Background story: (skip down to questions if you want)
We adopted Tux, a 4 month old black and white kitten, from a rescue group just before Christmas.
Tuxie
She's seemed very sociable right from the start, took to strangers in the house fairly easily, adapted us and our ways quickly (she's one of the most intuitive, sensitive cats I've ever met!), we took her to pet stores a couple of times with no issues, she got along well with the puppy who temporarily lived with us for a few weeks in December, etc. So we (my parents and I share a house) toyed with the idea of getting another kitten to keep her company at first, but ultimately decided not to, unless of course one just dropped right into our laps, which seemed unlikely as that just doesn't happen to us. (We chuckled to ourselves smugly.)
Anyway, Tuxie is now 10 months old, probably the worst time possible to introduce a new cat into the house, right? The past few weeks she's been testing boundaries, pushing limits, acting a little bratty, etc. Just to show where she's at, cat wise.
So, a week ago Sunday (June 5), my dad is running errands in his work truck when someone tells him (he's hard of hearing) that his truck is meowing. They opened up the hood, and this teeeny tiny tortoiseshell kitten was in there, holding on for dear life to a spare battery compartment that happened to be empty.
Her name is now Maeby, with the backup name of Spider Monkey because that also fits.
She (Maeby) was uninjured, just malnourished and a little dehydrated, and we took her in & I started taking care of her. We think she was no more than 5 weeks old. Anyhow, we suddenly seemed to have a new cat. After taking her to the vet and getting her medicated up and "vetted", we hid her in the bathroom for the first 4 days with her litter box and carrier and food all together, and immediately started all the pre-introduction stuff for new cats: feeding them both with the door between them for every meal, rubbing each one with a washcloth & leaving said washcloth by the other cat, letting them play under the door, etc., reassuring the resident cat (Tux) by sticking to familiar routines, trading out spaces once a day or so. Giving Tux a little extra loving, too. Just trying to keep her life as stress-free as possible while trying to fatten up/rehydrate/acclimate the new kitten to new surroundings as well.
They have both done extraordinarily well in my opinion. Tux actually initiated First Contact when I accidentally left my door pulled to instead of shut while playing with the kitten on my bed, probably about the 4th day after Maeby got here? She jumped up, bumped noses with the kitten, they played with the wand thingy mutually for a couple of minutes, then Tux got offended for no particular reason, hissed a little, and flounced out of the room. I figured that was a pretty decent success compared to some of the horror stories I've read, and have been slowly allowing them to begin to interact more, just sort of allowing things to happen naturally & on their terms, paying really close attention to their respective comfort levels. The kitten shows no fear at all, and Tux is beginning to warm up to her, I THINK.
Tux (above) and Maeby (below) getting along, I THINK. :-)
QUESTIONS:
We adopted Tux, a 4 month old black and white kitten, from a rescue group just before Christmas.
She's seemed very sociable right from the start, took to strangers in the house fairly easily, adapted us and our ways quickly (she's one of the most intuitive, sensitive cats I've ever met!), we took her to pet stores a couple of times with no issues, she got along well with the puppy who temporarily lived with us for a few weeks in December, etc. So we (my parents and I share a house) toyed with the idea of getting another kitten to keep her company at first, but ultimately decided not to, unless of course one just dropped right into our laps, which seemed unlikely as that just doesn't happen to us. (We chuckled to ourselves smugly.)
Anyway, Tuxie is now 10 months old, probably the worst time possible to introduce a new cat into the house, right? The past few weeks she's been testing boundaries, pushing limits, acting a little bratty, etc. Just to show where she's at, cat wise.
So, a week ago Sunday (June 5), my dad is running errands in his work truck when someone tells him (he's hard of hearing) that his truck is meowing. They opened up the hood, and this teeeny tiny tortoiseshell kitten was in there, holding on for dear life to a spare battery compartment that happened to be empty.
She (Maeby) was uninjured, just malnourished and a little dehydrated, and we took her in & I started taking care of her. We think she was no more than 5 weeks old. Anyhow, we suddenly seemed to have a new cat. After taking her to the vet and getting her medicated up and "vetted", we hid her in the bathroom for the first 4 days with her litter box and carrier and food all together, and immediately started all the pre-introduction stuff for new cats: feeding them both with the door between them for every meal, rubbing each one with a washcloth & leaving said washcloth by the other cat, letting them play under the door, etc., reassuring the resident cat (Tux) by sticking to familiar routines, trading out spaces once a day or so. Giving Tux a little extra loving, too. Just trying to keep her life as stress-free as possible while trying to fatten up/rehydrate/acclimate the new kitten to new surroundings as well.
They have both done extraordinarily well in my opinion. Tux actually initiated First Contact when I accidentally left my door pulled to instead of shut while playing with the kitten on my bed, probably about the 4th day after Maeby got here? She jumped up, bumped noses with the kitten, they played with the wand thingy mutually for a couple of minutes, then Tux got offended for no particular reason, hissed a little, and flounced out of the room. I figured that was a pretty decent success compared to some of the horror stories I've read, and have been slowly allowing them to begin to interact more, just sort of allowing things to happen naturally & on their terms, paying really close attention to their respective comfort levels. The kitten shows no fear at all, and Tux is beginning to warm up to her, I THINK.
QUESTIONS:
- Tux, while she is interested in playing with the kitten, seems to be playing a bit rough at times. I've been really careful and the first couple of interactions when we let Maeby down and let them interact one on one it was difficult to tell whether she was playing or really actually being aggressive. She would stalk and tackle the kitten, at first being gentle, and then sort of wrestle her, hold her down, and kick/ nip at her. She's gotten more gentle, and now actually sometimes holds the kitten down and licks her sort of aggressively. She never hisses or uses her claws on the kitten, but she just sometimes seems to be a little rough. It's like she gets carried away & forgets her strength. It reminds me of how she used to play with the puppy who stayed with us in December, who was larger and tougher than this kitten. The kitten will sometimes squeal, and as soon as I say Tux's name in my warning tone, she'll immediately back off for the most part. Once or twice though I've had to separate them though, although Tux acts sheepish (or the cat version of that) afterwards. The kitten doesn't seem even a little bit afraid of her, and as soon as I let her down after checking her over just in case, (she's always wriggling impatiently to get back down and play), she immediately runs back toward Tux. A lot of times she does start the play fighting/wrestling, so it's not just Tux. Does this seem like normal behavior for an older and younger kitten getting acquainted or should I be more vigilant or worried? They do have plenty of time apart as well.
- Maeby, the kitten, has had no human contact that we know of. As young as she is, and where we found her, she has to be a stray or even feral, although she took to us almost instantly. She's doing amazingly, eating both wet food and kibble, using her litter box like a champ, and only sticking her entire face in the water bowl once or twice a day before figuring out where it actually is, haha! The issue with her, is that when holding her she's very bitey in general (although she's getting better at that slowly, by me removing my hand, keeping a small stuffed toy to give her to bite instead, etc). But every so often she just goes kind of completely spastic, twisting and biting and scratching, and it's like she just goes wild for a minute or two until she's allowed down. It's impossible to calm her down when she gets like this, and I'm not always where I (want to) put her down, so I have to carry her like that, trying not to drop her, till I get her back to "her" room. Is there anything I can do to head off or ward off this behavior? Is this normal for a kitten who was possibly feral? Will it get better?
- Is there anything regarding feral/strays and introducing them to civilized behavior that I should know? Any tips on helping the cats adjust to each other, etc? Just any advice at all would be welcome.
