HELP! Cats attacking kitten!!!!

I have a couple of spayed female exotics 2 and a 3.5 year old- very very docile and friendly with people, dog, neighbours cats (which come into the house).....

So i thought, bearing in mind their complete friendliness and acceptance of neighbours cats coming into our home, that introducing two new kittens would be simple. So a few weeks ago i placed a deposit on 2 maine coon kittens.

However, my brother came to stay with me over the christmas and new year period, bringing with him his 3.5 month old kitten. I thought i'd introduce the kitten and my cats slowly, but this has proved near enough impossible. My cats have realised by hanging outsite the room the kitten is kept in that there is a newcomer, and they will sit and growl outside the door for hours on end.
There was an incident where my brother had left the bedroom door open, forgetting the kitten was there, only to be reminded a few moments later when we heard screeching from the room. On entering the room we found both my female cats attacking the kitten, the kitten was so scared that she had actually emptied her bowels during the incident.

We've tried to introduce them again slowly, by exchanging smells, even holding the cats and just being in the same room, but have found both the kitten and cats will growl at each other.
Any slow and careful introductions is not possible as my cats will give literally no body language that they are annoyed or agitated- simply no warning signal or indication of irritation- they will run to attack her.

The kitten is extremely vocal and i feel rather reactive- she will growl and run, and gives out very defensive, almost aggressive body language- though i can't say i blame her.

And so now- i'm in a dilemma- i'm keeping my brothers kitten away from my cats and he's going home this weekend anyway- but i still have my two maine coon kittens to pick up- which i have been looking so so forward to- and i don't want to let the breeder down.

So what do i do- why are my cats doing this??? Will they be the same with the two maine coon kittens- at a bit of a loss what to do-???

Breeder keeps calling me, and i dont know how to bring my concerns up- if at all- maybe the cats will be ok with the kittens??? Any advice gratefully recieved.

I can only give you generalized statements as I am not familiar with exotics.

It is natural for resident cats of any kind to be upset when an intruder ( even a kitten) comes into their territory. They are simply bound to be defensive. Sitting at the door and growling and hissing are normal reactions.

Of course it is going to scare the new one, but so long as they are safe, it should be OK. You need to realize that this may go on longer that two weeks or so. It just takes a lot of time and patience to introduce properly and slowly.

You can slowly get each one used to the other's scents. For example, if you pet the exotics and then go see the kitten, the kitten will react with fear. You can gently pet and talk to him and tell him that he is safe while you are petting him with the exotics scent on your hands.

Then afterwards, you can try petting the exotics so that the kitten scent is mixed in with theirs, but be prepared, you may get hissed at and may even spit at. They will be very defensive. Just take your time.

Just don't ever leave the kittens alone with the others til you're 100% sure they're good together. It could take a while and they may 'relapse' at times, so until they're big enough to stand up to the older ones, you'll have to be very careful.

Thanks for your responses

So should i go ahead with the two maine coon kittens i have already placed a deposit on?? I understand these things take time- but i don't want two unhappy kittens and unhappy cats in a new home...

My concern is that they will really hurt the kittens... because they really do go for my brothers kitten....

Well, they are going to grow up to be very large compared to whatever cats you have, and they will probably want to dominate because they're younger and it's what younger cats do (once they're no longer kittens). Plus of course you're going to have a lot more clean-up to do, and vet bills, etc. never mind grooming (though they won't need it the same way a Persian does). Don't ever feel obligated to do it - it's like getting married, better to suffer whatever embarrassment, loss of money, etc. if cancelling at the last minute than to have a lifetime of trouble.

Please speak candidly with your breeder about your concerns. She may be able to assist you with ideas, thoughts, suggestions on how to make the transition more comfortable.

If you are getting the feeling that you have, perhaps, made a mistake in getting the two babies at this time, then I also strongly encourage you to be honest with her about that too. As a breeder, I can tell you without hesitation that I would much rather hear that a kitten buyer realized they made a mistake BEFORE the kittens went out to the new home than AFTER they were already there.

I think Gayef is right, I am also a breeder, and I would be dissapointed if two kittens I felt were going to a good home ended up not working out, and the new owner cancelled. But, I would also respect the new owner for realizing that it may be a mistake be fore the kittens acually went to their home. Any reputable breeder is more concerned with their kittens health and safety then getting the money from a sale. I am sure they will understand and be happy you were as concerned for their saftey as they are. I hope you talk with the breeder, they may have some ideas or suggestions for you. I have had a few kitens go to homes with other cats and dogs as well (I don't have dogs) I fully expected it to take a while to adjust to their new home, owners, and their pets. But they didn't have much of a problem, the ones I expected to have the smoother transactiond with were the ones that took longer. So it really depends on each animal, you say they get along with neighbor cats, so mabey they just didn't like the brothers kitten, mabey his kitten wasn't socialized by the breeder/adoption agency, ect. If the breeder has nice properly socialized kittens, mabey it will go smoother?
I sold a kitten to a lady on this site, she has 3 other cats and a dog and a puppy. She also lives far away from me and had to ship the kitten out to her, so after being shipped and going to a home with 4 new people 3 cats and 2 dogs, I really expected to hear how hard he was taken the adjustment to their home. I was surprised out how quickly he he fit with them and was even friends with their puppy and likes playing with him. So point I am trying to make is, even though your cats don't like the brothers kitten, they may not have as hard of a time with the MC kittens, mabey they just don't like the kitten that is there. I hope you get every thing worked out whether you decide not to take the little guys or not. I think the breeder would be understanding, and may even be able to help guide you with the introductions.

It's a dilemma. On the one hand, it could be the individual kitten they were reacting to. But then it may be that your cats' behavior toward the kitten is indicative of how they're going to act towards any young cat. My cat recently spent a few weeks living with a kitten... he can be a bruiser with adult cats, so I was nervous, but he turned out to be very gentle and tolerant of the kitten. He let it climb all over him and chew his tail, and he groomed it and slept next to it and played with it. So sometimes you get a trial run that tells you where your cat is at.

Is it possible to bring the Maine Coon kittens to your house on a trial basis?