The Personality of Your Older Pet

Even if your older dog or cat has lived peacefully with other animals in the house, there is no guarantee that he will welcome a new kitten with joy, or even tolerance!

Some benign older animals will readily accept any pet brought into the home. Usually, however, even the calmest dog or cat will be concerned at the appearance of a new kitten.

When you bring a new kitten into the home, your older dog or cat will need lots of extra attention. He needs to know that you still love him and that the newcomer is not a threat to his position in your household.

Your New Kitten

When you first bring your new kitten home, it is important to isolate her. Choose a room in neutral territory (not where your older pet likes to sleep). This will give you time to reassure the older pet, and will also protect the youngster from possible aggression.

A Place for Kitty

Equip the kitten’s room with a bed, scratching post, litter pan, food and water dishes, and toys. Put the kitten in the room and let her explore a bit while you are still with her. Then leave her alone for a short time so she can become comfortable in the new surroundings.

At first, the kitten may hide. Try to coax her out to comfort her. Don’t try to push too fast, though. She will gradually become less timid with you.

First Introductions

Animals get to know each other by smell. Your older pet will spend a lot of time sniffing at the bottom of the door to kitty’s room. The kitten will do the same on the other side.

After a day or two, you should be able to determine the older pet’s reaction to the kitten. A dog anxious to meet the kitten will scratch at the door and wag his tail, while a cat will purr and generally act curious or friendly. However, if your dog growls or barks at the door and your cat hisses and seems upset, it would be best to wait a few more days before attempting further interaction.

Take It Slowly!

When your older pet seems ready, introduce the pets by opening the door just wide enough so they can see and smell each other. Be certain that you stand close by to supervise. Depending on their reactions, gradually open the door wider for short periods of time until they become adjusted to looking at each other without becoming upset. This procedure may take several days, but it is usually successful.

The first time the two pets meet face to face should be short and, hopefully, calm. If the older pet is a dog, proper restraint, such as a leash will prevent him from chasing and scaring the kitten.

Don’t force the issue. Let the animals go as close, or stay as far away, as they want. Repeat short introductions as often as necessary, until the animals are able to stay comfortably in the same room, with supervision. Don’t expect instant friendship – that takes time.

Making a Place for Everyone

Your older pet needs to be reassured that the newcomer will not take over his territory. If he has a favorite sleeping place, don’t let the kitten sleep there. Provide the youngster with her own toys.

Animals are often possessive of their food and feeding dishes. Ideally, since the kitten should be eating her own kitten food, have her feeding dishes in a different room or area as long as possible.

Monitor mealtimes to prevent either animal from pushing the other away from its plate. Since kitten food is best for her first 12 months, it may be a good idea to continue feeding your kitten in a closed room for a while.

Although a premium-quality food formulated for All Life Stages will provide complete and balanced nutrition for both animals, if your adult cat tends to be overweight, she does not need the extra calories that a kitten food provides. In fact, if your cat is already eating a diet intended for weight loss or weight control, the kitten will not receive all the extra nutrition she requires for her growing body if they are sharing food bowls.

It is best to feed the pets the food formulated for their specific life stage.

Litter Pans

Two or more cats in a household often do share a litter pan, but many adult cats do not appreciate sharing with a kitten, at least until they are better adjusted.

Providing two litter pans should help prevent your adult cat from starting to soil in inappropriate areas as an act of rebellion.

Friends, Friendly Enemies or Foes?

It may take a year or more for your older pet and the kitten to become totally comfortable with each other. They may never become friends, but simply learn to tolerate each other.

Even if they remain standoffish, most pets appreciate another warm body in the house when their owners are not there. But usually over time, the majority of pets find a workable relationship, even if they are not best friends!

Before You Bring a Kitten Home

• Have the kitten examined by your veterinarian to be sure that she is healthy and free of parasites.
• Make certain that all your pets’ vaccinations are current.
• Aggression is diminished if both animals are neutered or spayed (the kitten at an appropriate age).

After You Bring a Kitten Home

• Isolate the kitten when you first bring her home.
• Introduce the adult and kitten gradually.
• Protect the older pet’s “territory” and rights.
• Provide separate food dishes, water bowls, toys and litter pans.

Felines instinctively lay claim to their jungle. So what’s an owner to do when territorial behaviors disrupt harmony at home?

Kim Ghobrial of Tualatin, Oregon, fretted when her 1-year-old Burmilla cat, Aidan, began spraying all over her home, marking his territory. Behavior such as this, although natural to cats, just wasn’t acceptable. Ghobrial also feared that Aidan’s marking would set off her other felines who shared the space.

Instinctively, cats spray to mark their territory, especially if they feel threatened by other cats. Neutering or spaying usually solves the problem. And it worked for Aidan, too.

X Marks the Spot

Territorial marking exhibits itself in various forms.

“Cats have scent glands all over their bodies – on their tails, on the sides of their bodies, even on their chins,” says Kate Gamble, a cat behaviorist in Auburn, California. “It’s natural for them to want to use those scent glands to mark their perceived area.” If a cat feels threatened or stressed, she communicates by marking something, even if that means spraying a favorite leather couch.

Mikel Delgado, a cat behavior specialist at the San Francisco SPCA, says, “Spraying is a way for a cat to react in response to stress.” Causes for spraying may be simple (introducing a new pet, rearranging the furniture, moving the litter box or changing your work schedule) or more complex (relocating to a new home or scolding your cat for inappropriate behavior).

“Cats are methodical creatures,” Gamble says. “If things change, that throws their world into chaos.”

