new kitten

My husband and I are getting a kitten next weekend. It's been awhile since either of us had one and we are sort of feeling clueless. I may post here frequently with questions. I greatly appreciate any help possible! My first question is what should we do with him during the day while we are both at work? I was thinking of putting him in the bathroom but then we would have to put the litter in there also. It's not a very big bathroom and he would probably get bored easily. Anyone have any suggestions??

Also, we have a cat now that is older. Should we have separate litter boxes for them? We are going shopping this weekend so I want to have everything we need!

I think that's all for now. I'll be back though! Thanks.

Originally Posted by twistedangel77

My husband and I are getting a kitten next weekend. It's been awhile since either of us had one and we are sort of feeling clueless. I may post here frequently with questions. I greatly appreciate any help possible! My first question is what should we do with him during the day while we are both at work? I was thinking of putting him in the bathroom but then we would have to put the litter in there also. It's not a very big bathroom and he would probably get bored easily. Anyone have any suggestions??

Also, we have a cat now that is older. Should we have separate litter boxes for them? We are going shopping this weekend so I want to have everything we need!

I think that's all for now. I'll be back though! Thanks.

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This is a very hot topic and one I just went through. I set up a "safe" room (a spare bedroom) for the new cat and had separate food, water, bedding, and litter in one room. If I was not in the house I have family that could come over and look. We already had an established cat, Persi. He also had his own stuff. Everytime I would get a chance I would carry Persi around so that Alley could see there was another cat in the house and then do vice versa. In this manner they got quite used to seeing each other but could not touch each other. Then over a period of days I just started putting them in Alley's safe room for short periods of times, gradually increasing this amount of time and petting both cats at the same time as there would be two of us in there, one holding and petting one cat, and one the other. Eventually we would turn them loose so they could sniff each other and at first Alley would hiss and lash out at Persi but Persi was very persistent in winning over Alley and he eventualy did. They now sleep with us in our bed at night and share the same bowls and litter box. This whole process took three weeks and I have seen shorter and longer times stated here on this forum. Ask all the questions you want, I was so very nervous when I brought Alley home but I had already been coming to this site and knew that I would get the information I needed and that I did.

I would have 2 litter pans for the time being. Ling apparently has no problem sharing the big pan with Charlie, so I only need one

Can you confine the kitten in a bedroom with the litter pan till the cats get used to each other? A trick to help introduce is to sprinkle each cat with some cornstarch baby powder so they smell the same.

Thank you to everyone who replied to my problem. I really appreciate it. We get the little booger this weekend. Now I have another little problem. The other cat we have it pretty old, he's about 14. Lately he has been going bathroom in front of his litter and other places in the house. He will do this and then one of us will walk into the room and he'll quick run away. So he knows he did something wrong. What could be the reason he is doing this? Is it because we aren't changing his litter enough? If not, what can we do to get him to stop this?? Thank again for all your help. I really appreciate it!

Raquel Austin

Hi Racquel,

Since your currently resident kitty is older, the first thing you should do is to have him in to see him vet to rule out any health-related issues. Since his behavior has changed, it might be that he is trying to tell you in the only way he knows how that he isn't feeling well. If the vet rules out health issues, then yes, by all means, keep the little box immaculate or even provide another for her use. A lot of cats I know prefer to pee in one box and poop in another.

If the older cat just started the inappropriate elimination, he needs to see a vet. Rule out any medical problems. What kind of litter box do you have? Perhaps he's having trouble getting in or out of the box. Spooky I think was starting to have some problems cause he started pooping outside the box a few months before passing away. He never did it in his life - we thought the other cat was doing it.

But yet, he still had no trouble jumping on sofas, chairs, etc.; I really think he was getting senile! He was 15 1/2 yrs old when he died.

Originally Posted by twistedangel77

Thank you to everyone who replied to my problem. I really appreciate it. We get the little booger this weekend. Now I have another little problem. The other cat we have it pretty old, he's about 14. Lately he has been going bathroom in front of his litter and other places in the house. He will do this and then one of us will walk into the room and he'll quick run away. So he knows he did something wrong. What could be the reason he is doing this? Is it because we aren't changing his litter enough? If not, what can we do to get him to stop this?? Thank again for all your help. I really appreciate it!

Raquel Austin

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Raquel....you may want to consider getting the kitten a friend around his own age. This is from another rescue group:

In general, adopting a kitten (1½ years or younger) as a companion for an older cat ( 5 years and older) is not a good idea. A youngster has boundless energy, wants to play and run constantly, and requires very high amounts interaction--all of which are likely to overwhelm and irritate an older cat in short order. Likewise, a kitten is apt to be frustrated that its companion does not have the same energy level as itself. At the very least, this can lead to two very unhappy cats. Worse case scenario, behavior problems such as litter ox avoidance or destructive scratching can occur as one or both cats act out their frustrations on their surrounds. Long-term, it is almost certain that the two will never have a close, bonded relationship, even after the kitten matures, since their experience with one another from the beginning of the relationship are likely to be negative. An older cat is better matched with someone of their own age who has similar temperament. Likewise, kittens as a rule need other young cats to play with in order to be happy. If you insist on adding a kitten to a household that already has an older cat, at least get two--this way they will entertain one another and the older cat can participate or not depending on its mood.

It's just something to consider.

Katie