kinda freaking out about introducing a second cat!

[debbiegarland]

So i just got the sweetest kitten.  I rescued him and he is a 3 month old domestic shorthair mix, and oh so cute!  My resident cat is a 10 month old siamese mix.  They both have similar personalities.  They are super crazy hyper/playful but like a good cuddle when they are tired-so since they are so similar I thought they would make a good match.  But here are my ideas for introducing them:

1. New kitty stays in bathroom for a couple days. 

2. Feed both outside door. And rub towels on their faces and swap them so they can get used to  each other's scents. 

3. Do a switch-put resident cat in bathroom and let kitty explore the house and meet my dog for maybe like an hour. 

4. Crack the door open so they can see each other.

5. Let them have limited time together while I play with them with toys.  

6. Cross my fingers!!! 

Does this plan sound good? any suggestions?? 

Ok but also I'm kinda freaking out, because every time I go in the bathroom the new kitty tries to dash out (he's very bold and not shy at all) and so he got out once and my resident cat saw him and freaked out hissing at him and puffing up.  And now my resident cat seems to hate me.  He sniffs me a lot but he won't let me touch him or cuddle like we used to.  Is this really bad?  Originally my resident cat was pawing under the bathroom door and meowing but since then though he just ignores the bathroom.  

Also I'm a little concerned about the age difference.  My new kitty is tiny compared to my resident cat.  Will my resident cat bully him? 

Sorry this is long, but I really just want to get them off on the right foot(paw) so they can be friends.  And also I'm in love with this new kitty and would hate to give him up if things didn't work out.  

 

[kissthisangel]

Hi there, most of your thoughts are great! the scent swapping etc, that's the real infrastructure of relationship introduction for cats.

I would not shut your adult cat in the bathroom for any length of time, He will become increasingly frustrated, It's HIS house after all. WHY should he be stuck in the one room. (of course we get it, but try explaining that to a cat)

put lots of pieces of scrap cloth and card in the kitten room, let your new arrival play with them and then strategically place them near the spots your resident likes, so that he will slowly get used to the idea of a new friend.

I think you should also be prepared for a little animosity, after all if you were with someone and they came home smelling of smelling of someone else you would be a bit annoyed too.

Once you've swapped the swatches and card a few times, their scent would have intermingled enough to implement the feeding phase. It's going to be a big change for your resident cat, likely you don't feed him near the bathroom door normally. Buy some great treats. Play til he is worn down, and lead him to the door for the treats.

He will still be able to smell the Kitten, the ideal scenario is you will be able to gradually open the door without swatting , hissing and growling.

with the age difference between them, it MIGHT be worth considering getting a brother for your kitten so that he has someone to play with, that way they aren't going to bother the resident cat as much, but the introduction still needs to take place.

 

[debbiegarland]

I have some more questions but thanks so much for your input!  I'll be sure to try all this!  Although I don't think having three cats is really an option sadly.  I mainly got a second cat because one my cat needs someone to play with and of course two I love cats-although these are my first cats so i'm nervous ii'm not doing stuff right...but anyways i talked to several people who own cats and they all said the age difference of seven months is fine-especially with how fast kittens grow...but idk i'm still nervous the new kitten is going to be bullied(He is a tiny one!)  Temperament wise though they are a perfect match. 

Also you said not to swap my resident cat into the bathroom and my new kitten to the rest of the house--which makes sense, but how do I introduce my new kitten to the rest of my house as well as my dog if I have to keep him in the bathroom.  I thought it would be better that my new kitten could get the layover of my house so that when he meets the resident cat he would not be overwhelmed with unfamiliar surroundings and an unfamiliar cat and dog.  Maybe I could put my resident cat in my room? And give the new kitty 30 minutes to explore and maybe see my dog through a gate (i think the dog issue should be fine though-my dog is good with cats and the kitten came from a foster home with dogs.)?  I'm nervous though because we are keeping the new kitten in the downstairs bathroom and I don't want him to forget where his litter box is if we let him upstairs! 

Idk there are just so many logistics I need to think through! Any suggestions? Any input would be much appreciated!

 

[kissthisangel]

Please don't be nervous! you have three fur babies now, with the two cats and the dog. You're here now, seeking advice, I'm sure you're doing the best you absolutely can and that all anyone could ask.

Do you have a slightly larger room in which you could house the kitten, in preparation for them to be introduced? Maybe a room with soft furnishings?

this way you could potentially shut resident in for an hour or so at a time.

so that he feels familiar, get a hankerchief and pet his face and chin with it, then you can rub it around the exploration room. when he gets there it will help him feel more at ease.

Please keep asking the questions this community is here to help in any way.

 

[debbiegarland]

Thanks so much for your advice and support!  And yeah i'm thinking i'll leave him in my bedroom for awhile--he seems to like to nap there anyways!  I'll try all of this!  Thanks a ton!

 

[debbiegarland]

UPDATE: is this a good sign?  They are playing with each other's paws under the door!  My resident cat is sticking his paws under the door and then the new kitten pounces on his paws-and this is only the second day of the kitten in the house!  Is this a good sign?

The only thing is that my resident cat seems a little wary and sometimes gets startled by the new kitten's sudden movements under the door.  And once he was looking under the door and I went up to pet him and he arched his back, hissed, and pawed at me.(this is the first time that he has ever hissed at me).  So now I make sure not to ever bother him while he is exploring the new cat.  

But besides this, are these all good signs?  

 

[catlover73]

I think you accidentally startled your resident cat while he was playing and that is why he hissed at you. When my cats are playing with each other I just sit back and enjoy watching them. Usually when they are done playing they will come to me for attention.

