Kitty introductions :)

[shugercube]

Hi all! So, we got Gotham a little over two weeks ago. He has been living in our bedroom, the safe room, the whole time. We had the cats trade spaces many many times, smell each other through the door, eating near each other, seeing each other through the door, and finally have introduced them face to face for a few minutes at a time in our room. They have been smelling each other's faces and rear ends LOL. Mostly my older girls seemed pretty unphased, and Gotham seemed more curious than anything. There has been no growling or hissing up until today. Gotham got out of the bedroom, and we had a time trying to catch him! He would chase my older cats around the house back and forth, up and down the stairs, pouncing on them, and rolling around on the floor with them and "wrestling" them. My older girls, Harley and Ivy, were pretty annoyed, but no hissing/growling. Until I guess Ivy just had enough of his shenanigans and turned and growled then hissed at him. He still tried to chase her after that. We finally got him put back away, but I am wondering if he is trying to play or is being aggressive? He seemed to be purring and doing that little purr-meow thing cats do, so I believe he was trying to play rather than attack. But definitely seems like he is oblivious to my older girls' signals that they were done (mostly tail whipping, and moving away from him). Were they fighting, or playing? (Or maybe a little of each!?) From what I could tell, Harley and Ivy were not using claws, but Gotham was (to be fair, he was an "only kitten," separated from his mother at a very young age and hand-reared, so from my understanding it's normal for him to not really know better yet, although I have been trying to teach him). Ivy seemed more like she just wanted to be left alone, while Harley would kind of chase him back a little, and would roll onto her back and expose her stomach before "wrestling" him. I didn't intend for them to even have that much opportunity to interact yet, but I am trying to gauge whether this is progress or a setback? LOL

 

[catlover73]

I would consider this progress.  If all Ivy did is growl and hiss at him then she most likely trying to set boundaries with Gotham.  Harley and Gotham were playing.  I adopted a young kitten years ago that was also separated too early and like Gotham had no concept of boundaries my other cats taught her boundaries over time.  She used to chomp on my one cat's head at first when she wanted to play.  One day he decided that was enough and pinned her to the floor with his paws.  There were no nails involved and she was complaining loudly but I just sat back and watched.  After that she stopped chomping on him.   If you are concerned that Gotham is getting too rough in his play with Ivy then you could try using a toy to distract him.  My two boys were seniors when I adopted then 6 week old Starbuck. She would walk up to them and hiss at them or bop them sometimes.  My boys at first just sat there and stared at her.  Sometimes they would hiss back or return the bop with no nails.  They were communicating with her in kitty language.

 

[jahzara]

Yeah, sounds like your kitties are doing great! They're going to growl and hiss! LOL They just will as they try to tell his little runt off! I agree with catlover73: they're establishing boundaries. How old is this kitten? I had an adult foster I thought of adopting at one point and was trying to learn how to acclimate him to my then 3 month old kitten. If I recall correctly, kittens shouldn't be left alone with adult cats till 4 or 5 months. (Kittens need to be kept in a safe room at times when they're alone till 4 months.) It's important to make sure your adult cats have peace and rest from the kitten until he is about 5 months old. Also, distract him with toys when you know your adult cats are growing weary. This will help redirect him and teach him that he can do separate activities when his new siblings are around. It also gives the resident cats a chance to observe him and learn him and also learn to relax around him. Here is the read that I found and took to heart with my resident kitten and adult foster. Hope it helps you out as well: http://wvcats.com/integratingkittenswithcatsp2.html#kitsshortvisits