Kitten won’t leave older cat alone

[LunaandLily]

Help needed urgently! I would consider myself an experienced cat owner but our most recent addition has absolutely humbled me in that regard! I have two adult cats (Black and Ginger) who get on fine with very occasional squabbles. They’re not the types to snuggle up together but they’ll eat and sleep side by side and have done for years.

We introduced new kitten 6 weeks ago and she’s 15 weeks now. She has her own room which she is in overnight from 9pm-6am with beds, toys, food and water and litter tray. Litter tray as opposite side of room from food and beds, she is happy in there and only cries when she hears us up and about in the morning. She’s not destructive at all, and is happy to be there when we’re all out of the house. We have a camera in the room and we can watch her sleeping soundly and playing when we’re out.

When she is out of her room (we obviously want this to be as much as possible) she is relentlessly going after one of my adult cats. Black cat only has to give her a hard stare and she backs off, the Ginger is just a constant target for bullying and annoyance. Ginger can not get a minute. She can’t do anything without the kitten attacking her, chasing her, swatting her and all the rest. Ginger retaliates but it’s all just a game to the kitten. This has really ramped up in the last couple weeks - we’re at the point kitten is being put back in her room for enforced naps, as she would spend all day harassing Ginger. It is actually starting to become a bit distressing and going in the wrong direction.

Any tips and tricks would be gratefully received. All female, big cats are speyed. Names aren’t actually Blue and Ginger, just so I didn’t have to put Big Cat 1 and 2! I have always had cats, introduced at different ages and life stages and never met an menace like this new kitten!

I should also say, we are using Feliway Friends plugins. Don’t think they’re making a difference though.

Locked away that long must be distressing....
We just left our dcat and dkitten to it. 2 weeks later besties...

I think the problem is that the kitten is being locked away for long periods of time with no company and no chance to socialise or play with anyone.

She may seem happy enough playing and amusing herself, but 15 week old kittens shouldn't be alone for such long periods of time. She needs company - preferably feline, but if not, then human.

It's one of the reasons people recommend homing kittens in pairs - because if they don't have a playmate, then they'll take all their energy out on other things - your ankles, your furniture and your existing pets.

I think you need to re-frame how you look at it. Ginger isn't being bullied, the kitten is just trying to play and has had nobody to teach her what is acceptable and what isn't. Kitten needs much more company and interaction than she's currently getting.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. Yes, give the cat a chance to relax alone, maybe by closing off the porch/conservatory door if the cat is nappy in there.

However, I agree wholeheartedly with Freezingcoldinseptember and margotrose that you don't want to shut the kitten away. That'll just lead to anxiety and more clingy behaviour.

It's a kitten. Like younger siblings who won't leave the older ones alone, it is going to be annoying for a while! Keep an eye on things and spend time playing with the kitten so the cat can have a break, but don't punish the kitten for being a kitten. We were all annoying at some point, including the cat. Things will calm down if you leave them to it.

They need to work it out for themselves. Have you tried a Feliway diffuser (I keep recommending these on TLT, I honestly don't work for Feliway!).

Have you got places up high that Ginger can escape kitten? Shelves, bookcase, a massively tall cat tree? With large enough gaps between levels that little kitten can't jump up there. If not I'd recommend putting something up.

If so then you can let Kitten out for more roaming and let them all get on with it, whilst knowing Ginger has somewhere to get some peace.

Also are you playing with Kitten lots? Sounds like she needs more playtime to burn off that energy and get mental stimulation. The calmer she is the less she'll harass Ginger.

This is currently TempCat's favourite wand toy - he goes mad for it.
Cat Teaser

Thanks All for your responses! I keep saying to Ginger, don’t you remember when you were the annoying kitten that just wanted to make friends?? Naturally, she just looks at me like I’m an idiot.

I don’t think it’s necessarily distressing for kitten to be in a separate room all night, after all, some only-cats are alone all day then don’t have stimulation at night when their owner is asleep. It has always worked for me not to let new cats (adult or kittens) have the run of the house at night for the first months until we know that the hierarchy has been established and any grudges been worked out. However I came for advice, so I am willing to see how it goes with kitten out in the house overnight! I don’t know if anyone will sleep a wink, but it maybe is the thing that will do the trick - if the bigger cats become less of a novelty and she sees them settled and sleeping more, she might follow suit.

She does get lots of stimulation and attention, whether that’s from me, teenage DD or absolutely smitten DH who WFH. She’s not being punished for being a kitten, except by the other cats! She is in with us all (cats included) all day. I wondered if she was overstimulated, hence me putting her down for naps the past few days.

@TemporaryCatSlave That looks like a nice one, I will take a look and likely buy as she’s getting bored of the last batch of toys we bought. Ginger has loads of places to climb to or hide in, but as I’ve been observing her I have thought to myself, “why are you coming back for more?” so maybe she doesn’t mind the nuisance as much as I thought.

I heard they put on a united front today when the hoover was on, so I’m certain all is not lost.

@OnAFrolicOfMyOwn Thanks. We’re using Feliway Friends. I’ve typically used plug ins for the first year after a new cat has been introduced, but always doubted their efficacy. I hear Feliway Optimum can be good.

Personally, it's not the separation I'm objecting to - we always separate new cats overnight - but nine hours at once just seems like such a long time for a baby kitten, especially as you also separate during the day when you're out.

I would start having the kitten out during the day while you're out, then increase to overnights if they all get on well. I found our kitten calmed down a lot once he had run of the house.