My old cat and the new kitten (feral)

Missiechan

We've had the old cat for over a year, we adopted her from the Drogheda Animal Rescue Centre when she was in a bad way. She'd had cat flu and a whole bunch of her teeth had been removed. She's also missing an eye, is about eight years old and I think she may be a little deaf. A few weeks back someone kicked her in the leg hard enough to rupture ligaments and she was confined to the flat to recover. She was miserable stuck in the flat all day with no company, so we decided to adopt a kitten as a companion for her.

We found a rescued kitten who'd been living in the parking area of Blanchardstown Shopping Centre with a bunch of feral cats. She's a little feral herself still, and she still hisses at us when we get too close. But she is bonding with us, she's slept with my flatmate on her bed and sits on the sofa with us too. She's killing a cat toy in front of me as I type this.

Problem is, she won't stop hissing at the old cat. Old cat never responds vocally, just reaches over and gives her a box. Kitten is terrified of old cat, though old cat wouldn't touch her if she'd stop hissing.

Is there any way I can speed up this process?

The Sweeper

Perhaps. Praise old cat and ensure she's top cat and feels comfortable. Never give out to her when she smacks up the kitten (but obviously intervene if it turns into a fight). Give the kitten a safe haven - a box and/or bed away from the favourite spots of the established cat, so the kitten has somewhere to escape to.

The cats need to establish a pecking order among themselves before they stop fighting - and that natural pecking order is that the older, existing cat is top cat, and the kitten needs to accept that and chill out. If you reinforce the position of the older cat, it'll speed up that process.

Other solutions include a feliway diffuser (synthetically produced mimic of cat 'happy hormones', comes as a plug-in similar to an air freshener - though you won't smell anything it's supposed to help the cats calm down). Also look as Bachs flower rescue remedies for pets - some of the Aussie breeders absolutely swear by them, a few drops in the water and even a drop massaged into the back of the cat's ears - be CERTAIN you're buying the ones for cats though!