View Single Post
  #10  
Old June 23rd 04, 06:25 PM
kaeli
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article ,
enlightened us with...

On day 2 Hummy is a little better, but still aggressive. He only
growls and hisses whenever he sees Normy (on day 1 he growled all day
long). He also no longer hisses if he smells Normy on our hands. But
he still gets very upset and hisses and appears aggressive whenever he
sees Normy.


Wow, that's a lot of progress for one day. Seriously.


Anyways, my question is whether its normal for such a young cat to be
so upset towards a new cat, and how long in general does it take
before both cats can live with one another.


Give it more time. It took my one girl only a couple weeks to accept a
newcomer, but my other girl couldn't stand him for months. Actually, it
was over 6 months before she'd let him closer than a few feet from her.
They now play together and I even caught her letting him groom her.

Two days is nothing. If in two weeks he still hisses, that would still
be pretty normal. Two months and they should be much better.
The amount of time is very much dependent on the cats involved, so it's
hard to say how much is "normal". You'll have it easier because the one
is such a baby still that he shouldn't be seen as a real threat, just a
nuisance, by your older kitten.

As long as no one is attacking anyone, no need to worry over it.
Keep in mind that what we see as aggression sometimes isn't. My cats
still hiss at each other if one starts being annoying. It's just the way
they tell each other that they've really had enough. Your older one may
hiss at the younger one just to tell him not to play rough or to tell
him that's he's done playing.
The noises they make when they're play-fighting can be pretty scary,
too. If I didn't know them, I'd think they were killing each other when
they really get into it. But no one has a mark on them and they groom
each other afterwards.

I'd only worry if there's blood or if the younger kitten becomes too
afraid to act normally (won't go into the room, won't play, won't eat,
or won't potty). Other than that, they tend to settle things on their
own time.

--
--
~kaeli~
Condoms should be used on every conceivable occasion.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace