6 month old dominant kitten with feral 10 month old (trying to domesticate)

luvcats222

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I'm new to cat rescue and ended up with no choice adopting one feral of a 10 cat colony I was in the process of sterilizing.  He has a broken leg.  Luckily there's little nerve damage and he's walking without a limp (even though with no surgery I was told he would).

Anyway, two days before I caught the feral I agreed to take in an 11 week old kitten (my daughter recently moved out and took her two cats). The feral has been sedentary for 8 weeks pretty much in the cage.  The vet said we can let him out with limited activity.  He's been out of his cage in a safe room with toys and boxes and his crate for 3 weeks now.  He plays with the kitten through a screened door and I decided to let them interact.  There's no hissing or fighting, but it seems that the kitten who is dominant in personality is a little overbearing.  The feral is getting used to me, but still avoids me.  I want to let him roam and explore, but it's hard to do because the kitten is always bothering him to play or just intimidating him.

The kitten is due to be neutered in the next few weeks.  Will this make things better?  Any advice is welcome on how to let the kitten know that he has to leave the cat alone at least some of the time.
 

ondine

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Neutering will help but a kitten, like kids, will have excess energy. I would allow them to play for a short time each day but otherwise, let the poor old guy rest and recuperate. It's good they are getting along but kittens and old cats have different needs, so limiting their interactions til the old guy feels comfortable is the way I wuld go.

Thank you for helping them!
 

shadowsrescue

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Continue to let the feral recooperate.  I would suggest playing with the kitten.  Really get him moving.  Try a laser pointer or da bird wand toy.  I would play with him over and over and really tire him out.  The neutering will help, but it won't be instant!
 
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