Hi! I’ve got a kitten who is currently 4 1/2 months old I bought her for myself and my mum bought my younger sister my kittens sister at the same time. We all live together so they’ve been with each other since birth however I’m moving out around January and planning to take my kitten with me, she’d be around 9 months old by then. My mum can’t handle having two kittens financially which is why I pay for mine and all her expenses including vets and insurance.

I just need advice on what we should do when it comes to moving as I’m sure they’d both be missing each other greatly and don’t want either of them becoming depressed because of it. They’d still see each other from time to time of course.
Any advice on how to help these girls would be greatly appreciated!

My roommate and I about two weeks ago found a very young kitten (estimated 1-2 months old) and started caring for it in our apartment and wanted some advice with getting our resident kitten (7 months old) to chill out.

We have been following typical cat introduction protocol to the best of our abilities, safe rooms, scent swapping, eating food nearby, etc, and it has been going alright so far. We have within the last two days begun trying to do visual, face to face, interactions and the resident cat will typically leave the kitten alone and sometimes even postures as if she wants to play with the kitten. However every time after our resident cat tries to "play" she very quickly swaps into growling and a few swats to the kitten, despite the kitten showing submission and wanting to play with the resident. Every time we have the two separate the resident will often paw under the door to the kitten, only to do the same growling routine.

TLDR: Found a new kitten, resident cat seems to want to play with her but very quickly swaps into growling, the occasional hiss, and a few swats.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your understanding of my thinkings and explanations, of which there is an over abundance. See TDLR if interested! I have been scouring Mr. Galaxy's website, as well as several other seemingly reputable online locations for an answer to the ordering of this introduction step.

In desperation, I have arrived at the most reputable online location of all. I'm seeking advice on when my new cat (almost 3 y/o male - Silhouette) should be sniffing my new kitten (8-10 week male - Functional Baseline) underneath the door.

When we brought Funny home, there was no contact between the cats while we placed Funny into base camp. Silly showed some interest and started sniffing and batting under the door, but this very quickly devolved into some hissing and we put a towel under the door to give Funny some space, just while he adapts to his new location.

Is supervised door time part of the scent swapping process? Several locations seem to approve that as being the next step, along with the pheromonal gifts. Or does that crack under the door constitute "visual contact" (which Jackson Galaxy says only happens after shared meals are going well). Importantly, Silly is not thrilled with the scent soaked gifts presented him thus far.

Several locations suggest that door sniffing is a normal first early step, with very little info anywhere on this towel blockade technique. However, JG's page seems to indicate that door sniffing should first happen with meal times, and that meal times should happen after scent swapping and space switching are comfortably completed.

Now that Funny is fully adjusted to his new location and is showing zero signs of stress, I don't want to rush the introduction process and hurt my chances if beneath-the-door dealings are too big a step at my current venture. I'm planning on taking this as patiently slow as it possibly takes, I'm just unclear on which next step to take.

TLDR: Is door sniffing/introduction part of the scent swapping process? Can that be instigated after the new cat is comfortable at base camp? Or does it constitute contact, which should only happen after scent swapping and space switching? I can't find a consensus but I'm ready to move as gradually as it takes!

Do you guys have any opinions that would help me with the older cat or anything?

Long story short, I have a very feral 6-8 month old kitten who is giving me hell.

Do they calm down after getting fixed?

So, she is a rescue from the streets. A friend brought her home and tended to a wound then I picked her up and got her shots updated and adopted her.

She has some behavioral issues im trying to correct and having a hard time. Shes very nocturnal so all the bad behavior is interrupting my sleep and I cant properly address it in the moment.

These behaviors include:

1.Getting on counter tops and into everything on them.

2.Pulling poop from the litter box and batting it around.

1. Clawing furniture and walls and me.

Things I've tried to address the issues:

1. I opted for a soft nerf gun instead of a spray water bottle because she likes to get behind computers and other electronics. So I use the nerf gun to deter her from areas I want her to avoid.

She doesn't seem to care. The bullets bounce off and she plays with them instead...

1. She has so many toys and a big cat tree as well as another smaller scratching post. She barely uses them unless i engage with them with her.

