Expert: Brandy - 1/3/2007

Question
i got a new kitten about four months ago and my old cats is not as friendly to me or anyone else since the new kitten. is there any hope of him go back to normal? or will he stay this way forever now?  

Answer
Maybe.  Our first cat was between 3-5 (he was a shelter rescue) who sulked under our bed for three days (we have pictures to prove it) when my husband and I brought home a kitten to keep him company. He milked it for years, and ended up the Grand Poobah of the household. The younger cats learned that there are boundaries when dealing with the older one.

Some cats take easily to another cat in the house (and a kitten usually means the older cat tends to be a little bit more tolerant...at least at first). Some cats are also territorial for a window, a spot on the sofa, food bowl, and even a person, so needless to say, spending some me-and-you time with the older cat couldn't hurt.  

Has your older cat shown deliberate violent tendancies to the kitten, or is it one of those 'just get that thing AWAY from my litterbox'?

My first inclination would be to be patient, be viligant (because the younger one could grow up to bully the older, or the other way around). Cats are incredible creatures of habit, and depending how long the older cat was the only cat in the family, he will 'thaw' at his own pace. He may also feel crowded out, and perhaps a special area just for him (like a box for him to pretend to be invisible) where the kitten is not allowed will help him adapt to another cat in the house.