Thinking of Getting a Kitten, How Will My Older Cat React?

My mom and I are considering on adopting a kitten, which would be my mother's own cat. I was wondering what to consider when introducing the kitten to my two-year-old Coral. Coral has co-littered before, so I'm thinking she'll be okay and warm up to the kitten easily. It also depends on the kitten's temperament as well, but if there are any sort of steps I need to take, I'm more than happy to learn them all. 

Thanks ~ !

Greetings!!

Here are two good articles on introducing cats.

Bare in mind that your older cat, even if he likes cats in general may still need help with the introduction, and a slow intro that starts with separation can go a long way to long term friendship.  The worst thing that can happen is that the resident cat takes a permanent dislike to the kitten.

The thing that I like best about the ASPCA's introduction technique is step 2: letting them see each other without allowing interaction (this can be done with a child gate between rooms).

But one of the points of a gradual introduction process however you do it is this:  slowly moving the line of "stress" closer and closer to your resident cat without forcing them over it all at once.  Adjust the line, get them used to that, adjust it again, let them de stress again, adjust the line again.  So when the final line is crossed - a supervised face to face, its just an incremental step, not a train wreck.

Cats have very strict hierarchy in nature.  A kitten won't respect this and could seriously annoy a resident adult.  And when it comes time for the face to face, trimmed nails and full bellies ok (cats can be more aggressive when hungry).

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/introducing-your-cat-new-cat

My older cat still dislikes the kitten (who's now 8 months old). They will never cuddle or play together but when it comes to me giving them wet cat food, they will share the same plate! Or maybe lay on opposite arms of the couch, at the same time! So its a tolerated existence

Even if you do the slow introduction technique, there is a chance that they won't be BFF's.

I wanted to add that you may want to consider NOT getting a kitten but instead getting her a playmate closer to her own age. While at 2 years old she may still be young and feisty enough to get on alright with a kitten, the fact is that older cats often intensely dislike kittens because they are little balls of energy who want to play and play and play and won't leave them alone.   It can sometimes be MUCH harder to get an adult cat to accept a kitten than to accept a cat of a similar age and temperament.

Just food for thought. 

edenandcoral723, from my own experience, the outcome of getting a new kitten depends on three factors:

1)The personality & age of the resident cat. You say that your cat is 2 years old, I'd say thats a good age to introduce a kitten. Your cat has the energy and experience to cope with a new kitten, and has co-littered before. This means that they will probably become friends in a very short time (under 3 months). Older cats (eg 7 years) tend to take longer to become friendly with a kitten, if at all. But then, it also depends if your cat has a friendly, aggresive, patient,dominant, etc... personality.

2)The personality & energy level of the kitten. Most kittens are pretty energetic, but if, lets say, your cat likes to sleep alot, or doesnt play that often, I would get a low energy kitten. Remember: low energy does not mean that the kitten wont play at all, it means that your cat might find it easier to get used to it & become friendly, if the cat itself has a low energy level. Another thing to note is the personality of the kitten. Its quite hard to notice it at such a young age, but there are still small clues to look out for. If you are choosing your kitten out of a litter (I've never had experience with a litter bigger than 2, but this is what I think from what I've seen in videos), look out for these:

The daredevil: this kitten will like to explore, knock things over, be the first to explore a new room, and try new things.

The leader: this will be the dominant one who likes to play-fight a lot, and maybe guard the toy(s) he/she has claimed for themself( as it grows up, it will probably try get dominance over the resident cat, unless the resident cat shows him whos boss)

The shy/clingy one: this one will usually stay with its mom, not venture out too much and stay with the things it knows are 'OK'. Though thats not bad, when this kitten becomes friendly with someone, they will be really Really friendly and cuddly. When it grows up, it also wont like being in crowded places or with people that it doesnt know.

The playful one: This kitten will obviously love to play with toys, kittens, its mom, humans. It will probably have a high energy level and as an adult, it will still love playing, running around and being energetic. Though energetic as it might be, if this kitten gets tired and has a strong bond with its owner it often might cuddle up on your lap for a nap.

The average one: I like to thing that all of the above sort of evolve from this one- its playful, cuddly, likes exploring, playfighting. A mix of them all-energy levels will vary from low to high.

3) The introduction. This is the most important bit. If you let the cats meet face-to-face on the first day, which you should not do, It will probably take them a long time to become friends and they might be aggresive towards eachother at first (this is what happened to me, my brother let the resident cat into the room before we could stop him. The resident cat was quite aggresive towards the kitten for about 2-3 months, mostly swatting at the kitten as it passed by and hissing, no blood spilled, but then they eventually became friends after 4  & 1/2 months).  Start off with smelling eachother through the crack under the door for a while, then a supervised face-to-face and when you think the resident cat is ready a supervised meeting( putting them both into the same room, free reign). How long it takes them to become friendly also depends on personalities. EG: if the kitten is friendly and playful it will keep trying to become friends with the resident cat. Another option to help them become friends it to have them play together with toys, or rub the kitten with something that smells like the resident cat.

I know this is very long, probably too long, but I couldnt put it any shorter. I hope this post helps you and best of luck

-BerbDCat

From my own experience bringing in an a new adult cat is much harder than bringing in a kitten. I would get a kitten who is well socialized with other cats and seems to have a similar temperament to Coral,

The safe room plan is absolutely necessary for as long as it takes. It was over 3 weeks before I let Luna spend the night out of her safe room. I will be the first to admit that I did not adhere to those steps when I got Luna, because Zoey was scared of her, but not at all aggressive with her. You know you're cat and you will really be able to feel them out. My girls are the best of friends now.

I got Luna at 4 1/2 months which worked out well as she was still with mom and siblings in her foster and they had been able to teach her boundaries. I'm sure Zoey appreciated that!

Wow, thanks a lot, my friends!   It's so glad to see all this feedback from different points of view! Sorry about the slow reply, work and school has been eating me up. >x<

BerbDCat, I read your kitten descriptions, and I think the most suitable would be a daredevil kitten, since Coral has a tendency to be very elusive and interact with many things. She doesn't necessarily play a lot, but she will poke and prod at stuff she finds interesting. 

I talked this over with my mother, and she said she was looking into getting a tabby kitten at least 3 months of age, since around that time most kittens are a bit more behaviorally developed. My mother suggests a tabby since she declares they're much more "friendlier and lovelier" than a calico. While I don't know how true that is, I love calicos and tabbies all the same, and hopefully with careful planning and introduction all will go well. 

I'll let you know how the rest goes - again, thanks for the help, everyone! 

No problem! And have fun with the new kitty-cat