Expert: Ali - 12/9/2009

Question
Hi Allie,
My girlfriend and I have an 8 month old, fixed male Himalayan. Two nights ago we got a 10 week old male Persian kitten. The 8 month old hasn't hissed or growled at the kitten at all. It's actually the other way around. The 8 month old chirps and trills at the new kitten, and even licks him sometimes. He hasn't swatted with claws so far as I can tell, but he is 10lbs and likes to play rough. Sometimes he plays gentle with the kitten until the kitten spits and swats at him, and then it gets rougher and he pins and bites him, and the kitten growls and screams quite dramatically. Sometimes the 8 month old will just get over playful and dive-bomb the kitten, rolling over him and bite him. The kitten is very dramatic sounding, and I don't know if this is too rough and I should break it up? The kitten has no cuts, and the bigger one doesn't growl or hiss at all during this play. They will sleep very close to each other, and eat next to each other, as well as use the same box. So is this healthy play? Or might the older one be playing too rough? When he is in a playful mood, he will not leave the little kitten alone, trying to play with him and lick and nip at him, and when the kitten tries to run away or growls and swats, he will pin him and bite him. I let this go on it's own as much as possible until it looks excessive and the kitten is screaming rather than whining and growling loudly. Sometimes they seem to resolve it on their own and the older one backs off and will just lay down, and sometimes I feel I need to intervene.
We currently have them separated while we're at work, and overnight. This can be very loud and stressful during the night.
I'm sorry if this has been done a million times, I just want to be sure that my pets are safe.  
Sorry for my long wind. I know the cats don't hate each other, and the older one seems to really like the baby, but seems to play too rough for the 2.5lb kitten. Should we worry that the kitten might be, or might get seriously hurt?

Thank you so much,

Josh

Answer
Josh,

It's possible that your older kitty is responding negatively to the improper introduction of the new kitten into the household. I have answered a number of questions about properly introducing a new cat or kitten into a household with one or more cats already in residence, so please feel free to check out my previous answers on the subject. If you have any further questions after reading up on the answers that I've compiled on the subject of new cat introductions please feel free to contact me again and I will answer any questions you might have. I'd strongly suggest that your new kitten be kept in a room of his own with all of the usual kitty comforts for at least 7-10 days up to 2+ weeks depending on how soon your older kitty becomes comfortable with the new arrival. When I recommend isolating a kitty from other cats in the household I don't mean that the kitten should be ignored, he needs to have plenty of food, clean water, a cozy place to sleep, at least two kitten sized litter boxes, a few toys and plenty of attention from you so that he grows up to become a happy, healthy, well balanced kitty for life. It's also important for the wellbeing of your older kitty that he gets plenty of attention, after all you don't want him to feel as though he's being replaced or shoved aside because you favor the new kitten. If your older kitty decides that he's being ignored he may begin having behavioral issues ranging from aggression directed at the kitten and/or the humans in the household, litter box issues, he may even decide to go on a feline hunger strike.

That having been said it sounds to me like your older kitty may be reacting out of jealousy, he may be very upset about the attention you're giving to the new arrival, especially if he hasn't been getting the same amount of attention, affection, treats and cuddles he's grown accustomed to. It's important to realize that your full grown resident cat could very easily hurt the kitten quite badly so separating them and trying a proper new kitty introduction is probably the best way to go with him. There is a possibility that he's showing the kitten who's boss and trying to establish dominance, but I think that this is a situation that has the potential to get dangerous for such a young kitten.

In order to help calm your older kitty and the new arrival down some I'd recommend trying some homeopathic remedies that I use quite frequently for cats in my household. Bach flower remedies are homeopathic remedies that are safe, effective and gentle ways to treat different behavioral issues in cats (they were originally designed for use in people, but they're safe and they work wonders with the cats I've cared for). The kitten could probably use 5-7 drops of Rescue Remedy 2-3 times daily to help counteract any anxiety or fear that may have developed as a result of the older cat's aggression. Rescue Remedy is a blend of 5 flower essences that's designed to calm and reassure. For your older kitty you might find that he does will with Gorse which deals with an overly demanding kitty, Holly which deals with jealousy, Mimulus which deals with specific fears. I would recommend starting with the Mimulus and putting 8-10 drops twice a day onto the relatively fur free portion of your older kitty's body on the ear flaps and in front of the ear (be sure to avoid getting any of the remedies into either kitty's ears because the flower remedies are preserved in a grape alcohol solution and alcohol can sting inside the ears). You can follow the dosing instructions I've recommended for the Mimulus with the other two remedies, in fact you could even treat the older kitty with the three remedies that I've recommended at the same time (I wouldn't recommend anymore than 3 remedies at the same time because they wouldn't be nearly as effective if things were done that way) or you can treat the older cat with one remedy at a time for 3-4 days, wait a week then start the next remedy. The kitten probably will be okay with just the Rescue Remedy. I've found that homeopathy is an incredible tool to use in a variety of situations. I realize that science doesn't see immediate measurable results with homeopathic remedies so they don't believe that these remedies actually work, but I truly feel that they have their place in caring for our pets and I would encourage you to consider treating your kitties with these remedies since I suspect that will change their perspective and make them more willing to share their lives together.

As it happens my veterinarian used a combination of conventional therapy and homeopathy to save my eldest cat when she developed severe renal failure in 2007 after eating a supposedly high quality premium cat food. Two other vets had recommended euthanasia, generally when a cat develops renal failure they are stabilized with IV fluids, sent home with a bag of IV fluids and instructions on how to administer injections of fluid under the cat's skin to help maintain proper hydration which is something that generally needs to be done on a regular basis in order to maintain good kidney values. Cats with kidney issues are also sent home on an expensive special prescription diet which they're supposed to eat for the remainder of their lives. After a year of treating my baby girl with fluids (she wouldn't eat the expensive prescription diet so we had to allow her to eat what the other kitties were eating) our vet was so pleased with her kidney values that she recommended weaning her off of the fluids to see how she did on her own. Amazingly enough my kitty's kidney values have remained consistently within the normal range in spite of not having received any fluids since early 2009. Conventional medicine doesn't have any explanations for my little girl's miraculous recovery, it's as though she was never sick at this point...I'm guessing that the homeopathic remedies somehow cured my precious girl's kidney disease since IV fluids, a special diet, antibiotics and a routine of home nursing care for a year or so and I have yet to find another case where any pet has made an amazing long lasting recovery after their kidneys had essentially shut down.

Introducing the kitten gradually (yes, it's perfectly fine to start the introduction process over) to your resident cat will allow him to become more comfortable with the new kitten on his own terms. You can feed your new kitten and older cat regular meals and extra special treats (tuna, meat/broth baby food, etc) on either side of the closed door to the kitten's temporary quarters to help accelerate the process since the older cat will begin to associate the kitten's scent, activity levels, sounds, etc with something positive - FOOD! If you have any further kitty related questions or concerns I'd be more than happy to help you out to the best of my ability. I'd also be interested to hear how the gradual re-introduction process is going so please feel free to send an update my way.