New Kitten with a One Year Old Cat in a New Home

SO!

My girlfriend and I are moving in a couple weeks, and we have a 1 year old female Cat who is super cuddly and sweet.  She presently already lives with a 3 year old female Cat who hisses and swats and is very territorial, but Roosevelt (Our cat ((in my avatar))) doesn't ever hiss back and just wants to play.  

A friend of mine just got a litter of kittens and we are adopting a lil female Siamese kitten a day after we move in to our new place.  I know about the isolation strategy, but I wonder if it is necessary in the same ways if we will be in a space that is new to both of them and hasn't been marked as territory yet.  Given Roosevelt's demeanor, I don't think she'll have a problem with baby Lincoln, but I still want to be safe.

What is my best option?  What should we be doing to make sure these two get along swimmingly?

Also, my first post!  Hi Everyone!   

Hi @DanAsher

Congrats on getting a new kitty! you and the GF must be super excited about that and the move. It sucks that Roosevelt and your other resident cat don't get along well. I hope Lincoln and Roosevelt will get along with each other better.

Since you will be getting the new cat after you move, you are right, there won't be any established territories in between the 3 cats, but you should still do a proper cat to cat intros, between the new comer, and the two resident cats.

You also have another thing to take into consideration, which is getting your current kitties used to the new living situation+arrangement.

Here is what you should do:

1) confine roosevelt and other resident cat to one room with all their things (food, litter, toys) for a few days before letting them have free reign of the house. The move will be stressful on your kitties so its good to provide them with a safe room for a few days before introducing them to the rest of your house/apartment

2) you'll want to provide Lincoln with her own safe room as well, away from the other two cats, and with all her things (litter food toys) so that she can also acclimate to her new home. Lincoln will be going from your friends house to yours, which is a move for her, and will also be stressful for her.

All 3 cats should be used to their new home first. And then you can take it slow and easy and start the cat to cat intros.

You might want to consider looking into feliway diffusers to help all the cats acclimate to their new home, as well as over time with each other. I have never used them personally, so I can't say from experience, but they are highly recommended on this site. I used Sentry Calming collar when doing cat intros between my two resident cats and a new comer and it has worked for me. 

Feliway Diffuser


Sentry Calming Collars


wish you good luck on the move and the new kitty! 

One thing to clarify is only one of the cats is coming with us from the original home. The other cat who is a bit territorial is her Roommates cat. So does that change much?

I still suggest giving each cat their own territory and letting then get acclimated to their new home first. Too many changes at once (new home, new cat, etc) can cause added stress and the potential for illness to pop up.

Once both cats are comfortable in the home (and the new kitten is comfortable with you) you can move forward with introductions.

Start with scent swapping. If that goes really well, see how they do interacting with each other under a door (Roosevelt out in the house and kitten confined to a bedroom.) Also offer treats and wet food at this time. If that goes well, progress to letting them see each other thru a crack in the door.

The most important thing is not to progress to quickly. Let the cats dictate how quickly to progress.

DanAsher said:

One thing to clarify is only one of the cats is coming with us from the original home. The other cat who is a bit territorial is her Roommates cat. So does that change much?

Click to expand...

Okay. 

Even with two cats, you should give them each their own small space...and safe zone so they can get used to the move, and feel confident in their new home, and then, slowly proceed with the cat to cat intros (keeping them separated, scent swapping, letting them have minimal exposure to each other, etc). 

Because Lincoln is a kitten, and Roosevelt is already quite playful, I don't think the cat to cat intro's will be that stressful for you guys, or long, but again, each cat is different, you should just give your kitties time and be patient

Thank you everyone. I'm so excited for this and I will update with progress once it all begins, and of course, pictures. Nov. 15 is the big day.

Omg! Lincoln is just too adorable!