When To Introduce New Kittens

Resident, Duncan, cat is 4 months old and has been with us for a little over two months.  He's a handful - typical kitten but a little bitey.  Nothing agressive, mostly just very rough play when he is bored.  In general, he is a very affectionate cat.  Since we're at work all day, last weekend we got cat #2, Barry, to keep him company and wear him out.

Barry was at the shelter for maybe 6 months.  He was found in someone's yard and is maybe 10 months old.  He was in the cat room with other cats and did well.  But he's shy - at the shelter he would let you pet him, but he didn't enjoy it - he would neither "lean in" for more nor "lean out" to get away - he just sat their.  But he was gorgeous so we took him home.

Barry's been in the downstairs bathroom since last Friday.  He hid for a few days, then finally would come out and look at me after 3-4 days.  Now he will come to me for treats, not right away but quick enough, and he will take treats out of my hand.  He now initiates petting and loves it, but again, it takes a little time to get him there.

By now, both cats have noticed that there is another cat in the house.  I think its time to introduce them through a baby gate.  Duncan has been trying to get in for a couple of days.  Barry shows no interest, fear, curiosity in the door, but Duncan's crying "alerts" him.

So tonight, with lots of treats and two hungry cats, we will let the boys see each other.  My wife on one side of the gate and me on the other.  

Any suggestions?  Does it seem too soon?  What is the normal trigger that says it is time to introduce the cats?  

Have you done scent exchanging yet? 

I'd advise feeding both cats either side of the baby gate, if they tolerate this with no aggression then introduce them, only do it for a short period of time, 10-15mins then seperate them. You will get a good indication as to how they are getting on from that first meeting. Do this approx 3 times a day & if everything is fine then slowly increase the time they are together. If they don't get on then stick at short bursts until they are receptive to each other.
It's a good sign though that one isn't aggressive. As long as you are ready to split them up if they start fighting then you are well prepared. Just take it slowly, the two of them will let you know if they are ready the minute you put them together.
Good signs when they are together isnose touching, bum sniffing & grooming, but the grooming will probably come later.

So last night was neither a success a failure. They saw each other after maybe 15 minutes of eating and playing. Barry, the new guy, was curious but Duncan got a little scared, hissed and ran away. He came back and kept peaking in though but no more hissing. Barry kept peaking back but did not go up to the gate.

Will repeat each night until they show an interest at the gate and the I'll let Barry free and see how interactions work.

Feeding: I moved Barry's dish closer to the door and he didn't mind. Duncan wouldn't eat downstairs and didn't touch his food much overnight. Ate like a pig this morning though.

Scent exchange: only a little with some toys. Site swapping wouldn't work because Barry seems pretty planted in his safe room and I don't want to drag him out.

I forgot to add:  Besides the one hiss both cats seemed mostly curious.  What was really funny was that when I decided meet and greet was over, Duncan seemed jealous and a little extra affectionate.

That's great going keep doing what you're doing & slowly but surely they will accept each other.

Last night was more of the same. Resident cat hissed a few times and the new cat seemed curious but wary. I guess it will be a few more days of baby gates and supervision. I'm debating getting a second gate so they can interact with less supervision

It will take time, just stick at it you're doing the right things. A second gate is a good option as that way they can see more of each other without you being there. Are the gates high enough so they can't jump over them when you're not there?

When I'm not there, the door is closed, so they can't meet unsupervised.

So, today I took the gates down.  The resident cat goes to the door, hisses, growls and leaves.  The new cats just kind of hangs out with no real reaction.  He's not happy though.

Tonight I will move the gates so that the new cat will have the downstairs to himself and the new cat will have the upstairs.  Hopefully that will get the new cat moving around and a little more confident.  The gates are doubled so hopefully that will keep them apart.

DuncanMac said:

When I'm not there, the door is closed, so they can't meet unsupervised.





So, today I took the gates down.  The resident cat goes to the door, hisses, growls and leaves.  The new cats just kind of hangs out with no real reaction.  He's not happy though.





Tonight I will move the gates so that the new cat will have the downstairs to himself and the new cat will have the upstairs.  Hopefully that will get the new cat moving around and a little more confident.  The gates are doubled so hopefully that will keep them apart.

