we had the same thing happen when my sister "rescued" a kitten (the farmers were going to shoot it) and we bought it home and introduced it to our 7yr old existing cat. eventually the older cat just up and left and went to live with the neighbours, she died about a year later because our neighbours are not what you would call good cat owners.

I think the problem is that you've introduced competition into smitten's territory and if smitten had been a more docile cat it might have gone a little better but perhaps its just a case of this place and these people are mine and you need to leave and that they will never get along. The cat we have now doesn't play well with others shes extremely skittish.. perhaps even mentally deficient she likes people so long as they are incapacitated (on the toilet or tucked up in bed) and is a real smooch but the rest of the time she moves like a lightening bolt, she also doesnt venture out of the house because outside is not her territory.

My mum has a problem like this with her two cats. One is a dopey male the other is a high-strung female with a penchant for spraying curtains and furniture when she gets upset (which is often). Unfortunately I don't have a great story to tell of how they've overcome their mutual hatred, but over the years they've calmed down enough to simply ignore one another, and as long as the female doesn't think her precious mum is paying more attention to the male than her then things tend to run pretty smooth-ish. Mum tried everything over the years, from feliway to separating them, but didn't have much success with anything- but the cats have pretty much sorted out their territories and stick to their own turf...with the exception of mum and dad's room- both cats believe that it should be THEIR territory, and battles still sometimes ensue.

lets get ready to RUUUMMBBLLLEEEEEEE!!! When good fur babies go bad... I can see a reality show coming!

I have a cat incredibly similar to Smitten - also a fiery ginger who can open the locked cat door, with a huge personality and a dislike of laps. She continually fights with our other cat even though she's grown up with her. We've lately taken to spraying her with a water pistol when she starts attacking. It gives her a hell of a fright and lets the other one (who is also traumatised, unfortunately) escape.

By the way, I think it's because ginger female cats are crazy. Gingers are supposedly meant to be males, so maybe they have too much testosterone and something went wrong with their wiring? But we love ours to death anyway (although you're right, no one else would have her).

Oh Lord! When will people learn you just can't get a new cat when you already have one? In almost every case cats find it impossible to live together unless they have been together since they were kittens (and are preferably siblings). This is not a situation that's going to have a happy ending; the only solution is to find a good home for one of them. I had this experience when I got a second cat that had been abandoned. It was what the CYFS people term an "emergency placement". Predictably it turned out exactly like this situation and the new guy had to go live with my friend.

Please don't give up on your cats. I have had a few cats and did have similar problems when introducing any new cat into the house. In time they will all get on. My cats now all lie together on the bed and are the best of friends.

In the good old days I would have said support them both and hope that they will eventually sort things out. However having had the same problem with two of our cats, I think you should make a decision to find another good home for one of them, hard as that sounds. We had two spays (and that may be the source of the problem), a middle-aged Abyssinian spey and a young Korat speyed kitten, acquired to replace a much loved predecessor. They were fine at first (and a very elderly Aby neuter as well although he didn't last long when his kidneys packed up) - the kitten being a kitten, and the spey ignoring her. However when there were just the two of them, and the kitten having been spayed got older, she became really mean - attacking the Aby quite frequently. Aby didn't stand up for herself and Korat wouldn't stop (although she could be halted briefly with a grey vacuum cleaner hose). The Korat was eventually killed when she got caught in our cablecar and strangled (which was devastating) and we had the Aby on her own for about 9 months when the Korat's litter sister became available for re-homing. The new Korat had a totally different personality and was much more easy-going but the Aby by then was quite withdrawn, and a few months after the new Korat came, the Aby had developed a neurological problem affecting her front paws, and had to be put to sleep. This may not have had anything to do with the Korat kitten/young cat, but it was stressful for all of us to endure. Bite the bullet and find a new home for one of them - or endure trouble and strife until something happens to one of your two cats.

We have successfully introduced two cats to our dominate male over the last few years. Both times it looked like it would end very badly and both times we used cat hormone spray to clam the situation. You can get it from the vet. We use it at the SPCA in little difussers like glade air freshener, that is why all those cats in the cat gym aren't constantly fighting!! (Trick of the trade!) We generally sprayed the favourite spots of our dominant cat, eg window sill curtains, and he eventually calmed down. Good Luck, a follow up blog might be necessary in a few weeks once you have tried a few different ideas.

Don't despair, they could still get to tolerate each other. You just need to give them time, cats live by their rules and timeframes - not ours. I have had times when two cats never got on, but most recently I did have a brother and sister, but the brother sadly passed away after a year, the sister was so lonely we decided to get another kitten. On the whole they get along, but they still have their moments (who says cats should get along together all the time anyway). Have you tried ignoring Smitten when she does attach Minka? This may be hard to do but cats love to get our attention - even if it is for being naughty, so perhaps if you try to ignore her she might think there is no reason to do it anymore.