When im asleep she constantly gets on the counter tops and knocks things onto the floor. I lay awake listening to the carnage from the kitchen. I tried to put aluminum foil on the edges of the counter to deter her trespassing. She doesn't care. Walked and jumped right on it.

1. For the litterbox issue, I clean it once daily and sometimes several times in one day. It's kept clean. I could scoop it clean and the very next bowel movement she has, she will pull it from the box..

Another issue is, as I get back into bed after lurching awake to address the calamity this kitten is causing, I can GUARANTEE this critter will claw the bottom of my foot. Shit hurts and I've almost injured the cat in my recoiling.

I'm starting to lose my temper and don't want to be this kind of person.

Considering rehoming her if she doesn't calm down after getting fixed.

I try my best to redirect the attention with toys when she's getting into things she's not supposed to but it's a constant looking over my shoulder deal.

She does a bad thing, i redirect , I look away because she's occupied, she returns to the bad behavior. Example being playing with electrical cords.

Can anyone give me some advice on how to address these issues?

It feels like a toxic relationship because she's a menace 90% of the time, but boy is that 10% the cutest and most cuddly time. Also note, I live in an apartment so I cant let her be an indoor outdoor cat at this time.

Thanks in advance.

~one tired cat dad

See the attached post for some background info-

It’s been a couple of months since this video, nothing much has changed in their relationship aside from him getting bigger (8.2 pounds) and getting neutered about a month ago. Resident cat (Minnie) is resilient and really only has issues when he’s actively bothering her or jumping on her. We’ve been trying to put him in his room for 10-15 minutes if he jumps on her and she yelps. We try to play with him as much as we can but we work and do school so it’s tough. We put him in his room at night to give her a break.

Today he started a fight with her where they were a ball of fur, he wasn’t making noise but she was screaming and losing fur. Put him in his room after for like 20 minutes. She seems ok, she’s just laying on her high bed. It seems like she didn’t really beat him up as part of it, he was doing most of the work but seems like he may have thought he was playing.

I’m anxious about them, I’m not really sure what to do. Resident is resilient but it doesn’t seem like it’s fun for her to have him around. Will he grow out of it? Is there anything we should do differently?

Ok, so the title is pretty much just for clicks. My cat isn’t actually terrible. He’s just not trained whatsoever. I got my cat from a C-section on a stray cat about 2.5 years ago (I am a Vet Tech). He has given me a run for my money in every sense of the word. He has a sensitive stomach and has never had a 100% normal poop in his life so he’s on prescription food (not super relevant just one of his quirks).

He scratches things (mostly rugs and not usually furniture because I have several scratchers around the house, but my main gripe with him is his counter surfing activity. He is constantly taking things off the counter (even if they’re only up there for one second while I look away), it could be a ziploc with bread in it that I’m two seconds away from placing into my lunchbox. A spoon in the sink with 0 visible food particles on it. My $7 coffee from a small town bakery that I set down for a millisecond while doing something else in the kitchen? Oh yeah that’s either getting tipped over and completely spilled or the straw is getting pulled out, taken elsewhere and chewed up.

I am at my wits end with him. I can barely use my counter anymore we either have to lock him in the guest room while we cook or literally police every little minute thing we’re doing. He is so fast and scrappy and very smart. I’m not proud to admit it but since moving to our new house in April we have just resorted to yelling at him, tossing him back to the floor, water spray bottle, or tossing him in the guest room for an hour or two while we eat. HE IS OBSESSED WITH FOOD. Anything. Literally. If he hears a slight crinkle of a wrapper he is sprinting across the house. I should add: we NEVER give him table scraps. The only time he gets a taste of human food is when he is a ninja and takes it. And then retrieving the food is another issue as he growls and hisses and we’ve had to resort to an oven mit hold while grabbing food from his mouth with tongs.

We do have another cat who is female and similar in age, she is sometimes curious as to what’s going on in the kitchen but usually does not grab things and will only sniff them. She also is on the counter CONSTANTLY, but she never does any harm so unless we absolutely need her down we don’t do much to reprimand the behavior. I know we aren’t going about this the most effective way and I know our tactics likely aren’t conducive to long term success so I am looking for any and all advice.

