'We’re only a few days in and it takes time but i’m feeling so guilty': After adopting a 4-month-old kitten from the shelter, pawrents get a 2-month-old sibilng, and are now dealing with a catastrophic case of sibling rivalry

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Sarah Brown • Writer and Editor
Aug 24, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Pepper the kitten had his hoomans wrapped around his tiny paw from day one. He's cuddly, playful, and already the king of their castle. But lately, his pawrents noticed signs of single kitten syndrome (a.k.a. zoomies on steroids). With one pawrent working long hours and the other buried in schoolwork, Pepper was left batting at shadows instead of buddies.

So, they did the logical thing: brought home a tiny new sister. She's adorable, cuddly, and already smitten with Dad. Perfect, right? Except Pepper apparently didn't get the sibling memo. The moment he hears or sees her, it's hissteria central. Swats, growls, and enough side-eye to fuel a soap opera.

Now the pawrents are torn juggling cuddles, guilt, and Google searches at 2 a.m., wondering if they've made a catastrophic mistake. Do they push on with slow intros, or has their happily-ever-after turned into a hiss-fit household? Only time (and patience) will tell, but one thing's fur sure: these pawrents are pawsitively exhausted.

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  • 01
    'We were getting strong feelings that he really could use a friend'
    via Images by Matt Skretting / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    My boyfriend and I adopted our first baby back in June. A four month old male named Pepper. The past two month have been amazing, he is very cuddly, loves to play and very friendly around humans, even strangers. When we got him from the shelter he was around 10 weeks old and just arrived at that shelter a few hours previously from a parter shelter.
    via oliviyuuh
  • 03
    When we adopted him the person at the shelter told us that they were told he hasn't gotten along with other cats. I have no idea if he was just scared in the shelter, around bigger cats or just intimidated. At the time we were ok with this because I have never had a cat previously and my boyfriend hadn't had a cat in a few years.
    via oliviyuuh
  • 04
    Over the past two weeks though, we were getting strong feelings that he really could use a friend. He started playing more aggressively and with my boyfriend working long hours and me going back to school he spending a large part of the day home alone. In all honesty I got very scared of him getting single kitten syndrome. I started doing a
    via oliviyuuh
  • 05
    lot of research and asking other people opinions on whether or not we should get another kitten. Lots of people and research told me it would be a good idea to do it sooner rather than later and since he's so young he's still pretty moldable.
    via oliviyuuh
  • 06
    Two days ago, we decided to bite the bullet. We found the sweetest little girl (2 months) at the shelter. She's very cuddly and loves to play. She also bonded a lot with my boyfriend which we thought was better since Pepper is more bonded to me and we really wanted to avoid jealousy and resentment. We brought her home and she's currently staying
    via oliviyuuh
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    Cheezburger Image 10545895680
    via Cats Coming from Pexels / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    in our second bedroom. We are doing a very slow introduction and not trying to rush Pepper if he's not ready. However, any time he sees or hears her he starts hissing uncontrollably. Today he saw her through the crack of the door and tried to swat at her.
    via oliviyuuh
  • 09
    I know we're only a few days in and it takes time but i'm feeling so guilty. My boyfriend has been busy the past few days so it's mainly been me here trying to split my time. I'm trying to make sure the new kitten feels comfortable and loved but also don't want Pepper to think we've forgotten about him. I just feel like i'm stretching myself thin.
    via oliviyuuh
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    Cheezburger Image 10545895936
    via Pannawat / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    We've even been getting him familiar with her scent but i'm seeing absolutely no progress and I can't help but feel like I made the wrong decision. What do I do?
    via oliviyuuh
  • 12
    WorkingKey3160 they will bond just be patient..my 8 month okd kitty hated the 9 week old baby we brought home! she hissed at him and swatted at him non stop. Now they are inseparable...they sleep together, clean each other, eat together literally are best friends!
    via WorkingKey3160

  • Sibling rivalry is a classic phase. Whether it’s kids or kittens, it takes time to move past the hisses and swats. With patience, they usually grow into best furriends who can’t live without each other.

  • 13
    UltraDinoWarrior You're WAAAY too early to be panicking. Cats take 3 months to settle down. It's going to take time. Be patient. A) look up Jackson Galaxy's cat introduction videos
    via UltraDinoWarrior
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    B) go completely NO site or contact for the next week. Work on scent trading. Take blankets from one room and put them in the other. After about two more days, start doing air locking where you lock Pepper in a room, and the let new baby out to run
    via UltraDinoWarrior
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    around, then without letting him see new baby, put him in the bedroom that new baby was in. Trade toys, etc C) feed in front of the door after tthe first day, give all treats by the door, positive. reinforcement.
    via UltraDinoWarrior
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    D) don't let them just interact and decide how they wanna be. If he's sniffing at the door and hissing, distract him. Get out a wand toy and play with pepper. E) get Feliaway spray, specifically the one for mutli cat houses
    via UltraDinoWarrior
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    F) ensure you have plenty of vertical spaces as much as possible and at least 3 cat boxes
    via UltraDinoWarrior
  • 18
    I just brought home a new kitten recently too, and my boys get a little hissy sometimes. It's happens. They're all scared and surprised and confused, but peace will come. Just be patient and go slow.
    via UltraDinoWarrior
  • 19
    MuggleoftheCoast One thing which helped in introducing my cats was shared treat time.
    via MuggleoftheCoast
  • 20
    I'd sit one one side of the door of the room where the new cat was (sometimes with the new cat, sometimes with the old one) and alternate: One treat in front of the door for the cat on my side, one treat flicked under the door for the cat on the other side.
    via MuggleoftheCoast
  • 21
    Both cats were very food- motivated, so were willing to tolerate each other at least long enough to eat the treats. Even then, it still took a couple weeks before I could keep the door open and not have the cats hissing at each other.
    via MuggleoftheCoast

  • Treats have magical powers! They can bring cats, hoomans, and even squabbling siblings together. A crunchy snack here, a tasty bite there, and suddenly everyone’s on the same purrfect page.

  • 22
    Calgary_Calico Give it time and try to avoid him seeing her for now, scent only for at least a couple weeks. This is a perfectly normal reaction to a new cat in his territory.
    via Calgary_Calico
  • 23
    The first time one of our cats saw our newest he was growling and biting the air lol. He got over that in a fairly short time, and I knew he'd be much more jealous than our oldest. It's been two days, cat time runs on weeks and months, not days. Take it slow
    via Calgary_Calico

  • For cats, time works on a whole different clock! What feels like forever to hooman pawrents is just a whisker of a moment to them. Give it time and they’ll figure it out.

  • 24
    lanternofthehermit I know exactly what you're feeling, but it just takes time. Stay the course with the slow introduction. Feliway hormone diffusers. worked wonders calming my older boy when I brought his baby brother home. He was BIG MAD about it, but they're best friends now.
    via lanternofthehermit

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pets siblings kitten adopted advice feline pawrents animal shelter Cats
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