Getting Kitten a Friend?

Hallo!
I had 7 -months -old boy-cat, when we took 2 months old girl-kitty.
My boy hissed once and then...they were close friends!!! Played and slept together!
Now they are living apart, as the boy is not neutered.
But when they meet each other ( boy is 9 months, girl is 4 months) they are still friends!

Good luck! I think everything is going to be OK!

How can you describe you first one? is he tender? or he walks by himself?
I think, that this age of 5-6 months is a good age for making friends with smaller one. If you cat was older, there could be problems...jealousy and so on...but your cat is small !!!
Nevertheless I advice you keep eye on them for the 1st time.
IMO.

IMO both kittens should be neutered and/or spayed before you bring in another kitten. He's at the age he could start spraying and being more "macho" towards the new kitten.

Get him neutered first, then bring in another kitten.

When my partner moved in my cat Jasper got a little depressed (he was used to all my attention lol) so I decided to get him a playmate. He was about 2 1/2 and Delilah was about 5 months when we rescued her and at first he hated the new arrival. He became very reclusive and was hissing, spitting and lashing out at her when she approached (she had balls of steel and wasn't at all put out by this). It was getting to the stage where we thought we would have to rehome delilah, Jasper was unhappy and De was taking a lot of punishment for it.

However about 2 weeks into our ordeal Delilah became absolutely transfixed on the shoe rack and spent every waking minute trying to get underneath it. Eventually she produced a crinkly christmas decoration that Jasper (an expert tree stripper) must have chased under there and she started playing with it. I have no idea why (I thought it would cause more grief since it was "his" toy) but after that they were inseperable! I would leave for work in the morning and the two of them would be sat shoulder to shoulder on the window sill, they played together, ate together and slept together and there have been no problems since!

Jasper is quite the wanderer, and Dee sits in the back garden or in the open window waiting for him to come back. When Dee wasn't very well she had to stay at the vets, and Jasper pined for her like crazy! He's definately happier now than before her arrival, although it was a little rough in the middle!!

Vicky, Jasper and Delilah.

Hi

your kitten is young and playfull- it shouldn't take long for him to get along with the new kitty...... it's awfully hard to resist paying with a new buddy .

I'd second GoldenKitty though- get him neutered before the new kitty moves in, it will make life easier for you. If this is not possible then just stick to getting him neutered in 2-3 weeks time.

Good luck and have fun with the new kitty

christine

I dont think you must overdo this with neutering already. Dont hurts if it is done, especielly if your resident is allowed to go outside, but NOT necessary because of his new young pal.

You ask about vaccinating the new one before he comes:
HOW necessary, depends on, I would say.
But usually it is good to have your cats vaccinated, thus the newcomer too.
Most important distemper + cat flu, and rabies in some countries. There may also be other shots.

It depends also on how it is. CAN the new one be one week extra where he is? for example with mom? Are they and his old milieu healthy?

Breeders, for one example, do always take all the shots before they deliver the kitten. They also guarantee the kitten is healthy, thus a good breeder never deliver a kitten with a flu and the kitten is always vet checked.

But if necessary you can do all this including the shots when he is already with you. After the shots keep the kitten separate a couple of days: new milieu, new pal who is not yet pal, and dizzy after shots is much. Better to let him be alone.

Likewise. If the kitten comes from unsure milieu; you are not sure if he is healthy at all, keep them separated - a quarantene - at least one week.
In the time make a vet check up, the shots, deworming. You also observe and see if there are any traces of disease or something.
And you and the little one get friends, you becoming his new Daddy/Mom.

Because kittens as young as 4 months have been known to breed and get pregnant; and because kittens are maturing earlier now, it really is best to get them done by 3-4 months old.

Many problems can be eliminated with cats and bringing in new ones, if everyone is first spayed/neutered.

I'm not usually one to get involved with the spaying/neutering debate, but I do think there will be less problems getting to know each other if there are no hormones involved! I can't imagine introducing one to Jasper before he was done, he was very teritorial.