I rescued an about 5 month old cat last year, she's never been overly friendly w

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   DeMina314posted 13 years ago

   I rescued an about 5 month old cat last year, she's never been overly friendly with us or our...
   
   kids. We care for her and have treated her with respect, giving her her space and she's been fine. Just recently we got a kitten because our children are younger and want a pet they can actually handle. My older cat hissing at the new kitten was expected, the hissing at us was not. Not only does she hiss at us when we come near, she runs away and won't let us hold her. Is there anything we can do? Will she go back to normal?

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2. 71

   ddsurfscaposted 13 years ago

   I had my sons cat, then he took him back home and I got my own.  About 5 months later he had to leave town, and we took his cat in again, and we had this exact problem.  It is a territorial thing. 
   It took ours about 3 or 4 months before they would exist in the same room with one another.  Sometimes putting the newcommer into a kitty crate and leaving them in a room together helps./  That way they cannot hurt one another but still get to know each other. 
   Try not to favor either one, for jealousy is a big problem. For some reason my older boy cat hissed and growled a lot, and when I scolded him he did it more, but if i pet him and told him he was a good cat, he stopped immediately. 
   I would not worry too much, but if things do get rough and they fight, sometimes a squirter bottle with water in it will stop that but dont do it very much.  Dont feed them close together, but in time move their dishes closer a bit each day.;  You cannot force them to be friends but usually the younger cat will pursue the friendship.  Cats make a lot of noise getting aquainted, so dont let the hissing and growling bug you too much.  Sounds like the first cat just needs to be reassured and give her time.

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   glassvisageposted 13 years ago

   We had this issue when we babysat (catsat?) a cat. Our own cats got very scared, so scared that they hissed at us too because they were upset. I don't know if cats every get out of that because we've never had other cats around ours for more than a few weeks. In that time, the cats never got along and we had to keep them separate. I don't think it's fair to get a new cat without seeing if it gets along with your existing cats. I know some people who get rid of the old one when it doesn't get along with the new one, and I just think that's the worst. I don't like adding stress unnecessarily to a cat's life.

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