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eman · Member Joined: 21 Dec 2004 Posts: 340 Location: Canada

this has been a very long week.
Lily, the new cat that we got, has been very aggressive towards Max. The vet at the shelter that i got her from said that it would be better for Max and her if she goes to a home where she is the only cat. So we returned her to the shelter.
after 2 days, we went again to look for a kitten and this time i took Max with me. We found a very cute 2.5 months old female kitten. I let Max out to meet her and everything was fine. they sniffed each other and there was no hissing. The first 2 days, i had the kitten separated in another room. and i put a towel that has Max's scent by her food dish.
then i started to open the door just a bit so they can see each other and they would start putting their paws in the small opening trying to catch each others paws. they werent hissing or growling. so i think they were playing.
now when i let the kitten out...Max would attack her as if she was a toy. i really dont think he means to hurt her. he jumps on her and she gets scared and hisses. and then she hides and suddenlly jump on him or on his tail and he runs away. she doesnt seem to be too scared of him cause if he goes upstairs..she goes after him to see what he is doing.
the only problem now is..i am not sure if that is how cats play or if Max thinks of her as one of his toys. cause sometimes Max jumps on her and she is on her back kicking and then she starts screaming and hissing and i would spray him with water..then he leaves her. or he hides behind something and when she walks by he jumps on her.
she doesnt look like she is scared of him, cuz she goes back to him and tries to play with him. but i dont want her to start hating him if Max is going to hurt her every time they play. should i leave things the way they are, or separate them a bit more?

here are her pictures, we named her Mini

halaroo · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:09 am Post subject:

She's a cutie! It sounds to me like things are going fine. If she was being hurt, or afraid of Max, she wouldn't keep following him around. Moe is really whiny when Artemis fights with her too.

Mary_NH · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:30 am Post subject:

cats aren't playing when they are hissing or making a lot of noise - that's fighting levels.
Watch a litter of kittens playing - they may mewl or make little noises but it's when things get out of control that the hisses starts in.
They play quietly out of instinct...if a predator heard them they'd be lunch.
I'd start the introductions over and allow at least 7 days of them getting used to each other's smells before letting them meet and then only a few minutes at a time to start.
Distract them with treats...let them associate being together as something pleasant like with a treat they enjoy (tuna flakes perhaps).
another good trick is to put a little vanilla extract at the base of each cat's tail...it masks their own scent. They both smell alike

halaroo · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:43 am Post subject:

coppersmom · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:19 am Post subject:

She is cute! I don't have any advice...but I did get a chuckle out of Max thinking she is a toy. Good luck!

faeriedust1127 · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:16 am Post subject:

From seeing how my Vianne plays with other cats, I'd have to agree with Halaroo. I think its a combination of the cats' personalities and their way of saying, "ok thats enough", or "you're being a bit too rough" or just, "ok, let me up now, MERCY!" LOL, I remember when i was fostering Kodak, a little grey female, her and Vianne used to chase each other all over and Vianne would tackle her and they'd bite and kick and whenever she had pinned Kodak down, the little one would hiss at her and then Vianne would let her up. Then Kodak would go hide somewhere and pounce on Vianne at her first chance and they'd start it all over again, lol. It was really funny to watch! Mr. Green

They were like two little kids, an older and younger sibling wrestling where the older one dominates the younger one but still keeps trying to win anyway, haha. They never hurt each other and became great little buddies, snuggling together all the time.

Here see she is biting her ear trying to make Vianne get up and play! LOL

Shedevil677 · Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:53 am Post subject:

I love seeing pictures of Kittens playing with there big sister/brother, sooo cute!

vene · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 25 Mar 2004 Posts: 4298

Congrats on Mini. She's a beauty! Surprised

I did all my kitties cold turkey from day one and they all got along well from 1 day to a couple of years! Mr. Green

They are pretty much buddies now. Vianne and Kodak are too cute! Surprised

Chessmind · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:19 am Post subject:

Hi. She is just adorable. Mr. Green

Does she have a flea collar on? If so those don't work, as the fleas just go on the lower parts of their body. Frontline and Advantage work really well. I use Frontline myself, as it doesn't have alcohol, so when I apply the product the cats don't feel a burning sensation and they stay calmer when it's applied. It's supposed to feel more like a few drops of water behind their neck.

Now don't be upset with me, but I have to mention this, as I am obsessed with having people remove bells from their cats neck. Now this is just my opinion, but I honestly believe that those bells must drive cats nuts. Their hearing is so good and having to hear a loud "DING DING DING DING DING DING........." all the time has got to affect them. Shocked

I have suggested to people to get a cow bell, tie it around their neck and see how they like the "DING DING DING..." noise.

faeriedust1127 · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:11 pm Post subject:

Chessmind · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 3:39 pm Post subject:

faeriedust1127 · Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 4:28 pm Post subject:

eman · Member Joined: 21 Dec 2004 Posts: 340 Location: Canada

thanks all for replying..
chessmind, the bells help me in so many ways that i am so scared to take it off. i thought about it before but couldnt do it. one time Max ran away and i went looking for him. If it wasnt for his bell, i would have never found him. also, i dont want to step on him by accident when he comes in the room and i dont see him. or get startled by him when i dont hear him.
if the bells are bad, how come they sell the collars with bells on them?

but i hate to think that the bell is bothering him....so what do i do?

i wish there was something that makes sounds but only activated when u press a button, like a remote. so if Max is out, i press it and i hear where he is.
Wink

the red collar on Mini is a normal collar. it is not a flea collar.

Cassie · Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2006 6:12 am Post subject:

She is such a cutie! I love the pic of her sleeping in the lap.

I think Max is just being territorial and letting her know that he's in charge there. She's obviously fine with that or she wouldn't be following him around so readily. I think when she pounces him, it's just kitten-play and he just lets her know when he's had enough or smacks her down to let her know that he's the Alpha.

I personally think they'll be fine if you leave them together. I think they're just testing each others limits and that's perfectly normal behavior. Even if you were to keep them apart, they eventually would test each other like that when you let them together. If they were both hissing/howling/attacking all the time and rolling around the floor in one big puff of fur, I'd advise otherwise. But it sounds more to me like it's just limit-setting behavior.