Why does my feral kitten hiss and scratch when I have another cat?

Unfortunately, kittens that were bottle fed can be aggressive and not as friendly. You can try to put some feliway diffusers in the House and spray her sleeping areas. Feliway is a cat pheromone which can sometimes help to calm them. Also, give her more time. She has been moved from multiple house in her short life and now around new cats (they don’t usually remember family). This can be stressful and can take weeks for them to acclimate to. I hope this helps and she starts to get use to her new living conditions.

It does take time for the existing cat to get used to a new addition to the house, and I recommend introducing them slowly to each other. Take the kitten, and put her in her own room with her own food, water, and litter box. Keep the door closed, and for a few days, feed them both treats on other side of door so they associate each other's smell with a good experience. Then let the other cat in the kitten's room while the kitten is in a cat carrier. They can smell each other, but not be in contact. If either becomes upset or show signs of aggression, remove the second cat from the room, and try again later. Praise them when they interact appropriately. When they are interacting well with each other through the carrier, you can let the kitten out of her room, and see how she interacts with the other cat. Praise them when they interact appropriately, and separate them with any sign of aggression or upset. I would get a cat tree with lots of shelves to give the cats vertical space to get away from each other. I would keep the kitten in her room when you go out until they are comfortable with each other.

If your cats have spent most of their time outdoors and now are spending time inside together then this change in environment could be causing tensions. If they are still outside all the time then it is possible that a new cat has come into the neighborhood and this has disrupted the social structure of the cats, or potentially one of the cats could be feeling unwell and therefore being more defensive, or they could feel they are having to compete for food/shelter. I would be sure both cats have equal access to food and water (they may need their own separate areas to eat/drink so they don't feel threatened) and litter boxes indoors. When indoors I would recommend the use of the Feliway Multicat diffuser https://www.amazon.com/CEVA-Animal-Health-D89410B-MultiCat/dp/B01AVHPFDS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1503838561&sr=8-4&keywords=feliway+multicat, which is a pheremone product. I would consider an examination by your vet to look for underlying health problems as well.

This happens. Cats take time to get used to each other. It can take 6 months before they are either friends or tolerate each other. I have 5 cats, and two of them keep having tiffs when their paths cross, however, in general they get along by ignoring each other. Make sure your new kitty is checked for FIV and FeLV as these diseases are spread by saliva (deep bites when fighting) and also have the new cat vaccinated against rabies. Most cat fights are loud with lots of hissing, spitting and screaming but hardly any injuries....so they sound far more dramatic than they are. Give them time. Eventually peace will rule.

Poor girl! There could be something that has spooked her. Or she could be not feeling well. Or there could even be an internal conflict with another cat in the household. The first thing I would do is make sure she is healthy. I would see if your vet can look at her and make sure she isn’t painful, no infection, no fever, no urinary tract infection, etc. if she isn’t feeling well, this definitely can cause a change in behavior. If everything is normal then I would make sure she is getting along with everyone in the house. Make sure there are plenty of litter boxes as this is something they commonly will become territorial over. You can even put out some feliway diffusers which are pheromones they help calm down cats. Unfortunately these don’t work on everyone. You make also look into vetriscience composure treats as a natural calming supplement. I hope this helps!

Here is a great article on introducing a new cat to the household. https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-steps-to-introducing-your-cat-to-a-new-feline/ You might want to back up a few steps and try to start the introduction over from the beginning. The second thing you can try is to help Fiona deal with the anxiety of the new kitten by using Feliway, which is a cat pheromone that can be calming. It is available in a diffuser that is plugged into an outlet and is great for a room in the home. It is also available as a spray, which can be used on towels, or the most common locations Fiona likes to spend time. https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8906 https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=37241 Another product I like is Composure, which is available as a little treat. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetri-science-composure-feline-bite-sized-chews If these do not help, you might consider discussing prescription medication for anxiety with your veterinarian. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Cats will often do this if they have been separated for a period of time, especially if one cat looks or smells different - your female cat may have strange smells on her from her time outside. Most of the time, this reaction is mild and the cats will get along again after a day or two. If there is any serious fighting or if his aggressive behavior towards her does not seem to be improving, then you may need to separate them and gradually reintroduce them to each other - feel free to ask for additional help on this if needed :)