Introducing new kitten to current kitten..

[sunflowers]

Hello,

I adopted my current kitten Lily about three weeks ago from an animal shelter. She is almost 10 weeks old and doing great. She is a super confident kitty and very curious. However, I have come to realize that she definitely needs a playmate for all that extra energy. I can play with her for 4 hours and she still won't stay still.

I have not adopted the other kitten yet. I just wanted to make sure I was prepared. One important issue I have is where to keep the new kitten since I know they will have to be separate for the first few weeks. Lily stays in the bathroom at night and when I am not home. She really likes it there and I don't want to stress her by changing her night location. I live in a one bedroom apartment so the only other closed off room is my bedroom. Would it be okay to keep the new kitten there and let him/her roam or should I buy one of those condo cages for cats to keep in my bedroom?

Also, do you think Lily will be more accepting of the kitten since she is still a kitten herself?

And just to show how energetic she is, I bought this tree for her and it only took her 5mins to scale it and get to the top after I set it up. I was freaked out that she would fall, but she has mastered the climb down.

photo 2.JPG

• sunflowers
• Aug 10, 2014

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I think it would be fine to let the new kitten in your room; but for training sake (your sleep!) I think a crate is a good idea.  I have used them for my 2 when they were kittens.  

They may take to each other faster since they are kittens; but you won't know for sure until you get them home unfortunately.  Hopefully it won't take long til they are buddies!  

 

[sunflowers]

 
I think it would be fine to let the new kitten in your room; but for training sake (your sleep!) I think a crate is a good idea.  I have used them for my 2 when they were kittens.  

They may take to each other faster since they are kittens; but you won't know for sure until you get them home unfortunately.  Hopefully it won't take long til they are buddies!  

lol you are definitely right. I ended up ordering a big metal cat playpen crate for the new. I went to visit a kitten at a foster home. The foster mom gave some great advice and I happened to find the most adorable 4month old boy kitten. He is almost twice the size of Lily and likes to play, but he is very submissive. We both thought it would be a good fit for the outgoing curious Lily. They are dropping him off tonight so I really hope he settles in nicely and likes his playpen.

 

[red top rescue]

Here' a good article on how to handle the introductions.

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http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

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[sunflowers]

Hi,

I recently adopted a 4month old male kitten almost a week ago. I already have Lily, a 11 week old kitten. I have been keeping them completely separate as recommend to make sure the new kitten doesn't develop any sickness brought on by stress. I also wanted the new kitten to have time to settle in.

Are they aware of each other? Both of the kittens will meow for short periods of time and I only live in a one bedroom apt, so I am pretty sure they are able to hear each other even though they can't see each other. However, each kitten acts completely normal. Their focus is either on me, food, or a toy. Is this a good sign? Or are they just completely oblivious to each other right now?

 

[micknsnicks2mom]

@Sunflowers -- yes, i think both kittens know there is another kitten in your home -- each other.

kittens many times react differently than adult cats to new arrivals. while adult cats should be integrated which can take months or even close to a year or longer (though there are exceptions, cats which pretty quickly become friends), kittens many times are more accepting of a new kitten and become friendly or friends almost immediately. it could be that your two kittens hear and smell each other, know each other is there, and are not concerned or stressed.

it's great that you have two kittens now! they'll be able to play with each other and wear each other out. and since they'll have been together since they were both young, they may very well become good friends or even best buddies.

something you might keep in mind is that your new little guy is old enough that he could make your little girl pregnant when she's about 4 months old and older. this can be dangerous for a kitten that young. you might consider having your little guy neutered within the next month. your little girl could then be spayed when she's old enough/weighs enough. unless of course they've both already been spayed/neutered, in which case -- well done!

 

[sunflowers]

Thank you very much for the reply. Its reassuring to know that simply keeping them in the same house is a way to get them used to each other. I can't really do anything to introduce them to each other yet since the male had a kitten cold a month ago at his foster home. The foster mom told me its been cleared up for several weeks now, but I didn't want the stress to trigger it and Lily end up catching it.

I am taking the male to the vet tomorrow to make sure he is doing well so I can move along with the recommended steps of the introduction process.

lol Luckily there is no risk of Lily getting pregnant. Lily was adopted from my local shelter at 6 weeks. She had already been spayed when I got her. My new kitten was adopted from a rescue organization and was neutered before I got him.

 

[sunflowers]

Hello,

I recently introduced my new adopted 15week old kitten (Mr.Fancy) to my other adopted 10week old kitten (Lily). I kept them separated for the first week, then introduced scent, and just introduced them a few days ago. I allow them to hang out for some supervised play sessions, but they are completely separated most of the day. I had several questions that I would love to hear everyones feedback on.

1) Should I be interfering when they are playing or can I just let them work it out? I feel so bad for the new guy. Lily has bad social play skills (she still does the halloween cat pose and full tackle). She was found alone when she was 6 weeks old. I purposely choose Mr.Fancy because he was bigger, older, and had good social play skills. I feel really bad because Lily thinks he is her new toy and won't leave him alone. She always wants to tackle him and he just wants to explore. He will wrestle with her for a few minutes, move away, lay down, then Lily will tackle him 3mins later. Every so often he will pin her down for a bit. She will meow or hiss and then he will stop a few nips later.

