Expert: Dear Tabbi - 7/13/2009

Question
I have two older cats, one Birman who is 15 and a burmese who is about 18.  I have recently purchased a kitten and the two older cats, especially the 18 year old seem to like the kitten.  My Birman is a bit of an anxious cat and is hard to keep weight on.  A few weeks before I got the kitten she started eating less and a few weeks after I got the kitten she stopped eating.  She has bad kidney's because of her age so I took her to the vets and she got treated.  She immediately perked up and started eating, but when I got home this evening she had a fit.  I rushed her to the vet and the vet said she was fine and that it may be a one off or she could be developing a tumour.  Either way there wasn't much we could do.  I am picking up another kitten on Friday as a play mate for the kitten that I have.  I am just really worried that one kitten has affected the Birman's health and that another kitten may cause even more stress.

Answer
Rochelle,

It may be coincidence and age related, or it may be stress from the kitten. And she will be even more stressed by two kittens, but if you have one kitten you NEED 2 for the happiness of the kitten. A kind of catch-22 situation.

Older cats usually do not care for kittens because of their energy level and the fact that they ruin an older cat's routine and peace. A kitten, if it is healthy, will have lots of energy and will like to play a lot. When the only other playmate for the kitten is an old cat he will try to play with her as he would another with another kitten. That causes problems. For the older cat...and for the kitten, who gets confused and can get depressed and lose heart because the older cat won't play and will growl and hiss at him. The kitten will try to play with the older cat who is really past the age of playing kitty games like chase or roughhousing, like the kitten needs or wants, and that is not fair to the kitten, or to your older cats, who should be your first priority.

It has a better chance of working if you get 2 kittens together. That way they can play with each other and burn off energy and mostly will leave the older cats alone. Kittens need a friend to roughhouse with, play chase and other kitty games with, to snuggle with, to be companions with, and to be comforted by when they are so young, and when they are alone.

As the kitten grows and gets more secure and self-confident he may intensify his annoying behavior towards your older cat out of boredom or to expend energy. Older cats don't take stress as well as a younger cat can and you may end up with stress related behavior from the older cat (including improper elimination, aggression towards the kitten or you, etc.), a permanent personality change, or it can cause serious health problems. It can also cause behavior problems with the kitten that may be hard to correct.

It can take months for them to get along. Alot of times they will never be 'friends' and the best you can hope for is acceptance by the older cats. There is also the chance it will not work out at all. My suggestion would be to go back soon and get another kitten about your kitten's age and temperament, OR consider all feelings involved and return the one kitten for now.

Being prepared and knowledgeable about geriatric cats will make things easier for the cats and for you. For future reference I am including some very good links about elderly cats:
(Copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar):

http://www.sniksnak.com/resources/geriatric.html

http://www.messybeast.com/towards-end.htm

http://www.2ndchance.info/oldcat.htm


Tabbi