The Best Ways to Stop Your Kitten Terrifying Your Older Cat!

Effective Ways to stop your kitten from terrifying your cat.

Give your kitten time out for terrifying your other cat
Provide interactive playtime for your kitten
Referee interaction between cats
Distract kitten from bullying or aggressive behavior
Reward good behavior

Reasons Kitten Is Terrifying Your Older Cat

While your cat has evolved a lot since the days it was a wild feline prowling for food and living a mostly solitary lifestyle; primeval instincts are still deeply embedded in your modern cat.

The factors include.

The solitary cat behavior both past and present.

A study of feral cats (cats that have returned to the wild or street cats without a home) showed that they do form groups, but these colonies are usually made up of other related cats and kittens.

Voluntary groups of cats usually have a common bond i.e. they are related.

The normal cat today lives in isolation inside your home, cut off from socializing with others. The injection of a new kitten can come as a shock for the resident cat.

The modern cat lacks social skills due to their confinement to the home.

Cats have a subtle ranking system. If your older cat is the submissive type (slinking around, acting like a victim) the kitten can become a bully to increase its position in rank. Rank is achieved by visual displays such as posturing and verbal signals e.g. position of their ears, tail, staring without blinking, and verbalization such as hissing.

The perceived ‘rank’ of your cats.

If the older cat submits to the younger cat, then the kitten will start pushing their boundaries and become dominant and aggravating.

There are ways to avoid this happening and it starts right at the beginning when you introduce your cats to each other. But if your kitten is already bossing your older cat around, then you have a problem that is too late to avoid.

Four Ways to Tame Your Kitten and Stop them From Terrifying Your Older Cat.

Referee Intervention Methods

Young cats are full of energy and love to test their muscles and athletic skills.

Left alone, they will try these skills on the older cat especially if they can get away with it. You will have to teach your kitten that harassing the other cat is not acceptable, and give them alternatives to distract their attention using toys such as a ping pong ball to chase, or using a flicker toy to wear off some of that energy.

1. Move Your Kitten to a Time out Area When He/She Exhibits Unacceptable Behavior

A constantly attacking kitten can wreck your older cats’ nerves. If the older cat cannot nap without an attack, or their tail is being constantly chewed by the kitten, they will become paranoid in their own home.

If distraction doesn’t work and your kitten persists it’s bullying, then you need to teach the kitten the consequences of chasing the older cat. Time out in the laundry or a crate for five to ten minutes will allow them to reflect on why they are in the sin bin!

Don’t yell at the kitten.
Don’t punish or be harsh with the kitten – physical punishment is never acceptable as it creates an atmosphere of fear.
Just quietly pick them up and place them in their time out zone.
Don’t give the kitten any attention when you pick it up to move it into the time out zone. Kittens crave attention, so ignoring a badly behaved one reinforces the fact that you will not tolerate their bossy or aggressive behavior.
Keep in mind that you may have to do this many times before your kitten finally ‘gets it.’

Consistency and patience are the keys to retraining your kitten. Use the same word (such as ‘leave them’) when they attack your other cat. Don’t confuse these words with other terminology, as they won’t understand.

2. Provide a Retreat for Your Older Cat to Enjoy an Undisturbed Cat Nap

Providing your older cat with a chance to have an undisturbed nap without having to deal with an explosive kitten will enable it to calm its nerves.

Provide a box for your older cat to play in or give them a food-dispensing toy to work off their energy.
If your older cat prefers staying in the living area to snooze, let it have that area. Respect your older cat and its preferences first.

While your cat is safely tucked away for a much-needed snooze, with your kitten

Relocate your kitten to another room such as a bedroom, where it can explore your wardrobe or under the bed.
Play some games
Put the kitten in the sunroom with a climbing tower and let it exercise its muscles
The secret is to wear out your new kitten with play so that when the older cat returns, they don’t have the energy to terrify it.

3. Use Treats to Reward Both Cats for Collaborative Play

The secret to getting an animal to do what you want is to reward good behavior. Don’t reward unwanted or aggressive actions. And remember that any yelling and screaming from you is still a form of attention, albeit negative.

If you can involve each cat in a game (while managing negative behavior) and reward good play every few minutes, both the young and old are going to figure out that good play equals yummy treats! https://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cat-treats-and-snacks-whats-healthy#1

When they play well in the same area, reward each cat with a treat at the same time.
If the older one allows the kitten to get close, and the kitten doesn’t attack, give both of them atreat.
When they share toys – you’ve got it – give them treats!

4. Separate Cat Ownership of Their Special Things.

It all comes down to hierarchy when you have more than one cat in your house. The introduction of a new cat or kitten upsets the status quo, and chaos can reign while the issue of who is boss is resolved. The older cat might have the muscle, but the kitten has the energy.

A gentle introduction is the best way to ease a new cat into a family. But if you are already way past the introduction stage, then distraction is the better course of action. Your older cat now must deal with competition for territory, food, and the litter box!

Here is the solution.

