Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK

Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 19:35:17 PM

Title: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 19:35:17 PM
But Tilly and Tom are hissing at him :(
I'm so surprised, I really didn't think they would be like this.

Tilly is the worst though, she just kept hissing, didn't touch him though, then I took Charlie into the bedroom and gave him his dinner and put a litter tray down for him etc and Tilly has started hissing at Tom and swiping at him :'(

What will I do???

Sarah x

P.S - He's only 8 weeks old, really tiny so I don't want to leave him near them incase they do something :(
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on March 24, 2007, 19:40:21 PM
Ooh, how exciting  ;D

It's probably best to separate them for now and exchange scents before you re-introduce them slowly and gradually.  Do you have a room where you can put the new kitten with a litter tray, bowl of water etc. so that he can be separate from your existing cats for a while?

Some good advice re introductions on Wizz's site

http://wizz-catz.co.uk/introducing.html
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 24, 2007, 19:47:50 PM
I agree with Susanne - separate and do a gradual introduction, and dont let them all loose together until you are 100% sure there are going to be no probs.
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Kelly on March 24, 2007, 19:49:43 PM
My brother has had this problem with Tom the foster. He already has Holly and Scrabble - both girls - both 10. Scrabble VERY loving and Holly a little scatty. When Tom arrived (13) Holly didn't mind him at all but Scrabs has turned into Mike Tyson - she has been attacking the poor fella and Holly her sister.

We've seperated them - Scrabs is friends with Holly again and now just hisses at Tom if they come into contact - it will take time - they've been together for 3 weeks now and they are SLOWLy getting used to each other. Just allow supervised viewings of kitty and she will come round.
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 24, 2007, 19:58:45 PM
Got any photos of the kitten? :Luv:
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 20:03:30 PM
Not yet forever, he's great though, has got such a great temprament, he's lying asleep on my lap just now  :Luv: :Luv:

He seems to actually prefer cuddling into one of us rather than lying by himself  :Luv: :)

S x
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Tiggy's Mum on March 24, 2007, 20:06:33 PM
Quote from: forever_missing_my_boys on March 24, 2007, 19:58:45 PM
Got any photos of the kitten? :Luv:

Yeah, good point - we need pics!

Have you thought about using Feliway, they do a diffuser and a spray?  They also do a new spray called 'Felifriend' - blurb below...

Here's the blurb from Feliway:

Feliway is the first natural solution to stress related problems in cats caused by changes in their environment.   A true innovation, Feliway spray combined with the plug in diffuser is highly effective in preventing urine marking and spraying.   Feliway 10% spray is also suitable for use in the home to combat furniture scratching, urine marking / spraying and problems associated with transportation: 15ml transport spary also available.

Here's the blurb from Felifriend:

A different pheromone fraction of the feline facial pheromone group.  Felifriend contains the pheromone which tells your cat what is feline; in other words when used on your hands or furniture your cat will then accept you / it into its house without stress or scenting.  Ideal for a new cat (spray onto your hands 10 minutes before handling) then make a fuss of your new feline friend.  Use when introducing new items into your household; stops your cat scenting a new rug or piece of furniture.  Take felifriend with you and ask your vet / groomer to use some if your cat gets distressed when being.  Can be used in conjunction with Feliway diffusers and sprays.
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: CurlyCatz on March 24, 2007, 20:14:34 PM
i'd keep them separated as has already been said.

How did your journey go sarah ?? when/what time were you up here ?
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 20:15:33 PM
ill take some photos now, i'm actually in LOVE with him  :Luv: :Luv: :Luv:

S x
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 20:19:55 PM
Quote from: lynn on March 24, 2007, 20:14:34 PM
i'd keep them separated as has already been said.

How did your journey go sarah ?? when/what time were you up here ?

Got there at half threeish Lynn, took about 4 hours :) He was brilliant on the way home as well :)
There are sooo many cats about!! Everywhere!
I was very impressed with the whole place though, absolutely gorgeous, you may have new neighbour soon hahaha.

S x
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sue P (Paddysmum) on March 24, 2007, 20:23:25 PM
Hope this settles down Sarah - am pretty sure the other two will come round in time. 
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on March 24, 2007, 20:29:28 PM
Forgot to say that hissing is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about in itself, provided none of them are hurting the other or overly stressed by it.  But separation and slow introductions are the best way to go.  They'll dictate the pace at which introductions can be done.

When I got Mosi I kept them apart the first day and exchanged towels with each others scent on, then introduced them.  Apart from a bit of hissing they actually got on ok so I didn't need to separate them any more.  With most cats though it takes a bit longer than that and sometimes it can take weeks or months so be patient and don't panic if they don't accept each other straight away.

I used felifriend when I got Mosi - not sure whether it worked or not but I reckoned it wouldn't harm.  You spray it onto your hands, wait a while for the alcohol to evaporate then rub onto the fur.  Vanilla extract can also be used to make the cats smell the same - rub some at scent points - above the tail, behind the ears etc.
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 20:42:39 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/seldom_use/tv010.jpg)


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/seldom_use/tv009.jpg)


(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v642/seldom_use/tv008.jpg)



Im absolutely smitten!!

I have feliway but not the felifriend.. That may be an idea, and the towels with their scents too, thanks guys.

