Fluffy is still hissing and growling at the kittens. We've had Feliway and Pet Remedy plugged in for weeks and it's not making any difference. Fluffy just comes in, hisses and growls at the kittens, stuffs her face then shoots out through the cat flap. She doesn't spend any quality time inside anymore. She's very friendly, greeting and affectionate outside and it's sad that she only feels happy outdoors. That's not what I want at all

I phoned up my Vet surgery for some advice and spoke to a lovely nurse about the possibility of giving fluffy some anti-anxiety drugs (we used something similar years ago when my old cat Buster got very stressed and started over-grooming when my son was born).

However, she thinks its more of a time issue rather than a need for medication. She said that its probably a case of where the kittens are still very playful and chasing each other round the house and possibly quite boisterous its quite intimidating for poor old Fluffs who before the babies arrived had our undivided attention and now she has to compete and share her home which she had just got used to before the new arrivals on her patch.

She said that the fact that she's coming in for food is a good sign and she feels that this is her home and she's happy and secure in that capacity and to really wait it out as hard as that it. She said that as the kittens grow and settle down and not get so hyper she will be more likely to accept them get used to their presence.

I feel abit better now about this. It's a horrible feeling to see her getting so upset and angry. The nurse did chuckle when I said that Fluffy is a Tortie and she giggled and said "Yes, they do have a reputation of a hot temper" lol!

I thought I'd share my experience with others who may be stuggling with the same issues as me with a resident cat who is used to being the only pebble on the beach

Sorry to hear of your problem with Fluffy. My experience with Torties is
they can be volatile and often do not like sharing their homes with other cats. Especially as she has been used to being the only cat in the house. So I expect this is why it is taking longer than you thought for her to accept the kittens.

At the moment poor Fluffy is feeling pushed out, so if you can reassure her she is still wanted, e.g. give her access to part of the house where the kittens are not allowed ? For example, every night, if you can shut the kittens up together in one room and allow Fluffy access to you and your bedroom? Or just allow her access at night to all the house apart from the room where the kitties are.

It's going to take time and patience though, as she is feeling insecure right now. She may never learn to like the kittens, but perhaps eventually a truce will develop, and they and she will learn to keep out of each other's way, and use different parts of the house and garden, etc.

Best of luck

Thank you Chillminx. The thing is at first for the first month or so we kept the kittens only in the conservatory and let them into the living room supervised while Fluffy had the upstairs all to herself but very soon Susie wasn't satisfied with just the downstairs and made damn sure she could have access to the whole house.

We have a panelled living room door that leads to the hallway and stairs and there are a couple of lower panels missing which my daugher knocked out during the terrible 2's and 3's which we never bothered to fix and just patch up with cushions well Susie being the clever girl that she is figured out really quickly that she could pull the cushions out with her teeth so we ended up rounding her up from upstairs (with her bro in tow), taking her back down to the living room and reinforcing the door with extra cushions still she managed to wriggle her way through.

In the end we threw caution to the wind and said what the heck lets just let the kittens have free rein and by doing that their scent has now spread throughout the house and Fluffy just does not want to know!

Now that the nights are getting colder we have stopped shutting the kittens in the conservatory over night and last night at stupid o'clock I could here a low growl from Fluffy but my husband was up working on his laptop so he dealt with her

Its a very difficult situation and I hope that things will improve over time. Fluffy is a true Tortoishell and true to her rep!

Hope Fluffy starts spending more time inside soon. It is hard work trying to introduce cats as I'm finding myself. We're still at the scent swapping stage & just seeing each other stage.
My normally placid Mr Kane has suddenly become a moody so and so!

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Also mum to Mr Kane, a 9yr old ginger boy

When Fluffy comes in for her food do you keep her in afterwards or is she still straight out again?
I have no experience of this but could you keep her in and just ignore the kittens for a while and just concentrate on spending quality time with Fluffy?
She may not want to at first but if she realises it is your time with her she could accept the situation better and end up becoming friends with the kittens.
Hope it works out in time

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats

Thank you for your reply. Actually we do it the otherway round. When she comes in she's as happy and purry as you like and we give her lots of fuss and quality time but after being fed she is very bad tempered and hissy (even with me lol!) so its not possible to spoil her after being fed.

The cat flap is set so that she can come in but can't get back out so we have to turn the dial to let her out so sometimes I delay it on purpose just so that she can get the benefit of the felliway plug in nearby.

I think yesterday we had a slight improvement because I work between the 11.30am and 1.30pm and while I was out fluffy came in and was sprawled on the livingroom floor with the kittens crouching down watching her from a distance and she was even purring!!! After about 10 mins of me watching (I was dying for a pee but didn't want to get up and disturb her lol!) she suddenly got up and hissed at the kittens so we went straight back to square 1. I'm optomistic that things will improve over time.......

So hopefully there maybe some light at the end of the tunnel. I do hope Fluffy gets over this soon and everyone can live together in harmony.

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Black with white around his private area



Black Tortoiseshell




R.I.P Patch my well behaved boy dog
R.I.P. Abby and Rebel my beautifull litter sister cats