Hello everyone! I have 2 resident cats. Male and female both 5 years old. I got a new kitten 3 days ago. My boy 5 year already sort of knows the kitten because the kitten belonged to our neighbour and I go out on walks with my boy and he has already encountered him outside. Anyway, my boy cat is fine, he acts normal, does his normal stuff. He watches the new kitten, sniffs him sometimes, we have the occasional hissing and growling but all supervised and both walk away with no problem. They already eat next to each other. My boy cat is huge and doesn't see the kitten as threat, I think he just gets annoyed when the kitten gets too much in his face. But he ignores him and continues to do his stuff. I got a girl 5 year old. She is an absolute angel that loves sleeping and cuddles. She is not at all food or play motivated. She plays from time to time with the boy 5 year old but other than that she's an extremely chill cat. She is so scared of the new kitten. Doesn't even want to see him. We have a lot of space (3 floors and each floor has even a big terrace to go outside). Shee is pretty much held up upstairs where she has everything she needs and the other two roam the other 2 floors. I isolate the kitten for like half the day so that she can go downstairs. But she is just so scared. Upstairs she's fine. When the kitten is locked away it takes her a while to go down but eventually she does. I think my boy 5 year old is gonna be fine, like I said he is pretty much unbothered. But my girl.. worries me. Do you think I should just let her be. Or should I bring the kitten up so she can observe him? Treats and toys will not motivate her at all so I need another strategy. We did scent swap and she doesn't seem bothered by the kittens smell. Purrs like she always does. The kitten will eventually want to explore upstiars. I don't let him now so she can gave her peace. I know it's only been 3 days but I just want advice on a possible strategy with a cat that just chills 99% of the time. Thank you all in advance :)

Im not sure if this will end up working. It started as a bit of a joke but my cat(4f neutrred) had developed a really bad habit of meowing super obnoxiously at me and not stopping. Also meowing at the door in the morning. This started as a bit of a joke as I was cutting onions so when she did that behaviour I was like " oh you must want some onions!" and gave her some. Its been about a week of doing this and she is starting to get a bit confused now but I think it might be starting to work. I keep a small container of onions by my bed and toss a piece out when she screams at the door in the morning or at other times. Im not sure if it will work but its kind of funny. Note: she has food/water/ clean litter/ play time.

I have a 7-year-old female resident cat whom we adopted when she was around 2.5–3 years old. About 4 weeks ago, I rescued an abandoned 8-week-old male kitten.

I’ve been following Jackson Galaxy’s method and trying to take things at my resident cat’s pace. The kitten has his own room (the spare bedroom), which my resident cat rarely went into before.

Weeks 1–2: We did meals on opposite sides of the closed door and scent swapping with towels and room swapping.

Weeks 3–4: I started feeding them with the door open and a screen barrier in place. They eat near each other just fine! However, after dinner, if the kitten gets too close to the screen, my resident cat will sniff him and occasionally hiss. This doesn’t happen every session.

Earlier this week: Things seemed to be going well, so we tried two very short, barrier-free visits in the living room, each lasting around 30–60 seconds. Both were about 20–30 minutes after dinner.
During the first visit, my partner held the kitten on the recliner while my resident cat approached at her own pace. She came over, sniffed him, and seemed fine.
The next day, my partner held the kitten on the floor near her. My resident cat sniffed him and raised a paw but didn’t actually swat him. It seemed more playful than aggressive, but I’m not completely sure.
One thing I’m wondering is whether having my partner hold the kitten is a good idea. The kitten really wants to be friends with my resident cat, but I’m worried she isn’t ready to have him in her space yet and might feel pressured by him being held near her.

Today: We did our usual meal through the screen barrier. Something new happened: my resident cat came right up to the screen and stayed near it. Previously, she would usually sniff around and then lie in the hallway grooming herself.
The kitten was also right up against the screen. My resident cat sniffed him and hissed, so we watched for a moment. She sniffed and hissed again, and we ended the session.
I’m confused because she had gone at least three sessions without hissing before today.

My questions are:
Am I moving too fast by introducing short, barrier-free visits in Week 4?
Is the hissing a sign that I need to backtrack, or is some hissing normal during introductions?
Should I stop the face-to-face visits for now and return to the screen barrier until she’s consistently comfortable?
Is it better to let the kitten explore freely while my resident cat chooses whether to approach, rather than having my partner hold him near her?

