How long to adjust?

[Ceinwen]

I have a 1.5 year old cat and a 2 year old dog (terrier mix).

The cat was raised by the dog, since we got her as a 3 week old who was abandoned by her mother.

Last night a co-worker of mine (who also runs a pet rescue) gave my daughter a 4 month old kitten for her birthday (with my permission)...

So - the dog loves both cats, no issues there. Very gentle. The new kitten is nervous of the dog, hisses a little - but no aggression.

My older cat though? CRAZY. Has lost her cat mind.

She is hissing and scratching at everyone. Me, the dog, the new kitten, my kids.

So, my question is - how long will it take for this to start to settle down?

I let the cats meet under a door first. Then put the kitten in a crate and let my cat sniff around her (which let to her hissing and growling).

Then I let them both out. No actual physical interactions yet - but my older cat follows the kitten around and hisses at her.

I got the kitten to sleep with some of our worn clothes last night, so she'd smell a bit like us (suggestion of the rescue owner).

All three animals are female, all three are spayed. We always joke that my older cat thinks she's a dog, since she was raised by our dog (the dog groomed her, slept with her, brought her to the bowl for food, etc.)

Any tips or advice? I feel bad for my older cat AND the new kitten.

[mattemma04]

It took a few weeks for my older 2 cats to accept the younger. I do recall setting up a seperate littler box for the little one.I also made sure there was no serious attacks,and showered all with loving.Years later the older ones still hiss at the younger one at times. Atleast there was no peeing out of the box to show displeasure! Be patient and hopefully in a few weeks your older cat will mellow out a bit.

[number572]

I don't have cats, so I am only going on hear-say.  I have a friend who fosters cats and says that each time she brings in a new cat, she bathes them all and uses the same essential oil rubs after their baths.  She says that cats determine spacial right by scent and when you bathe them, they get confused and no longer associate new cats with a different scent than their own.  I don't know, I always thought that cats hate water and I'd be wearing elbow length gloves if I ever attempted to bathe one!  But, that's what she says and she does foster random cats often and they do always seem to get along.  Maybe worth a try??  Maybe google her approach before trying it, I'd hate to be the one to tell you to wash cats when it could end horribly!

[K1329]

We always had a mix of dogs and cats growing up. Whenever we introduced a new pet it took up to a few weeks - but, eventually things calmed down, and, the cats and dogs always would come to terms with each other and eventually even become friends/housemates. Give it time.