To cut a long story short, my older cat and new kitten weren’t getting on brilliantly, but had reached a truce, whereby they could sit on the bed or sofa about a foot apart. I went away for Christmas (not planned but the only way I could see my family without the DDs having to spend the entire time here self isolating and then another two weeks in U.K.).
I didn’t particularly want to leave the two cats alone - as it was, my return flight kept getting cancelled, and instead of being away for less than a week, I was away for three. So the kitten went to a friend round the corner, and the big cat had a night/day on his own with me before I left and the cat sitter came.
He spent all of his time looking for her, and yowled non-stop. He yowled non-stop for the cat sitter too. The kitten came back yesterday, and the yowling stopped. He sniffed her when she arrived, and basically took little notice of her. They sat on the sofa together and both slept on the bed last night.
Today he has been like a different cat. He’s been growling, hissing and aggressive towards her and me. He’s attacked me in my sleep twice tonight (which is why I am still awake at 0400), and has never done this before, ever. He bit and clawed my arm snd face.
They have both now left the bedroom and there have been periods of calm (when they were both sitting on the sofa, at opposite ends), but now the hissing has started again. I’ve had no sleep.
We have Feliway Friends wafting round the place, to little/no effect. The big cat has had Zylkene added to his food as well.
I don’t need them to be friends, just to get back to a reasonable co-existence like we had before. I’d also like a night’s sleep without fearing for my eyes. Does anyone have any advice? The kitten has been with us since August/September and is now 9/10 months old. The big cat is 11. He’s lived with other cats before and was fine, except he loved the last one too much and we rehomed her as we thought she’d be happier as an only cat. The kitten is calm and deferential to him, and has fortunately realised that she is quicker than him and that he can’t jump, so can get away easily.