along the wall, sniffing as she went. I waited a couple more minutes, and then I let the cat (Lady) out of her carrier.

   She looked around calmly, sniffed a couple of times, and then proceeded to stroll around the apartment to acquaint herself. She acted as if she belonged, right from the get-go. She saw Mal, and calmly sat down and looked at her.

   Mal completely freaked out! She hissed and spat and fuzzed up every hair on end; she backed away from Lady until she was at least 6 feet away. And that's how it was for about 2 weeks. Every time Mal saw Lady, she hissed and growled and got her knickers in a twist. Lady never returned the favor; she just watched.

   Finally, after a couple of weeks, Mal stopped hissing, and they grew to be best of buddies. They eventually slept curled up with one another, to the point where it was hard to tell where one cat stopped, and the other began.

   Posted 2 years ago by anncetera2 #

5. 

   Update-
   Well, the kitten is definitely staying. We've named her Spooky and she has been answering to her name for about four days now - no lie, not even a week after we adopted her. I expected it to take a lot longer since she came from a feral population. She's very happy to be here and eating well. I can't feel her ribs any longer and it seems as though she is getting fluffier everyday.
   Gabe has gone from simply accepting her to playing with her and even letting her gnaw on his ears and tail.
   Sienna is coming around slowly. She's still asserting her authority, but on a much less regular basis. Sienna will walk up to Spooks and the kitten automatically drops to a submissive posture. Usually, Sienna will just sniff at her and go on her own way, but if the kitten doesn't go submissive, then she'll do the whole "hiss-and-bat-at-without-claws" thing.
   It's progress all around!
   Today Spook and Gabe had a catnip-fest in the living room, so much fun to watch. Too bad Sienna won't touch the stuff, it would have been a great step towards bonding.

   Posted 2 years ago by jessesgirl #

6. 

   That's great news Jessesgirl, so pleased you've kept Spooky (great name!) and that they're all getting on better now - and remember, it's still early days, so I don't think you'll have any long term problems.

   Posted 2 years ago by MadcatwomanintheUK #

7. 

   Yes, I think that before too long, Sienna will come to her senses. I tell her all the time that we all still love her and that Spooks is not here to replace her. I make sure that she gets all the love and attention she always did before. She's just a tad stubborn lol.
   I can tell that Spooks wants to be Sienna's friend from the looks across the room. It's only a matter of time!
   I'm sure Gabe wouldn't mind if there was another set of ears for the kitten to chew on as well.

   Posted 2 years ago by jessesgirl #

8. 

   Jessesgirl, it sounds like your integration situation is making great progress! You're doing all the right things, just keep at it. Maybe while the next catnip fest is going on, you can be giving Sienna treats that she likes? Or playing with her, using her favorite toy?

   Seriously, it sounds as if things are going swimmingly, considering how territorial some cats can be.

   Posted 2 years ago by anncetera2 #

9. 

   Wonderful! Sounds like you've done a really great job of getting them used to one another. Sienna will probably come around when she sees that Gabe and Spooky are having a good time together and that she's not losing any of her status as Elder Cat.

   Posted 2 years ago by AnnF #

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