Help!! New Kitten And Older Cat

Hello All

I need some advice... first let me tell you about Kasey my older cat. I found her on an Strip Mining Job when she was only 2-3 months old, brought her home cleaned her up, took her to the vet done all the routine stuff to insure her health and she has been the baby since and that was 4 years ago.
Well to make a long story short... I took in an orphan kitten (only 3 weeks old) I have been bottle feeding her and doing all the things a mama cat would do for her. Kasey is not liking this at all. I keep the kitten in a pet taxi and take her to work with me. I was just wondering how and when it to be safe for the kitten to be around the older cat. When Kasey first seen the kitten she was curious(considering it has been 4 yrs. since she has seen another cat) she came over to it and smelled it, then she hissed and raised her paw like she was going to swat at it and then she ran under the bed. I am afraid she will hurt it. Now when she smells the scent of the kitten on me she won't let me pet her, she just hides under the bed. I'm new to all this, can someone give me some advice please. I have only had the kitten for 5 days.

I'm going through the same thing right now. I brought 2 new kittens into our home (or I should say Michoud's home, our 1 year old DMH cat) last Friday. At first Michoud was the same way, he would go up to them, hiss and growl and swat at them. Day by day, however, he has warmed up to them and is now so sweet to them. He loves having two kitties to play with. I get on to him if he gets a little too rough as these kittens are only 7 weeks old and I never leave him alone with them when I'm not there. They are just too young right now and I don't want to take any chances. Your kitty will come to love your new kitten before you know it, I'm sure of it. For now I would keep them separated until the kitten has been vet checked and given a clean bill of health.

As already mentioned, it just takes time. I got Miki when she was about 4 or 5 months old, and now she's 8 months. Still a kitten, but thinks she's much older. You know that whole little kid acting grownup thing. Well I brought little Tyran home and Miki went mad. She was constantly hissing and running away. I've only had Tyran for about a month and a half and already the two are like sisters. They wrestle, chase each other, play together, cuddle, groom one another. Its adorable. Introduce them slowly, and never force them to interact. The older cat will do as he/she pleases and nothing will change that.

Its kind of like the older sibling when the new baby arrives. The child sometimes feels like the new baby is replacing her/him. After a while though with reassurance, the two get alone just fine.

This is my own experience, and it differs from cat to cat.

I do not think that your older cat will hurt the baby. I'm going through this right now. Oliver is 3 and when I brought Stella home (8 weeks old) he hissed and ran away. For about a week I would keep her locked up in a room unless I was home. Oliver eventually got curious and now seems amused by her. She can even chase/pounce on him and he doesn't mind. I have a feeling that they play together when I'm not there but won't admit it to me yet! He lets her know when he's had enough and she minds him.

Give them time to get used to each other. Like I said, I don't think they will get in a fight. That little one is tougher than you think. Whatever you do, don't force them together, let them come to an agreement in their own time. They will establish a pecking order.