Cats Don't Get Along: New Kitten

Ah, kittens. Nothing cuter. Adding a new kitten to the household is the easiest introduction of all; kittens tend to not trip an older cat's territory protection, and they should be fixed long before hormones enter the picture. Kitten woes come from another direction, especially if it has been a while between youngsters.

Kittens will try the other cats' patience.


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Kittens have to play, and usually know only one way to ask; by tackling another cat by the head and pretending to rip their guts out.

We can handle the kitten's depredations with amusement and long sighs; we know they will grow up and calm down. But the other cats in the household might not have this long view. How our present cat reacts to a kitten depends a lot on the kind of cat they are.

At any age, an Alpha will regard a kitten as a delightful new toy. They have energy and confidence to burn. Their ease with environmental manipulation will give them the ability to keep the kitten in check.

A Beta cat, especially one with their kittenhood still recent, will be able to find their companionship skills a great help with the kitten. Betas are socially sensitive. This makes them very good at making friends; and influencing kittens.

Gamma cats, and cats who are insecure or have low social skills, are going to be horrified. They often don't realize the kitten doesn't mean any harm. They are going to interpret the kitten's mock attack, as an attack.

Whatever the kitten trouble, there is a strategy to counter it.

• Assertiveness mismatch. Let the insecure cat know we have their back, and give them places to get away from the kitten when they are becoming too obnoxious. Keeping the kitten in "their" room when we are away from home will help the other cat relax and go about their routines without interference.
• Energy mismatch. When we play with the kitten ourselves, we should laugh at their antics and model the correct reaction. The kitten needs to be taught to moderate the use of their claws, on anyone. If the kitten is demanding play too forcefully, we should step in and redirect the kitten to another toy.
• Older cat has no kitten skills. Cats have varying abilities to discipline and communicate with kittens. If our older cat has none of these abilities, we will have to step in. We will need to supervise their interactions with the kitten, and make sure the kitten learns the rules of cat society, with our help.

If we don't have any other cats who can handle the kitten, the whole burden will fall upon us. If this seems daunting, there is another strategy.

Getting another kitten.

This is not nearly as whacky as it might appear. It's natural to protest, "I've got enough problems dealing with one kitten! How can I handle two?"

However, most of our problems with the kitten arises from the fact that the kitten has no one to play with, no one to divert their attention, and no one who is teaching them how to be a cat. Another kitten is an automatic playmate, a target for each other's energy, and another chance for us to use communication and understanding.

This takes the pressure off the other cats. This takes the pressure off of us. We won't feel badly about locking the kittens away together, to give the other cats a break. They have each other to play with.

We won't be going one-on-one with a distracted kitten; we will be looking for ways to get through to both of them, who will automatically communicate with each other and help each other understand what is being asked of them. The other cat or cats will no longer be an automatic target when there is a better alternative running around.

More than one cat means we are creating a cat civilization. The elements of any successful civilization is communication and clear rules. Cat conflicts spring from cats not being able to communicate, and not understanding the rules.

If another cat can increase our interactive understanding, another cat is not a problem.

Another cat is a solution.


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