I have just adopted a new 5 month old male (neutered) kitten to be a companion for our existing 5 month old female (not yet neutered) kitten Miuccia who I found on the street back in October, 2000. It's been a week already and still Miuccia hates the sight of the newcomer Xander. I feel that she is jealous of him. She will growl and hiss at him all the time, but he is not afraid of her at all. He is actually a very friendly cat and has tried on many occasions to play with Miuccia or to groom her, but she just runs away, hisses or spits.
Right now I am concerned because Miuccia seems to have lost her appetite and refuses to eat. She has been eating less since he came to live with us and now for the past day she is not eating at all. Otherwise she seems healthy.
We have tried separating them in the beginning by shutting Xander up in the bathroom for a few days but since he is a very vocal cat, Miuccia gets upset and won't eat or play when she hears him meow through the door.
We have tried in the past two days to let them just spend time together without our supervision and although they do not fight, Miuccia tries to avoid Xander who is always trying to encourage her to play.
We have had a very close relationship with Miuccia and we have tried to spend extra time with her and play with her at least twice as much as prior to Xander's arrival but she seems to get less and less interested.
Xander meanwhile has adapted to living with us and seems extremely pleased and happy in his new home. However, our Miuccia seems always so upset and depressed with him around it is making us worried for her health.
Does anyone have any idea how to get cats to get along? How long does it take usually before two cat strangers living together start to get along? Should I be concerned about Miuccia's lack of appetite at this point?
I appreciate your advice! Thanks.
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