Need advice on bringing home a new kitten

Hey guys! If you remember, I have a himalayan cat named Guiness. He is 18 months old and is our only pet, besides the fish. We got him when he was 8 weeks old and has been held and spoiled rotten from day one. I recently got in touch with a kitten rescue group. They have a kitten that needs a home fairly soon and I think we are going to take him. He is 8 weeks old and is a gray tabby. My questions for you are: How do I introduce the new kitten to Guiness? How can I make sure they will get along? Do I need to get a seperate, smaller litter box for the kitten? Seperate eating dishes? I know he needs kitten food, and Guiness is on adult food, but at 8 weeks can they eat dry food, or canned? We had to feed Guiness people baby food for the first couple of weeks when we got him because he would not eat at all! I feel like I am starting all over, but I can't remember all the things we had to do with Guiness. I do remember locking him in the bathroom for the first week or so with his litter box, so he would learn to do that. Should I do that again with this kitten? I feel like a new, nervous mom!

This link http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sea...der=descending will take you to several threads with excellent advice on introducing cats.

I'm going to move this to behavior where it will get the proper responses.

There are several methods for introductions. It's hard to say which one will work the best from cat to cat. The one thing I want to stress is that the new kitten should stay in a seperate room for at least 2 weeks or so. The reason I say this is because the kitten may have something that your cat can get. Weather it's a minor cold, or a parasite, it's always better to be safe than sorry. While they are seperated, they will probably get familiar with each other under the door. With you coming in and out with diferent smells, it will help.
There is going to be some hissing and spitting when they meet, and it will take some time to adjust. The way I have always done it is to let them hiss and spit as long as nobody is getting hurt. If they get rough, I seperate for another day.
Depending on the size of the kitten, you will want an appropriate litter box. It's also a good idea to have 2 boxes with 2 cats so that there's no litter box problems.
Kittens can usually eat solid food, but if the kitten is only 8 weeks old, I would make sure that it's eating the kitten food. I know Royal Canine, and Iams makes the kitten food in little bity pieces.
Bringing in new cats can be nerve racking when you have a resident cat or cats. In the end, it usually works out and everyone is happy

Thanks Sandie~you were very helpful and answered all of my questions. I really appreciate it!