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My older cat is mean to the new kitten. How can I make them get along?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 10 lbs

I have a 5 year old cat Lily who apparently wants to be the only cat I brought home a kitten a while ago and it's been 5 months and she is always mean to him she doesn't want him around if he tries to play she's just nasty any way I could try and turn this around

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Dayna, DVM, CVA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on January 12th, 2018

Just like some people, some Cats don’t get along. Trying Feliway diffusers in the house may decrease the stress level. These can be purchased at any major pet store. Also consider adding in tall cat trees and lots of hiding boxes to keep them happy. Best of luck and I hope there is more harmony in your household soon! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on May 15th, 2017

    Often new cats can take a while to get used to one another. If you still have the opportunity, I would try to reintroduce them slowly. Keep them in separate rooms at first. This will allow them to be near each other, smell each other, but not touch or injure one another. After a few days, I would place them in a room together with the kitten in like a large dog crate for a while. This will accomplish the same goal as above but allow for closer contact and touching. Have some supervised sessions when they are loose together, rewarding any positive behavior by both of them with praise and treats. Cats respond the same way as dogs do to positive reinforcement in many cases. If the supervised sessions are going well, you should hopefully be able to integrate the two of them fully after a while. Unfortunately, there are some cats that simply do not do well with others in spite of training and behavioral modification. If this is the case, the hope is that the two will simply ignore one another rather than fight.

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