Comments on: Old kitten playing with new kitten?

By: Shelly P

Shelly P — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 21:43:33 +0000

Your 7 month old is wanting to play with the new kitten, but yet is still very wary of it as a stranger.

But he is NOT out to kill the thing. If you hadn’t have intervened you would have seen that. They’d have slapped each other and the older cat would have let the little one run off. No one would have gotten hurt..

Here’s what you do. I’ve gone through this senareo half a dozen times..

Don’t keep them separated (by shut doors) anymore

Let them work it out. Watch them, by all means, but don’t intervene unless the older cat is REALLY honest-to-goodness-drawing-blood hurting the kitten. CHances are almost nil. He’ll slap at it, hiss at it, but chances of him actually trying to HARM it are almost 0. They will work it out. Your older cat may act a little like a bully, but in order for them to get along or become friends, someone has to be “top cat” The older one has to establish himself as the top cat by “putting the pipsqueak in his place” It’s all okay, as long as nobody is getting seriously harmed.

Trust me, in no time they WILL be playing.. A kitten 7 months will NOT be able to resist a playmate to tumble with!! They’ll thouroughly enjoy each other’s company.

By: baby_girlsbites

baby_girlsbites — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 04:34:39 +0000

when introducing a new cat/kitten leave the (new comer) in his own carrier box. leave the box out in the open then let your cat come to it on his own they after a week or so should start to get along .after all your cat IS the alpha cat in your home,the kitten will accept this and won’t try to challange for that role ,your cat is testing the water so to say to find out what he himself can get away with when it comes to the newcomer ,they will figure it out themselves don’t worry too much.and enjoy all trouble that they WILL cause together

By: Squeek E

Squeek E — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 04:17:32 +0000

If I were you I would take it a little slower. No way would I let them be together every minute even if you are supervising them, YET! The older one still needs some time to get used to the idea that there’s another cat in house. The 7 week old is too small to be roughed up by a big 7 month old.

I am dealing with almost exactly the same thing right now. A 7 month old I’ve had and a new 12 week old kitten I got on Saturday afternoon. (Kitten is in bathroom. 7 month old has the rest of the house.)

If the older one is starting to grab the little one with his teeth it might be play or not, but the last thing you want is for them to get initial bad impressions of each other, it will only make things harder. Usually hissing, growling and swatting at the kitten will clue you in to aggression. I’m not taking any chances with mine however as I want them them to be the best friends possible.

Here’s what I’m doing, maybe it will help you.
1st: I’ve dabbed each kitten with a drop of vanilla between the shoulder blades and near the tail. This way they smell the same to each other. This is for the older one’s benefit so the little guy doesn’t smell strange to the big one.

2nd: I’ve cracked the bathroom door open a couple inches so they can smell each other and play footsie through the crack all they want (put wedges on either side of the door so neither can push it open or shut it). I’m doing this for a few days, longer if there is any hissing or growling. Let them get real used to this.

3rd: Swapping rooms is excellent, so they can smell each other’s scent. Another idea is to rub each cat with a small towel and then swap these out too. Again the trading scent idea.

4th: Put the 7 week old in his carrier and put it out in the living room or bedroom by the 7 month old. Let them both sniff at each other in this protected environment. You’ll see by your 7 month old’s reaction how ready he is for them to be put together. If he is real interested and doesn’t hiss or growl that’s a really good sign.

5th:You probably know this but make sure the little one has been vet checked for upper respiratory infection, worms, ear mites and Feline Leukemia so your 7 month old doesn’t catch anything.

6th:Make sure you give extra attention, some nice food treats and exta play time to your 7 month old so he/she will still know that she is loved and this new boy is not the replacement.

7th: Know you 7 month old. Watch his/her tail and body language. Is he tense around the kitten? If his tail is hanging low and near the ground he’s on the defensive. Watch him. (I’ve done this before and found that if I talk sweetly when the kittens are near each other she knows I like her and the kitten and I’m relaxed and she should be too. If she starts swatting the kitten I would tell her “No” just once, not yelling, just “No”. She knows what I mean.) If your 7 month old starts hissing, growling or roughing the little one up kinda see where it is going and if you don’t like what you see put the little one back in the bathroom and let them play footsie a little longer. The little one is still too young and trusting for them to work things out themselves through rough play. A 7 month old can pack quite a wallup and bite too hard.

Remember, unless you 7 month old has had other cats/kittens around he has probably never seen a kitten and doesn’t quite know what to make of it.

Here’s an article that’s helped me in the past and now(plus a fun one):

Hope this helps.

By: freakknastyy

freakknastyy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 01:15:25 +0000

first of all, wouldn’t it just be easier to use names instead of ’7wks’ and ’7 month’ …

anyway, I think they’re playing but the big cat needs to learn that the baby is just a baby and rough play can hurt sometimes

the oldest cat is still a baby in itself – only 7 months old – he still has kitten abilities and tendenacies too – he just wants a play mate

I think as time goes on and as they both grow, they’ll be the best of friends and can play with equal strength and force

By: Amanda Y

Amanda Y — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:00:09 +0000

Could be play.
However, whenever my cat would get near another one, she would hiss and growl and she was NOT playing. She hated being around other cats, of any age.
She thought she was queen of the castle.

By: vjmiller4

vjmiller4 — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 19:11:58 +0000

this is normal their just trying to establish who the dominate one is should subside but give it time.try playing with both of them together so they can form a bond and a little hissing scrathing fighting is nothing to be worried about.just if they get into an all out brawl i would seperate them.jsut remmeber some cats just dont get along give it about 3 or four months at the most.

By: JoV

JoV — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:26:23 +0000

You need tolet them be around eachother every minute you get a chance to supervise them. The old kitten is probably just jealous that there is another cat in the house. They have to get used to eachother. I would let them spend every second they can with eachother. Supervised at first of course.

By: billy c

billy c — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:37:57 +0000

dame u look sexy

By: bride_of_christ728

bride_of_christ728 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:40:46 +0000

That sounds like play to me. As long as you don’t think one of the cats is in extreme danger, let them fight a little. It’s okay. If blood isn’t being drawn, they could be playing.

I have about the same age difference in my two cats, and that’s the same way they act around each other. The older one does a bit of growling, and it’s hard to tell if she’s playing or not, but I usually just let them go.

If you seperate them, they’ll start to think that it’s bad to be near the other cat. Let them interact and sort things out between the two of them. Even if they never become best friends, chances are they could easily be good play mates, as long as they’re both in the mood for it.