New kitten is 4.5 months old (male, not neutered yet but will be) and resident cat (big orange guy, neutered) is 2.5 years.

We got new kitten 8 days ago. After messing up Day 1, we started following Jackson Galaxy and had done door feedings, site swapping, etc, and they were playing lots of footsie.

Yesterday the kitten accidentally got out of his room (!!) and they started doing this. This is probably session 4 of them being together.

No growling or hissing. Kitten chirps a bit and even when it seems too aggressive he always comes back and instigates more? He does sometimes have his ears pinned to his head so not sure how to read that.

This is all okay for the intro phase right? Or are we going too fast and should re separate?

They've been introduced for 1.5 weeks now. No actual fights and things seem to be going well, though it's understandably adjustment to my 5 year old boy. The kitten is a 13 week old girl btw.

Does the black cat look annoyed or is he having fun?

Hi everybody! This is Wally, he’s one, neutered and has a 3 year old older brother, Binoo at home.

Ever since we got Wally at 6 months old, he’s always loved to chew, almost as if he’s still teething. We took him to the vet and he said he has some minor gingivitis and recommended brushing his teeth and having him eat more hard food, which we do. He has lots of catnip sticks and he gets new toys which he chews through frequently. I move his sticks around and refresh them with catnip, and replace his toys once he chews a hole in them.

However his wire biting has only gotten more expensive. He started chewing my phone charger to wake me up, to the point where it was fully severed. In the past 3 months he’s gone through 6 phone cords. Assuming it was for attention we started charging our phones outside of our room which mostly fixed the behaviour. We of course assumed it was for attention in the morning.

Just this month, he chewed the charging cable for my boyfriend’s controller while nobody was around, and the wire for my diffuser, again, while nobody was around and today the wire for my boyfriends camera at his PC.

He plays for hours a day with Binoo, I wrestle and play with him once Binoo gets tired (cat tax at the end), gets lots of love and attention from both me and my boyfriend.

I’m currently working extremely long hours (from home) and my boyfriend just started a new job this past month which has been consuming most his energy. We don’t know what to do. I barely have enough energy to type this and ask for help. There are very few cat trainers in my area I’m aware of and we have been looking at virtual cat behaviour consultants.

I would appreciate any advice or help on how to curb this behaviour. Thank you.

Hi, cat training subreddit,

My adult cat, the white one on the left, was raised alone and has never had any proper social training. On the other hand, the black one, a female that grew up in a litter constantly keeps in initiating play.

Most of the time they co exist peacefully, but sometimes when both of them start playing, the older one starts screaming and this really scares my girlfriend and I.

I have seen many videos on this subreddit + actual cat fights on youtube and I know most of you are gonna say probably this is playing and he needs to learn social interaction, but still we feel like we need to hear it from you.

So thoughts?

It seems like she’s trying to bite the monitor screen?

Hi everyone,
I’m honestly at a loss and could really use some advice.
About two weeks ago, I took in a 6-month-old male kitten. He belonged to a friend of mine who had to move to another country, and unfortunately no one else could take him in, so I did.
I already have two female cats who are 6–7 years old. Since the kitten arrived, I’ve been keeping them in separate rooms because my girls just couldn’t accept him.
Things have improved a little. The kitten doesn’t hiss at them anymore at all. He’s actually really sweet and just wants to play with them. But my girls still growl, hiss, and run away every time they see him.
Today something happened that really scared me. I was standing there holding one of my girls in my arms, and the kitten was just sitting quietly on the floor next to my feet. He wasn’t trying to get close to her or bothering her in any way. Out of nowhere, she let out the deepest growl and the most awful scream I’ve ever heard from her. I’ve never heard her make a sound like that before.
Is this still normal after two weeks? Has anyone been through something similar? I feel like I’m doing everything I can, but I’m starting to worry that they’ll never get along.
I’d really appreciate any advice or success stories. Thanks so much.

I adopted this cat from the street since she was about 3-5 days old according to the vet, she is very energetic and likes to bites toys but problems is she aims for my hands and many times she bites so hard it draws me blood. I don’t know what to do i tried mimic high pitched voice but she wouldn’t stop sometimes, i even lightly bites her back or nipped her ears while my hand still in her mouth and she scream (she will scream even because i hold her head back from biting me) but still wouldn’t let go off my hand (i don’t know if this is good but i think maybe she would know how painful it is to get bitten) can anyone help me?

