I have had a beautiful cat, Minx, for over two years now, I rescued her when she was a baby as her mum had left her to fend for herself. She is the most loving affectionate cat and I thought she would appreciate a new friend. I got a new kitten a few days ago as a present for my son, but Minx simply won't accept her. She refuses to let me stroke her anymore and constantly growls and hisses at the new kitten whenever she sees her. I feel like she is pissed off with me but I like to share my love and I just want Minx to accept that she is no longer a baby and that she has a new brother/sister. Has anyone else has similar problems? Would really appreciate some advice as I don't want Minx to run away or feel rejected.
By the way, yes I do give Minx lots of attention but when the kitten is around she won't let me near her. All the kitten wants to do is play, it is curious but keeps getting whacked by it's new big sis!
Give it time. We have been in this situation more than once when we've brought new kittens into our home. Yes, it's hard at first but after a while your cat should learn to tolerate the new kitten & forgive you. I think they say that it takes 6-8 weeks for things to settle down when a cats home-life has been upset (whether it be with a new addition to the family or moving house) so be patient.
cats are ferral, Dogs are pretty much understood but cats are normally solitary and then in an urban situation live in groups. they are very very aggressive. Whereas a human can take the place of a dog as the alpha dog a cat always knows you are a human and a cat is a cat.
Of course I know this... but it doesn't help my situation. Thank anyway
I'm sorry. Just try to show Minx that the new kitten is a friend not a rival. It's hard to say things that you don't already know.
Sorry hun this reply was meant for Gunther lol. And I know I keep trying but she just goes for her :( porr little thing doesnt understand xx
Oh well if she's going to attack the kitten then obviously intervene so that the kitten is not getting hurt but don't let Minx feel that you're mad at her. It should settle down in time. Mine just ignore each other now.
I don't but I swear, she keeps giving my dirty looks. She hates me :(. And I hope it does settle down, but I want them to be friends. I thought Minx would take the kitten under her wing but she's either jealous or sees her as a threat xx
You have to introduce them slowly. Meeting face to face isn't reccomended for at least a few days and they should have separate areas in the house until then so the cat you already have can get used to the idea of the new kitten and it's smell.
I agree with keeping them separate. I think it's also important to feed them separately to begin with and make sure everything else they need i.e. water, bedding and a litter tray is easily to hand.
Give it a few days then you could give them each a blanket or something that smells of the other so they can get used to the other's scent without each other being present. When you do reintroduce them, perhaps one of them could be separated from the other in a carry case so they can't fight?
I'm afraid I don't know how to deal with cats in that situation - when it happened with my dog (we got a new one fairly quickly because she didn't have a home and was, essentially, a rescue dog), we had to keep him muzzled as he didn't really get on with other dogs. Now he's fine: though if you give her lots of attention, he'll get jealous, come over, barge his way past her and look for a pet. :P And sometimes he growls when she invades his personal space, but she isn't fazed.
I guess the only thing I can think of is to try and keep them separate as much as you can (maybe have one person play with Minx in a separate part of the house whilst you give the kitten some attention, and vice versa? Just so either of them doesn't get too jealous), and keep an eye on them. It would be easier if there was something like a muzzle for cats - if you're worried that she may bite the kitten, that is. :/
We have had to introduce loads of cats into our house in the past when we worked with the Cats Protection and, by and large, they all learn to accept the situation after a while. Oddly enough, we found that female cats were the more difficult in this respect and we have a young cat that has been with us about a year that still gets beaten up by our old female cat from time to time. However, it would be unusual if they didn't develop an acceptable level of tolerance of each other in time.
Thanks for all the info guys, I did consider keeping them separate for a few days but it's pretty much impossible when you have a baby, I don't want to force them together but it's what i'm going to have to do for now
cats are ferral, Dogs are pretty much understood but cats are normally solitary and then in an urban situation live in groups. they are very very aggressive. Whereas a human can take the place of a dog as the alpha dog a cat always knows you are a human and a cat is a cat.
Tell this to my cat Dennis lol, hes like a puppy follows me around if i go out he'll wait by the door and hes not agressive in the slightest hasnt done any damage since he was a kitten hell play fetch, walk on the lead and just lay across my shoulders. Also hes a very loving cat if im washing my other cat phoebe he'll sit outside the bathroom door and cry.
Also advice for you L.G you just have to let them get on with it, ive had to introduce new cats into the house many times and its taken a couple of weeks, even months for my cat Gem to like Dennis, but they will do eventually :) just gotta let them get on with it, oh unless you see them going for the throat theyll use it to pin each other to the ground, best to split it up but then continue letting them be xx
cats are ferral, Dogs are pretty much understood but cats are normally solitary and then in an urban situation live in groups. they are very very aggressive. Whereas a human can take the place of a dog as the alpha dog a cat always knows you are a human and a cat is a cat.
Gonna have to disagree with you too. My cats are sooky little babies and are not agressive at all, they are very loving and friendly and follow you around and roll over on their backs for tummy rubs. Infact today one of them had bought a stray cat in and was sitting with him because he was hurt and crying at us to bring attention to him and trying to comfort this poor little stray cat that I'd never seen before. Taking him to the vet tomorrow to get some antibotics to make sure his wounds don't get infected (gave them a clean) and see if he's microchipped.
I had a similar situation. When I addopted a kitten my cat didn't want to accept it. She also started to reject me. But I just gave her time and after about two months she accepted the new friend and everything was ok.