Bad Behavior

Question
I have a 4 year old Ragdoll/siamese mix cat. Her name is Moo Shu..I've had her since she was a baby. We just recently brought an 8 week old kitten into the home (on Sunday,8th). Moo Shu is not adjusting very well to this AT ALL! Im not sure how long it should take for them to begin to get along. The kitten spends most of her time locked in a different room. I let the kitten run around the whole place about once a day. When Moo Shu see's her she growls and hisses with her mouth wide open and showing teeth! and its not getting any easier. To top it all off, two days ago i noticed that she has started to cut back on how much she eats, now today, she didnt eat anything all day! Im worried! Please help me understand this better.. :o(

Answer
Hi Tammy.  It takes most cats about 2 weeks to begin to adjust a newcomer, some longer.  I would recommend that when you allow the new baby to run around the home, you put Moo Shu in the kitten's room and allow her to sniff out the baby's belongings, rather than see the little one face-to-face.  Try to do this exercise a few times a day so they can get used to one anothers' scents without a direct confrontation.  Another good trick to use is to rub the kitten with a towel, especially along the cheeks, and then present it to Moo Shu to sniff.  Then repeat this using a towel on Moo Shu to show the kitten.  The cats will become familiar indirectly.  When it comes time to introduce them face-to-face in another week or two, they will already know one another by scent, and this can help the introduction go much more smoothly.

Additionally, it's a good idea to feed the cats tasty treats at the same time on opposite sides of a closed door.  They'll be able to hear and smell each other and see motion under the door, but they won't be able to reach one another, which takes the fear out of things to a great extent.  As they enjoy their food, they will come to associate one another's presence with the positive experience of mealtime.

However, that means getting Moo Shu to eat!  There are a few cats who will go on hunger strike for a day or two when a newcomer first comes home, but this is quite uncommon - it's more often the new kitties who won't eat.  I'm worried that Moo Shu's loss of appetite might not be entirely related to her being upset about the kitten.  She may be suffering from a physical illness.  The introduction of a new cat can be stressful, and if she was suppressing anything, it may have finally won over now that her energy is being used to battle nerves.  It's very common for cats who are carrying diseases such as the herpes or calici viruses to have a flare up during times of stress (up to 90% of cats have one or both of these).  So I would really recommend to get Moo Shu checked out by a vet.

If all is well, you can try feeding Moo Shu special treats of boiled chicken breast, stage one meat baby food and even a little tuna.  Your vet could give you a prescription food with a strong aroma to encourage her to eat, such as Hill's a/d.  This food can be force fed if she won't eat after another day or so.

You might want to use a product called Feliway to help the introduction go more smoothly.  This is a synthetic facial pheromone, which helps promote a feeling of calm in the household.  It comes in a spray bottle or a plug-in diffuser, which I use in my own home.  It's excellent for use at all times but is especially important to use during times of change, like this.  You can learn more about how it works at www.feliway.com  It's available at pet stores and online, as well as through some vets.  As far as I have found, the initial plug-in set ups tend to be least expensive on amazon.com.  I would allow the diffusers to start working for a few days before attempting to introduce them face-to-face again.  

Try to give Moo Shu a couple of weeks to accept the fact that there's a new kitten in the home before allowing them to interact.  Then, begin with 15-minute visits.  Separate them sooner if the visit goes too horribly (although some hissing is to be expected).  A slow introduction is THE key to success.

Best wishes to you all!

Jessica