Cat attacks me (and slaps the kitten) when new kitten is around!?

Question

I got a new kitten 5 days ago. I followed all of the introduction steps. Separated them, let them have a blankie with each others smells on it. Introduced them through the door (they sniffed each other and rubbed their bodies on the baby gate) fed them on opposite sides of the room, gave them treats while the other was around to associate positive things with each other. Now, this is their first night in the same room together. It's 5 am and I've been up since 4am. My resident cat slaps the new kitten around whenever he comes near her or touches any of the toys or tries to climb onto my bed. He is confined to staying under the bed and if she sees him peeking from under the bed, she hisses and growls at him. He's a bit timid, but does defend himself by swiping back at her. But if she's on the ledge above where he eats, he won't even go to drink water. I was afraid he'd be attacked, so I put him in a carrying case on my bed while I slept for a bit. Then I let him out so he could have a drink of water and use the litter box if needed. My resident cat then attacked ME! She hissed, growled, swiped and bit my cheek. (she didn't break skin but she let me know she wasn't happy) So now, my resident cat is in the carrier on my bed while I allow the kitten some safe play time. I CANNOT allow the kitten to be banished to life under the bed. It's not right and he can't lead a happy life that way. Any advice?

Answer 1

Your resident cat is jealous as h**l. Pure and simple. One thing I'd try is Feliway (synthetic cat hormones that calm cats down and make them feel safe) but also give it time and maybe keep them seperated for a while longer. There will come a time when the kitten can fight back so this won't be an issue forever.

Good luck.

Answer 2

First answer is a good one.  I wanted to get another cat for my cat as a companion, but am afraid, because my cat does sort of these things to me already.  She hisses and growls at me when I take her out in the yard and another cat comes around.  She hisses at that cat too, she swipes at it.  

My cat is not friendly to start with...she bites me when she is mad but she also bites me to play with me when I walk down the hall.  I have bite marks on my legs.  I love her to death and have never hit her just said NO....firmly.  I need advice too.  Sorry I can't be more help.

Answer 3

She perhaps lashed out at you in frustration if she couldn't get at the kitten.  Territory means everything to a cat and the thought of losing it is really stressful for some of them (it's the equivalent of humans being evicted and made redundant at the same time).  This is why it's really important to ensure that the resident cat keeps the run of the home whilst the new cat is at first kept separate in a smaller area.  If your cat feels reassured that she's still in control of her territory and not in danger of losing it, she will learn to tolerate his presence.

You're doing all the right things and have gotten the introductions off to a good start, but you may just need to keep them separated for a little longer.  Our female cat though very loving towards us, is highly territorial.  When she was six months old we adopted a young kitten and it took almost a month of slow and gradual introduction before she could tolerate his presence without hissing or wanting to beat him up.  

This link has good advice on introducing cats which you may find helpful.

http://www.wizz-catz.co.uk/introducing.h...

Feliway can also help calm a tense atmosphere as it's an aroma that mimics the "friendly" scent found in cats' facial glands.  (You may need to use it for around 3 weeks before you begin to see benefits.)

Be patient it can take some cats longer than others to accept a new cat, it all depends upon their personalities.

Good luck