A tail of two kitties ....

forbairt

probably a bad title but what the hell

we're currently minding a little 4 - 5 month old female kitty ... and of course we've also got the main cat who is 2ish and tutored (neutred)

My question I guess is ... are they fighting .. or playing ... they come up and touch noses at times ... go puffy (tail of the 2 year old male) ... Seem to want to whack each other with the paws ... well they do and are succeeding .. one can be lying down just looking at the other ... its like they are stalking each other but there is no crying at each other just these type of outbursts and stalking.

I'm just wondering should I go back to locking the little one away ? She's been around the house a little bit now ... and is starting to cry loads if we lock her in the room (we were doing the separate them thing for a bit and gradually introducing them)

Thanks for any advice ... while she's only here for another day I'm just not sure if its ok to have them together or not (the obvious solution is to lock her away again .. but I don't really like doing that)

Adventure Pout

I really won't worry if I were you.. at that age they are still playing. Kittens love fight-play. If there is no crying or crazy hissing, then you are fine. You will know if cats are fighting because it is mad!!!
The worst thing for a cat is to lock them up.. Cats do not like when doors are closed..
Just let them out together and keep an eye to see if things go bad or not..but to the sound of your post, they are just fight-play...

forbairt

thanks I'm not used to cats .. (just to cat) so completely unsure of what exactly is going on with them

MsFifers

My experience is that any 2 cats when introduced for the first time will be v. uneasy with each other - its just a thing that has to be worked through.

The bumping noses is a v. good sign! Puffy tails are a sign of real hostility but this does not necessarily mean they will do damage to each other. I'd say they are fine most of the time, but the kitten, being a kitten, is pretty annoying for the older guy!

The 2 are probably going to be grand but maybe keep an eye and give them a time out if things are getting too angry!

forbairt

MsFifers wrote: »

My experience is that any 2 cats when introduced for the first time will be v. uneasy with each other - its just a thing that has to be worked through.

The bumping noses is a v. good sign! Puffy tails are a sign of real hostility but this does not necessarily mean they will do damage to each other. I'd say they are fine most of the time, but the kitten, being a kitten, is pretty annoying for the older guy!

The 2 are probably going to be grand but maybe keep an eye and give them a time out if things are getting too angry!

Yeah Yoda (the older) is used to his snoozes but he is having trouble at the moment .. she keeps on wanting to whack him ... its quite an aggressive whack but ... doesn't exactly look that violent (if that makes sense) ... they've both been lying on their sides a foot or two apart ... looking at each other ... but she really is full of beans

forbairt

mini update and I'm comfortable leaving them together ... Yoda (the elder) seems a bit stressed by her ... but he's getting more and more use to her ... unfortunately their friendship will come to an end I think tomorrow as she will be moving to Barcelona .. but who knows ... a rescue kitty could be on the cards

anniehoo

Good to hear your fella tolerates newbies! Not all cats bond so if you're thinking of adding permanently to your chlann then its a good sign

forbairt

he's an indoor kitty only .. gets out a small bit supervised but not a lot ..

(after having seen 6 kitties dead on our street in dublin in 1 year when we were living there I'm happy with our decision)

So he has only really seen 1 doggy through glass in the house and one other outdoor cat in the last 2 years ... sad I know but not sure how long we'll be staying here now so ... don't want to rush into another cat ... but as you said its good to see he's tolerant of the others ... its been 2 visits now (3 days first time) .. and this time monday - thursday ... so she goes back tomorrow ...

We're locking her in the bedroom now as ze missus is in there with her and it gives the main cat a bit of peace and quiet ... he looks wrecked

The Sweeper

forbairt, cats will take to an introduced kitten quicker than another adult cat (unless they've been a multi-cat colony for a while). Just remember if you do get a kitten, start slow, shut the kitten away, and make sure Yoda is praised and reinforced in his position as top cat. This means not giving out to him if he smacks the introduced kitten in the head. That sort of squinty-eyed, flat-eared smack on the head is fairly typical cat fisticuffs - a full-on fight is wwwwwwaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy different to that. An introduced kitten will survive a smack in the head. If it happens, pick Yoda up and cuddle him and praise him and distract him with something. Yep, I know, I said it, you praise your cat immediately after bad behaviour.

The same way you can't train a cat like a dog, you don't need to worry so much about reinforcing bad habits if they're borne of stress. Remove the stress, and the behaviour stops itself.

forbairt

Thanks The Sweeper interesting advice ... I tried giving out to them both .. but really to her cus she's being the more annoying I'd love them both to get on but she's play fighting way too much at the moment which is annoying him more and more

But I think thankfully nothing much more so far (its at times like this that dogs seem so much easier to put together at least in the past for us)

summer_chic

you might have sucess if you play with the kitten which means she'll give poor old Yoda a break... you'll probably find that he'll want to join in though !!

anniehoo

forbairt wrote: »

I tried giving out to them both ..

Itd be easier sellin ice to the eskimoes than giving out to cats..:D

MsFifers

Good advice to give the older guy a break every now and then. Kittens are headwreckers! As long as they aren't trapped in a room together it probably won't escalate.

TBH - don't stress if they never seem to completely stop the smacking! I have 2 cats, brother & sister, 2 years old, and the girl cat constantly smacks her bro and they chase each other around and hiss a fair bit. The girl cat is just really cranky.

I was really worried about it and thought they might be happier apart, and so Milly was moved into my mothers house on her own for a month. However, we brought her brother over for a weekend stay, and poor Milly was so happy to see him it was crazy. She followed him around for ages licking him and cuddling - then the next day started her smacking again! I think she likes having him to kick around! And he just smacks back or ignores her. I think they have their own little cranky relationship routine, and are used to it.

forbairt

anniehoo wrote: »

Itd be easier sellin ice to the eskimoes than giving out to cats..:D

This is very true .. I've given him a spank before and then it just escalates to a full blown ha ha I've got your arm and my claws are digging in everywhere ... so I learnt my lesson about him giving out to me :P

MsFifers wrote: »

Good advice to give the older guy a break every now and then. Kittens are headwreckers! As long as they aren't trapped in a room together it probably won't escalate.

TBH - don't stress if they never seem to completely stop the smacking! I have 2 cats, brother & sister, 2 years old, and the girl cat constantly smacks her bro and they chase each other around and hiss a fair bit. The girl cat is just really cranky.

I was really worried about it and thought they might be happier apart, and so Milly was moved into my mothers house on her own for a month. However, we brought her brother over for a weekend stay, and poor Milly was so happy to see him it was crazy. She followed him around for ages licking him and cuddling - then the next day started her smacking again! I think she likes having him to kick around! And he just smacks back or ignores her. I think they have their own little cranky relationship routine, and are used to it.

They have pretty much been together since (apart from her sleeping with us and the door lcoked last night) the tappa tappa has died down a good bit ... she was even eating some of his food from his bowl and he was letting her Think he's still not sure what to make of it all he's a bit out of sorts with her around but she's going home later on today I think so he'll hopefully be back to his normal self then