I have a multi cat house (9 total) with ages from 3 years to 9 months. There are 5 females, 4 males, all of them have been fixed except for the youngest Meeko. She's the 9 month old. She was brought to me barely a week old. Eyes and ears were still closed. I really didn't think she would make it! She was in rough shape. But with feedings every 2 hours, and alot of tlc, she made it! She is very close to me, and usually sleeps with me. A couple of nights ago, my daughter rescued a kitten from under a car right by our house. We think she was just dumped earlier that evening. The new kitten is between 7-8 weeks old I guess. She has all her baby teeth, and can eat dry food. She's really sweet! The problem is Meeko, the 9 month old. She does not like the new kitten at all! I have a mesh pen set up in my bedroom that I keep the new kitten in so the other cats can come check her out but not hurt her. Everytime Meeko comes in the room, she starts growling and hissing at the kitten, and then even to the other cats she already knows. If she smells the kitten on me, she growls and hisses and tries to bite or scratch me. Is there anything I can do to get her to be less aggressive? Will she eventually get used to the new one? I don't want to get rid of either one, but if they can't get along, I'm afraid one will have to go.
Hi Sherry
Bless your daughter for saving the kitten’s life.
It can be challenging to predict whether Meeko will accept the new kitten; however, with time, patience, and proper step-by-step introductions, she will learn to tolerate and maybe like the newcomer.
I have recently adopted a 3-month-old kitten into a multi-cat household with ages ranging from 8-9 years old. A month on and, there’s still hissing and growling. It’s been slow, but we are making a little progress.
From anecdotal evidence, some kittens/cats adapt very quickly to new arrivals while others take much longer, between three to six months and sometimes even longer.
With time and patience, I hope they will learn to like each other and even cuddle next to one another.
Jackson Galaxy has several videos including a cat introduction mini-course; https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-introducing-cats/
I hope this helps!
All the best,
Melina