My older kitten attacks new kitten; why is she crying when picked up?

When you have that many cats, you are bound to have conflict at some point. They may single him out due to his age or size. Separate him for a week or two, then gradually reintroduce him. First, allow the others to hear and smell him but not see him. Progress to sight but without physical contact. Before a physical introduction, place him in a closed carrier in the room with the other cats. Once they have accepted him, you can try a supervised physical introduction. Provide an adequate number of litter boxes (typically one per cat plus an extra). An adequate number of bowls, beds and toys should also be provided to prevent resource protection. A pheromone product, such as Feliway spray or plug in diffusers, may decrease any anxiety in the home.

You may need to make some adjustments so you can help keep your home a low stress and comfortable place for your cats and get Piper and your other cat to get along. Cats need at least one litterbox per cat plus one extra to help reduce stress associated with the litterbox. They should be placed in separate rooms, away from the food and water bowls, must be scooped at least daily (preferably multiple times a day)and washed out at least weekly with a mild soap, followed by thorough rinsing. Cats need a lot of space to explore, but keeping them indoors is much safer than letting them outside, due to the risk of injury from cars, wildlife, other animals, etc. The key is providing space (particularly vertical space for climbing, such as cat trees, ledges, and the like) inside the home. Visit veterinarypartner.com and healthcareforpets.com for tips on stress reduction. The following link has information on introducing a cat to your home: https://indoorpet.osu.edu/cats/felinelifestressors/new-pets Also look into Feliway, a synthetic pheromone that is available in a diffuser and spray form that promotes calm feelings in cats http://www.feliway.com , and feliway friends, which is a pheromone that can help cats get along with each other better https://www.feliway.com/ca_en/Products/FELIWAY-FRIENDS-Diffuser I highly recommend you have Piper spayed, as sometimes the hormones associated with not being spayed can worsen behavioural issues. Spaying also stops the heat cycle, eliminates the risk and cost of unwanted breeding, and can reduce the risk of uterine and ovarian cancer, as well as reduce the risk of potentially fatal uterine infections and breast cancer. Good luck, and I hope your kitties start to be friends soon!

Cats can behave like this after any separation (even just as short as a trip to the vet). Generally this behavior will calm down. For now, separate food, water and litter box so that there is not competition. Also try a pheromone diffuser in the house to see if this helps to calm them down. Separate them if things become too aggressive and then reintroduce once they have calmed down. Best of luck with Lucy.

Cats can become stressed by other cats but they do often work things out eventually. There are a few things you can adjust to help decrease stress. Cats are sensitive to the type of litter, size of the box and location of the box. If you have more cats, you need 1 litter box per cat + 1 additional box. You should also have a litter box on every floor of the house. This article discusses different types of litter and litter boxes: https://www.petcoach.co/article/cat-litter-finding-the-right-fit-for-your-cat/ In general though, cats prefer large, uncovered litter boxes, clay-based clumping litter that is scoped every day and a private, quiet location. If you have other cats or dogs, if they can access the litter box, it may cause Luna to be afraid that she could find herself trapped in the box. Cats are a prey species in the wild and they still retain those instincts. Here is a great article about cat's instinctual needs: https://www.petcoach.co/article/why-every-cat-needs-a-place-to-climb/ Use a Feliway diffuser, set aside 30 minutes a day for vigorous play and/or switch the food to Royal Canin Calm. Most cats response best to combination therapy. The veterinarian can also prescribe medications which can help with anxiety. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

It can take your kitten a week or two to acclimate to its new surroundings. He has to get used to his new environment and used to the fact that he's not around his littermates and mother anymore. Just keep giving him plenty of attention and affection and he should be fine in no time.

In my opinion, it is too early to be trying to do any sort of training with this kitten. She is very very young and in a brand new place for only one day. She needs time to adjust to her new surroundings, the abscence of the mother cat and litter mates and it can all be very scary for her. Give her time to become comfortable in her new home, gain some confidence and readdress this issue in a few weeks. By then, she will be more confident and not as needy.

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.