I'll get more pics later, he's really sleepy, poor little angel

S x
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sam (Fussy_Furball) on March 24, 2007, 20:52:15 PM
 :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: :Luv: Ahhh  he's gorgeous!  What's his name?
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 24, 2007, 20:53:46 PM
Charlie  :Luv: :Luv: :Luv:

xxx
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Ellie on March 25, 2007, 07:41:52 AM
Awww he is gorgeous and so wee bless his wee paws  :Luv: :Luv: :Luv:

I am sure they will settle in time Sarah like the others say keeping them seperate will help

Sending Charlie lots of cuddles xx
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 25, 2007, 10:18:58 AM
Aww, bless him - still can't see the part Maine Coon though!! It is normal for him to want to cuddle with you rathe than on his own as he is missing his siblings and mum - might be an idea to find a teddy for him to snuggle too - sorry, missed that part of your post yesterday!!
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: tammy on March 25, 2007, 13:24:56 PM
he is ssooooooo cccuuuuuuuttteee  :Luv: :Luv: :Luv:
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 25, 2007, 14:15:34 PM
awwwwwwwww he is so so gorgeous  i  :catluv: him  :Luv:
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Millys Mum on March 25, 2007, 16:02:04 PM
Have you seen this link http://wizz-catz.co.uk/introducing.html (http://wizz-catz.co.uk/introducing.html) im sure they will all settle soon  :)
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Susanne (urbantigers) on March 25, 2007, 16:17:33 PM
Oh what a cutie  :Luv:
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sarah (seldom_use) on March 25, 2007, 22:47:35 PM
Hi guys, today I've let them all see each other again, Tom has been a lot better with him, Charlie just wants to jump on him and play, so when he steps forward, Tom hisses, as if to say, 'hey you, watch it!' hahaha but Charlie never seems to get phased by it, he's brilliant.

Everytime Tilly see's him though, she hisses and hisses :( I hope she'll settle eventually, he's just so tiny I'm terrified anything happens to him, but he's so brave and is quite content in the bedroom anyways, he has his own scratch-post and everything, I've been swapping toys and towles between them to make them a bit more used to each other, it seems to be working..

Anyways,, let me tell you the funniest thing ever, the OH would go mad, but anyways..

Last night Charlie decided he was sharing out bed, so he was sleeping above my head, then around half 3ish he woke up, went to his litter tray, came back to be and proceeded to go under the cover and the next thing I heard was the OH screaming, hahaahahaha Charlie had went under and bit his nipple hahahahaha..
OH fell straight asleep again, but I was awake for ages killing myself laughing bahahahha.

Anyways, I'll let you all know what else goes bump in the night tomorrow hahaha

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: forever_missing_my_boys(Lisa) on March 25, 2007, 23:34:02 PM
 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: ur poor oh
i can see why u couldnt stop laffin thou lol
glad he is settling in ok .
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Sue P (Paddysmum) on March 26, 2007, 07:13:19 AM
 :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:  Sarah - that's so funny!   He's a little belter, and so cute.  Love the photies.   ;D
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Desley (booktigger) on March 26, 2007, 07:54:14 AM
Aww!!
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Catz on March 26, 2007, 08:56:41 AM
Awww.He's gorgeous
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Susieh on March 27, 2007, 12:14:26 PM
Just wanted to let you know my own experience of introducing kittens to my 2 older cats (one permanent and several fosters).

With an adult cat intro I would definitely use Wizz's intro guide to the letter, but I know my cats and their personalities so with tiny kittens I decided to do it a bit differently. My 2 oldest cats (2.5 years old) are very laid back and gentle.

Basically I let the older cats see the kittens being brought into the house (let them sniff the carrier - they usually hissed at this point) and then once the kitten(s) settled into a seperate room and have had chance to eat, drink, use the litter tray if needed and explore, I have opened the door and allowed the older cats to come in if they wanted to.  They usually come in, watch the kittens for a while and hiss if one comes near them, but they are interested.  The more shy of my adult cats usually gets herself somewhere high to watch from a safe distance and the bolder one usually goes in for a tentative sniff and then hisses.  The kittens usually hiss and maybe growl a bit too.

I have never left them unsupervised at this stage.  The door is shut when I am not there and the older cats kept out.

Within a couple of days, the growling and hissing has stopped on both sides and although the more shy of my cats isn't approaching the kittens, she is happy and comfortable being in the same room as them.  The bolder of my cats, Paddy was happily playing ever so gently with the babies within a couple of days - see a short vid here http://s130.photobucket.com/albums/p268/susiehood/?action=view&current=PadsKennyfirstplay.flv

It seems that with my (then) cats, the best and easiest way was to let them in from the beginning. This would have been different with an older cat or kitten coming in because they would have been seen as more of a threat.

Saying all this.  I now have 3 cats and the youngest I would not trust anywhere near a tiny kitten because he plays so roughly.  A lot depends on personality of your cats.
Title: Re: HELP! New kitten has arrived
Post by: Totos Mum on March 28, 2007, 11:14:59 AM
Hiya,
We have 4 cats but for a long time we just had Pats and Dina who are now almost 11, Lenny joined our family 2.5 years ago and was a surprise birthday present from my Husband who didn't know to do the introductions properly shall we say! I was out at work and returned to eventually find Lenny at the back of the wardrobe. I set up a separate room and we gave him a week to find his feet, when we did the intros again Patsy was a hissy monster for a couple of days, it was a shock and she was more telling him to back off, Dina was much better and a week later they all tolerated one another just fine. Last September we rescued Toto and after a couple of days we got the intros over under supervision and it was a lot easier. Patsy again was and still is a bit of a hiss monster but on the whole they get on just fine. It's scary I know the first time as the little one invariably knows no fear and the existing ones feel a little threatend but its very rare for an adult cat to attack a kitten. Give the existing kitties some extra cuddles and make them feel secure and keep a watchful eye on them all for a few days when you feel the time is right for the introductions. Expect some hisses and maybe a few bats but I am sure it will all turn out fine.

He's a right little cutie and looks like he's some fun up his sleeve!!

Sarah
x