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So the animals in question are: Milo, a 10 year old male neutered cat, and Sophie a 5 month old female kitten(getting spayed at the end of November). Almost since the day we brought her home(at 2 months old), Sophie has been "attacking" Milo. I don't know if this is play or aggression. She stalks and chases him, leaps on him, and bites and scratches him every single day, several times. Every time she does this, Milo hisses, screams, and yowls at the top of his lungs and runs away- with her pursuing. She doesn't back down at all, in fact, his noises of distress seem to only make her attack him more. Of course my family and I try to interfere when this happens by picking up Sophie, or distracting her, but it doesn't last long. I'm really worried about the stress and anxiety this is putting on Milo, as he is already an anxious cat, and I don't want his health affected. Whenever Milo sees Sophie he hisses and growls, I'm worried they will never get along and the attacking won't stop. I was hoping getting her spayed might make her calm down. The other issue is Sophie won't eat her kitten food. She only eats Milo's senior food. I've tried feeding them in separate rooms, in the same room, at different times, it doesn't matter, she goes to his bowl every time, even when corrected to her own dish. What's weird about this is they are both the same brand cat food, same flavour, only difference is for the ages. I heard it is pretty critical for kittens to have kitten food to develop healthily, so I'm worried. I talked to the vet and she said, "just keep trying". I brought up mixing the senior and kitten food, but she said that's a bad idea. I don't know what to do. Any ideas for either problem?
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Oct 29, 2016 12:52
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Did you keep the cats separate from each other for the first few days, or just throw them together right away?
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Oct 29, 2016 19:52
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Dr Cox MD posted:Did you keep the cats separate from each other for the first few days, or just throw them together right away? I kept them separate for probably a week or more, and allowed them to smell each other through a small gap in the door. I also let Milo enter her room, while she was in her carrier, to smell her toys and stuff, and see her. He was very wary and hissed at her a lot. She's not afraid of him at all though.
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Oct 30, 2016 01:55
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Marshmallow Cat posted:Of course my family and I try to interfere when this happens by picking up Sophie, or distracting her, but it doesn't last long. Instead of just picking Sophie up, try putting her in time out in a closed room. Give Milo a chance to become visibly relaxed. Go in with Sophie and play with her - something strenuous (use a toy on a string to get her jumping up and down off furniture, or wrap your arm in something and playwrestle with her). If you are not actively exhausting her, she's going to direct all her energy at Milo. Milo should end up more willing to tolerate Sophie's crazy kitten energy if he knows you'll step in to help him when he needs a break. For me, hissing is okay, but growling or distressed meowing = kitten needs a time out. Marshmallow Cat posted:The other issue is Sophie won't eat her kitten food. She only eats Milo's senior food. I've tried feeding them in separate rooms, in the same room, at different times, it doesn't matter, she goes to his bowl every time, even when corrected to her own dish. If you are feeding them in separate rooms, just pick the food up after a set amount of time (before letting the cats mingle again, obviously). If they don't eat during that time, they wait until the next time. Or have a room for Milo to eat in that Sophie is only allowed in once he's finished his food (and feed him in more+smaller portions if he's used to free feeding). Alternatively, you could try other brands of kitten food to see if you can find something Sophie prefers to Milo's food?
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Nov 14, 2016 04:56
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