[Kellz625]

I just got a new kitten on Thursday. Well my other cat hates the kitten. There is no actual fighting but Sage is upset and hisses and scratches US when we try to pet her. She'll scratch anything that's around her when the kitten is around. I've tried putting Sage into the bathroom where the kitten resides at night to get Sage used to his smell, I also tried putting the kitten on her post to get his smell on it. I've been told not to give up, but is it a hopeless situation? I know it can take a loooong time. My husband feels bad though and says he'd rather not have a new kitty if it's gonna upset Sage this much. I'm going to get some feliway diffusers and put them throughout the house, think it will help? Or am I just trying for a lost cause. I've never acutally used Feli-way so I don't know what to expect.

 

[faile]

did you seperate the cats at first and let them smell under the door? you can also try putting a drop or two of vanilla on the back of their necks, so that they smell the same.

feliway is worth a shot, though. i think it helped my kittys.

 

[Kellz625]

I didn't know to do the door thing until after they'd already seen each other. I don't have any vanilla, but I gave them each a bath one right after the other so they both smelled like the shampoo. I don't know if it's the smell that's bothering Sage, she has just never had a cat around before. She won't even get close enough to smell him anyway. I'm gonna get some Feliway after I pet sit tonight and I PM'd someone on here that is getting rid of 2 diffusers, I want them all over the house.

 

[sunshine9]

I used Feliway during my intro's with my kitten, Althaea to Mistletoe. I got one of the plug in diffusers. Intro's went fairly smoothly despite Mistletoe disliking the kitten. I'm not sure if it was the Feliway that helped or if I was just lucky. Mistletoe wouldn't even go into the kitten's safe room without hissing up a storm. But there were NO fights outside the room. I'd say give it a try. Good luck!

 

[CatAholic]

I have used the Feliway and from my personal experience I didn't notice much of a difference. I tried the vanilla trick, with the cat I adopted last week, Jonah. Actually it may have taken the edge off a little, I'm not sure that it was enough of a difference that I would use it again except for the cats smelled sooooooo good, like a sugar cookie :lol: .
I am learning all the time but what I have found to be the most effective is patiences. Taking it ever so slowly. If you think you're going slow now, go slower :wink: I have errored in the past by wanting them to adapt quickly and moved them together quicker than they were ready. My first concern now is that the new kitty feels safe, secure and comfortable in his environment, which I give them their own room. I visit them frequently throughout the day for Special loving and play time. I talk to them as I pass by the door just mentioning their name. Getting them quickly use to the sound of my voice. Your resident kitty's will need LOTS of attention now too, so as to not get jealous, adding to their aggression.
Once our newcomer feels safe and now relates me to being their caregiver, cuddler, nurturer, once that trust is established and the environment has become familiar only then do we again slowly introduce the other kitty's. Short supervised visits only. I had on adopted adult cat take close to 6 weeks to adjust he was so scared of the other cats and the other cats thought him the size of a lion 8O (even though he was bigger than all of them, I think he felt extremely vulnerable because he had been declawed by previous owners and acted over aggressively because of it and hissing ALOT! But you know this was over 4 months ago and now Bailey is everyones big brother and he is the biggest lover of the bunch.
All I can say is be patient, I have had some really frantic times of wondering why didn't I leave it with the amount of cats we had. But there is not one of those times I cling to now because it was me being impatient and wanting it to go fast and smoothly, afterall "why aren't these cats more appreciative they have been living in a cage at a Shelter?!" Scared, uncomfortable, new surroundings, new people, new cats, new food, new everything, how would we be?
Don't give up and tell your husband to hang in there, it will come. Keep us filled in

 

[TAsunder]

From what I've read, it's never really too late to re-introduce the cats. You can do the door thing now and it might help. My cats hissed a lot at first, but never fought. Now the one always pounces on the other due to insanely high energy. The other one would be content to wallow in the same spot for all of her life, getting up only to eat (and even that she is convinced should involve me bringing the food to her).

 

[drjean]

Absolutely; separate them now and start over. Do it right, and you will avoid years of problems!

Feliway works very well for certain things; it should *help* with introductions, but I wouldn't expect it to work miracles all by itself. I never recommend it without other behavioral and environmental modifications.

Cheers,
Dr. Jean