So, I’ve had this kitten for, what, six hours? And I’m already wondering if this wasn’t a huge mistake.
I added an 11 week kitten, Edison, to a house with one adult cat, Dewey. Now, I know it’s too soon to see how it’s all going to work out, but from what I can tell Dewey is getting schooled by this little orange fluffball. He’s getting ambushed and chased, although they both bat at each other a little. I’m afraid Dewey is going to lose custody of his favorite places, like the table behind the sofa where he likes to look out the window. He’s already given me dirty looks for petting the kitten, and sat on the floor when he would have otherwise come and sat on the couch with me. Now, I’m guessing the answer is “no”, but is there any way to intervene and tell the kitten he’s a second class citizen in this house? To reserve Dewey’s places for Dewey? Or would trying to solve Dewey’s problems for him wind us all up in more trouble? In other words, is it possible to judiciously interfere in the natural social order of your pets?
I’m going to assume that this is like having dogs, and, yes, your behavior affects their social order because you are part of their social order. Dewey is going to be jealous for a while, but don’t interfere with them scrapping, as they’re going to work out the social hierarchy that way. If you pick up Edison (or even Dewey), that cat is going to think that he’s been reinforced as the dominant cat. This is bad, as, well, they need to figure out their own social structure and understand that you like them both.
I know this is going to sound crazy, but Cesar Milan (The Dog Whisperer) might have some advice online that’d be helpful for cat herding.
Is there some reason you want Dewey to be the dominant cat? Does it really matter? When we first added a new dog to our household the original dog was rather bitchy toward the new dog, not letting her play with toys the original dog had previously scorned, etc. Within a day or so they were best friends and new dog was allowed to play with the toys, etc. The original dog is still the boss, but rarely exerts her authority. They play together constantly. Give it a couple of days. I wouldn’t interfere.
Actually, if it’s only been 6 hours, and Dewey is interacting with the new kitten at all (instead of growling, hissing, hiding, and leaving the room), he is being very welcoming for a cat. It normally takes more like 6 days for cats to accept another cat, often more for a cat that was the only cat in the household.
Just make sure that you continue to give attention to Dewey by petting him, etc., so he doesn’t feel that you have ‘abandoned’ him for your new cat. Otherwise. let them work out the hierarchy on their own. Dewey, as the older & bigger cat, will probably come out on top. But maybe not. And that’s not a problem – both will continue to get food & shelter from you, after all. Sometimes older cats are fine with letting a younger, more energetic cat take the ‘leader’ role, and they just relax into a follower role. (Though that’s not as relevant for cats as for more herd or pack oriented animals.)
It’s quite likely that they will end up ‘sharing’ favorite spots – it’s fairly common to see cats curled up around each other in a tight space, when there is plenty of open space nearby. They seem to enjoy being together. Dewey is big enough to protect his favorite space, if it’s important to him that it be exclusively his. Often older cats are fairly tolerant of a kitten, more so than a new adult cat. You might try creating additional favorite spaces, like adding one of those window shelves to a nearby window, so they each have their own watch-the-world space. Or add a cat nest box to that table, so they have choice of the table, inside the box, or on top of the box – then they will probably each choose one spot as their favorite, or take turns choosing among them.
You certainly can interfere in the natural social order of your pets. Just by giving more attention to one, or by always giving attention to one first.
But I would NOT do so. They will work this out on their own, and they know better than you what will work for them. Just love 'em both, and things will be fine.
Got nothing new to add here, just thought i’d chip in to agree with what the others have said.
Sounds like they are off to a great start. Last time i introduced a new cat there was at least two or three days of simply hissing at each other. Dewey sounds like he is much happier with your new kitten than you’d expect.
And again, agree with leaving them to sort themselves out. Being the dominant one isn’t necessarily what an animal wants. Being number two cat probably wont bother him one little bit after the dust settles so don’t worry about that. If that’s the way it’s going to end up no big deal.
Also, i have to say i’ve had lots of cats and i’ve never really seen much of a pecking order at all. Dogs, yes very much so, but cats i don’t really see it. I’ve seen 6 cats all sharing the same sleeping spot, like a tangled mess of fur, legs and tails. I’m sure i have a picture of that somewhere it’s quite funny.
I have no cats, but it occurs to me that the kitten probably just has more energy than the adult cat. I don’t think it is more dominant, it just likes to play more.
Friends of mine have greyhounds. They got a pup and their oldest was clearly not thrilled. The pup was always playfully teasing the older dog. The older dog let it go until he had enough and then the teeth would come out and the pup would go running. Don’t get me wrong, but pup was never really hurt, but the older dog would let him know that playtime was over.
I’m another cat person here to say that if they are already playing you are off to a great start! Cats don’t have as strict a pack hierarchy as dogs do, as cats are not pack animals by nature. The pecking order within my group changes from day to day - and sometimes hour to hour!
Make sure you give Dewey as much attention as you give the baby - and possibly a bit more so he doesn’t feel neglected. It’s kind of like when a new baby comes home - everyone is oohing and aahing over the infant and no one pays attention to the three-year-old.
You may find that they share favorite spots, or they may use them at different times of the day.
Adult cats are usually tolerant of the wild pouncing and dashing around that kittens do. Don’t interfere in that power struggle; I feel sure that Dewey won’t be the subordinate cat after a few weeks. However, don’t forget to play with Edison, yourself. It’s a vital part of his development.