At the end of February we bought a gorgeous Siamese kitten - we made several mistakes at the time, shouldn't have bought a kitten from a gumtree style site ( please don't flame me, I realise now that we should have gotten a kitten from a local rescue ), when we arrived to look at the kitten we were told he was 9 weeks old, but he was so tiny and being inexperienced we thought maybe he was the runt of the litter. The conditions he was kept in was total squalor and as much as alarm bells were ringing we decided we couldn't leave him in that filth and we took him.
Took him straight to the vets - the vet believed he was only 4 weeks old based on his size, and he had a terrible case of ear mites ( also became apparent that he had fleas ). So we've given him lots of tlc, he's now 12 weeks old ( vets best guess ), thriving, putting on lots of weight, lovely silky coat. The problem is that he is very aggressive - he bites and scratches a lot. We thought this was down to him being taken away from his mum and litter mates too young. I've followed advice online, yelping and going limp when he bites, walking away and stopping playing with him if he carries on biting etc.
So, a few friends with cats suggested that he needed another kitten to play with - to learn how to be a kitten himself and how to play etc. We also thought this would be a good idea so that he always has company when we're at work ( although with our work pattern he's not left alone much ).
We got another kitten today, we went for a Siamese cross kitten so they would have a similar temperament ( new kitten is 10 weeks and very gentle ). Old kitten has not taken this well at all. I expected him to sulk, be confused, maybe hide a bit - he has been extremely aggressive. Constant hissing and growling, harassing the kitten when he's trying to use the litter tray. Attacking us if we try to pick him up and calm him. I know we're stupid and probably naive to have thought this would help.
So does anyone have any advice on how we can handle this? Has anyone had a similar situation? Any ideas on how we can get old cat to see that new cat is not a threat? My husband is going to sleep downstairs with one tonight whilst I sleep upstairs with the other, and I think I'm going to have to take one in the car on the school run tomorrow as I'm scared to leave them in the house together.
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The litter tray
Help! Think I've made a massive mistake putting 2 kittens together.
LadyLannister · 17/04/2016 21:04
Thanks Stinkerbelle, we've got 3 litter trays - as we had 2 for first cat and I anticipated him being a bit territorial over his litter trays so I bought an extra one. Problem is second kitten keeps going in one of first kitten's trays so need to somehow get him to use the extra tray I bought. Second kitten also decided to try to go to sleep in one of the litter trays 
.
Currently going through YouTube videos for ideas.
Aww Cozie, it's so hard isn't it. I knew we should have left him, massive alarm bells were ringing. Pictures online showed kittens in lovely wicker basket, with clean bedding and nice surroundings. When we turned up to get him it was some absolutely filthy student digs - 2 young students who reckoned they were looking after them that day as their mum was working. The poor thing was scrawny, could see every bone in his spine. Just couldn't leave him 
Last time I acquired a kitten from a Siamese breeder, I practically had to give blood for analysis to take him home. (And we'd had a number of preparatory phone conversations of the sort that a Great Aunt might hold with a prospective suitor. The probes were .....searching. 
)
OK - she was pernickety but you'll know next time. Once you see them, it's very very difficult to leave them.
I just want to offer some reassurance. I got a kitten that had been badly abused, he was a little horror for a few years but we persevered and with enough love and stability he evened out eventually. We then got a kitten again and he hated him! We followed the advice upthread though and kept them seperate while we weren't around and supervised them together. It did take a while, just under a year if I remember correctly but they've become good friends now. I think being able go outside made a big difference.
They're 17 and 6 now and always snuggled up together 
So moral of the story is that friendships take time to build, they won't happen over night but if you love them they'll come round eventually.
Whenever I've introduced a new kitten I've always put them in a large dog cage - they cost about £20 on Ebay - in the front room. I put everything they need in there - food, water, bed, litter tray. It means the cats can sniff each other through the bars and get used to the scent of each other but the kitten is completely safe. I've done this three times now and it's worked like a charm every time. When the other cats are elsewhere I let the kitten out to wander round, play, have cuddles and put their scent around the place. They sleep a lot anyway at that age. Once the cats are used to each other I leave the cage in the corner of the room for a few weeks with the door open and the kittens have always tended to use it as a safe space to go and have a snooze - occasionally I find the adult cats in there trying to get some peace when the kitten is being too boisterous. 
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