Older cat is aggressive since new kitten arrived

by Vikkie
(Leeds, UK)

Hi,

I have a 3 year old female cat who has never been a really "cuddly" cat,
she would let me and my boyfriend pick her up if she was in the right mood, but would hiss at new people and had a tendency to bite and scratch when playing.

We got a new male kitten a month ago, he is now nearly 4 months old. The
older cat was very wary of him at first, then seemed to relax a bit and
even chases him occasionally. She does however hiss at him whenever she
first sees him in a room, and also hisses at us if we come near her when
she can see him.

She lets him eat out of her food bowl, and will even reluctantly share a
bowl of treats with him, but spends a lot of time upstairs by herself,
and hardly ever wants a fuss.

Do you have any tips to help us help her relax and enjoy all the
attention we want to give her?

We tried to make a fuss of her before him each time we see them, but he
comes running over and then she gets nasty again! Also we can't even take her into a different
room for attention because then he cries and she hates that sound and gets even more wound up!

Reply
Hi
Unfortunately some cats don't like to live with other cats and prefer to be the only pet in the home. There is no way to change this and the best that you can hope is a sort of truce. It sounds like that is what is happening in your home and the hissing etc is likely to always be there.

The only thing i can think of is that some of the calming medications or cat sprays may help your female cat to relax around the new cat and this may also help her to allow you to be more tactile with her. This can be a temporary measure until she gets used to the new situation of a another cat being around.

I have information about these cat relaxing products here

scared-cat.html

It may also be a good idea to give her something to distract her from the current changes in the home. New toys of things to explore are good for this. there are many different sorts of cat toy on the market and some cats react better to some than others. See this page for some suggestions

http://www.our-happy-cat.com/indoor-cats.html

best wishes kate