Question regarding smells and 2 cats

So we have 2 cats, one is about 4 years old male nutered, the new addition is a 9 week old kitten. Got them finaly introduced last week, and for the most part its all good, but occasionaly when he sniffs her bum he'll hiss at her.

She's not cleaning very well yet, in that area, so I can understand the complaint... is there any way around that? Just the other day they were hanging out in bed, he was actualy grooming her a bit, and then got a wiff of the back area and hissed...

Will she eventualy just learn to groom herself better and this will just go away, or is there something else?

Thanks!

Hmmmm thats a difficult question because that is usually something her Mohter teaches her. 9 weeks is a little young to be away from her. I dont know if they just automatically learn themselves Hopefully someone will reply soon that has more knowledge of that than me.

Originally Posted by Pami

Hmmmm thats a difficult question because that is usually something her Mohter teaches her. 9 weeks is a little young to be away from her. I dont know if they just automatically learn themselves

Hopefully someone will reply soon that has more knowledge of that than me.

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Hmm... I was under the impresion that 8 weeks is old enough to adopt a kitten.. I hope this is something she'll learn to do on her own.. or maybe eventualy he'll teach her?...

Hopefully he will teach her. A lot of people get kittens at 8 or 9 weeks but it really is better to wait until they are 12 weeks before taking them from their mom. The mom cat teaches them behaviour and litter issues.

Yes 8 weeks is awfully young to be away from momma. The 8-12 week time period is such an important time for her to learn all these things from her mother. How to groom herself, how to socialize around others, typical kitty manners. Being taken from mom so young, she missed out on these things. Hopefully she will learn on her own over time but you just have to be patient with her. If the worst the male is doing is hissing at her sometimes, I wouldn't worry too much.

She's ok so far, the male is pretty relaxed so he's been treating her nice for the most part. I wish I'd known to wait a little longer. But we havent' had any litter issues so far, she's just started to cover up her poop and aside from that seems to be having a good time. Still tries to nurse though which makes us feel bad... do they have like little bottles or something we can get or is that just not necessery?

When i brought Sophie home as a kitten Rosie was forever washing her bum Sophie brought the mother out in Rosie, so this little one might be bringing the dad out in your older cat

Is she eating kitten food ok?

Although my Willow came to be when he was around 5 months, he was evidently taken from his mother too young. He has issues with a dirty bottom as he literally sits in the litter.

When he first arrived, he didn't wash himself either, but over time learnt that from Tibby and Molly.

I think your kitten will learn to clean herself more thoroughly - with the aid of your older kitty! Sometimes though, it just takes a bit of time!

In regards to the suckling, Willow still does this to my fingers! There is a product that was posted recently - the Catsifier - which might be something you'd like to buy for her as a kind of comfort zone.

Originally Posted by Roger_Wilco

She's ok so far, the male is pretty relaxed so he's been treating her nice for the most part. I wish I'd known to wait a little longer. But we havent' had any litter issues so far, she's just started to cover up her poop and aside from that seems to be having a good time. Still tries to nurse though which makes us feel bad... do they have like little bottles or something we can get or is that just not necessery?

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Don't feel bad about it, you didn't know at the time so it wasn't deliberate, and I'm sure everything will work out fine. I got Radar at 8 1/2 weeks too, I only found out that was a bit young after reading it on here, a lot of people round here offer kittens to new homes as soon as they can eat solid food.

We found that Radar didn't start grooming really thoroughly until he was about 4 months old, he would have a go but it would be a bit half-hearted. The 'poopy paws' issue we had when he was first learning to dig and bury in his litter cleared up well before then.

He still likes to suckle on our fingers, he's now 6 1/2 months old, but it's not as frequent as it used to be. One thing you could do is get a soft toy for your kitten to suckle on, make sure it's safe with no eyes that could be swallowed, ie. one that's suitable for very young children. The kitten can cuddle up to it and a lot of youngsters find comfort in that. Having said that, the cow we gave Radar gets 'killed' by him on a daily basis, so it doesn't always work out the way it's intended!