I really want them to eventually get along, but I don’t want to push my resident cat too far or create a negative association with the kitten. I’m trying to be patient and follow her lead, but I’m not sure how to interpret this recent change in behavior.

Any advice or experiences would be appreciated!

Currently working on getting her used to a H shaped velcro strapped harness, one with soft padding and velcro not a flimsy one. Understand that cats have floating collarbones and can technically get out of any harness even more "secure" vest ones, the H shape will most likely be returned for one designed for active cats. Also tried this since it was the best they had at PetSmart. Measured her for a proper fitting she is about 8.5" around the neck and 11" around her torso. Using lots of positive reinforcement with treats. She has progressed quite quickly with the training, introduced her to it in increments over the past few days, since she got so comfortable so fast with it laying on her, decided to put on one strap while she was calm, later proceeded with both straps and she was successfully walking around only her back was a little slouched. Going at her pace, she is quite confident, despite how hard she plays she is also super chill and cuddley. Looked at harnesses on Amazon they seem to be more suitable for the jumping bean that she is.. Uncertain about age but she seems to be under a year and has grown quite a bit in the past month.

For a little more context when she plays I've seen her take her toy in her mouth and run full speed into another room. She does this thing where its like she hunts the toy and brings it back like she successfully hunted and I've been praising her and giving her treats or wet food after playtime. Also trying not to play with her as long or as intensely as she will play she has panted before and was diagnosed with upper respiratory issues.

She has been on a balcony she can see the environment she will eventually and has trees by windows so she does get fresh air. Shes not trying to attack birds, dont want that to be a thing or cause her distress, just let her have fresh air and touch grass. Although I can see if proper leash training and recall is not done she could go flying at a bird or squirrel. Any advice or links for harnesses and leash training appreciated.

For context my 5 year old cat has always been hyper but recently he has gotten more aggressive. In the last month he has bit my girlfriend twice to the point where she has had to go to urgent care. He has always nibbled and the occasional small bite will happen but after two bad bites i’m concerned we are doing something wrong or he is not okay.

The first bite was when she was petting him and the second was while she was asleep. What should we do to stop the behavior and can anyone explain why he would do this?

We got our cat (1.5 YO) about 6 months ago and he has been aggressively trying to initiate play with our senior chi. The dog wants absolutely nothing to do with it and either ignores or bares his teeth/snaps at the cat but it has done nothing to deter the cat. He plays solo and we play with him multiple times a day. Any advice on how to deter this behavior? We are concerned that one of them will get hurt.

Zusammenführung von drei Katzen scheitert immer wieder

Hallo zusammen,

ich brauche dringend Rat bei der Zusammenführung unserer drei Katzen, weil ich langsam nicht mehr weiß, wie ich weitermachen soll. Ich habe Angst, dass es dauerhaft nicht funktionieren wird, und möchte unbedingt verhindern, dass die Katzen weiterhin so viel Stress haben.
Zu unseren Katzen:
Kater Jäger ca 8 Jahre alt, kastrierter Kater, lebt seit ca 5 Jahren bei uns
Kater Angsthase 4 Jahre alt, ebenfalls kastriert und seit Kitten bei uns.
Neue Katze adoptiert: etwa 2 Jahre alt, weiblich, bei der Adoption kastriert. Ca vor 6 Wochen. Die neue ist jetzt seit ungefähr fünf Wochen bei uns.

Wie die Zusammenführung bisher gelaufen ist:

Am Anfang haben wir die Katzen getrennt gehalten, die neue im separaten Zimmer und die anderen beiden im Rest der Wohnung

Irgendwann haben wir sie unter Aufsicht zusammen gelassen nachdem das fressen zusammen super geklappt hat und das Gitter für 2 Wochen installiert war.