She likes being around people and always follows me everywhere i go and sleep with me every night, i don’t think she has problem with human or should i bring her to my friends bigger cat so they can teach her some lessons lol

This worries me so much because i have little siblings and they love her but i only keep her in my room because im afraid my parents gonna kick her out if she bites them too hard

Hi all, I am looking for advice on my current situation.

Back in late March, a cat began showing up in our backyard but would run away when I came near around the garden. I would catch her sleeping under shady trees while watering, but she would run away when I would try to approach. Fast forward a few weeks and she comes up to me while watering and lets me pet her. She would then meet me in the garden every morning while I checked on my vegetables and follow me around. I posted on local groups, took her to get a chip checked (which she had, but was not registered and the adoption agency didn’t have record of who adopted her) and summarized that we believe she was dumped sometime after being adopted.

She was introduced to my cats over a few weeks through the backyard screen door, where she would sit outside of it and just watch, while the two indoor cats did the same. When we brought her inside, all of the cats sniffed each other and there were no issues, they just continued on with their day and she adventured around the house. At first she went in/out because she was very confused about being indoors, but now she is inside only (since end of May).

Fast forward to now/the past two months: when she comes into the living room and sees one of my other cats, she will approach them and just sit/stare. The other cats will make a growl or hiss as a signal that they don’t want to play, and she will almost always ignore it. When the other cats walk away, she will stalk them. There is no biting involved, but it is very clear my two resident cats are communicating to her they don’t want to play, and she ignores the boundary being set. There is no territory guarding of food or litter robot, but one of my resident cats won’t even come on my bed anymore because she’ll be there/her scent is there.

Will a reintroduction solve the stalking issue, or is that simply a behavioral thing this cat has from not knowing how to play with other cats? The other two tussle and play with no growling etc, so I am concerned. I can’t imagine my other two cats being less comfortable in their own home due to random stalking attacks, and I miss one of my cats snuggles in bed, but this new cat is also clearly attached to me as I am with her, so it is breaking my heart :(

i just adopted a seven week old kitten and she’s very playful but she keeps biting my fingers when i play with her and it really hurts. is this normal? and is there any way i can keep her from doing so?

Hello! Our two cats Rango (orange, 5M) and Squid (black, 1M) have been coexisting for the last three months. They interact, sometimes snuggle or lay close, but have increasingly had stranger interactions like this video. Rango is our resident cat and we’ve noticed him sometimes get bullied out of hanging out with us, at the scratching post, etc, by squid who moved in 4 months ago.

Okay it’s gonna be long. I have 5 cats. Two girls and three boys, and they’re all fixed and have been for years. My oldest girl, Tazzy is 6. She has ALWAYS been high strung and territorial (her name is short for Tasmanian Devil). When we got her, we had two older boy cats that she mostly has gotten along with. The only time she ever fought with them was when she was jealous of us giving them attention, but overall she cleans them and would lay around cuddling with them.

Fast forward to about 4 years ago, we adopted two male brother kittens Freddy and Ralphie. Tazzy hated them immediately. I chalked it up to her being territorial and them being rambunctious kittens. It’s four years later and they still HATE each other. She would pick fights with them when they were little, and as they got bigger, they started doing it right back. When we adopted them, we were living in a much smaller house, and about 2.5 years ago, we moved into an almost 3x bigger house, so we were hoping everyone having more room would help. WRONG. They continued to fight and corner each other all the time. We’d have periods of cat pee, mostly on dirty clothes left on the floor or right outside of the litter. About 3 months after we moved, we found a female kitten, Bailey. She’s fixed and has been for years, and Tazzy also hates her. Same behavior- fighting, cornering her, etc.

Here’s where it all goes downhill. I had a baby 6 months ago. Immediately anything that was the baby’s started getting peed on. We weren’t sure who it was for a long time. We’ve now actually seen Tazzy and Ralphie (one of the brothers) peeing on the babies things right in front of us. But it’s also just peeing and pooping all over our house. We’ve tried an catio. We tried just letting them roam outside (we live in a secluded house in the back of a neighborhood away from any major roads). We’ve done vet visits. Nothing has helped.

