Adult cat and kitten fighting

Question
I have two cats, the older is 5 and I found her HBC on the side of the road (due to location and condition the emergency vet suspected she was a barn cat) when she was 6mo old and she was an only cat up until 3 months ago. I acquired a 4week old orange kitten whose mother was killed and he is now 4 1/2 months. I introduced them slowly and my older cat mostly ignored him and seemed otherwise ambivalent to his presence. That was up until he got big enough to jump on her. Partly its his personality as he jumps on literally everything that moves. The problem is he wont leave her alone no matter how much she swats/growls/hisses at him and it usually ends up in them fighting and him chasing her all over the house. Sometimes it seems like they're playing and the fights end quickly but other times the older cat will be snarling big time while they fight. He's scheduled to get fixed when he turns 6mo as that is what my vet recommends and I hope that will help some. Until then I'd like some advice on how to diffuse these encounters and calm things down between them. She seems to be fine with him as long as he leaves her mostly alone, but he just cant seem to help himself.

Answer
Alex,

It sounds to me like your little man is a rowdy little adolescent who hasn't quite figured out how the world works and he's getting into more than his share of mischief. Sometimes that happens in male cats before they're neutered. I'd recommend having him scheduled to be neutered as soon as possible, some veterinarians will do the surgery on kittens as young as 2-3 months, my own vet will do the surgery between 4-6 months and up, some vets refuse to spay/neuter a kitten under 6-8 months of age. The sooner your little man is neutered the sooner his testosterone levels will drop meaning that he's less likely to be quite as aggressive with your older cat. If the vet isn't able to do the surgery ASAP then you may find that providing your older kitty with a safe place she can escape to that's off limits to the teenage boy with hormones flying everywhere will help to defuse the situation somewhat. There are a number of humane disciplinary tools that are somewhat effective when trying to end bad behavior, it's best to remain out of sight if at all possible while you use loud items like the air horn or shaker can because you don't want the kitty to associate you with negative consequences. Have you tried the following ideas as humane disciplinary techniques:

- spray bottle set on stream squirting the kitten

Some cats will stop in their tracks if you squirt them with a stream of water.

- air horn

Very loud, extremely annoying and probably not acceptable if you live in an apartment building, but it's effective, again though it's not something you want to point directly at anyone since it's so loud.

- shaker can (can filled with dried beans, lentils or pennies then sealed closed for easy shaking#

Perfect idea if you are able to use it, however it really means that you'll have to get out of sight before using it, and sometimes when one cat is antagonizing another it's not a practical solution.

- cans of compressed air #the kind used to clean computer keyboards and other electronics#

This is usually a very effective way to deal with bad behavior because cats of all ages immediately recognize the hissing sound as a warning. Using this tool has some risk though, the cans have propellents inside that can cause serious frostbite so it's important that you don't allow children to use this tool, so it's important that nobody EVER points the can directly at the cat's body or face.

- Time outs

Short time outs in a kennel or small bathroom have worked for me with some cats, but the time out has to be immediate and swiftly executed. I wouldn't suggest leaving the cat in his kennel for longer than 5-10 minutes at a time if the cage isn't large enough for a water dish and litter box. Ideally what you would do if you saw your older feline lady being approached by the mischievous upstart #according to the lady's esteemed opinion# you'll need to drop whatever you're doing at that time and swiftly stop the unwanted advances by picking up your little man and placing him immediately into his kennel.

- Giving your older kitty a place she can rest comfortably in without fear of harassment from her baby brother

If you give your older kitty a place of her own where she can escape to you may find that she's calmer.

- Providing interactive play time

If at all possible you may want to try providing 2-3 hours of interactive play accomplished through a number of short play sessions with a cat's favorite people #those of us who fill their bowls and clean their litter# per day with each of the cats will help tremendously for your little girl to burn off tension and your little man to burn off excess energy. A variety of kitty teases or a laser pointer can provide hours of entertainment for your feline friends. A tired kitty is a good kitty, and a good kitty makes everyone happy.

- Entertaining bored kitties

If your cats don't have enough to do on their own during your workday they may resort to bugging each other purely because they're bored stiff. There are a number of ways to do this from setting up a kitty cookie/toy treasure hunt to throwing a catnip party - all you need for a catnip party is enough #at least one per cat, since there is some bullying happening it might be best to make up several catnip presents so that everyone gets to enjoy at least one# paper lunch bags to wrap a present for each of your cats, some really good organic catnip, a toy or two for each cat's present, some imagination and about 3 minutes of your time. You may find that preparing the feline gifts out of the presence of watchful eyes and powerful noses is more entertaining when the kids do get their presents. You'll unfold each paper lunch bag so that it's standing up, then you'll rub a couple of pinches of catnip between your thumb and finger firmly to release the scent of the catnip so that your cats will be interested. Next you can add kitty treats and a couple of new toys #or at least ones the cats haven't seen for awhile#. The final steps to throwing the perfect catnip party include tightly folding the opening of the lunch bag down repeatedly until the bag stays closed and hide a couple of the catnip presents in different areas of the house so that the cats find them when you're out running errands or working.

- Taking your kitties to the movies

There is a series of videos out there specifically designed for cats called the Cat Sitter dvds, these videos are designed to entertain cats for different periods of time when nobody's at home. The footage on the first two videos includes mice, hamsters, birds at a bird feeder, squirrels and wildlife. The third video has footage of fish swimming in a massive aquarium, this one only works if your cats like watching fish, in our household our cats enjoy the birds, rodents and wildlife better. The great thing about Cat Sitter dvds is that they're designed to play on a loop until you get home which means that your cats can entertain themselves without bugging each other.

- Providing real kitty television right in your yard

Cats love to watch small song birds and stalk them, putting a bird feeder in your yard and filling it with bird seed meant specifically to attract small song birds and providing the cats with a great view of the action on homemade or commercially available perches often helps with boredom #if you own the home). The idea is to make sure to provide your cats with some enrichment so that they can share a more pleasant bond with one another and their human caregivers.

- Allowing your kitties to get some fresh air

I'm not a big proponent of indoor/outdoor cats because there are several serious dangers that cats who are allowed to roam may face. You may find that building a kitty run from chicken wire and/or chain link fencing is a great way for the cats to enjoy fresh air and watching birds, bugs and other critters go about their daily routine. If at all possible this is a situation where it would be good if the cats could access their run on their own terms by coming and going through a cat door, but again this is something that pretty much requires you to own your home or have a fairly permissive landlord.

Hopefully this answer has given you some ideas to help bring peace back into the household. If you have any further questions, concerns or you'd like me to clarify anything within this answer, please feel free to contact me again and I'll do my absolute best to provide you with the answers you need.