# How to Stop New Kitten Pestering Adult Cat?



## huddie (Jun 7, 2014)

Hi. I could really use some help. 

We have an 8yr old male cat - Horace - and have just taken a 10 week old kitten - Kara. She's settled in really well and is happy. However, despite our worries, Horace has not been jealous or aggressive towards her and is, in fact, extremely tolerant and passive with her, to a point. You see, despite her age, she is the one hassling him. She bites his legs, wakes him, pounces on him, puts him in a kind of cat headlock, chases his tail, etc., and does so constantly. Horace can only take so much before he has to gently rebuke her, however, we're discovering that Kara does not know the meaning of 'no'. This is leading to Horace's rebukes getting more violent. It's not his fault - she is, in fact, a massive pain in the ass for him. He usually turns away or issues a threat, but when a rebuke comes it usually involves him biting her as she rolls over on her back - a submissive posture even though she continues to bite and scratch. 

The problem is escalating, with Horace visibly anxious when she's in the room and watching her all the time. What is play for Kara is going to end up getting her seriously hurt or killed. Horace is extremely good with her but is not a passive cat and is no stranger to a scrap. I've started keeping Kara locked in the living room to separate them for now so Horace can relax. However, I don't like this as animals should have their freedom. 

What should I do to correct Kara's behaviour?


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Hi Huddie welcome to PF. 

I was hoping on reading the title it would be a simple case of let the older cat give the kitten a slap or two and all will be well ... but I can see your concern. Although adult cats like most species have an inbuilt tolerance for the boisterousness of youngsters, Kara clearly is not learning the boundaries and the last thing you need is a stressed Horace. 

Giving him a break from her sounds like the right thing to do. If you do this at the same time each day he will get to know that this is the routine and hopefully this will help him. Do you play with Kara a lot? Remember she has come from a mother and littermates and all she did was play with others. Possibly at 10 weeks her mother had not yet really taught her that getting a cuff means that's enough, or maybe she doesn't yet see Horace as the boss and she's still testing the boundaries. When you say you've "just" got Kara, are we talking first few days? Because if it's that early it may still be all part of their sorting themselves out.


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## huddie (Jun 7, 2014)

Thanks ForeverHome. We've had her for about 3 weeks. You've raised some interesting and valid points there. I plan to confine her to the living room while we're at work (office hours) and any other times when Horace looks like he's had enough. I hope she grows out of it before he ends up hating her and attacking her. 

I'd be angry at her if only she wasn't so damn affectionate and adorable (see attached). 

Let me know if you think that's a good idea.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Kara is adorable 
Separating them when you are not there is a must for now. They do sound like they might get along in time, it's still very much early days.
When Kara is calm it might be worth feeding them near eachother and then giving fusses to both cats to get them used to being close without the aggro. Have you tried playing with them together with something like a string toy or laser pen? Make sure Kara has lots of toys - the Kong Kickeroo comes highly recommended for boisterous kittens


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## huddie (Jun 7, 2014)

Thanks Moggie. I do feed them together as they eat out of each other's bowls (oddly, this causes no conflict). Horace just needs a break each day it seems.


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## lorien (Feb 18, 2014)

She is beautiful! 
My cat Heidi was exactly the same with my oldest when we got her. She is tortoiseshell too so maybe they are a bit slower to catch on! She clearly adored the older cat and wanted constant attention from her. She's always been more of a cats cat so wasn't really bothered about playing with us. We too had to separate them when we were not around until i fostered a kitten that had been found dumped by a canal. 
Heidi suddenly had someone nearer her age and who wanted the same type of play. They became inseparable and I've had to adopt him permanently! She now leaves the other cat alone and its all much happier! I know getting another cat is a bit drastic, and wouldn't recommend that as a solution to anyone without real consideration of the consequences. 
I do however think cats are more tolerant of those that are a similar age to them and when your cat Kara becomes an adult she may well calm down a bit and abide by the cat boundaries.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

huddie said:


> Thanks Moggie. I do feed them together as they eat out of each other's bowls (oddly, this causes no conflict). Horace just needs a break each day it seems.


Well that's a very good sign :thumbup1:
Whilst Horace is elsewhere in the house having 'me' time you could try wearing Kara out with lots of playing so she is tired when around him


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

I like Moggie14's suggestion there. 

