Resident Cat & New Kitten - Issues
Discussion
Help!
Zelda is a 4 year old indoor only cat, who we have been guardians to ever since she was a kitten. Her personality is nonchalant, but incredibly loving and affectionate. She loves cuddles, loves bumping us and frequently rolls over for belly rubs! Even though she is an indoor only cat, we do walk her outside on a leash multiple times per week.
During lock down, we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce another cat to our household. Part of our reasoning for this was - other than just wanting another cat - we thought a second cat could provide Zelda with some company on the days when both my wife and I are out of the house at work (3 days/week).
Enter Gordon. He's now 3 months old. He constantly trills and is always happy/dopey! He absolutely loves Zelda and will watch her move between rooms, as well as occasionally follow her. The trouble is, Zelda certainly does not love him, or even like him, in return. In fact, her whole personality and reaction to us has changed too. Zelda will now growl and attack us if we get too close, or stroke her more than once. If I feed her a treat and stroke her head, she will growl whilst simultaneously eating! If you continue, she lashes out - but it's mainly lots of loud meowing and paw waving, with no claws. On rare occasions, she will allow us to stroke her head without issue, but it's rare.
Both cats have their own respective large cat trees. Both cats have their own feeding stations, as well as a litter robot and a litter box. We've 'catified' our living room with cat shelves/ledges, as well as ceiling high sleep areas. We introduced Gordon and Zelda slowly and carefully following the Jackson Galaxy method, and we've tried the Feliway Friends diffuser for the last 1.5 months. Suffice to say, we try to play with Gordon as much as we can in order to stop him chasing Zelda's tail, which she doesn't appreciate.
More interestingly, we took Zelda round to our neighbour's place last night and she completely regressed back to being a loving, affectionate and non-growling cat! As soon as we brought her back home, the growls returned. What can we do to help improve the situation between Zelda and Gordon? Medicine? Reintroduction? Just wait it out and hope Zelda acclimatises to Gordon's presence? It's breaking our hearts!
Thanks!
TL;DR - Cat dislikes new kitten and takes it out on him/us. If we take our cat next door, she instantly regresses back to being lovely. As soon as we return home to the kitten, she becomes scared/aggressive/anxious.
Zelda:
Gordon:
Zelda is a 4 year old indoor only cat, who we have been guardians to ever since she was a kitten. Her personality is nonchalant, but incredibly loving and affectionate. She loves cuddles, loves bumping us and frequently rolls over for belly rubs! Even though she is an indoor only cat, we do walk her outside on a leash multiple times per week.
During lock down, we decided that it would be the perfect opportunity to introduce another cat to our household. Part of our reasoning for this was - other than just wanting another cat - we thought a second cat could provide Zelda with some company on the days when both my wife and I are out of the house at work (3 days/week).
Enter Gordon. He's now 3 months old. He constantly trills and is always happy/dopey! He absolutely loves Zelda and will watch her move between rooms, as well as occasionally follow her. The trouble is, Zelda certainly does not love him, or even like him, in return. In fact, her whole personality and reaction to us has changed too. Zelda will now growl and attack us if we get too close, or stroke her more than once. If I feed her a treat and stroke her head, she will growl whilst simultaneously eating! If you continue, she lashes out - but it's mainly lots of loud meowing and paw waving, with no claws. On rare occasions, she will allow us to stroke her head without issue, but it's rare.
Both cats have their own respective large cat trees. Both cats have their own feeding stations, as well as a litter robot and a litter box. We've 'catified' our living room with cat shelves/ledges, as well as ceiling high sleep areas. We introduced Gordon and Zelda slowly and carefully following the Jackson Galaxy method, and we've tried the Feliway Friends diffuser for the last 1.5 months. Suffice to say, we try to play with Gordon as much as we can in order to stop him chasing Zelda's tail, which she doesn't appreciate.
More interestingly, we took Zelda round to our neighbour's place last night and she completely regressed back to being a loving, affectionate and non-growling cat! As soon as we brought her back home, the growls returned. What can we do to help improve the situation between Zelda and Gordon? Medicine? Reintroduction? Just wait it out and hope Zelda acclimatises to Gordon's presence? It's breaking our hearts!
Thanks!
TL;DR - Cat dislikes new kitten and takes it out on him/us. If we take our cat next door, she instantly regresses back to being lovely. As soon as we return home to the kitten, she becomes scared/aggressive/anxious.
Zelda:
Gordon:
Obviously Zelda is pissed off, but ultimately we don’t want her to live out the rest of her life in a constant state of annoyance/fear/anxiousness. Cats can cohabitate and it’s fairly common for resident cats to dislike new kittens.
Perhaps I’m looking for some reassurance, or some tips from others that have gone through similar and come out the other side with a positive result.
I’m not sure I can just accept that both cats may become friends when one is about to die ...
Perhaps I’m looking for some reassurance, or some tips from others that have gone through similar and come out the other side with a positive result.
I’m not sure I can just accept that both cats may become friends when one is about to die ...
We had a similar scenario. Nova (4 yo Birman) had her nose right out of joint when rescue kitten Willow turned up after the death of our other Birman. I suspect this was largely because Willow viewed Nova as fair game with respect to someone to play with. We had to keep Willow pretty much separated from Nova until she grew up a bit and was no longer wanting to play every minute of every day.
Now, two years on, they couldn't be termed buddies, but are often in relatively close proximity and are happy to share a bed (albeit half a metre apart). In fact we occasionally catch them playing chase if they think we are not looking. I think it is just a matter of persevering and making sure they know they are loved without showing either one any favouritism.
Now, two years on, they couldn't be termed buddies, but are often in relatively close proximity and are happy to share a bed (albeit half a metre apart). In fact we occasionally catch them playing chase if they think we are not looking. I think it is just a matter of persevering and making sure they know they are loved without showing either one any favouritism.
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