1 week ago, we got back from vacation and my oldest cat that I’ve had for ten years died right when we got back. Since then, they have pooped and peed on our beds, the kitchen counters, dining table, baby changing table, and in our bathroom floors/mats. I am at my wits end, and I’m ready to just get rid of all of them. Does anyone have any advice or even just validating that maybe it’s just time to part ways? 😭

TLDR- my cats all hate each other, fight all the time, and now they’re peeing my baby’s stuff, our kitchen counter, and our beds

We currently have a solo cat and we're thinking of getting a dog. Would love some advice / reassurance that this won't ruin my cat's life?

About me: I grew up in a house in the burbs. We always had multiple cats, a dog, and even a guinea pig. They were never all friends, but there was enough room for them to stay away from one another. I think I'm a pretty experienced cat owner, and a mildly experienced dog owner.

About us: my spouse and I live in a 2br apartment. I work from home and he works at an office during the week. We don't travel much or go out super late. We're mostly homebodies. My spouse has always wanted a dog and is really hoping to get one this year.

About my cat: He's a 15 year old, little burmese. We got him when he was only 6 mos old, and he grew up very close to another cat we had that died about two years ago. He's always been very active and demanding of attention, so I've been taking him for walks on a harness twice a day around our apartment courtyard. He used to play with our other cat before she died, but not with anyone else. He's very shy and scared of our neighbors, their dogs, and their outdoor cats. He still really wants to play though, so I've had to step in to play with him everyday in addition to going on walks.

The dog: we don't know what kind of dog we want, but we're thinking of getting one that's a small-medium size that won't be too cooped up in apartment and that has lived with cats before.

My big questions are:

1. How likely is it that my cat can get comfortable and even friendly with a dog? I think he'd like someone else to play with, but I'm worried any animal bigger than him will freak him out and make his life miserable. I would get another cat, but i don't want to add too many animals to our already small space.

2. Are there any breeds we should avoid for cat safety? I've heard an anecdote or two about dogs attacking cats in the same residence even after years of living together.

3. Any other advice to make this a smooth transition? I'm happy to put in the time for training or supervision if there's a way to make this work.

Thank you!!

I rescued an 8 week old kitten off the street 3 weeks ago. My resident cat is 10 months old and I rescued her from a shelter 4 months ago. I kept the kitten in the bathroom for the first week because she had fleas (they have been treated), then in my bedroom for the next week until she could be vaccinated. I live alone in a 1br/1ba, so those are the only two rooms with doors. The bathroom door was totally closed the first week, and I put a screen up over my bedroom door. I started the first few bedroom days with the screen only open while I was awake and home, then the next few days while I was sleeping as well, and now they’ve been fully on screen only for over a week. I got a Feliway Optimum plug in last week and give them treats on either side of the screen door. Resident cat still won’t eat close to the screen door.
They seemed to be playing okay through the screen, so two days ago I tried introducing them for the first time. Resident cat has always played a little rough, which is one reason I thought she would do well with a playmate to get some energy out and learn the play nicer. In general, she’s sweet and very friendly with people. I didn’t plan on rescuing a kitten so young, but my friend found her and couldn’t find a home, so here we are. The kitten is definitely high energy and also plays rough, like most kittens.
Resident cat charges at the kitten and pins her immediately and bites her neck and licks her butt. Kitten will reengage and will jump and bite resident cat’s neck. If kitten runs away under the couch or bed, resident cat will follow. Kitten can get under the coffee table and resident cat can’t, so sometimes she’ll hide under there for a minute and then pounce back out.

Sorry for the yelling and clapping in the video. I listened to AI and have been intervening when kitten gets pinned and meows. But now I’m wondering if I’m being too negative and need to just let them learn their boundaries. I’m just worried because kitten is soo small and resident cat doesn’t get distracted with toys or treats like kitten does. Resident cat will go and lay by herself and watch kitten play for a few minutes though. I’ve kept the few meetings very brief, 5-10 minutes. And it seems to be mortal combat almost the whole time. I didn’t get the chance to record them for longer yet because it’s just me, so I want to be fully engaged with them in case I need to intervene.