There are lots of good signs in there, you're just not seeing them because you're wrapped up in worry about Horace getting irritated by the incessant attention of a new kitten. You say she is annoying him "despite" her age - not at all, this is exactly what I'd expect, the older cat to be somewhere between patient and righteous indignation, but for the kitten to be doing the irritating wanting to play all the time, pouncing on tail, chewing ears, getting up to mischief. Kids annoy grown-ups, it's well known 

- He is very patient and good with her - tolerant and passive (your words!)
- They share bowls
- There doesn't appear to be any hissing (fear)
- There isn't any actual aggression as you've described it so far
- It's been 3 weeks and there hasn't actually been any real slapping
- The only reason you need to separate them is because Horace needs a break, so it's duration not intensity that's peeing him off. 

A daily break at the same time will establish the routine for them both and do them both good. You're off to a really good start there. And work time is a really good chunk of time. Would you be able to keep to that same routine at weekends?

When Horace gets annoyed, what does he actually do? Can you talk us through it?


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

I just dug this up for you 




Watch through the whole playlist - apart from falling in love with this pair if you don't already know them, they will give you a pretty good idea of normal levels of what looks "not good" to us. All the hissing and slapping from Shorty is perfectly normal and nothing to worry about. I don't think he says at any stage how much he separated them etc as he's not really about instructional videos. I find him really helpful nonetheless. Oh and entertaining.

"Love Wins" probably shows the most kitten bashing - Kodi was not harmed at all, this is absolutely normal.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

ForeverHome said:


> I just dug this up for you
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for posting FH  I loved those videos - my fave is the 1st playtime - you forget how hilarious and goofy kittens are at that age. Kodi's little hisses and growls were soo cute :thumbup1:


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

moggie14 said:


> Thanks for posting FH  I loved those videos - my fave is the 1st playtime - you forget how hilarious and goofy kittens are at that age. Kodi's little hisses and growls were soo cute :thumbup1:


Tell me about it ... it was the summer of 1987 that I last had a kitten around


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Sounds like she wants to play a lot more than he does. The more you play with her, the better.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Thanks for the link Foreverhome - I hadn't seen the gorgeous pair before Kodi is such a liddle cutie, and Shorty is very beautiful (I love longhaired black cats:001_wub

It is interesting how differently cats can react when introduced to a kitten. The experience of integrating my 2 female kittens with my adult boys (all aged around 4 yrs) has been very instructive for me. 

One of my adult males was interested in playing with the kittens almost right from the start. I don't recall there ever being any hissing or swiping from that male and only a little swiping from the more volatile of the 2 kittens. 

Very quickly the adult responded to the girls attempts to play with him and began instigating play with them himself. It was/is a delight to watch. 

A completely different story with my other 2 adult males, who spent many weeks being unsure and suspicious of the kittens, hissing at them, or running away. The girls were confident with them from the start, and this seemed to unnerve the boys. It took months of gradual integration and plenty of time apart each day to get to the point where they can all be in the same room without the 2 boys becoming upset.

One of the cautious boys is now completely at ease with the girls, but still won't respond to the girls frequent attempts to play with him. He is a playful cat himself, and will often start frisking around with a toy, when the girls are dashing about, but he never joins in with any of their games. 

The other cautious boy loves to sit and watch the kittens, but the moment either of them approaches him jumps on the cat tree to avoid them, or runs off. I guess even tho the kits are now 1 year old he still finds them too boisterous for his taste!


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## ForeverHome (Jan 14, 2014)

Lots of interesting and different reactions CM as you say - but have you ever had an adult actually attack a kitten? I understand it's extremely rare, though many people worry about it happening, maybe because of the hissing. I've seen my own kittens and other people's kittens get away with murder and get a cuff for their pains, but when the adult has really had enough they just walk away and jump up on something high. I presume that's the norm?


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

A friend of mine brought her new kitten home and when she introduced kitty to her adult cat the adult cat grabbed the kitten fiercely by the throat and pinned her to the floor! 

My friend nearly had a heart attack - it looked so frightening - and she snatched the kitten away from the adult in haste. After that she kept the 2 cats separate for weeks, gradually integrating them. It worked out Ok in the end.

Hard to know whether the adult cat would really have done the little one any harm.....probably not, but I can understand my friend not wanting to take the risk. I'm sure I'd be the same.


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