Kitten Behavior Problem?

Question
Hi, we just adopted two kittens from separate liters at the shelter.  One is 6 weeks and wonderful... the other is 2 months, both females.  The 2 month cat is a black medium hair.  She was very good at the shelter, however, once home, she is very shy and hides.  However, as soon as she thinks nobody is looking, she sneaks up on the little kitten and attacks it in a semi playful, semi malicious manor.  She plays really roughly with her claws out.  She is also compltely psychotic playing with the knit balls the shelter gave us.  She sprints back and forth from hiding, she s clawing at everything, blankets, curtains, climbing the walls...  she is skit-ish, and although she will let us pick her up, the second we sit down with her she runs away, back behind the couch.  I also think she s eaten almost nothing in 4 days.  I don t know if this is normal, and i m not sure if it s okay to leave her alone with the little 6 week old kitten.  Any advise would be gratefully accepted, right now we re about ready to take the crazy one back to the shelter...

Answer
Hi Jamie.  Every kitten has her own personality, and if you fear this black one won't fit in with your family, it would be best to bring her back to the shelter right away, while she's still young and adoptable.

I can say that every cat I've fostered or owned has ended up getting along decently with everyone else in the house for the most part.  Spats are part of life and must be expected now and then, but most cats who aren't terribly compatible will at least ignore each other.

It's always good to be extra careful when introducing cats.  At this young age, even a week of age makes a big difference between them.  It's no surprise that your younger one might be bullied a little bit.  This isn't completely unexpected, and there's certainly nothing wrong with keeping them separated while you're not there to closely surpervise.  In fact, most cats take a couple of weeks or more before they should be left alone together.

Honestly, I think what you need most is time.  The two will almost certainly work their struggles out (over 99% of cats will get along with others, and this is a conservative number when dealing with kittens), and she will calm down with age.  

I'd recommend using Soft Claws on her so that she's unable to scratch the other kitten or claw at anything.  I use them with my own cats when needed.  Never had a single problem getting my cats to wear them.  You can get them in kitten size at pet stores or through www.softclaws.com.

The eating does concern me.  Moving to a new home can be stressful and cause some loss of appetite, but she needs to be eating decently.  If the shelter gave you a certificate for a free vet check, I'd use it and get her in right away.  Sometimes the stress of a move lowers their resistance to infection, and they actually become sick on top of stressed.