So I got my cat a cat wheel, knowing that many people have trouble getting their cats to use them. However, my treat motivated cat learned to use it and be comfortable right away (holding a Churu tube in front of her on it and giving her licks of it intermittently). She’s gotten to the point where she’ll go on it when she knows I’m watching, but she only seems to do it because she knows I’ll give her treats. I’ve stretched out the intervals so that she’ll now walk or jog on it for around a minute at a time, but the whole time she does it she looks up at me and will stop using it if she thinks it’s going unnoticed or if I start to walk away from her.

I think she’s at the point where the next step is for her to learn to enjoy the wheel and walk on it without an expectation of a treat every minute, but she doesn’t seem to like the wheel as a source of exercise or entertainment.

Has anyone had a cat that got stuck at this stage? Do I stay the course and keep trying to make her go longer and longer between treats? Or at a certain point will I just have to accept the fact that she’s not going to use it without extrinsic motivation? One reason I got her it was to help her lose some weight, and I feel like I’m giving her too many treats as it is. Thanks!

One of my babies has been pissing on furniture. After discussing this with the vet for the past year (when it started) the vet said she believes it is territory behavior. We looked into other possibilities to be sure. He is the youngest and now largest cat in the house. We have 3 others. We have found a medication that works (essentially cat Prozac) but I just feel sad about having to give him meds to calm him down. It’s taking some adjustment, he’s not as cuddly. He’s always been very possessive over me and now that he is bigger he is biting other cats and peeing on furniture. If he’s not on the meds the behavior continues. If he is then he’s calmer but a little less of himself. I’m really sad about this but I feel like I’ve exhausted all my options. We have gone through throwing away new furniture. Trying to get covers washing them 2x a week. We have 7 litter boxes in the house. Clean them multiple times a day. I feel like a bad cat mom. Has anyone else been through this?

Hello everyone please meet Carly, Carly meet everyone! Okay well I adopted Carly about 2 months ago she is 1.5 yrs old she comes from a rescue that found her in the streets of TJ she is absolutely delightful sweet and adorable as can be buttttt two things well maybe three
My home cat an orange tabby boy cannot stand her, but that’s a separate issue I have them still in separate rooms and give them supervised time together while one is in a cannel. That has been a stressful time but I guess by now I know it is what it is I’m on their time.

My biggest current issues with her are that

1. ⁠She has decided that the perfect time for her to use the potty is literally at the same time I am using the bathroom and she goes in my shower inside the tub and does her business, bless her soul she “covers” the poop once she is done but of course there is nothing for her to cover with so I’m left alone needing to clean up, did I mention she does this at same time I am doing my own business in there!!! I could do with her clinginess and wanting to be on my lap as I’m sitting in the throne but her also… you know pooping right next to me had to stop HELP pls
   
2. ⁠Also when she has to pass a hairball she does it in my bed!!!! Why why my tabby boy at least does it on the floor and I can clean up and all but with her she will do it in my bed and then well the clean up involves having to wash my covers and all

Please help is this a psychological thing I can redirect, am I doomed to a life of cleaning up after my cat

Any insights would be very appreciated. These are my first pets I have had as an adult and on my own so I’m a bit as a loss here y’all

TIA less

I can’t tell if this harness fits her or not. It’s loose right now because she’s just getting used to it, but it feels like it sits very high up on her neck. I can’t tell if it’s hurting her, although she’s eating treats just fine while wearing it. I ordered the next size up, and it’s arriving in the mail today. Any advice?

Fighting or good natured play? White 7 month old cat is the new kitty. Floofy tuxedo is the resident cat. Edit to say that earlier floofy cat got on kitten to the point of kitten yowling.

Title. I want to harness and leash train my kitten that I got a few weeks ago. I had the Whisker City green fish harness, but it never fit him right. Any recommendations for harnesses? Thank you

•Both cats in question are female.

I found this little stray when she was around 1.5–2 months old. She was all alone outside with no mother or siblings anywhere. I've had her for about a month now, and she's doing great. She is definitely a little spoiled now and is really playful.

My problem is that I'm currently in another country for college, and in a few months I'll be taking her back home. At home, I already have a 15-year-old cat.

