Cats do get jealous of other cats, pets, and sometimes even humans. It can be very stressful if you have just introduced a new cat into your home and your old kitty becomes jealous. However it is important to understand that this response is totally natural. Cat behavior is very complex so it takes time and patience to help your feline friends adjust to each other. The good news is that there are a few things you can do to help make this transition easier for both your old kitty and the newcomer.
One important thing to consider when bringing a new cat home is whether or not he or she is spayed or neutered. Male cats are often involved in inter-cat aggression, which most often occurs when a cat reaches social maturity between two to four years of age. Although this type of aggression is usually seen in males competing for mates, it can sometimes occur between cats of any sex when territorial conflicts occur.
The first step toward eliminating this type of behavior is to make sure that both your old cat and your new cat are spayed or neutered. If this has already been done, there are other ways to help with territorial and aggressive behaviors in cats. Pheromone products are available on the market and can help reduce aggression and tension between cats. One such product is called Feliway. This product is a plug in device that diffuses cat pheromones and helps to calm kitty. Having one in every room is recommended for best results. Feliway collars are also available to purchase. If these products do not work you might want to consider other alternatives such as kitty Prozac.
That New Cat Smell
When you first bring a new cat home it will have a strange new cat smell that screams “intruder” to your resident cats. Some cats may be more troubled by this than others. Integrating their smells over time can help resolve the conflict. Rubbing a towel or blanket that already has the scent of your house on it can help make the new kitty smell like he belongs. After rubbing new kitty, rub your resident kitties with the same towel to mingle the feline’s scents. This can be done several times a day for several weeks.
Territorial Issues
Another good idea when bringing a new cat home is to make sure that he or she has their own litter box. This will help resolve any territory or potty issues that may occur between new cats and resident cats. The general rule of thumb for a multiple cat house is that there should be a litter box for each cat, plus an additional litter box. Having more than one litter box in the house can be very beneficial as sometimes cats will begin urinating or defecating outside of the litter box or throughout other areas of the home as a way to mark their territory and tell the new cat “this space is mine”.
Jealousy
One common mistake that many pet owners make when they first bring a new cat or other pet home is introducing the new pet to their resident cat right away. This is not the right approach if you have hopes for the two to become best friends. The better method would be to take the new cat into a room and keep it there for 7-14 days so that the two cats can get used to each other’s scent and presence through the door. Make sure that your new kitty has everything he or she needs to survive. A food and water dish, a litter box, some toys, etc. During this time be sure to set aside some one on one time for both kitties so neither feels neglected.
Cats by nature are territorial creatures. When bringing a new cat home he or she will need to establish territory and your resident cat(s) will need to defend theirs. This often results in a cat fight or two. Keeping your new cat in his own room for a week or two will help him gain confidence and claim that room as his “territory”.
During this time it can be helpful to have the two cats switch places every now and then. For example, let your old kitty out into the rest of the house to wander around and get used to his new belongings, and lock your old kitty in new kitty’s room to get him used to new kitty’s scent. Mingling the two scents will help the two cats get used to one another better.
Eventually you can also integrate meal time, shared play time and treats. This will help the cats get along better. Start feeding your old cat outside the new cat’s bedroom door, or try using a pet gate or a cardboard poster board to block the two from seeing each other, but allow them to be close enough to one another to know that they are each there. They will smell one another and if you feed them together they will also begin associating one another with food and other positive things. Eventually when the cats seem to have warmed up to the idea of sharing meal time you can ditch the walls or gates and see how they do.
Reinforce positive behavior towards one another by feeding the cat’s treats when they are behaving and getting along. Try to play with them both in the same room until you can eventually get them to play together. If they start to fight, lock one of the kitties up for now and continue this until they can be in the same room together without fighting. Never leave two cats that do not get along alone together. Eventually the two felines should be able to coexist peacefully in the same home.
Breaking Up Cat Fights
During this entire process you will most likely be required to break up a few cat fights every now and then. Never reach in between two cats fighting and try to separate them yourself. Instead, squirt the cats with a squirt gun or a spray bottle filled with water, from a distance. It is best if they do not know that you are the source of water. Loud noises can also be affective in breaking up a cat fight. A can full of pennies or something similar can be used. Never chase or hit a cat with an object such as a broom. This will only increase aggression and can permanently destroy a cat’s trust in you. The best method is to reinforce positive behavior when the cats get along so that they begin to associate good things happening when they are around one another. With a little time, patience, and understanding, you should eventually be able to achieve household harmony within a few months.
