Introducing my cats...with a slight twist from the norm.

Ello,

About 2 months ago I adopted a goofy little kitten from the MSPCA and he's been great. We went back there just for fun the other day to give all the cats some love and we stumbled upon a beautiful one month old long-haired tortie. We had been talking about getting a playmate for Roscoe for a week or so beforehand, so I went back after the long weekend and adopted her yesterday.

I brought her home and let her out into the bathroom with food/water and a litter box. I noticed a little bit of sniffing through the doors and there was no hissing, so I was delighted in thinking that these two were going to get along from the start.

Unfortunately that's not really the case. Roscoe (4 months) immediately starts chasing her around and obviously wants to play with her, but Penny (new kitty) is totally disinterested. She'll stop on a dime, turn around and give him a hiss that makes him run in the opposite direction. He almost seems sad that she won't play or interact with him.

Any ideas? I read the stickies, but this seemed a little out of the ordinary since it's usually the younger cat who is on the receiving end of the hisses and growls and whatnot.

Thanks!

HRP

You'll have to keep them apart when you're not around until she's a lot older, because while he may just want to play now, he may also try to assert dominance later on and especially if he's not neutered yet (do it as soon as the vet says it's ok!). She's just being a typical female!

Yes, he is neutered.

We live in a very open one bedroom apartment, and the only place we could place the kitten in would be the bathroom or the bedroom. I don't want to confine her to one room for the first 5 months of her life because she has an older 'brother' who is bigger than her.

When he sees her, he instantly dashes towards her and pounces, often grabbing a hold of her and then sometimes biting. She hisses and growls in retaliation, and rarely physically strikes back.

I would have thought that if he is biting her on the neck that this is what cats see as courtship and that he is becoming romantically involved...
I'm sure other posters could help clear this up

Shes only about 6 weeks old? That is young to be taken from her mom.The hissing and growling are her way of saying "back off I don't know you and I'm scared." Shes very young right now and your older kitten is bigger older and wants to play. But long as though there is no actually fighting it sounds like your off to a good start.Right now she needs a few weeks to grow and get used to her new home. Let them interact and be around each other when your home. But untill your sure there won't be any actually fighting please keep them seperated when your not there to break up any fights. Shes to small to defend herself and you don't want her hurt.
I bet in a week they wil be the best of friends.

Yeah, she's tiny! I'd say Roscoe outweighs her by about 4 pounds or so.

I just feel so bad locking her up in the bathroom all the time

You don't have to lock her up all the time - lock up Roscoe, so a) he gets that he's not 100% welcome in all situations (he'll get over it :-), and b) she gets a chance to 'claim' the place as her own too and not feel like an interloper. Once her smell is all over as well as his, it might cool him down a bit. Unfortunately he may continue to harrass her for a long time - it's impossible to predict as cats vary as much as people, so you may just end up either keeping Roscoe alone, finding a more suitable (male) friend for him and finding Penny a new home, or get lucky and be able to keep them both, but be very sure about what you do and don't be taken in by his being 'good' for a short time even much later on, as he will always be bigger and stronger and MAY believe it's his right to dominate and claim the territory. This is not theory, but from long experience!

When I was introducing my foster kittens to my household cats, I took a large box and made a hole big enough for the babies to get in, but small enough to keep the cats out. I tested it out by putting Cairo's (the smaller of the 2 cats) favorite treat in the box, and she couldn't make it through the hole. Cruel I know, but cats can squeeze into very tight places, so I had to be sure.

I put the kittens into the box and let them roam around the room without the big cats present. I made some loud noises with objects in the room and when they got used to running in and out of the box, I let the other cats in. It seemed to work pretty well.

I'm surprised the MSPCA released a kitten so young. Being only one month old, she still needs supplements to her food, and special care. You probably already know this but it's worth mentioning anyway. I'd say at about 8 weeks you can take away the box as she should be able to handle herself by then. Also keep his claws trimmed, and let hers grow a little if you can bear it. That should give her a little added defense.

Yes, I was also very surprised that they let her go so young, too. I hope she will still grow to full size and not have any problems...

We keep Roscoe's claws trims but I've let Penny's go so she's got some extra defense.

They're getting better and yesterday they were sleeping near eachother on the same bed for a few hours but when they're both really excited things tend to get violent. I've noticed Roscoe getting on top of her and biting her back or the back of her neck. Is he trying to mount her?

It sounds like normal play that a young kitten would do with one of his litter mates. Mine do it all the time to eachother (two girls), but it's ok for mine cause they are the same age/size.

She'll get old enough to defend herself and enjoy the rough play soon enough.

Play mounting is a dominance and not a sexual thing in kittens or in neutered males. It sounds to me as if they are learning to get along and yes, there will be hissing and growling, maybe more, but that is normal as they learn to live together.