Cats don’t mark their territory only when they’re stressed or upset. The act of methodically rubbing objects – furniture, people, doorways – is a cat’s way of proclaiming, “This is mine.” Kneading – pushing and pulling her paws in and out on a soft surface – is a marking behavior, too. Like rubbing, it shows the cat is happy and relaxed.

Turf Wars

“Competitiveness nearly always happens when a new cat is added to the household,” Gamble says. “For example, the cat will think, ‘I’d better eat up all this food before the other cat gets it.’” In other words, because cats may not know how to deal with a new cat, they can respond by refusing to share their space, a food dish or the litter box.

“In many cases, territorial behavior reflects how well socialized the cat was to other cats when she was growing up,” Delgado says. A competitive cat also may have had negative experiences with cats or had to fight for food in the past.

If there is no new cat, look outside to see if any neighborhood cats are staring in the windows. This is another common cause of spraying.
It’s Your Move

The key to correcting inappropriate territorial behaviors is to find out what’s triggering them.

“There is a reason for every cat behavior,” Gamble says. “The worst thing you can do is to punish a cat without trying to identify the reason behind the action.”

In most cases, if you punish your cat, you’ll just make the problem worse. Because undesirable territorial behaviors often are caused by stress, being punished will only make your cat more unruly.

“If more people understood that marking is something cats do to communicate that they are stressed, not a deliberate act of spite, they would have more patience to work with the problem,” Delgado says.

Once you’ve identified the problem, work to remove or lessen the stress so you and your cat can live a happier, more harmonious life.
Making the Kitty Connection:
Introduce a New Pet Gradually

Mikel Delgado offers these stress-saving tips for adding a cat to your menagerie:

• Begin slowly. Isolate the new kitty in a safe room for two weeks to three months.
• Monitor first visits. Supervise visits until the felines are cordial to one another.
• Keep good things handy. Offer treats, food, toys and praise so the cats will come to associate meeting each other with positive experiences.
• Have plenty of litter boxes. One box per cat plus one more works well.
• Ease dog defenses. When the new pet is a dog, be sure your cat’s nails are clipped before introducing them, and keep a cat tree handy so she can escape if needed.

Clara Basch would rather not think of her cat as overweight. “He’s not fat,” she insists. “He’s just cuddly.”

But it turns out her beloved Fritz indeed was overweight; she just didn’t notice it. Basch, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, saw instead the sweet, affectionate nature of her newly adopted pet.

But when friends and neighbors saw her 17-pound friend, they looked beyond his friendliness and saw Fritz as a supersized feline.

X

Problems with Extra Pounds

Fritz certainly isn’t alone. It’s a troubling trend; just like in humans, the average weight of cats is increasing. Lorraine Jarboe, DVM, of Sandy Spring, Maryland, says cats today are becoming heavier. “Twenty years ago, the average cat weighed 8 pounds,” she says. “Now most cats weigh 10 pounds.”

Extra weight can contribute to problems such as:

• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Increased risk of surgical/anesthetic complications
• Grooming difficulties

What Is an Ideal Weight?

Unlike dogs, there’s not a vast difference between the largest breed of cat and the smallest. Still, knowing the average weights of different breeds helps determine the ideal weight for your cat. Here are some guidelines:

• Small cats, including the Cornish Rex, some Oriental Shorthairs and Siamese, should weigh 6 to 7 pounds.
• Medium cats like the Burmese, Abyssinian and most unpedigreed cats should weigh 8 to 12 pounds.
• Large cats like the Maine Coon, Manx, Persian and Ragdoll can weigh up to 20 pounds.

No matter what breed of cat you have, if you follow the five steps below, you’ll have a fitter feline.

Step 1: Schedule an Examination

Body structure and health needs vary. Your veterinarian can help you decide the right weight for your cat. “If a cat is too heavy for me to examine the abdomen,” Dr. Jarboe says, “I’m adamant about weight loss.”

Step 2: Get Her Moving

Playing with your cat is a great way to keep her active, and it’s fun for you, too. Throw her stuffed mouse across the room for her to get. Put catnip in a Kong^® cube toy and let her chase it. Encourage your cat to follow you around the house. Every little bit of exercise helps. Experts suggest at least 20 minutes of play or exercise a day for cats.

Step 3: Choose the Best Diet

Your cat’s nutritional needs depend on her age, activity level and health. Eukanuba^® Adult Weight Control Formula for Cats is perfect for healthy adult cats who need to lose a few pounds or just maintain their weight. It helps control your cat’s weight because it has fewer calories and less fat than our adult formulas.

Step 4: Measure the Food

When calculating portions, work from your cat’s goal weight (obtained from your veterinarian) and use the feeding guidelines on the package as a starting point. Never put your cat on a crash diet. This may contribute to hepatic lipidosis, an often serious liver disease that occurs when a cat is forced to metabolize its own body fat rather than energy from food. And measure your cat’s food carefully. That handful you thought was one-third of a cup could be one-half.

Step 5: Be Consistent

When cutting back, you may have to endure some pitiful meows. But you’re helping your cat get fit for her own good. Clara Basch solved the problem by buying her cat an automatic feeder. Now Fritz gets the right amount of food when he wants it. “And I get to sleep in,” Basch says.

Our Consumer Care Team’s tips on training your kitten

Cathy & Blackie:

Remember to start petting/playing with your pet’s paws, ears and tail when they are young. Vet exams and nail trims will be easier.

Jennifer & DJ:

Buy your kitten a toothbrush, and start using it now. Even though they won’t keep these teeth, you are getting them used to the process. If your kitten does not like the brush, I have found using a piece of gauze or a rubber finger brush will do the trick.

Jill & Woody:

When training your kitten, use one word commands such as “NO!” instead of “Why are you doing that?” and
“Sit!” instead of “Sit down here.”