Expert: Jessica - 7/19/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
I have a year old Maine Coon cat (who used to get very upset when left alone in the house) and 3 days ago I introduced a new kitten (Norwegian forest cat) to the house.
The kitten comes from a larger cat family (his 'uncle' is a Maine coon cat who hissed at him all the time) and when introducing the kitten we followed all the advised procedures (separating them in the night, leaving a cloth that smelled of the kitten in the older cats territory, slowly introduced them the next day - with supervision)
They seemed absolutely fine for the first 3 days (apart from hissing at each other at the beginning). They shared a food bowl, the kitten keeps on seeking affection from the older cat (purring and rubbing against him) and they even sleep next to each other and play with each other.
However yesterday they had a fight, (my partner put the kitten on the older cats newspaper) and the older cat pounced on the kitten and started blighting him on the neck until the younger one started squealing. We assumed this is territorial/dominant behavior and didn't think much more of it, as the cats where fine afterwards. But today in the morning, after they were playing, the older cat pinned the kitten down again, blighting him on the feet and stomach. The younger one hissed and jumped away and we told both of.
Not sure what to do really, I am a little bit worried about the size of the older cat (it's a 7kg Maine Coon) versus the smaller (13 week old) kitten.
We separated them for the day, as we are both at work, but we don't want this problem to keep re-appearing. Is there any advice you can give me on how to understand this situation and adress it?
Thanks
Dory

ANSWER: Hi Dory.  I would definitely take some time to introduce them a little more slowly, since the older kitty seems to be feeling a little unsure of things just yet.  Most cats take about two weeks before they're feeling ready to spend much time with each other, so I would continue with short, supervised visits over the next couple of weeks.  It's generally recommended to start visits off at no longer than 15 minutes.  This seems extreme, and although many cats tolerate longer, chances are better that they may become agitated and snap.  So shorter visits more frequently are the way to go.  And certainly, any time when you can't be in the same room with them, the two should be separated.

At a point, the two will need to begin interacting and working out some of the differences on their own, but as the little one is still so small and still so insecure in his new environment, I don't think it's quite time to add in this stress yet.  Once he's fully used to his new home in a few weeks, you can begin to let the two of them work things out through more contact, but because of the size difference, there will still need to be lots of supervision.  If your Maine Coon ends up inflicting pain on him or really instilling fear, he may end up with deeply rooted anxiety that can be difficult to overcome.

I do recommend to use a product called Feliway during introductions.  I think it helps both the resident cat and the new one to adjust to the changes they're going through by reducing anxiety.  You can learn more about how it works at www.feliway.com

Good luck!

Jessica


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Jessica,

Thank you so much for your advice. We immediately put this into practice with good (we think) effects.

The cats are still separate for most of the day, with 15-30 minute supervised intervals. There hasn't been much fighting going on apart from two incidents, one was when we had a guest over and our older Maine Coon attached the younger one, holding him in a dominant flip (him on top bitting his stomach/belly). Again no blood, smaller one was not hurt, no hard feelings it seems.

The other incident was 3 days later, a second after a 10minute grooming session. The older cat was grooming the kitten (while the other one was purring loudly) and then he just flipped and attacked him. The smaller one was not hurt and is still not scared, so I am guessing this is some sort of a dominance thing.

Is it possible that it's us, humans, destroying the balance between them? (I called my partner as soon as I saw them grooming, so we could both witness how far they have come together)

Other than that it is full harmony, with the younger one rubbing up against the older one whenever they have together time. They even play together in their morning sessions.

Is there anything we can do to prevent this aggressive behaviors from the older cat?

Thank you!
Dory

Answer
Hello again!  I had wondered if my cats had spats while I was there simply because I was there, and behaved themselves all day while I was gone, too.  Now that I am home all the time, I can hear that spats erupt whether I'm in the same room or asleep at the other end of the house.  I think this may just be your Maine Coon's personality at this point.  Some cats just find it difficult to show affection for too long.  

It sounds like the spats are coming far enough apart and that there is enough pleasurable experience occurring between them that no hard feelings should develop.  I would continue with the visits and try lengthening the time that they spend together.  See if they can spend more time together without too many more attacks occurring.  I think that some isolated outbursts are probably something the Norwegian is going to have to get used to in your Maine Coon for the time being, but he will very likely learn his body language and start to anticipate the attacks to defend himself.

Your Maine Coon might continue to calm down if he feels he’s made it clear that he’s dominant over the kitten, but I’m not so sure that it’s entirely a dominance issue.  He could just be feeling too much excitement when he’s grooming the kitten, and he lashes out.  A sweet grooming session leads to biting on the throat, kicking, and soon, the two are unhappily wrestling.  It’s a scene that happens from time to time, but hopefully your two will spend most of their time cuddling.