new kitty

sakmeht

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We brought home an 8 week old kitten on 11/19 and immediately put her in the guest bathroom w/all appropriate accessories... we also have a resident cat. Evidently there was one hiss the first day from Diablo (resident cat) but that's because my hubby showed the kitten to him. A no-no, I know! Since then they've been smelling each other through the door, we've been doing the switching the towels trick to get them used to each others scent, and I've had them playing together (kind of)on each side of the door w/some string. Diablo hasn't exhibited any more uneasy behavior. He'll walk over, sniff... sometimes when I have the door cracked (a new development) he'll sit and look at the kitten on the other side or watch a paw sneak out. And on a couple occasions the kitten has sneaked by us and streaked out into the main part of the house, once running by Diablo and Diablo jumped up onto the ottoman and watched from above. Still no hissing, laying back of ears, anything like that. My husband also told me once the little guy (we've named him Azrael) got out and ran right up to Diablo, who just sat there and looked at him. My husband grabbed him up really quick, but he said they were face to face with no apparent problems in those short few seconds. I'm thinking maybe we can let the kitten out for short stretches to see how they do. What do you think? Our older cat refuses to eat near the door where kitty is... but I'm thinking I might not need to encourage him eat over there. The only thing I might be worried about is the kittens exuberance, but we can run off some of his energy before hand... Thanks for any replies and sorry for the length!
 

valanhb

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Welcome to the site! Sounds like you are doing a picture perfect introduction so far.


I'll move this to the Behavior Forum where others with experience with introductions can help you.
 

hissy

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I would get the new one vet checked if you haven't already, and then let the two cats together to really get to know each other. It sounds like it is going quite well so far. But you don't want the new cat to give your resident cat something contagious.
 

olive_oil19

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Hi there!

I myself have just gone through an introduction at my house recently. I think that you just need to get a feel for your resident cat, and see how he's reacting to the change before you let them out. We just got a 1 year old kitty, and believe me she is still a kitty! I kept her in a room all by herself for 1 day. I'm aware of my resident cats personality, he is very calm and laid back, so with this being said I decided to let the kitty out after the first day. Right off the bat, they were playing, very roughly mind you and I had to pay the vet a couple of visits, however it's been 1 month, and they're friends now! I think it takes a lot of patience and understanding and just go with the flow. Hope this helps!
 
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sakmeht

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Okay, so far so good. I let new kitty out for awhile and there was no hissing, growling, or hitting. If anything, my new kitten was a bit on the aggressive side. He was making sideways bunny hops w/back arched and ears laid back, and would rush up to Diablo who would sniff him and then kind of retreat. Sometimes Diablo would rush around towards the kitten, but after awhile it seemed that Diablo was just trying to stay away. He did have his paw up like he was going to hit at one point, then he just ran. After 15 minutes, I put the kitten back in the bathroom. I'm hoping that Diablo won't lose his "top dog" status, because I think he'd be pretty unhappy. He did seem pretty interested in the kitten though, ears were forward most of the time. Is it too soon to worry? I'm thinking I'll take the kitten out this afternoon for another romp and introduce them gradually over time. What do you think? Thanks, Sarita
 

hissy

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It really sounds like you are doing everything right. The body language that you describe does not send off alarm bells. You want to look for flattened tails, ears pinned, eyes narrowing and then you have cause to worry. They will find their way with each other, as cats always do. If it were me, I would just let them out in the house to roam around and get to know each other, and see what happens. But if you are going to have problems with two new cats, you usually have them right away. If you are concerned, have a dark-heavy blanket nearby you can gently put over them if they start to battle.
 

rfox

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if you would like to ease the tension a bit you can invest in a Comfort Zone plug in. it really helps!
 
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