Thread: Older cats not accepting new kittens

I have had 2 new MC kittens for about 3 months.

My existing MC cats are 3 years old. The female has never been over friendly to us or to the other cat. She keeps herself to herself, although has rare moments of being really affectionate. The male cat has been the perfect cat so far; really friendly, talkative, always near you, always calm and playful.

When the kittens arrived we introduced them gradually to the others, and continued to give masses of time to the older cats. However, the male cat hissed and growled right from the start. The female avoided them unless they came too close when she would hiss. Since then the female cat has stayed out a lot more and is less affectionate towards us. Somedays she hardly shows up at all, except for food. She has lost a bit of weight. I am not too worried about her, although things could be better.

The male cat is my biggest worry. He is obviously jealous. He was used to being the centre of attention, and despite us being as attentive and loving towards him as we have always been, he is now a really unhappy cat. He has become angry and aggressive. He will attack the kittens if they come too close. He also turns his aggression on us. He growls and scratches if you get too close. I have actually been scared of him, although tried not to show him this. When the kittens are not around he can be fine, but rarely as lovable as he used to be.

The kittens were both neutered 2 weeks ago. I had thought when they were no longer tomcats he might accept them more.This has not happened.

I have tried Feliway, for the last 5 weeks. Both the plug in one, and a spray. The vet has put him on Zyklene for the past 2 weeks, but I have yet to see a huge difference.

If anyone has been through this I would appreciate some advice. I really love all my cats so much, but feel I am living in a war zone at times.


catkrazy