problem cat

I have two wonderful boy cats that I've had for about three years. They're brothers and they are really close. A few days ago we adopted a seven week old kitten from some friends. My problem is that one of my older cats, Misty, hates the kitten and hisses at it every time it comes near. The other cat doesn't mind it that much anymore, but he's still a little wary. What should I do about Misty? Should I give it a few more days or should I find a new home for the kitten (which I really don't want to do! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/frown.gif ) If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appriciated! Thank you!

Hi Bryony,

I've been there, done that. This is what was suggested to me by the adoption group I adopted the 2 young cats from...
Put the kitten in a room with a closed door. The older cats can smell, but can't see or contact the kitten. Do this for about a week, or until the older cats seem to be comfortable with the situation. After a few days you can introduce a "toy" so they can interact with each other. I used a sturdy piece of string, and attached a spool to each end, since the spools did not fit under the door. Put this under the closed door, so that there is a spool on each side of the door. The cats can now play with the kitten but still not harm it.
After a week I put my new young cats (6 and 9 months old) in an enclosed ex-pen (this is a play-pen for puppies, sort of http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif ) and let my cats and the dogs get used to the new additions for a few hours. Then I opened the ex-pen and let the cats loose, under close supervision! Everyone got along well. A lot of sniffing, but no hissing etc. It's been 5 years, and they all still get along!
It's worth a try at least. Good luck!!!!!!

Give Misty a few more days to adjust to the kitten and then make a decision. Introducing a new kitten to a household with two established cats is always problematic, especially when one of the established cats is a female...They tend to be much more territorial than males in general. I'd suggest closing the kitten in a bedroom with her supplies when you're not there and only allowing supervised visits for awhile.
When we introduced a new kitten to a 7 year old female, the sparks few for about 2 weeks. By sparks I mean hissing, spitting, clawing, biting, the whole nine yards. After that two weeks though, the tensions began to lessen as the older cat came to understand that this youngster wasn't leaving.
I won't say that they are buddy-buddy now. They still have minor fights (fur gets pulled at the worst) and they won't be caught dead on the same couch together, but I would definitely call the situation livable.
So, I would say, give your kitties at least two weeks. If things are still this hostile, you might want to consider finding another home for the kitten.

I don't have any advice for your problem, but I do have a story that my help ease your mind. About three years ago, we had three outside cats. Leo-black and white dominate male and for the most part firendly, Stanley-
a orange tabby male-very affectionate, and a black and white cate we called Bandit the black came around her eyes. She was a female but we didn't know it at the time because she would never let any get near her. One day four kittens popped up in our shed-apparenty Bandit's and Leo's. Since they were in the shed, we had to go in there a lot for various items. When Bandit realized we had been around her kittens, she moved them then dissapeared and we never saw her again. The only problem was the kittens were only five weekd old-not big enough to survive on their own. My mom and I went to the pet store and got some stuff to take care of them. Then something really strange happened. I guess Leo realized that Bandit wasn't coming back, he started to play mommy. Not in the truest meaning of the word, but if one would runn off he would go get him and bring him back by the scruff of his neck. And when ever we were feeding them he would be right there, almost making sure we were doing it right. And for five weeks he stayed right by the garage(where we kept them). He and Stanley had always butted heads but it got worse between them, if Stanley got close to the kittens, Leo would chase him away-far away. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. So maybe there's hope for your cats that the older one will maybe take the younger one under he wing (or paw)! GOOD LUCK.

My cat, Mimi, is now eleven years old. When she was 7, we tried to introduce an abandoned three week old into the house. She hated him even with him being so small. As he started growing and got healthier, she got worse. We couldn't get near her. She had always been a very loving cat, but soon she wouldn't come inside, wouldn't eat, etc. When "Dwayne", my daughter's name for the baby, went off for the weekend with my brother, who was living with us at the time, Mimi would just brighten up and act like he had never been there. We finally had to make the decision to find a home for him and were successful in doing so. He is now a huge, beautiful gray cat and lives happily with the people who adopted him. We will be a one cat family as long as Mimi is with us. We have a "neighborhood" cat who comes to eat twice a day now and she can't stand him either. At least he isn't in our house. She has learned to go out the back door rather than risk running into "Thomas" on the front porch.
I wish you luck. My sister got littermates (2 females) and says that is the way to go. They entertain each other and get along beautifully.
http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/wink.gif

Give them some more time. I got two kittens (from different litters) at the same time and thought they'd kill each other...separated them when I wasn't home...four nights I came home and supervised and was almost ready to give up...the fifth night I came home, put them together and voila!

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If a cat spoke, it would say things like, "Hey, I don't see a problem here!"