Give each cat a food bowl that is spaced well apart and watch to ensure there is no stealing from either cat!
Separate their litter trays create a little privacy, especially for the older cat.
Let the established cat keep its bed and toys – don’t take them away or expect it to share, this only builds resentment and sometimes retaliation!
Get a new bed for the kitten, don’t expect your older cat to share. Ownership gives your cats security, and if they do decide to share, then that is their decision.

Why Do Kitten’s Bite So Much?

Part of a kitten’s play is biting, which is part of their natural predatory activities, but at a young age, they don’t realize the pain they can cause with a hard pressure bite!

If they are not pulled up for it by their human or the older cat, the kitten’s biting habit will just get worse! As the kitten’s owner, it is your responsibility to stop this habit as soon as it begins!

I found some really good tips at https://allpetmagazine.com/stop-cat-biting/ about ways to break your kitten from this tedious habit. These tips include the following.

Don’t reward your kitten for their bad behavior with attention (such as growling at them or making other noises), or they will just continue the aggressive biting.
Use a spray water bottle and spray them when they bite you or your other cat. The kitten will not like the wet spray and will stop biting when they associate it with getting wet!
If your kitten is terrifying your other cat with biting and abusive behavior, calmly remove the kitten to the laundry or bathroom, where they are on their own. Ignore your kitten and leave it for several minutes before allowing it to return. If your kitten gets straight back into biting and bullying, remove it again or isolate it in a crate to limit its movement. Your kitten will soon catch on that their behavior will not be tolerated.
Provide plenty of interesting toys for your kitten to attack so that it doesn’t have to take it out on your other cat. Keep the kitten busy and wear it out, so when it has a nap, your older cat can have the freedom to relax and unwind.

As the cats become used to each other and your training methods gain traction with the kitten, peace will finally be restored, and they will become buddies.

Tips to Tame Your Kitten.

The secret to blending individual animals into a family is consistency in your pet management.

Remember to reassure your existing cat that they are still loved and valuable members of the family.
Consistently teach the kitten the value of good manners without harming them with harsh treatments.

Mother cats train their young ones when they start getting rough or aggressive. The kittens often are given the same treatment back but harder, so they quickly change their manners. But if your kitten missed out on mum’s lessons, then you are the one who will have to take up the baton and run with it.

Effective Strategies to Control Kitten Harassment.

If possible, try to introduce the new cat gradually, allowing time for them to adjust to each other. The shock ‘meet and greet’ never bodes well.
If the kitten takes over and is harassing your other cat, you need to act as the referee and intervene when the play gets rough.
Be consistent when training your kitten. Use the same terms, such as a loud ‘NO’ to teach them when you are not pleased.
Never usescreaming or abuse a kitten, be gentle but firm, and if they won’t comply, simply remove them from the family. Time out in a crate in the laundry isn’t much fun, but it is harmless and won’t hurt the kitten, except maybe their pride.
When your kitten from hell gets something right, praise, and reward them! This will reinforce and encourage good behavior. https://www.felinebehaviorsolutions.com/use-positive-reinforcement-good-cat-behavior/
Save your older cat from the kitten; they are the resident cat, and it’s not fair to leave it up to the cats to sort it out. That never ends well.
Patience and persistence are required, but the kitten will finally get your message about behaving themselves.
And a final warning, don’t leave the new kitten and your mature cat alone together in the house if you are going out for the day. Until the kitten learns how to behave, separate them while you are away. Give the older cat the run of most of the house, and keep the kitten confined to one or two rooms with a ton of toys and some treats. That way, your resident cat will have a peaceful day without being terrified by that adorable but annoying ball of fluff.

For More Information See this video about introducing the new kitten to the other cat – it may save you and your cats a lot of heartaches. Here is another video to help with the introduction.

Last Comments About A Kitten Who is Terrifying an Older Cat.

Kittens come into this world with a personality like a blank canvas. As they learn through experience, their personality takes shape. Cats are very clever and do learn quickly, but it is the way you teach that makes the difference.

You will need patience.
You will need stamina.
You may even feel like tearing your hair out in frustration sometimes.

But then that sweet little kitten will come and curl up on your lap, purring softly like an angel. And when they do learn their lesson, the kitten will find that they have a trusted friend in the resident cat, and an understanding will form between them.

Cats are wonderful creatures, and it is well worth the effort to tame your kitten so your household can become a peaceful haven again.

Writer: Jean Brewer

SOURCES.

https://www.thesprucepets.com/kitten-leave-adult-cat-alone-554826

https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-language-explained-553981

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/d/domestic-cat/

https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/how-deal-territorial-behavior-cats

https://petcentral.chewy.com/how-do-i-stop-a-young-cat-from-chasing-an-older-cat/

https://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/cat-treats-and-snacks-whats-healthy#1

https://www.thesprucepets.com/how-to-discourage-bad-behavior-551821

https://www.purina.co.uk/cats/behaviour-and-training/training-your-cat/stop-cats-biting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtHNOTqySaM video about introducing cats to each other.