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Saturday and Sunday night kept the cats separated upstairs and downstairs. Duncan can go to the top of the stairs and see downstairs to the new cats safe room - right at the bottom of a 1/2 flight of stairs. Besides some meowing and crying last night, nothing really happened, but I thing the new cat got out of his room to explore the basement because when I went to clean his litter and change his food he left the room instead of sitting there kind of annoyed/shrinking away. He didn't run away fast like he was scared, he just kind of walked quickly around me and out (its a small narrow bathroom).

The big test is going on right now - double baby gates are up and the wife and I are at work.

You are doing everything right, with cats the more they see of each other the more they will get used to each other & accept that they are sharing a house with another cat.
It's good you've got them separated but that they can still see each other. Keep persevering with what you are doing. Let us know how it went tonight when you get in from work.

The resident cat kept going into the cat's safe room last night. Much further than usual but still about 5 feet away from the new guy. Hissed and growled but also stared for a while. New guy didn't hide away this time and stared back. Lots of treats to the resident cat to distract and calm him.

The new cat had the run of downstairs last night, and I know he's getting out because he ate two piles of treats I left out and took one of the other cat's toys back to his room. Before I left for work I put more treats around for him to search and find.

That's progress believe it or not because when the inadvertently met there could have been a full scale fight. Hissing & growling is to be expected, this in time will stop.
Stick with it.

So, last night was a bit of an adventure. Duncan ventured into the new cats safe room again. He started at the door and crept and growled as he moved in - I gave him some attention and treats to try to keep him calm. It took him 3 attempts and maybe 1/2 an hour, but he got all the way in and within a foot of Barry. Barry moved around a little during this encounter - very curious about Duncan, but pretty passive. Some hissing, some growling by only Duncan, but not too bad. Duncan then spent 20 minutes exploring Barry's room. It ended with the cats almost nose-to-nose and a swat and a hiss by Duncan before he ran away. I called it a night at that point and separated the cats.

Overnight, Barry explored the basement and ate all the treats I put out (3 or 4 small piles spread throughout the basement.) And he pooped and peed only in his litter box. I see this as big progress, but I'm waiting for the first fight.

D duncanmac
That sounds very encouraging to me. Swats and hissing and growling are normal. When I introduce cats, those are some of the stages.
When they start to play wrestle, watch for screaming, claws and tufts of fur.

In the end, there will be some chasing. I always like to see that both cats take turns as the chaser.

Stick with it. You've made good progress.

That is excellent progress, as foxden says hissing & growling is perfectly normal for new cats when meeting. I honestly think that if there was going to be a fight there would have been one last night.
Nose touching is very encouraging. Just keep introducing them a little each day & it shouldn't be to long before you can keep them together permenantly.

flojo75 said:

That is excellent progress, as foxden says hissing & growling is perfectly normal for new cats when meeting. I honestly think that if there was going to be a fight there would have been one last night.
Nose touching is very encouraging. Just keep introducing them a little each day & it shouldn't be to long before you can keep them together permenantly.

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They weren't touching noses - there were "nose to nose" facing off just inches apart.  The hissing and growling is all coming from the resident cat.  The new guy just started moving around when the other one is around and seeming more curious.  I think letting him have a wider area to roam safely has helped him feel more comfortable.

I think the hissing and growling are just posturing.  He will stop growling if I tell him "no."  And the resident cat keeps going back after hissing and running away.

And the really fun fact:  the resident cat gets jealous if he knows i have been petting and playing with the new guy - super snuggly and affectionate.

Even getting that close to each other is a very good sign. The growling & hissing are just ways of letting the other know what is acceptable and not, it's also a perfectly natural response, as if to say I'm still not sure about you.

We're almost there. Last night they spent an hour and a half together with both of them hissing and swatting but nothing vicious. The safe room is small and when I'm in it a block the door, so I got out the laser pointer and played with both of them at the same time. It kept them distracted and close to each other. I was also able to hand feed both of the treats alternating between cats.

There's a chance they might start tolerating each other by Sunday

That's excellent progress. One thing I would try & not do if possible, not block the doorway as if one of them feels it's to much they then will have a get out.
If that's not possible just keep doing what you're doing, it's going really well