kitten & cat introductory troubles

so... my girlfriend just moved in with her 1 1/2 yr old calico (female) a week ago. this cat, clementine, has always been a little skittish. she doesn't let you hold her, but she loves being petted (on her terms of course). she comes from a home where she was great friends with an older male cat (my girlfriend had to separate clementine from her man (egon). so she just moved in, and hasn't been eating and we figured that we'd get a kitten to keep her company. and we decided on a male kitten because that's what she was used to and thought maybe she'd take on a more motherly role with him. He (clarence) arrived today (4months old) and has been crying, and hiding and not eating either. I know it's just the first day but I'm also worried because clarence has a "goopy" eye, is sneezing and feels a bit too warm. I know the home he was just in had about 10 cats, and some of the younger cats had a cold and were on medication. i also know, from the woman who brought him over, that he's very social with cats, but has taken some time with humans.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/ima...es/sniffle.gif
unfortunately, the two cats met and it didn't go over so well. no one got hurt but there's been some hissing from clementine. clarence seems curious and has tried to approach her several times and she just runs into another room. i'd just like to know what the best way to go about introducing, and getting them to play nice with each other is. i've heard about keeping them separate, but clarence has been used to a going wherever he pleases in his foster home. also, i'm really worried that now both cats aren't eating. right now one is hiding under a bed and one is hiding in a closet (in separate rooms). clarence was just crying, so i went to pick him up and pet him, but just as i reached my hand in to pet him he hissed at me. if anyone has any pointers, i'd be more than appreciative. sorry for the incredibly long post


concered papa

First of all, I just brought a new kitten home from a breeder a couple of months ago with the same issue - one of the other kittens had been on medication. Once I brought him home, the sneezing started and the runny eyes. Then he gave it to my other cat. They both needed an antibiotic. The vet gave my cats Zithromax. Another vet had given one of them Penicillin but it did nothing. Very tough to get rid of but nothing to panic about. They definitely need treatment. It probably will not go away on it's own.

My kitten and cat are fighting a lot... but no injuries so I think they'll work it out. I kept the kitten in a separate room for about 4 days and brought him out under supervision a little more each day until they got used to each other. The older cat ALWAYS hisses at the new one. It's very normal and after about a week they get used to the idea that there is a new cat in the house. You have to introduce them very gradually and then give the older cat a time out where the kitten is in another room and they can feel safe again. There was no fighting in the beginning, until the kitten became more comfortable and then it started. But I leave them both out when I'm at work and they seem to just sleep during the day so I don't worry about it. You have to keep them separate at first....but please get some medical treatment for them. The kitten should start eating rather soon. Not eating is not good. Cats can get dehydrated rather quickly if they don't eat. If he doesn't start eating soon, it could be because he's sick. He definitely caught what the other cats in the house had.

Like I said, don't panic. They will probably both need an antibiotic. Watch the older cat for symptoms.

Wow.. I'm going through the same thing. My kitten is a little older (10 months) and I got him from a shelter, but he came to us with the kitty flu. Luckily, our current cat ahd been vaccinated recently, and escaped with only a day or two of sneezing... The little one is still sick...

The older one, a female, had a male partner which was not the most friendly cat (except with me), but he died and we got the kitten to help fill the void... Maxi, our little girl, has not been too happy with the new addition... Luckily, we had no more than a a few taps on the kitten's head curtersy of Maxi.. mostly she growls and walks away... He just stands there looking confused.

I'm hoping she eventually learns to like him (it's only been a week). She doesn't like sharing the bed with him... He still sick and sneezing and coughing and whenever she comes near to sniff him, he ends up coughing up a lung at her. Poor thing...

Hang in there... I'm sure things will work out

the past 2 kittens we got from a shelter had the flu and goopy eyes. They overcame the flu with antibiotics but the goopy eyes never went away....the vet diagnosted it as feline herpes, which is uncurable. We manage the herpes flare ups by giving our kitty a capsle of L-Lysine (amino acid). This keeps her eyes clean and goop free.

The cats are fighting because the smell of the other cat bothers them. Cats are totally bent on smells and you must deal with this aspect for them to get along. I also had the same issue introducing my two but now they get along smashingly.

It is always a good idea to introduce them properly. Otherwise they'll view the other cat as an invader and it will be difficult to get them to get along. Keep them separated so they can calm down. Then, you need to get the cats used to each other's smell as much as possible. Switch their blankets every day or so, and switch the cats, letting each roam around the other's space and distribute their smell. Keep doing this until you are confident that the smells of both cats are distributed well and that the cats have had enough time to get used to the smell of the other. Only then introduce them. This way they will associate each other with pleasant things (like the house, and the bed).