Should we sleep with the new kitten? Help!

denrin

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So... we are new around here, and new to having two cats. Got kitten #2 yesterday, in case you aren't familiar with our other posts, here's a brief background.

Malcolm we got a month ago, he's 3 months old now, we've done everything we can to really, really socialize him. he's a BIG suck. He loves new people, he's good with a guinea pig we are currently pet sitting, and he's just a friendly little sweet kitten that loves to cuddle and play.

Bailey we got yesterday. She is 4 months old and is fairly shy as it is, so says her former owners. We have set her up with a safe house in our bedroom and she seems to be adjusting well. We now go in and she's happy to see us it seems, or at least doesn't run and hide, and we sit on the bed with her and stroke her.

We've had her and Malcolm see one another through a grate and with our supervision and nothing more has happened than some hissing and growling and then we each play with one of the kitties to try and show them it was a "positive" thing.

Last night we brought Malcolm into our room and let Bailey out into the rest of the house, set her up with a nice bed etc. Bailey meowed the whole bloody night long, until D (one half of us :p) got up and slept on the couch with her, although it seems she wanted back in the bedroom. After doing lots of reading I figured out that I THINK that we made a mistake by swapping them - malcolm was just FINE in the room with her (He is not behaving very territorial, he's more interested than she is and so far she has been the aggressor) but I think we really disrupted her idea of her safehouse. So, we switched them up today and Bailey seems to have re taken over the bedroom. So what we are wondering now, is whether or not one of us should sleep in there with her, or whether we should leave her be in her safe house for the night without either of us. I dont want to disrupt Malcolm's routine as he is used to sleeping with us so I do not think it is a good idea for BOTH of us to go and sleep in the room without him there, because then HE will meow all night long because he wants to be with us.

Any advice? Leave Bailey be in our room alone overnight? Or should one of us go in there with her?

Thanks...
 

cheylink

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For now if you do decide to seperate them, I would say one person with her. That way when you reintroduce both sleeping with the both of you in the same room, she is acustom to one, and everyone gets some sleep untill its all worked out! Kittens hate to be alone, they need the comfort of a warm body especially sleeping.
 

denice

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As kittens it won't take too long for them to get used to each other and they both can have full run of the house and both of you and both kittens will probably end up in the same bed at night.
 

epona

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We are currently introducing 3 month old Sonic to 8 1/2 month old Radar. Sonic is sleeping in the bedroom with us as that is his safe room, the one he is acclimatised to best. It is going fine, we get woken at about 6am with huge games of 'hunt the bed-mice' but the new kitten is settling in well and I think is adjusting quickly because he likes the comfort of being in bed with us.
 
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denrin

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Well I've now seperated them between the 'safe house' (our bedroom) and the rest of the house. Bailey (new kitten (4 months old)) continuously wants to get out though, and wants to explore the house, and Malcolm (resident cat (3 months old), wants to follow her around and 'smell' her, which Bailey does not enjoy one bit, there has been lots of hissing some batting. But the thing is that I don't get or if someone can explain to me, ITS ALL FROM THE NEW KITTEN??????, Malcolm has done none of the hissing or growling.???

Any suggestions help greatly appreciated
 

denice

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All cats are a little different. The new kitten probably just isn't sure about the resident cat. He's still exploring his new home. Once he's sure of his space he will probably move on to making friends with your other kitten. As kittens it shouldn't take long. Keep giving them short supervised exposure to each other the hissing and growling will soon stop. In my own experience immature or neutered males tend to be a little more accepting of new scents and new cats in the house. You might want to put the resident cat in the bedroom to give the new kitten a chance to explore the rest of the house on his own. It's only been a couple of days. My female cat will hiss at my male cat for two or three days after he's been at the vets and they have been together since they were kittens. I haven't tried it but a lot of people on this forum will put pure vanilla extract under the chin and at the base of the tail on both cats to mask their own scents and help them smell the same. A vet tech where I take mine has suggested rubbing catnip on both cats. I've tried that and it didn't seem to help.
 
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denrin

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YEa well Malcolm isn't neutered yet, thats the other thing, lol, (don't worry we are gettin both of our cats neutered and spayed) but just haven't yet, our vet doesn't want to do it until they are a bit bigger, (well that was for Malcolm our vet hasnt' seen the new addition yet), regardless its still strage it seems like the opposite of what I think would happen
 

missymotus

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Originally Posted by Denrin

YEa well Malcolm isn't neutered yet, thats the other thing, lol, (don't worry we are gettin both of our cats neutered and spayed) but just haven't yet, our vet doesn't want to do it until they are a bit bigger, (well that was for Malcolm our vet hasnt' seen the new addition yet), regardless its still strage it seems like the opposite of what I think would happen
I would get it done before 6 months, females can have their first heat at 4 months and boys can be ready to mate at 5 so the sooner you get them done the better.

Good luck with your intro's
 
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