8 Week Kitten Meeting Adult Cat (9months)

[vthegreat]

I have a doll face persian boy named Maseek. He is 9 months, and he is neutered.Next week we are planning to get him a sibling kitten (around 9 weeks) from the same mother. Probably a girl, but maybe a boy depending on their temperament as we meet the litter.

I am worried about their introduction. Per research i've read its important to do it right so they bond and get along well. I have also read that you need to separate them in different rooms for the first week so the get used to each other's smell. That's where i dont know how to go about it. We live in a small studio apartment. It does have a separate room but my adult cat uses both rooms daily since his litter box is the bathroom connected to the bedroom but his food is in the kitchen. I don't know if we would be able to keep them in separate room for as long as 1-2week. My adult cats HATES to be locked up in one room or any doors to be shut. Even when we go to the bathroom and close the door behind us he sprints to the door and meows loudly until we open the door and let him in. He then proceeds to lay next to our feet or lays down and stares at us. LOL.. silly little guy.. IDK why he does that but it's very cute.

My question is: Is there a good way to speed up the process per say?-maybe separate them just for one day? Any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone. I attached his picture in hopes it will motivate you guys to help me. LOL

 

[ArtNJ]

Resident cat that young with a true baby kitten is usually fine in relatively short order. Might be some hissing, and if the kitten is super jumpy could be an issue. But a true introduction is not usually necessary. All of that said, newly arrived kittens are sometimes *very* nervous, and if things go wrong spending a week under the bed (or worse, hiding under a stove) definitely happens sometimes. So a "home base" / "safe room" is highly recommended for at least a day as a confidence builder. So you can definitely do an abbreviated introduction as well.

As far as you living in a studio, can you move the older cat's litter box out of the bathroom and use the bathroom as a saferoom for a day? Its probably going to be fine if you skip steps, but we don't want a nervous kitten hiding behind your fridge/stove or whatever. That may not be likely, but it can happen.

Its not necessarily going to go super smooth, sometimes even cats this young can have a bit of a bumpy road. But yeah, you can short the intro, see what happens and adapt from there. Best!

 

[danteshuman]

Also you will need a second litter box anyways. Don't forget to expand the cats territory vertically (cat shelves, cat trees, arranging the furniture so they can get on top of book cases.) Plus if you have a litter box in the living room you can kick out the kitten when s/he wakes you up at night, until they are trained to let you sleep

 

[vthegreat]

Thank you guys for advice. Fist night was rough. I had to separate them. My adult cat was just too rough with her. She licked hersand cuddled but at the same time would bite her hard. I was afraid he would hurt her, so i separated then for the night. Today they were doing much better. He is more gentle, licking her all the time and cuddling. I assume him biting her is him trying to establish dominance? Any suggestions on helping them bond?

My little kitten would not use as separate litter box and would go in my large adult cat box. I guess less cleaning for me. I definitely won the lottery with baby girl kitten this time. She is just so delicate and quite but at the same time super playful.
Really regret neutering my big boy now. They would have adorable kittens. ds
And yes, i did by a tall cat tree for them to explore since they are my indoor kitties.

 

[ArtNJ]

Thats great, you had a super easy adjustment, looks like they will be friends! Adult cats don't really hurt kittens. Kitten will squeal if play gets too rough, but you can generally ignore even that -- older cats will oft times lay down the law a bit so the kitten stops being so jumpy. Keep an eye on things, but don't worry too much, its going good!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS! I'm just seeing this thread for the first time today, so I see you've already gotten past the first day with the newbie kitten.

Can you post a picture of her?

Because she's so young, and your male is still a kitten too, I think the introductions will go quickly. Just make sure you don't leave them alone unattended, until she is bigger.

Here's a couple TCS articles that might be helpful:
The Multi-cat Household

9 Tips That Will Help Your Kitten Adapt To A New Apartment

 

[vthegreat]

Thank you. I will check out the article.
Every time he bites her playfully she screams like she is dying but then seconds later goes back for more. haha I've never had such a playful kitten before. She is like energizer bunny and my cat Maseek is just thinking she is a little mouse running after her all day.For some reason it gets worse at night. Maseek always sleeps through the night with us but since we got her he just chases her all night. Is that him just being excited? Hopefully will will settle down soon so we can sleep. haha
I will attach some pictures. She is a Persian chinchilla with odd eyes, and we named her Nyusha. Love her already.

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... what a gorgeous little fluffball. And Maseek is adorable too.

Enjoy all their kittens antics. By this time next year, you'll be wondering how your babies got to be so big and grownup.