And once again, please don't feel bad

Originally Posted by rosiemac

Is she eating kitten food ok?

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Oh yeah, she scarfs it down. We have to feed them separately cause Ash (the male cat) likes to eat her food, but I read here that it's high in calories, so probably not a good idea...

She'll occasionaly wonder over to his food area and eat a little but she's quickly geting the idea that we don't really approve of that.

So how long should we wait before we get her fixed? I've read like 6 months, and then I've also read that any time as long as they are big enough...

This is the little trouble maker btw:

She's beautiful

You can get her spayed when she is 8 weeks or weighs 2 lbs.

Awww, she's gorgeous!

Originally Posted by Sar

Awww, she's gorgeous!

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Thanks! She was the only calico in the litter... she's also crazy, but she's starting to take more naps now, which gives us some time to recoup.

Originally Posted by Roger_Wilco

Thanks! She was the only calico in the litter... she's also crazy, but she's starting to take more naps now, which gives us some time to recoup.

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It sounds like her tortitude is coming on nicely then! I can imagine that she's certainly keeping you on your toes!

What is her name? Did I miss you mentioning that?

Originally Posted by Sar

It sounds like her tortitude is coming on nicely then!

I can imagine that she's certainly keeping you on your toes!

What is her name? Did I miss you mentioning that?

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Her name is Glory and the 4 year old male is Ash. My girlfriend tells me that they were snuggled up sleeping together today, so thats good news.

It kinda sucks that we might have to re-introduce them after she gets fixed.. at least from what I've read, since she'll smell different for a little while? ... its just wierd, like now they're fine, but a week from now he might think she's someone different again, cats are wierd.

Originally Posted by Roger_Wilco

Her name is Glory and the 4 year old male is Ash. My girlfriend tells me that they were snuggled up sleeping together today, so thats good news.

It kinda sucks that we might have to re-introduce them after she gets fixed.. at least from what I've read, since she'll smell different for a little while? ... its just wierd, like now they're fine, but a week from now he might think she's someone different again, cats are wierd.

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Beautiful name for your beautiful little girl! Ash is a great name for your little boy too!

That is excellent news that they have been sleeping together - did your girlfriend happen to have the camera nearby?!

Just a though for when Glory gets spayed! When she comes home - smelling of vet - dab some Vanilla Extract onto both her and Ash (under the chin, at the base of the tail and between the shoulder blades) as it helps to mask the vet smell and give them a familiar scent!

Originally Posted by Roger_Wilco

It kinda sucks that we might have to re-introduce them after she gets fixed.. at least from what I've read, since she'll smell different for a little while? ... its just wierd, like now they're fine, but a week from now he might think she's someone different again, cats are wierd.

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What a beauty Glory is! You will probably not have to do re-introduction. Just keep them separated for a few hours. Rubbing them down each with a towel and then switching towels, to get Glory smelling like familar smells again.

Originally Posted by Sar

Beautiful name for your beautiful little girl! Ash is a great name for your little boy too!

That is excellent news that they have been sleeping together - did your girlfriend happen to have the camera nearby?!

Just a though for when Glory gets spayed! When she comes home - smelling of vet - dab some Vanilla Extract onto both her and Ash (under the chin, at the base of the tail and between the shoulder blades) as it helps to mask the vet smell and give them a familiar scent!

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Thanks!

I allways wondered about the vanila thing, doesn't that smell go away sooner or later? What happens then?

Originally Posted by Roger_Wilco

Thanks!

I allways wondered about the vanila thing, doesn't that smell go away sooner or later? What happens then?

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When Glory gets back from the vets, it'll just provide some interim time for the nasty vet smell to disappear at the same time as aiding with familiarity. You might need to reapply it a couple of times during that time, but should be satisfactory for only a day or so (you'll be able to judge how they are reacting)

Once you stop reapplying the vanilla, their own scents will begin to come through which will allow things to get back to normal without any alien smells getting in the way