Posted in: darrelrussell.com edit
06 Jan 2009
I adopted two female kitties from the same litter 3 days apart. There was hissing involved for the first 2 hours and then they were already grooming each other and napping together. They fight/play fight sometimes, but it's usually because one wants to groom the other, who does not want to be groomed. They were 15 wks old and they still get along great now at 11 mos old.
I decided to adopt a third female kitten. There was again a lot of hissing involved with the new kitten (5 mos old). This time, however, they were hissing at not only the new kitten, but at each other! and at me too when I try to hold them in the presence of the new kitten! They're no longer napping together or grooming each other. And their fights involve growling and hissing! It broke my heart to see that I destroyed their sister relationship by introducing a new kitten. Should I rehome the kitten asap? If I do, would my cats return to how they were with each other before the kitten came? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!Not necessarily. Cats are VERY temperamental when it comes to introducing a new member of the family. Feline introductions should be very slow and gradual, so I'm guessing you put them together too quickly.
In addition, the balance of your group has been thrown off, so the hissing & growling is a way to put the kitten (and each other) "in their place".
I say hang in there for a while and give them time to adjust. It might take quite a while...our female hissed and had a bad attitude for MONTHS but now she & our male get along great.
I take it that the 11 mos olds are spayed? It is always best to introduce a newbie in a slow manner instead of the here ya go and expect them to accept the new member as you do. I would suggest keeping the newbie in another space and let them get to know it through a closed door. Once the hissing stops and you see them playing under the door then a slow reintroduction process should take place when a person is present to talk to them in a calm voice. Remember to praise all of them for getting along. I have a 17 yr old male and a 8 yr old female we fostered 4 feral kittens for 6 mos and kept the kennel in the bathroom. With in two weeks they all were playing paws under the door and talking to one another. then I left the door open with them in the kennel closed. They did the same as they did under the door. So I started leaving the door open with the kennel door off as well. Soon they were one big happy brood and surprising the male was a really good dad figure for them. He actually taught them how to balance and pounce etc. It was a lot of fun watching them learn from him. your two older kittens are young enough to adjust to the change. i had three kittens from the same litter and they all got along. then i got them spayed and neutered and when they came home they fought like crazy with each other for a few days and the same thing happened when only one went to the vet and came back the next day. it was temporary. give it some time they should come around soon. good luck.Certainly not. Your cats will work it out. They need time to adjust to the new family member. Cats and dogs live by a pecking order, when the new order is established things will settle down, just grin and bare it until then.In the animal kingdom a hierarchy needs to be established. They will work it out. Just be sure you are willing to put up with it until they do. #If you have any other info about this subject , Please add it free.# |
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