Our cat changed her tune to our new kitten

by Elle
(Utah)

Hello,

My husband and I adopted out first cat ever about a month and a half ago, Paris. She is a very good girl, but she isn't very affectionate and doesn't like anyone besides my hubby and I.

We talked about getting her a friend and decided that if we did, she'd need a cat she could be dominant over. What is more non-threatening than a kitten?? Anyway, we went back to the shelter and picked out a sweet little 3 month old kitten and named her Anastasia.

The people at the shelter advised us that it would probably be a rough adjustment on all of us since adult cats don't typically like kittens. We decided to give it a try and to our surprise, Paris just fell in love with Ana. They kissed and groomed each other and snuggled for two days. Paris even encouraged Ana to nurse her which we thought was her maternal instincts from her pregnancies before we adopted her.

Anyway, just after that two days Paris out of the blue just decided she didn't like the kitten. It was like night and day in the matter of a couple hours. She wouldn't have anything to do with her and hissed at her when she tried to cuddle with her. Also, paris has not wanted anything to do with my husband or I suddenly, either. Her appetite isn't the same, she doesnt groom herself, and she looks at all of us like she hate us. I'm just confused as to what happened, why, or if this is normal or not for her to just change her tune like that. Any insight would be helpful, I'm so worried about both of my girls!

Reply
Hi
Umm all i can assume is that there could be one of two things going on here.

Either your cat suddenly realized that this kitten was not her own and has decided to take against it, which is not that unusual.

Or she is not feeling well. This can cause a cat to want to be alone and retreat from everything. The fact that she does not want to eat or groom herself may be an indication of illness. So i think it would be best to take her to be checked over a by a vet to rule out any possible illness.

if she gets the all clear then this behavior can be put down to her reacting badly to the new kitten on her territory. In which case all you can do is a period of introduction for her and the kitten to see if she can calm down enough to accept the kitten. I have more information about this process here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

best wishes kate

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