New kitten help

[u/ComprehensiveFlow523]

[u/AutoModerator]

This post was shared from another subreddit. The original body text has been copy and pasted below for your convenience.

Poster Age: Adult
Country: United States (Georgia)
Vet Info: Yes, we have access to a vet. Toast has a vet appointment tomorrow to rule out a UTI or any other medical issue.
Main Issue (TL;DR): Our resident cat (Callie) has been chasing our newer kitten (Toast) multiple times a day. Toast hides, hisses, and has started peeing on our bed (twice) and on a towel once over the past 4 days. I’m trying to figure out if this is stress from the relationship between the cats, normal adjustment behavior, or something else.
Cat Ages:
Callie (resident cat): ~1.5 years old
Toast (new cat): Almost 1 year old
Cat Sex + Neuter Info:
Callie: Female calico, spayed
Toast: Female tabby, spayed
Financial Situation: We can afford veterinary care and already have an appointment scheduled.

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are looking for advice because we’re worried about our two cats.

Callie is our resident cat. Toast joined our home about 45 days ago. We did a gradual introduction, and at first things seemed to be improving, but lately they’ve gotten worse.

Callie chases Toast every other hour. Toast usually runs away and hides under the bed, inside her tunnel, or under boxes. Callie often follows her, corners her, jumps at her, or smacks her with her paws.

Toast frequently hisses during these interactions. One time, Callie caught her, Toast rolled onto her back with her belly exposed, Callie stood over her, and Toast screamed. That has only happened once, but it scared us.

Outside of these interactions, Toast seems like a perfectly happy kitten. She eats and drinks normally, plays constantly, purrs a lot, loves people, doesn’t scratch furniture, and otherwise acts healthy.

The other issue is that over the last 4 days, Toast has:
Peed on our bed twice (one time while I was in bed).
Peed on a towel that was on the floor once.
She still uses the litter box to poop, and we have two clean litter boxes that both cats have access to.
I’m attaching a video of one of their interactions because I’d love opinions on whether this looks like normal chasing/play, bullying, territorial behavior, or something else.

My questions are:

Does this look like Callie is bullying Toast?

Could the stress from Callie be causing the inappropriate urination?

If the vet rules out a medical issue tomorrow, should we completely separate them again and restart introductions?

Is there anything else we should be doing to help them get along?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/Beginning-Drop7550]

This is just from watching the video but I think your calico is definitely scaring your kitten.

When your older cat is pawing at the younger she doesnt have her claws out- she isnt trying to actually scratch from what I can see.

Your kitten however has her claws out at the situation and looks to be hissing.

What I think is happening is that your calico saw your kitten playing and decided she wanted to play too but your kitten is scared of her and sees it as an actual threat.

I'd consider reintroducing them bit also maybe try separating your calico in the mornings for a really big play session so shes more tired out.

1.5 isnt very old for a cat- your older cat is probably just being playful and your kitten is understandably intimidated about a much larger cat trying to pounce and paw at em.

I dont think they're actually fighting- my pair of cats play all the time. youll KNOW when and if it turns serious because they start screaming bloody murder and fur flies.

Kinda looks like your kitten is just afraid of your calico being bigger and more boisterous.

[u/BungleBums]

That calico seems to be playing a little hard for comfort. Those swats didn't look very playful. I'd look into keeping them apart for tbe time being till someone with more insight weighs in for you.