If you are already a cat owner, but want to get another one, the main question is: will they make friends? After all, the cats are tied to their territory and can protect it from strangers. Even if your pet is affectionate and friendly, it may not want to accept a kitten at once as it used to feel like principal in the house. And cats are animals, who change their habits very reluctantly. In many ways, the success of the venture depends on the age of your cat. The ideal age for the joint adaptation of two animals is up to 3 years. If your pet is older, it will be more difficult for it to put up with new living conditions. How to introduce kittens to an older cat? At first, this may seem like an impossible mission, because your cat will likely not enter into interaction with a newcomer. It may ignore the stranger, or hiss at it, or even start a quarrel, showing who is the boss. But do not despair: there are no hopeless situations in this case. The main thing is to find the right way out of the problem of how to get a cat to like a new kitten.
Causes of cat’s aggressive behavior
You have brought a small kitten to your apartment and the adult cat reacts aggressively? You notice that your cat is hissing at new kitten and trying to beat it all the time? Let’s see why it takes place? The thing is that your cat, most likely, perceives the newcomer as a threat to its habitual way of life. Or it can be jealous of the owner and demonstrate this with attacks. A very negative reaction is of course a problem, but it can be solved if you keep calm and caring. Your task during the adaptation period is to show love and attention to your older cat with all your might, perhaps even more than always. The cat must be confident in your attitude, and then the degree of tension will gradually decrease. If you manage to restore trust between you and your pet, then the question “I just got a new kitten and my older cat hates it, what should I do?” will be minimized or not arise at all.
How to arrange the life of a kitten in a house where an older cat lives?
Once you decide to bring a little fluffy lump to your house, make sure it will have separate bowls for food and water, a separate litter box and its own bed and toys.
The first few days you may not even introduce a new kitten to older cats. It can live in another room behind a closed door so that your cat can get used to the newcomer.
You must understand that your household duties will double, because the appearance of a kitten is always a laborious process of getting acquainted with the litter tray, the rules of behavior, feeding and playing. You will have to refresh your memory and start over the process of training a cat. Be patient and everything will work out.
Don’t forget that before introducing a kitten to an older cat, it needs to be taken to the veterinarian, where it will receive necessary vaccinations to be protected from parasites and diseases.
So how to introduce kittens to adult cats without “victims” and a spoiled mood?
Don’t be scared or upset if while introducing kitten to older cat hissing and reacting aggressively. This is the natural reaction of any cat that is used to dominating your home. Your older cat may meow menacingly, hiss, attack or vice versa, retreat and show how stressed and suffering it is. Such behavior can last for a week or more. But it’s in your power to help animals make friends. This designates that the right actions of the owner will encourage the cats to live in peace, sharing the territory and attention of the owner.
- The visual contact is very important! Before leaving the animals in a room together, let them see and sniff each other through the space between the bars of a cage. This will allow them to get to know each other and set visual contact. So the atmosphere of peace and friendship may establish between the animals. .
- Support a positive atmosphere. How to introduce old cat to kitten? Just take it into your hands and show it to a kitten. The older cat must feel that it’s principal for you. This includes every time you approach your pets, feed them or play with them. Pay attention to the older cat first, then the younger one. The same way you have to behave every time until your older cat gets used to the presence of a new pet in your house.
- Â Be ready for the fact that your typical way of life will change a lot. It will take some time for the older cat to accept the smaller one. And the more attention you give to your pet, the less is the period of adaptation.
- Another aspect is stress for your cat. Even after your pet seems fine, it doesn’t mean it feels so. You can notice the signs of the stress – bad appetite, hostile actions and losing fur – can show you that the pet isn’t okay. In order to help your pet, you may even have to go to the veterinarian.
The main ingredients of keeping animals in the house are your boundless love, patience and tenderness. If you plan the arrival of a new pet to your house, be attentive and full of tolerance. Pets can bring happiness into your life, making you feel loved and necessary. Spending money on the necessary items to buy, toys and feeding pales in comparison to what you can get from a cat. This is an incredible return from such independent, but gentle and affectionate animals.