I recently rescued 2 male kittens (one about 6 weeks and one 4 weeks)
They were infested with coccidia and roundworms and had upper
respiratory infections. After weeks of nursing they are now healthy and
in my heart. I plan on keeping them but I also have 4 adult cats. One of
whom is a 16 lb bully. He's only 2 1/2 yr old and attacks our other 2
1/2 yr old, 8 yr old and 6 yr old female. How do I integrate the kittens
into the household without him hurting them? The smallest is about 8
weeks now but only weighed . 8 lb when we got hi to the vet - today he
was 2 . 8 lb. The vet can't believe he lived and I don't want to see
either of them injured.
Please help!!!
biggerbadderbarry - 02 Jul 2005 02:18 GMT
> I recently rescued 2 male kittens (one about 6 weeks and one 4 weeks)
> <..>he lived and I don't want to see
> either of them injured.
> Please help!!!
You have a bully, but you never said if you had tried them on him or
not.
Maybe he will cut them some slack?
rose ricciuto - 02 Jul 2005 03:00 GMT
He's already showing aggression thru the sliding glass doors. I believe
the bully is a scared kitten - like most bullies - but the other adult
cats have systematically been terrorized by him.
These little guys are too small and have been thru too much already to
be exposed to him directly at least for a while.
I tried introducing the oldest cat tonight and it went fairly well. A
little hissing, a little arching of backs and mostly ignoring each
other. A lot of nose sniffing which is encouraging.
All our cats are feral rescues. The bully was 3 -4 months old. Probably
a snow bird cast away. He's terrified of gray haired women to this day.
He was so small and thin, we called him Munchkin and now he's 16 lb of
muscle and mean. Great with us - just mean to the other cats. Our last
rescue was Lucky - another 2 1/2 yr old that is so mellow it isn't
funny. He tried to play with Munch, but now he runs away from him.
We're at our wits end.
biggerbadderbarry - 02 Jul 2005 04:35 GMT
> He's already showing aggression thru the sliding glass doors. I believe
> <...>from him.
> We're at our wits end.
Oh hell just turn them all loose together, let them scramble a bit.
Ultimately, I don't think he would be as agressive towards the kittens
as he is the older cats. (this is good).
The little kittens, I know they seem fragile; but cats are cats, they
can learn something from the bully, and I tell ya, you never know. I
had a kitten bow up on me one time, I was afraid to touch him, he
really held his ground, he would have got me good If I had proceeded.
Keep us posted.
biggerbadderbarry - 03 Jul 2005 00:45 GMT
In fact, put them all in together and turn the lights out. Just kidding! lol
> > He's already showing aggression thru the sliding glass doors. I believe
> > <...>from him.
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Keep us posted.
rose ricciuto - 04 Jul 2005 17:03 GMT
So far I've introduced my 8yr old and 2 1/2 yr old cats to the kittens.
Both of them are feral rescues (as are all my cats) There was a lot of
hissing, spitting and a few paw whacks directed at the kittens who
immediately layed down and then proceeded to follow the bigger cat
anyway. I suppose it didn't go too badly but they are the most mellow
and didn't seem too friendly. I'll keep at it tho'.
The aggressive cat tried to get thru the glass in a vicious mode. He
was a throw away by a snow bird and has some serious psychological
issues.
Rose
Rhonda - 02 Jul 2005 03:53 GMT
Hi Rose,
I would probably wait a little while longer until they are a bit bigger.
I would rather err on the side of caution if you have a bully in the
house.
We introduced our kitten family to the other 4 cats when they were about
4 months old (they had the whole family room to roam.) We would at first
just open the door and let them sniff noses a little. The next night we
let them come out into the room for a short time. There was a lot of
running back to home base (the family room.)
Our other cats are pretty mellow, but there was some hissing at first.
We just did very short introductions until we felt better about it.
After they were okay for a few hours together, we would still close them
up at night when we weren't there to watch.
Good luck!
Rhonda
> I recently rescued 2 male kittens (one about 6 weeks and one 4 weeks)
> They were infested with coccidia and roundworms and had upper
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> either of them injured.
> Please help!!!
John Doe - 02 Jul 2005 11:12 GMT
> I recently rescued 2 male kittens (one about 6 weeks and one 4
> weeks) They were infested with coccidia and roundworms and had
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> 8 lb. The vet can't believe he lived and I don't want to see
> either of them injured. Please help!!!
Be sure to clip his claws. Of course he can bite too, but they do
major damage with their claws. Clipping his claws will put him at a
distinct disadvantage against cats near his weight class. I'm sure it
will help reduce injury to any other cats. That is the first thing I
consider when dealing with a bully.
CatNipped - 02 Jul 2005 16:51 GMT
> I recently rescued 2 male kittens (one about 6 weeks and one 4 weeks)
> They were infested with coccidia and roundworms and had upper
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> either of them injured.
> Please help!!!
Rose, kittens are usually easy to integrate into a clowder. They *know*
they are the lowest in hierarchy, and when they are confronted by an
older/bigger cat they will roll over and "cry uncle". While I would
definitely keep an eye on them as they interact with the other cats just to
be safe, I have *never* seen an older cat hurt a kitten.
It's instinctual for a cat to stop attacking a kitten when the kitten gives
out a high-pitched "mew" - in fact that's how I've always gotten kittens to
stop biting or scratching *me* before they get into that bad habit (try this
with your new kittens - get them to bite your hand and, when they do, give
out a loud, high-pitched "mew" and watch how they will immediately stop and
draw away).
I have what has to be the meanest cat on the planet (her nickname is "bitch
cat from hell"). This cat, at 6 weeks old, launched herself onto the face
of a pit-bull and latched her front claws behind is ears and her back claws
under his chin and proceeded to bite him about the forehead while he howled
and shook his head back and forth trying to shake her off (and when he did
manage to detach her she chased him home with his tail tucked between his
legs). I always warn guests to stay away from her, but one guys, who owned
large dogs, scoffed at that. He waited until my husband and I were out of
the room and then walked over to where she was laying under the coffee table
and poked at her with his foot. My husband and I heard yowling (she sounds
just like a cougar) and screaming and ran back into the living room to see
this guy standing on the backrest of our couch, hugging the wall, and
screaming, "Get her away from me, get her away from me!".
None of my other adult cats can get anywhere near her without being
attacked.
When we got Sammy, *this* is how they interacted:
http://www.gcmensa.org/sammy2/DCP_1452.jpg
and
http://www.gcmensa.org/sammy2/DCP_1453.jpg
and
http://www.gcmensa.org/sammy2/DCP_1451.jpg
But they ended up like this:
http://www.possibleplaces.com/CatNipped/Sammy1/DCP_1432.jpg
Hugs,
CatNipped
rose ricciuto - 02 Jul 2005 22:52 GMT
Thanks for the advice! I'll have to wait for my husband to get home to
clip those claws - no way I can do him by himself! Even clipped he
leaves scabs on our female's tail. She just runs now when she sees him.
I let our oldest "Panther" out with the kittens for awile last night and
he was NOT impressed. He was hissing (fear!) while the oldest kitten
just wanted to go nose to nose. They swapped scent for bit and then
Panther wanted back into the house. The kittens are currently on a large
enclosed porch with AC. I'm going to try Mr. Lucky tonight - he's 2 1/2
and very mellow.
Don't want to let them all together yet. I'm afraid if I roll over
during the night I'd squash Peanut. He's so tiny, it's pathetic. And he
does a great "mew" when the bigger kitten rolls him around. Then of
course he just dives back in!!
Rose