DeborahW says
July 24, 2014 at 9:56 pmI know cats get get jealous of each other. I have two cats ages ages 11 and 10. They have been together since kittens, obviously one is a little older. If I show too much affection to ne the other one has to get in there and say “here I am, too”. Jade the older cat doesn’t get quite as jealous as Sierra, but Sierra is my baby, she is so laid back and and still acts like a kitten, and like to be treated like a baby, where Jade is more sophisticated and refined. I have trained my cats to do tricks that dogs do, like sit, shake friends, and sit up pretty. I find they were easier to train than a dog. Jade will even play fetch, while Sierra will play stair ball.
Zeek says
October 2, 2014 at 7:58 amHI DeborahW,
Great sharing of info. Thanks for that. We have 2 older cats and 1 young cat. A stray kitty wandered into our yard, and eventually came up to the lower level window. It was obvioous he (I think the kitty is a “he”) was sickly. I took the screen off the window and am keeping Leo, the young kitty in isolation but withing the home so everyone can sniff everyone. He looks like a Lion so we named hime Leo, consistent with other constellations the other 3 cats are named. You provided some good advice and substantiated some of the beliefs I have in integrating new cats into homes.
Last summer, we took in a cat that lived in woods. I have provided food, clean water, and some treats through the summer. When Fall came, I took into the house with a live trap and he adapted really well to the two older cats and the household and the yard. We lost him though. Under watchfull eyes, he managed to wander into the neighbors garage and suffered a run-over from their vehicle. It happened in an instant… just a minute or two. We adopted a kitty from the shelter last Fall and he plays fetch, jump, and monopoly with the treats. He’s very curious about the new guy on the block.
So now we’re up to 4 cats and I think we are maxed out. I wish there was a way to convice lots of people that cats really intelligent and great pets, so loving, longing for a head scratch or a chin rub, and loyal. There are awful cat tragedies in the Twin Cities in MN where I live and I’d like to be a part of an activist group. A Co-worker actually found a cat in a garbage can and she rescued the cat an is very happy with her pet. How do cat lovers stop the behaviour of cruelty to cats? Any ideas? My Brother has 6 cats and they all get nutrition, love, and play. It’s so easy and fullfiling. Wish I knew how to contribute more.
Zeek
Christine says
June 29, 2015 at 2:55 amMy daughter has a ginger tom, about 4months old, and has just introduced a kitten (approx. 8 weeks) to the family about a week ago. The older kitten stalks and constantly attacks the younger one, biting, growling, hissing and spitting from both cats. She is trying the water spray to stop them, but this method as yet does not seem to be working. They both get the same attention and treats etc, but I do feel sorry for the kitten as at the moment , it gets no peace…they are both tom cats, I will ask her to look on this site, as their is lots of good advice, they are even worse at night.
Denise says
November 14, 2015 at 7:07 amI was always told that two males from different liters should not live together. I do not know if this is really true.
Ajk says
May 16, 2016 at 10:25 amNot at all true. I have 6. 3 males 3 females all from different litters. It’s all in how their raised and integrated.
Laura says
November 14, 2015 at 4:41 amMy first cat is still jealous of my new kitty, it has been 4 months and it is still very hard to put them in the same room without objects get broken or they get into a fight. I don’t know why, but my kitty follows my first cat everywhere and she doens’t like it…
My first cat is a 2yo female and the new kitty is a 6 month old male.
Can someone explain me what is going on?Thx!
Kathy says
December 3, 2015 at 3:37 amI have two cat one is 5 years and the other one is 2years and their are so jealous of each other what can I do .
Kathy says
March 31, 2016 at 5:15 amthat is so creepy my name is Kathy and I have a cat that’s 5 and one that’s 2 wtf
Lindsey H says
January 21, 2016 at 7:54 amMy two kitties, both 3 years old, are super nice and sweet. But one cat, Augest, likes to cuddle and lick me more than the other cat, muffles. So sometimes when Augest is licking me muffles will just look at me with this look of sadness. Muffles looks so sad when I’m around the other cats and I just want to know, is this cat jealousy?
Caeli says
March 4, 2016 at 5:24 amI have two cats. My oldest Leia is just about a year old, my younger is jasmine about 2 months old. My older cat had a friend that was the same age as here before I moved out of my roommates house. At first those two cats would fight. But warmed up to one another after a little time. Of course this cat was a male cat. With our new kitten jasmine, Leia didn’t seem to take to her at first, but she has started opening up faster and faster. It’s been about two weeks and they are running around together and laying together. Every once in a while you’ll here Leia(older cat) hiss at Jasmine but it’s becoming less and less frequent. My approach to introducing the two was to just let them co-exist and work their own problems out, of course watching them just to make sure. This was of course before I read to do the introducing little by little. But eveything seems fine and they are getting along better and better everyday. I guess it has a lot to do with the personality of the kittens. Since my older cat was already used to another cat, I think that it helped when I got the kitten.
