The Fantastic Four had their second vet visit this week. They're all over 2lbs each, so it's time to schedule their spay/neuter appointments.
Alice has a home that's ready for her as soon as she has healed from the surgery; we will probably have to hang on to Buzz for a little while longer as his prospective owner is currently dealing with getting her other kitten diagnosed for a vomiting problem. Maxwell and Philly Joe are staying with us for keepsies.
What I need now are some suggestions on introducing the kittens to our two adult female cats, Peaches and Cream. I've let each kitten briefly explore the living room where the big cats hang out. Peaches goes into hiding; Cream keeps a wary eye on the little interlopers and has hissed at them a couple of times when they've come too close. I've tried to offer treats and comforting pats to her, as she's clearly agitated by the presence of Superior Cuteness, but she doesn't want to be distracted from staring down The Enemy.
I don't want to overly stress any of the cats, so I've kept the visits short, hoping to gradually increase the exposure until my big girls achieve Perfect Feline Indifference toward the kittens. You know, the way they treat me.
Does anyone have any tips or tricks for getting my adult cats to accept/tolerate these excessively adorable newcomers? Thanks.
Alice has a home that's ready for her as soon as she has healed from the surgery; we will probably have to hang on to Buzz for a little while longer as his prospective owner is currently dealing with getting her other kitten diagnosed for a vomiting problem. Maxwell and Philly Joe are staying with us for keepsies.
What I need now are some suggestions on introducing the kittens to our two adult female cats, Peaches and Cream. I've let each kitten briefly explore the living room where the big cats hang out. Peaches goes into hiding; Cream keeps a wary eye on the little interlopers and has hissed at them a couple of times when they've come too close. I've tried to offer treats and comforting pats to her, as she's clearly agitated by the presence of Superior Cuteness, but she doesn't want to be distracted from staring down The Enemy.
I don't want to overly stress any of the cats, so I've kept the visits short, hoping to gradually increase the exposure until my big girls achieve Perfect Feline Indifference toward the kittens. You know, the way they treat me.
Does anyone have any tips or tricks for getting my adult cats to accept/tolerate these excessively adorable newcomers? Thanks.
. What cute names too, Maxwell and Philly Joe. I would have a few sessions each day with the kittens out and about. Supervised of course and about 15 minutes each time. I have a great set-up in my house for cats to visually see eachother without interacting yet. It is a plexi-glass divider instead of the regular door to the safe room. This way my cats can see the new cats/kittens (foster's) and the foster's can see them. So they visually see eachother without the smell, yet. Brush the kittens and then brush your cats with the same brush. Scent swap as much as you can, even switching out eachother's kitty beds. Be very patient, and eventually the kittens can be out more and more during the day. But keep the kittens in their room at night at least for a few weeks for sure. I usually keep them in their room at night until they about four-five months old. By then, everyone should be getting along fabulously!! Anyway, that is what I do and it has worked perfectly. I am posting a picture of the plexi-glass set-up in another thread in the cat forum. Someone was interested in my idea. I just have to get the pictures this weekend and post them.