Yes it is a good sign that they are playing with each other's paws under the door. My cats do that and they have all been living together for a while peacefully.

 

[debbiegarland]

Yay ok thanks!! Do you think it's too early to open the door a crack?  It's only been three days but they are both being so nice with each other and playing still with each other's paws under the door.  Maybe I should wait longer though before cracking the door?  I just feel bad for the kitten because he is very social and i'm sure he misses playing with all his friends and probably hates being cooped up in the bathroom! 

 

[catlover73]

 
Yay ok thanks!! Do you think it's too early to open the door a crack?  It's only been three days but they are both being so nice with each other and playing still with each other's paws under the door.  Maybe I should wait longer though before cracking the door?  I just feel bad for the kitten because he is very social and i'm sure he misses playing with all his friends and probably hates being cooped up in the bathroom! 

Are both cats up to date on their vaccines?  If everyone is current then in my opinion it may be ok to try a very short amount of supervised time together.  If you do allow them to be together keep any eye on their body language.  A little bit of hissing or growling is ok but you do not want to allow any attacks.  

Perhaps someone with more recent experience introducing kittens will be able to give you a little more input.  It has been at least a couple of years since I have had to deal with any sort of cat introductions.  I have an opinion but it is only based on my experiences with my cats.  Perhaps you may want to wait until someone with a little more recent experience provides some input.  I would feel awful if any thing bad happened to you babies.

 

[animallover9]

When I got my second cat last year she was 6 weeks old and the runt she was (still is) very tiny my oldest male had never seen another cat and isn't/wasn't very keen on the idea of sharing. At first when I did the intro my oldest cat hissed a lot became possessive and did not want to play with her. Over the week she grew on him since he was so much bigger she looked up to him even with the hissing she followed him around the house and watched what he did. They didn't at the time really have any fights and after about a week or two more he had excepted his new sister and they started sleeping together and playing together if you are worried about him being to rough with the new one they will work that out either he will make a cry or run away. It wouldn't be weird it he does hiss at her or get a little pissy over things like his cat tree or favorite sleep spot. They will work it out though so I say just go for it but keep a close eye on them all cats are different that is just my experience even when I got my third the other two were hissing and swatting at him for the first few days my oldest then came around and started playing and my female took a little while longer but there were not real problems. Trust your instincts and don't worry when you go to do the intro be calm because they will sense you being scared and take the cues from you. If there are already playing it should go over well I think. 

 

[debbiegarland]

Ok thanks everyone so much for all the advice!!

 

[debbiegarland]

My babies met for the first time and I have some questions!!

Here's what's happening: My new kitty is super playful and not one bit scared of my resident cat.  Kitten gets on his back and shows his belly to my resident cat.  But my resident cat seems so so scared of the new kitten. He runs away from him and also his ears are flat back on his head sometimes(is this a sign of aggression?)  Besides that though there is no growling, no hissing, no arched backs.  I'm just surprised my resident is so scared of a tiny kitten that is over less than half his size.  My resident cat is also not really into playing with the kitten which I also find surprising because he is so super playful with his toys (we got the second cat because we thought he needed a friend since he was always play biting us).  When they do play though they just kinda paw at each other's faces. Is this ok? 

SO I guess what i'm asking is this all normal behavior--That the resident cat seems scared of my new kitten? Will it get better?  Is it bad he flattens his ears against his head? 

Also what is the next step?  Right now I just let them play in the bathroom together-I haven't let my new kitten in the rest of the house because I still need to introduce him to my dog and I have an open floor plan-so if I let him out he would have access to the full house which I'm not sure he is ready for or not.  Will he be able to realize that he needs to go back downstairs into the bathroom where his litterbox is? 

I just want them to be happy and be friends and provide the best possible introductions for them!  Any insights would be much appreciated!!  

 

[debbiegarland]

Sorry to be posting so much--but iv'e been letting my cats play together for about 15 minute intervals-and they are doing as I described above but now there's a new development.  My resident cat is biting the new kitten-not hard enough to break skin-in fact he doesn't really clamp down or anything-he is just putting his mouth on my new kittens back-so I stopped letting them play.  But what does biting mean-is it bad or just how kittens play?  And he also seems to be putting his ears back quite a lot!

 

[animallover9]

It could just be kitten play or he might be just putting the kitten in his place, Just letting him know he doesnt like something the kitten is doing or just making sure he knows that he is the alpha of the house. I am not sure what is with him putting his ears back I have only seen it when my dog gets in my cats face and that means they are angry but I would say if there is no blood, hissing or serious fighting that it should all be fine. Your older cat just needs to figure out that the kitten is a friend not something to fear or something that will replace him. BTW I want to stress make sure to give your cat a bunch of love my 2nd cat developed major issues when I brought in my third cat because she had to share and she would get pushed away so the new kitten and puppy could get love. I am dealing with the consequences a year later, but it is important make sure he still feels loved 

 

[debbiegarland]

OK thanks so I shouldn't be worried since my resident cat is so much bigger he plays kinda rough?

 

[animallover9]

I understand when i brought my second cat home she was the runt and was only 6 weeks old and even though my oldest cat was only 5 months old he looked giant next to her. When they did start to play if he got to rough with her she would either make a noise so he knew he need to play nicer or she would just run away from him. Everything should be okay they might have a few little fights but the older cat knows he is just a kitten so he needs to be careful. 

 

[debbiegarland]

Ok thanks!  That's a relief to know!