cat and kitten advice

[booblay]

Hi all. I hope you can help.

I have two new female kittens. Had them around a month now. They're adorable and adjusting well, and they even get on with my dog.

But my sister, who I live with, also has two cats, both female, both under 4 years old (a mother and a daughter actually, though you wouldn't know it).

We did the whole quarantine and gradual introducement. Now they're running around freely. At first my sister's cats were pissed off and didn't stay in the house long. Talulah, my sister's younger one, is now fine with the whole thing. She isnt friends with them yet, but she's staying in the house again and generally doesn't mind them being around.

But Chanel, my sister's slightly older cat, isn't adjusting at all. She's not coming in the house much at all. She's not very sociable with other animals, and she's never liked my dog (who is harmless to cats) and still scrams her when she tries to get past. Apparently, before my sister got her, she was running off from the previous owner all the time because there was a new (human) baby in the house.

I keep saying to my sister, Don't worry, just give it time, eventually she will get over it and tolerate the new kittens. Time is all.

So this morning I come downstairs and my sister is crying, and I say, What's wrong? And she says, Chanel won't come home, I'm losing my cat! It's all your fault! And I say, 'Whoah there, you were just as up for me getting those kittens as I was, and it's not fair to say it's my fault just because your cat is an anti social arsehole.'

'It is. It's YOUR fault.'

So I feel both angry and guilty and I don't know what can be done.

Any advice?

[Bluefish]

calling chrissie

[Jemima]

Whenever I'm cat sitting for anyone and the cats come to my house it always takes a few days of adjustment for them to settle with mine. The cat flap is locked so none can get out for at least a week (mainly so the guests don't get out and get lost). I have 2 young cats and 1 really old one (18 and well grumpy lol) the younger the cat is the better they seem to adjust to new things in the house.

When we got the first kitten, my old girl would refuse to even be in the same room as them, hissing as she went past with a paw swipe if close enough. Time went on and the bigger he got the better she tolerated him. he still gets the odd hiss now but thats mainly if he tries to play with her.

We got the second kitten a year later and the same thing all over again. Again she still tolerates him and on occasion he is even allowed to share her sofa lol

It seems the older they got the more she prefered them. Did a bit of googling and it seems a lot of adult cats (doesnt matter their age) can't be doing with kittens if they aren't theres and it may just take time for your older one to accept them as part of the family rather than something annoying.

I would probably do my best to make a fuss of her when needed and give being in the house a preferable experiance to being outside in the cold and rain. lots of fusses and cuddles if thats her thing or extra chicken treats the others dont get if food is her thing.

I think SamV also had a similar problem when his female had kittens and his male wasn't to happy bout it. Mayeb fire a pm to him if he doesnt see this and see what his soloution was

[Chrissie]

Jemima is spot on with making an extra fuss of her

One of the problems may be that they are all female. Females tend to be the most dominant in the pecking order of a cat colony & usually the eldest female in the hierarchy is considered as the matriarch. So Chanel at the moment most likely feels like she has had her nose put out due to the kittens getting more attention than herself.

[booblay]

I've been advising my sister to make an extra fuss of her...and she's been trying.

Trying to keep a cool head and not get pissy by the blame throwing....not worth it.....we must work together on this.

her plan is to keep her cat in her room for a few days as she's worried she is going to run off. just keep her there with a litter tray to try to re-inforce the idea that this is her home..

not sure about this

my idea is to chuck her cat in my room with the kittens for a day or so...to try to force along the 'getting over it' factor...

but again, i would rather not force anything and let time do its job.

ultimately, my sister is worried her cat will not accept the new kittens and just run off completely...

how likely do you think this is?

[hissie]

My Eppie never tolerated any animals & was very picky when it cam to humans too.

A stray wandered into my home & brought with her 3 baby kittens. Eppie absolutely hated the 4 of them & would not socialize at all. I even bought one of those Feliway plug in things.

In the end I had to take the mother kitty & her 3 babies to a re-homing center as it just wasn't working out. Eppie was so stressed it actually made her ill.

Some cats just can't tolerate other animals & you may find that she never accepts the new editions.