HELP - Introducing a kitten to a 3 year old female

I have read the sticky on this topic but my kitten(female also) has already invaded the resident's territory because I allowed her to (didn't do my research until now! :/ ) So she knows that the kitten is here. My older cat hisses and growls at her if she goes near her. Since the kitten has been here (couple hours) my older cat has just layed on the bed and she hasn't really moved. I am now keeping the kitten in my master bath so they can sniff eachother through the door. As soon as I put the kitten in the bathroom my older cat felt comfortable walking around again and she even went up to the door crack but when the kitten came near the crack the older cat hissed and growled again.

What should I do next? Is this still going to work since the kitten has already been around her territory?

It will still work, its just going to take time. I've introduced a lot of cats to each other, and in the end they will work it out amongst themselves. I've found no matter how much time you give them to get use to the other ones scent, it's all in their good time. After a certain point I just let them wander around the house together, there will be spitting and growling, but more often then not, they learn to tolerate each other. Just watch them for awhile. Good luck.

I agree. I would keep the new kitty in a room for a couple of days just so the kitty starts to feel a little comfortable and not freaked out by the move and is getting a chance to eat, etc.

The older cat is probably going to hiss and fuss some regardless of how you do the introductions.

Hi and congrats on the new kitten!

Just want to share a few extra tips. Keeping the kitten in the master bath is a good idea. This way your kitten has her own safe zone. Make sure the kitten has her own/food and water and litter box with her in her safe zone. The litter box should be small enough so that the kitten can easily get in and out of it.

Spend lots of extra time loving and reassuring your older cat so that she knows she's still the "top" cat.

You will need to let the kitten out occasionally for a chance to explore the rest of the house a bit . When you do this, put the resident cat in the kitten's area and let the kitten out to explore a bit. This will give your older cat a chance to smell the kitten's area and to get used to her smell. When you do this avoid your older cat spotting the kitten so there is no confrontation. You may have to do this patiently for about a week.

When you do allow them to see each other, keep the "visits" short and supervised, making it clear to your older that yes you love her but that you love the baby too. Putting a drop of vanilla on the back of their tails and neck will help tremendously because they will both "smell" the same and this will help them accept each other faster.

If you don't have vanilla you can always give them a very light quick spray with your perfume. It has to be a very very light spray (you don't want their fur getting wet in any way because of the alcohol). Make sure to hold the bottle at least 2 feet away from them, if you do this.

The idea is to get just enough of a scent on them to trick them into thinking they smell the same. Using the vanilla is preferable though and that too just a tiny little drop.

Give it a bit of time, and soon hopefully they will become good friends.

Thanks for the replies! Yesterday when the kitten was wondering around the room, my older cat was laying on my bed watching her and when the kitten would try to come close to her she would hiss and then the kitten backed up slowly. The kitten did that a couple of times, it almost looked like she was asking if she could come close and when my older cat hissed, she knew not to. My older cat hasn't really tried to go up to the kitten though, so I was nervous that she might not even want anything to do with her. Im exited to read about everyones success stories so hopefully now that I have the kitty in the master bath, they will get used to eachother's scent. I did put vanilla extract on both of them.

I also noticed that my older cat has found a spot beside my TV stand that she has made her new sleeping spot. When the kitty was exploring, she went behind there and my older cat is usually not allowed to go back there. So when my older cat wanted to go back there i let her so she wouldnt get jealous and even though the kitty is in the bathroom, my older cat seems to want to hide and sleep in that corner. What do you think that means??

When I introduced another kitten into the house my husband suggested rubbing the urine of one cat onto the other. The next day they were sleeping together. Was it the pee, or just luck, I dont know, but worth a try.

lol, that urine thing sounds like it would work.

Today I let the kitten out again and my older cat hissed at her for a little bit but then she got in a playful mood and ran around the corner of the bed and she bopped the kitten on the head and now the kitten hisses at my older cat. Whenever the kitten is playing with a toy, my older cat will run up to her to play (she doesnt hiss at the kitten anymore) but the kitten will hiss and growl at her! its the total opposite now. My older cat just backs up slowly.

What does this mean???

I wouldn't worry too much, they are probably just testing each other

What does this mean???

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Sounds normal to me. Keep in mind that kitty/cat "play" is pretty aggressive chasing and baiting and swatting and wrestling. The hissing is not unusual in the early going, but it sounds like your cats are slowly testing each other and establishing some boundaries.

I wouldn't overthink the thing. Once the kitty has a safe space so it's not petrified to be in the house and is eating and using the litter box, just let nature run its course. You obviously want to watch for serious fighting and aggression, but otherwise, the cats will work it out, probably in ways that we won't ever fully understand.

The last kitty/cat introduction I had developed a ritual. The kitty would walk over to the big cat and flop on its back. The big cat then slobbered all over the kitty licking it, invariably ending after a few minutes of that with an ill-tempered claws out swat. A little while later, kitty would initiate the same sequence again.

If your two are interacting at all, that's a good sign. It took several days for our older cat to even be in the same room with the kitten.

I start with the carrier the first night then the kitten goes in the bathroom. I do let coco and Meeko see the kitten the same day. Coco is very good ith kittens and lets them try to nurse of her. Sasha hisses at first but gives in. Meeko is ok the first day also. I think Oreo will be bad when I get my Sphynx because she starts fights.

Sounds like they are nearly there to me. When Toby came into the house and Dillon got excited and jumped on him, Toby hissed every time Dillon got near him, Dillon kept testing him. As I said, in the previous post, I separated them for the first night, separate rooms, did the urine thing and they were together after that.

If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you put the urine on them?? and did you bathe them after they finally started really getting along??

Thank you everyone, I had my worries about whether or not they would get along even though I have heard everyones success stories but I think they are going to be getting along fine.

As of right now, my 3 yr old cat (Malia) is now completely comfortable with the kitten (Nala) walking around the room and she still tries to pounce and paw at Nala but Nala keeps growling most of the time and hisses at her every once in a while. I know this is a good sign but I still wonder as im watching them whether or not Nala will stop being scared of Malia and just finally play with her. Also, I am hoping that one day they will start sleeping and cuddling together but Malia hasn't always been the cuddly type with people. She also hates being petted unless its on her head.

Has anyone had any success stories on a cat that wasn't very cuddly and once you got a kitten she started cuddling with the kitten? I love seeing cats cuddling together I hope mine will one day!!

Sasha didnt like Oreo at first and now they sleep together.