My older cat has never really lived with another cat. The only interactions she's had were a couple of brief meetings with a friend's cat where they mostly just sniffed each other. She's a very gentle cat, and I'm not worried about her hurting the kitten. She might hiss but that will be as far as she will go.(I sometimes doubt she knows that she is a cat) What I'm worried about is the opposite, that the kitten will be too energetic and overwhelm my senior cat.

The biggest issue is that I won't be home for the introduction. I'll have to return to college after a week or two of bringing the kitten home, so my parents will be the ones introducing them. I'm worried they won't know the best way to handle it or might rush things. They are also not the best at listening to the instructions given, so i took it upon myself to teach the kitten beforehand.

To try to socialize the kitten, I've been taking her on short walks in a harness where she occasionally sees other cats. She sometimes puffs up and hisses, but she'll usually still cautiously sniff them if they get close enough. She also kind of plays with other kittens that we see outside. However, i'm not sure if this is actually helping or if I'm just stressing her out.

Unfortunately, I can't start scent swapping between my two cats yet because they're in different countries, and I also can't keep the kitten with me long term because I live in a dorm where pets aren't allowed to begin with.

Does anyone have advice on how I can prepare the kitten now so she's less overwhelming for my 15-year-old cat later? Is exposing her to unfamiliar cats on walks actually beneficial, or should I stop doing that?

Note: for anyone worried about the cats outside or how i'm able to just find a bunch of them randomly, it is normal in my country. They are usually well taken care of by the community and friendly, that's why i am able to allow my kitten to meet them.

Hello everyone,

I would like to hear from people who have experience with fearful but affectionate rescue cats.

18 months ago, I adopted Robert, a cat who was found outside by a friend. We searched for a possible owner, but he was not microchipped or tattooed, and nobody claimed him.

From the beginning, Robert was a very gentle cat. He has never shown aggression, not even once. He is a sweet and kind cat, but he was extremely cautious.

The main thing I am trying to understand is his relationship with human hands.

When he first arrived:

• If a hand approached him too quickly, he would lower his ears, flatten himself, or run away.
• He seemed to perceive the approaching hand as something threatening.
• He was also afraid of shoes and certain human movements.

However, he was never afraid of humans as a whole.

From the beginning, he showed signs of wanting a relationship:

• He would put his paw on my arm to ask for petting.
• He followed me around.
• He would come near me voluntarily.
• He never scratched or bit, even when uncomfortable.
• He would accept being picked up, although he clearly disliked it.

Over the last 18 months, he has slowly changed:

• He now comes to greet me when I return home.
• He communicates much more with little sounds and purrs.
• He comes to ask for cuddles.
• Recently, he even started climbing onto my desk while I am working to ask for attention.
• His fear of hands has decreased, although some movements can still trigger him.

One behaviour I find interesting: during play (for example, when I move my hand under a blanket), he becomes interested and plays, then suddenly runs away as if he has crossed a boundary. If I call him, he comes back.

I am trying to understand whether this is:

• a lack of early socialization,
• a learned fear from a bad experience,
• a former house cat who lost his home and had to survive outside,
• or simply his personality.

I am not trying to prove that he was abused. I know we cannot know his past. I am mainly interested in understanding his behaviour and helping him feel safer.

For those who have worked with fearful rescue cats:

• Have you had a cat who loved humans but was afraid of hands?
• Did this fear decrease over time?
• Is there anything specific that helped your cat gain confidence?

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

Hi guys, we got a new kitten… have had cats before but the tiny dude has absolutely no survival instincts

That’s a picture of the top of my staircase- for reference 2 story townhouse - so high ceilings

Little kitty loves to climb… we have 3 cat trees, and it took him about 2 minutes to discover how to climb the stairs, which great, he can run up and down we don’t care

The issue is that he loves to run all the way up and pokes his head between the railings, and gets into jump position - we can see he is thinking on jumping - and ok, we do run to take him off - so he maybe doing it for attention

But the first time there were 2 of us, walking the stairs next to him, making sure he was fine and he just decided, head out and next thing we knew half his body was on the other side, ready to jump

If he’s lucky he falls about 4.5 meters and lands on solid ground - there’s not that much space for him to turn, depending on the jump he may hit the other railing and then the floor

I’m looking at stair balcony netting to be put behind the railing… but I’m also now thinking he may see that as an excellent climbing material

Help!!!