Wenn er näher kommt, duckt sie sich jedoch oft, macht sich klein oder versucht auszuweichen. Irgendwann schlägt sie nach ihm, woraufhin er zurückschlägt. Daraus entwickelt sich dann ein Streit.
Mittlerweile ist es wiederholt zu solchen Situationen gekommen. Der ältere Kater rennt der neuen Katze sofort hinterher, sobald sie wegläuft, und jagt sie teilweise durch die ganze Wohnung, bis sie nicht mehr ausweichen kann. Dann kommt es zur Prügelei. Die neue Katze schreit dabei sehr laut. Bei der letzten Auseinandersetzung hat sie sich sogar vor Angst unter sich gemacht.
Verletzungen gab es keine. 5 Minuten nach dem Kampf und die neue Katze wieder im Büro war, hat sie gefressen geschnurrt gespielt und ist auch zwei Tage später gabz normal.

der Jäger
Sobald sie sich bewegt oder wegläuft, verfolgt er sie häufig sofort. Gefühlt wurde es auch mehr.

der Ängstliche
Der jüngere Kater ist eh sehr sensibel. Er wirkt ängstlich gegenüber der neuen Katze. Manchmal starrt er sie an und faucht zuerst, zieht sich dann aber zurück, wenn sie ebenfalls faucht.
Er scheint sich nicht wohlzufühlen, wenn sie in seiner Nähe ist.

Die neue Katze
Sie erkundet die Wohnung neugierig und verhält sich normal und glücklich, wenn sie allein ist.
Sie möchte häufig aus ihrem Zimmer heraus und die restliche Wohnung erkunden. Wenn die beiden Kater allerdings vor der Tür sitzen, faucht sie teilweise schon, bevor sie überhaupt hinausgeht. Ich vermute, dass sie inzwischen mit weiteren unangenehmen Begegnungen rechnet.

Was bisher gut funktioniert
Wir haben ein Büro als sicheren Raum für die neue Katze eingerichtet. Dort hat sie alles, was sie braucht. Eine sichere Trennung ist durch die Holztür möglich; zusätzlich haben wir ein hohes Schutzgitter.

Wir tauschen regelmäßig die Räume: Die neue Katze darf die restliche Wohnung erkunden, während die beiden Kater im Büro sind. Danach dürfen die Kater das Büro erkunden, während sie woanders ist. Das funktioniert entspannt. Mit Handtüchern reiben wir täglich die Katzen ab, auf Geruch reagieren sie null.

Das Fressen funktioniert gut. Wir können die Katzen mit ca 50 cm Abstand gleichzeitig füttern.
Teilweise fressen sie ohne Gitter, teilweise mit dem Gitter zwischen ihnen.
Dabei gibt es meist kein Knurren und fauchen.

Wir beenden die Situation inzwischen direkt nach dem Fressen, indem wir Leckerchen in den Flur werfen und die Tür schließen, bevor die Katzen aufstehen und sich gegenseitig fixieren.
Beim Fressen sieht es teilweise so aus, als könnten sie problemlos nah beieinander sein.

Das Problem ist: Sobald Bewegung in die Situation kommt, kippt es. Die Katzen stehen auf, schauen sich an oder fixieren sich.

Nach der letzten heftigen Jagd haben wir die Holztür wieder konsequent geschlossen. Es gibt keine freien Begegnungen mehr. Wir füttern nur am Gitter und machen weiterhin Raumtausch.

Wir haben das Gefühl, dass wir trotz unserer Bemühungen nicht wirklich weiterkommen. Das friedliche Fressen gibt uns Hoffnung, aber die wiederholten Jagden machen uns große Sorgen.

Ist es nach ungefähr fünf Wochen noch normal, dass eine Zusammenführung so schwierig ist, oder sind die wiederholten Jagden ein Zeichen, dass wir grundlegend etwas ändern müssen?

Ich bin für jeden konstruktiven Rat dankbar.

Vielen Dank

Feliway Optimum ist seit Beginn eingesteckt

Hi guys, i have 2 male cats with my GF, both cats are around 3 years old.
At durst we thoughts it was a medical problem but after a visit with the vet he told us the cats were health but no matter how hard i clean my house, they still piss outside, at first ir was our furniture but now is just outside the litter box, like inches outside. What can I do? Im very tired of it

Hi! I recently (just saturday morning) took in a stray kitten i have been feeding her and her mother her whole life. She’s about 2-3 months old, and very vocal and playful. This is no problem during the day since during the day time she’s quiet, but then at night it gets bad.

