Getting Cats to Live Together...
 

Hi people. I was just wondering if anyone knew any good resources to get cats to live together, without killing each other.

See, my younger brother recently got himself a kitten, and every so often he visits and leaves his cat with us. My cat does not like the other cat, and will not hesitate to take a swipe at the younger one.

My cat Mew, is female and kitten's name is Meek. He also looks like he's going to be a *BIG* cat, given his paw size & tail width.

I don't like having to always lock up Mew into a spare room, or stick her outside, but on the other hand, Meek is very stupid and has no common sense.

Fer instance, on the occasions where I've tried to feed Meek & Mew together, Meek can't help but trot up to Mew. Also, I've gotten Mew to come in & just lay down. Again, Meek just trots up to Mew.

In addition, he isn't a yard cat. Not only does he walk in the middle of the street on the few occasions where he's been let out, but he has no sense of remaining in a restricted area. So if left to his own devices, its inevitable that he'd end up getting very lost.

So any advice?

Sky Warrior Bob

Hmmm...the only advice I can think is to let them get used to each other. We had a cat who was with us for quite some time (16 years, to be exact), and he had to go through several new cats. The swiping thing, I assume, is just the older cat making sure the other one knows who is in charge. My old cat did this to our dog, who was about 3 times his size when we got her, and she knew to respect him after that.

Of course, if Meek and Mew don't usually live in the same place, I really don't know what to tell ya.

My cat would probably get along with another cat, but definetally not with my next door neighbor's cat. He's huge and he bullies around my cat whenever she gets outside...

Well, mostly I agree with Toast here, but I have a question. How long do you usually take care of the kitten?

I have lots of cats, so here's my advice:

The older cat is just asserting its authority. This happens alot with my cats, older cats just generally don't like kittens that didn't come out of them. It's natural, and if you let them stay together for a bit(without interfering), they will normally get used to one another. Mew still might not like Meek much, but she won't take every opportunity to hit the kitten anymore.

One thing to do, try not to pay too much attention to the kitten, and leave the older Mew alone. She will get very jealous, very quickly. Try to pay just as much, or more attention to Mew. It will make things easier.

Now, for the food thing. I have to ask a question. When Mew swipes at the kitten, does she bat it a little bit, then back up on her hunches? If so, she isn't trying to hurt Meek. She is just protecting her food. So, put their food bowls a little away from each other, as in not right beside one another. Get them used to going to a certain one. If Meek wonders over to Mew's bowl, just let what happens happen. Mew will swat Meek, and Meek will learn not to go around Mew when she's eating.

If Mew jumps on her, however, you'll probably just have to keep them in separate rooms. Maybe put Mew and Meek in rooms right beside one another, but with the door closed, so they will get used to each other's scent.

Meek is just looking for someone to play with, so make sure to have some string(tie it to something and have it dangling down. Most of my cats seem to love that for some reason), and some other toys the kitten can play with around.

That's really all I've got right now. Ask me more questions if you need to. I'll try to answer the best I can.

In response to an earlier question: Meek can stay with us as long as a week at a time, or just overnight. It diepends how long my bro drops him off for.

It just isn't about food, Mew takes an odd swipe at Meek all the time. Usually, we never let contact happen. When I was talking about the food aspect, and on the odd occasion where Mew attempts to tolerate the kitten, I was pointing out how the kitten stupidity/curiosity doesn't help matters, and he continues to get in Mew's face.

Sky Warrior Bob

I'd say just let them be. Mew will swipe Meek a good one a few times, and then they'll settle down. This is just typical of older cat/kitten relationships, especially if Meek is a fairly young kitten. As long as Mew isn't letting out her claws when she batts at him, everything should work out fine.

Of course, I'm assuming you get Meek fairly often. If its every other week or so, this still might work, if its only once a month(or longer), then it probably won't.

Sorry it took me so long to reply, I wasn't able to get on yesterday.

just get lucky and they like each other

get them stonned out of there liltel kitty mindes with catnip, all cats can bond over catnip. no sereolsy i got 5 cats and thats how i did it.

my cats grew up together so they dont have problems.
we normally keep the kittens with thier mom till they can use the litter box and eat hard food.