We have an 11 month old Siamese mix. He's a real joy - loves to play, is extremely affectionate and is around all the time. We just got a 3 month old MC kitten yesterday. They've been sniffing each other out under the door. The kitten is fine with the older cat, but our Siamese boy is doing a lot of hissing and likes to come up behind the kitten and bat his hind legs. He even hisses at his favorite cat bed because it smells like the new kitten. Is this normal and will it stop? Should we give the both kitties a bath to change their odors? I want our Siamese to start acting normal again.

-- Anonymous, March 11, 2001

Answers

This is perfectly noraml behavior. Try this, it worked for me. I have a 7 year old DSH. Last November we got our first MC. For this first five nights I slept in my living room with the new baby & my husband slept in the bedroom. We kept the bedroom door closed until the fourth night, then opened it. The baby stayed on the sofa with me, while our DSH explored. The following night I slept in the bedroom. We heard a couple of skirmishes but all was fine in the morning! Now they play, sleep and eat together! Sometimes, there's still a little conflict, but since our 6 month MC is so big (female-10 lbs) the DSH knows she can only bully the baby just so much before SHE get swatted!

All in all it's a learning experience. Good Luck.

-- Anonymous, March 12, 2001