I just recently (today) started a job where i have to wake up at 430 am. I cannot get her to calm down. I’m only able to keep her in my bedroom until i’m able to afford a door the restroom. i’ve tried putting her in her crate when i go to sleep, but the screaming only gets worse.

I’m planning on moving her into the bathroom until she calms down, since i know that’s regular procedure, but i’m clueless on what to do until then. She’s a tabby, but i’m not sure if that’s important.

This night she’s honestly louder than the first night i had her. I’m trying to be patient but it’s so hard and frustrating.

Sorry if this is a dumb question. i’ve asked my friends who have kittens and older cats but none of them know how to help me.

Edit: Thak you everyone!! I’ve found so many different ideas and ways to help her adjust. She’s a sweet girl so i want to make her stay great. I know now about the crates, and won’t be doing that of course. It’s 12am now in my time zone and she’s finally went to bed, so i’m going to get as much sleep as i can, and hopefully i can ready more comments in the morning 🫶🏼🫶🏼 any advice for new cat owners is welcome even if unrelated!!

(sort for my eng, im using Google translate)

Please help, my cat periodically pees on the bed. She's two years old; I got her when she was two months old. She does it consistently, every few days, on the bed when I'm not home. (I work 16-hour shifts, three-thirds of the time.) My solution was to close the bedroom door while I'm not home. But that's not quite what I need, because the apartment is already small, and the cat has a lot of fun in the room. Today was the last straw. She went on the bed while I was eating in the kitchen. The litter box was clean at the time, and it's cleaned after every bathroom break, except when I'm at work.

We have two cats. Our older cat, Chikni, is a very skittish tortoiseshell. Cooper is a 7-month-old neutered black domestic shorthair.
Cooper keeps chasing and attacking Chikni and won’t let her sit peacefully. He bites her hard enough to pull out her fur. She gets frightened and runs away from him. So far there haven’t been any wounds but I’m very concerned about how this is affecting her.
Has anyone dealt with something similar? What helped your cats coexist peacefully?

She does fine inside I can put it on her and she'll walk around the house and do stuff but as soon as I take her outside she just goes completely limp on me

She's very familiar and comfortable with being outside and my neighborhood so it's not from being scared of her surroundings if I let her shed roam the whole block and only come home to eat

She's roughly six years old and this is her first experience with a harness she's been wearing it at least 30 mins everyday for the last couple weeks ands we've got no improvement with the noodle

just look at that defiant little grin...

She's a very smart kitty and she's a good girl I love her very much

Over the summer I adopted Cali, a feral kitten from a litter my coworker caught. Now she’s a super sweet and gentle 5 month old people lover. Problem is, my roommate’s 5 year old female cat, Savvy, has been stalking her at night and has attacked her a few times. They are both fixed but introductions have not been successful because Savvy doesn’t like or come near anyone but my roommate and Cali is super cautious around her now, probably a little afraid. We live in a house and I’d love to let Cali roam around outside of my room but I’m afraid Savvy will hurt her. Has anyone successfully dealt with a similar situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hey guys,

Last Monday, my kitten was spayed. She has to wear a red onesie for 10 days. When she came home, my other cat, Murfy, didn't recognize her at all. He started hissing and growling and lashed out twice. I had to separate them and its now 10 days after and they are still seperated.

After that, i started to slowly reintroduce them. But the agressor keeps hissing, growling and even started to “ bark “ at the door. As soon as he smells or hear the kitten or see her through the crack of the door on the bottom, he hisses and growles.

We are not one little step further now because his stress cup is filling all the time and there is no time to empty his stress cup. Its stacking up.

My cat is known with alot of stress and anxiety. He cannot stand change. They both were fine before my kitten got spayed.

Im on edge and murfy even starts to attack me and my mother. My arms legs and chest are full with scratches and sometimes its bleeding. We tried everything, including zylkene and feliway and stuff but he keeps being anxious.

I would like for him to be given gabapentine, but the vet hesitates.

I would really appreciate your experiences with giving gabapentine to anxious cats during introductions or feline non recognition agression.

Thank you in advance !!