2) Neither kitten has drawn blood or injured the other, but they seem to play so hard when they wrestle. Is this normal?

3) He has only done it once, but he growled while he was carrying a toy mouse and once when he was eating. It was weird because the other times he made no noise and allowed Lily to do what she wanted. Lily actually stayed away from him when he was doing this. Is this an issue?

4) Neither kitten seems to understand what "their" food bowl or litter box is. They will actively use both sets of items even though they are different rooms. Is this a good or bad thing?

5) Even though Lily appears to have more energy than the new kitten, he will still stay in the same room when she is in her crazy kitty mode. Is this a good sign? Would he definitely let me know if he was fed up with her? I always worry that I am causing him major stress. She is adorable, but can be a total brat. 

6) Do you know how much longer I should wait to leave them alone together during the day/night? I feel bad because the new kitten doesn't get to see that Lily can calm down and actual sleep. She isn't always a crazy monster lol

Sorry for all the questions. I just stress because I have read so many stories about cats never getting along. I also heard that a stressful situation for kittens can cause URI so I didn't want to chance that either. I want them both to be happy.

 

[catpack]

First and foremost, I suggest having a really good play session with Lily before letting the two be together. Use a stick toy (like Da Bird or Neko Flies) to get her worn out. This should help cut down on some of the issues.

If they are truly playing, then let them. Yes, kittens at their ages do (in general) rough house with each other. So long as there are no screams, growls or one kitten is obviously being too rough, let them play.

As far as sharing food bowls/litter boxes, I think it's perfectly fine.

I would continue to keep them separate (when unsupervised) as long as Lily continues to bombard Mr. Fancy so frequently. Once there is definitive play and rest times or group play and solo play, then I think it is safe to leave them together 24/7.

How long are you currently letting them interact?

Are you engaging them in group play with them when they are out or just letting them entertain themselves?

 

[sunflowers]

Catpack- Thank you very much for your response.

How long should I have to play with her before introductions? I did try a constant 30mins with the wand toy once, but that just wound her up and she started trying to tackle him right away, usually she works her way up to it. The most success I have had is when they have just woken up from naps. They are sleepy and nice the first 15mins.

I haven't had much success with the wand toys when they are playing together. It makes them both very crazy and then they want to play with each other rough. The most success I have had with play is when I play what I call the "raining mice game". I will throw like 10 toy mice in air. Both of them have a fun time rolling and bouncing on them. That distracts them from each other. They also like the ball on the track. Both of them will watch me push the ball around then start doing it themselves.

I will be sure to keep them separated until I can see Lily leave him alone. I think she is slowly working her way up to it. It started out with no play breaks, to about 5min breaks. She has also started to follow me around the house again. I am hoping the continued exposure to him will wear off the excitement of seeing him all the time.

 

[sunflowers]

So I don't want to get my hopes up. But there appears to be progress today.

Positive things I seen:

1) After they ate together. They started grooming near each other.

2) After they played together. They slept about 2 feet away from each other.

3) Lily approached Mr.Fancy and gave him a few grooming licks. She ended up playing with him after that, but at least she was nice about it.

4) Lily still follows him around and bugs him, but she has been leaving him alone for longer periods and he is able to take cat naps.

5) The shy boy seems to feeding off Lily's outgoing personality. He is a sweetheart, but he was too afraid to follow me around at first. Then he actually followed me when he saw Lily was interested why I was cleaning her litter box. Both of them proceeded to use the litter box after I cleaned it. They also both proceeded to try and trip me when I was getting their food.

I feel bad because I have been experiencing a lot of benefits by the new boy being here. Lily was a crazy out of control kitten that wouldn't let me walk without attacking my feet because she wanted to play. She has calmed down a lot around me. She hasn't attacked me once since he has been here. She was a like a level 9 craziness, now she is down to like a 4.

Here is a few pictures of them. One is of Lily watching the new guy play. The is other them sleeping near each other. The boy caught me in the act of taking a picture lol

photo 1.JPG

• sunflowers
• Aug 21, 2014

photo 2.PNG

• sunflowers
• Aug 21, 2014

 

[catpack]

Sounds like they are making good progress! If they continue like this, a full integration is in the near future. =)

 

[recomper]

Thank you for making this thread sunflowers. I've looking online everywhere, for a "Current kitten to a new kitten introduction."

But All I get is "Old cat hates new kitten."

I was thinking, since it doesn't pop up online, that means there's no problem letting them know each other the very first day. I guess I'll try this approach when introducing a kitten to a new kitten.

 

[mani]

 
Thank you for making this thread sunflowers. I've looking online everywhere, for a "Current kitten to a new kitten introduction."

But All I get is "Old cat hates new kitten."

I was thinking, since it doesn't pop up online, that means there's no problem letting them know each other the very first day. I guess I'll try this approach when introducing a kitten to a new kitten.

    This is a pretty old thread, @recomper, but it's good if you've found some things here useful.  Kitten introductions are a lot easier as they're not 'set in their ways'.  I would go with the first day, but with care.. do go through the process of scents and things and just fast track to suit them.