We have a male cat who is 1.5 (one and a half) years old. We've had him since he was a kitten. He grew up around our much older male cat, who is about 12 years old now. They get along well and always have, and play together. Yesterday, i received a gift of a female kitten for my birthday. She is only about 6 weeks old She is very active and unusually bold. Murphy, our young cat, was at first very afraid of her, then later curious. When she arrived yesterday, the cats all had limited exposure to each other. Murphy had no problem eating his dinner, and had a couple of treats too. We made a big fuss over both of our older cats all afternoon. Today, Murphy acts like he wants to eat, but can't. I know he is still stressed by the kitten, because he was outside and was reluctant to come in, but when she is inside, he is very interested in her and has tried to eat with her. She hissed at him when he tried to eat with her. We've tempted him with canned food and treats, and feeding him alone in another room,, but no dice. i know this is a serious problem. We confined the kitten in an unused room all night last night, and will for a few hours this afternoon too so our older cats can get a break, and again overnight, but I'm beginning to wonder if there could be something else wrong. Our other cat has no problem eating, and he just ignores the kitten as much as possible. He's been experienced with other kittens too over his years though, so he's used to them. Could this possibly be just due to stress? I'm reluctant to take him to the vet, because it will cause even more stress. And I really want to keep the kitten, so it's a problem. Thoughts?