Joslyn says
March 8, 2016 at 12:54 amThanks for the tips much appreciated, this would be very useful…. I have an 11 year old cat named Faith and just brought in a new stray cat which my dad found wondering around …. Faith has become extremely aggressive he refuses to come inside or even eat… This happened a year ago and we had to get rid of the new kitty but this time I’m not going to let faith have his way I want to teach him how to adapt….any advice and tips would be good
Eugene says
March 19, 2016 at 1:54 pmI have a cat named, Clark. He’s an amazing cat and has long made me his ‘person’. He follows me everywhere and is a really great pet. Well I brought home a kitten today, girl, named Kara. At first Clark was weird towards her, he hissed if she came too close but that’s about it. The best part was she actually gave him his space, almost like there was some innate warning signal to say, “Hey, leave that one alone.” Well some time passed and Clark was getting more interested. After some time he started to swat at her. I’d get him and try to calm him but he’d even growl at me. At me! I mean that is VERY strange because that cat loves me to death, now he’s growling at me. Even when the kitten isn’t around, and I’m alone with Clark, he just seems really upset at me and growls while i hold him. What’s going on? Cat jealousy? Will it pass?
Kate says
October 28, 2016 at 11:49 amLove the superman/supergirl names
Karen R adonski says
July 5, 2016 at 3:09 ami have two cats one male eleven and one female eight . they were buddies from day one ate together slept together groomed each other. now the male is showing aggression toward the female growles at her when she comes near i have him in a large carrier to keep them from fighting. there doesnt seem to be anything medicaly wrong but he is so attached to me he follows almost everywhere he also sleeps on my bed at night and the other used to sleep there of her own choosing and everything was fine now he does not like it HELP WHAT CAN I DO
Honey t says
October 15, 2016 at 10:43 pmIntroducing our 2 wk kitty to our 1 year old persian was the hardest thing . Took us 2 months to fully train them to acclimate to the other and now they are great friends . Anyone going through this , I recommend to be very patient & Dont force or rush them !
mina says
October 19, 2016 at 2:47 amI had 2 male Persians. They were brothers born in my house. Last Christmas eve I lost one of them(he was almost 11 years old at the time) . The other one (Mar Mar) was ever so depressed for 2 months. He started feeling better after 2 months but became really attached to me. He has become so vocal: I can truly have conversations with him… 2 weeks ago I brought a 1 year old male Persian home. I followed all the advice from google!! The first 3 days was all hissing , growling, fighting… I have the new cat stay in a separate room (litter box, food, water, toys) at night. During the day whenever I am home I let him out. They still chase each other and hiss once or twice a day but are getting along much better. My new-comer is very energetic to the point that he has broken a few things while running and jumping on top of tables, cabinets, etc.. I think his energy has distracted my baby from missing his brother. I have dedicated myself totally to have them go through the introduction phase as smoothly as possible. I started grooming them with the same brush since yesterday and let them smell the fur from the other. I believe it has helped a lot.
Cheechako says
December 15, 2016 at 7:59 amI tamed a liter of 5, they are out side all day until night time when they come back to eat. I have lost 3 due to I guess coyotes or bob cats, either way. We are planning to bring an old cat, people always leave behind old ones at shelters, is sad, but we wonder if my 2 current cats will be fighting with the new one or not…I don’t know…
PS; I have a small house 1/1
Bob says
August 12, 2019 at 12:02 pmStop letting them out and you won’t lose three of them 🙂
Katie says
January 4, 2017 at 3:27 pmIn July I adopted a 5 1/2 month male kitten and he was my best friend. He is now 10 months and I just adopted a 3 1/2 male kitten. Both neutered. I didn’t know about the separation part until after I got him. My oldest kitten used to be my little shadow and now since I got the kitten he wants nothing to do with me. They do play with each other throughout the day but they do occasionally fight. They do have separate litter boxes separate bowls and occasionally sleep with each other. Recently I have tried separating them at night so that the oldest one is with me and the youngest one is in a different area. I have honestly tried everything to make them both feel loved but a couple days ago my oldest kitten pooped on my rug which never happened before. Is this an act of jealousy? Is there any other suggestions to help me figure this out
Ralphie says
March 31, 2017 at 9:44 pmMy cats breath smells like cat food.
Eunice Parker says
March 29, 2018 at 5:53 amI am having trouble between my pet indoor/outdoor cat and a stray cat that’s in my yard. My cat chases and fights the stray but it keeps coming back. Plus I feed the stray. Now the stray is pregnant and I am afraid my cat will hurt the stray. I want to help the stray and keep both cats.