eating on opposite sides of the door

I am so tired of the hissing. Bandit and the new kitten will not look at each other without swatting. I have been trying to use food to make them like each other, but I am not sure I am doing it right. I put their bowls on opposite sides of the closed bedroom door. Bandit eats fast, but the kitten just sits there looking at me. Is this even working? I feel like I am just feeding them separately and waiting for magic to happen. :(

Hi Donna, welcome to the board. It is a very common struggle. You are on the right track with the door, but the distance matters. If they can smell each other through the crack, it might still be too intense for the shy one. I recommend moving the bowls further away from the door, maybe even into different rooms, until they are eating calmly. You can check out keeping bowls far apart for more on spacing. The goal is for them to associate the smell of the other cat with the good thing (food), not with stress.

A gentle reminder that this is a very frequent topic here. The moderators have pinned a guide that outlines the standard steps, including scent swapping before food. You can find it in introduction protocols. It mentions that if the new kitten is not eating, you may need to try a different type of food or warm it up to make the smell stronger. Also, make sure Bandit is not guarding the door.

Thank you both. I will move the bowls. I tried warming up the food for the kitten, but she still seems scared. I saw a thread by chloe won't eat near the door where someone had a similar issue with a shy cat. Did you end up using a Feliway diffuser or just patience?

Patience is usually the key, but it is hard when you are worried! My Whiskers is very picky, so I had to try several flavors before she would eat near Tux. I found that feeding them at the exact same time was helpful. If one is eating and the other is not, it creates tension. You can look at star's feeding routine to see how ruth83 managed it with a hyper cat. It took about two weeks for them to stop staring at the door.