My New Kitten Rescue Is Causing Problems In My House

[MaceYoda]

I have two 4.5 month old tabby domestic shorthairs (brother and sister). I adopted them at 12 weeks and they have since been the sweetest. They always would jump up on me and cuddle on my chest, lay on their backs and get belly rubs, etc. Long story short, they are angels.
THEN

Yesterday, I brought home a 7 week old feral kitten I rescued. I have a cozy space set up in my master bath for her to adjust, etc. She is doing fine. However, ever since she came home, my other two kittens are very skittish of me. (Note: the new kitten stays separa tr ed from them). They havent once jumped up to cuddle on me and when I pick up the male, he whines and and wants to get away from me. Are they mad at me? It breaks my heart to hear my little kitty whine and want away from me. He also has been going into seclusion to sleep under furniture, etc. If I pick him up, he whines and squirms again. Its the whine that sounds like "noooooo nooooo". Its like hes scared of me (i.e. the one who scratches his belly, brushes him, feeds him expensive canned food, cleans up his poopie, etc).

I have been a "cat person" for 3 months now and I have no idea what is going on. As a lifelong dog owner, this behavior is confusing to me.
Any ideas of what is going on?

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. And congrats on being a new "cat person. Thanks also for rescuing the new kitten. You've done the right thing by isolating her from your other kittens, however, it's probably because she's isolated that your other kittens are acting differently. Even if they can't see the new kitten, they certainly can smell and hear her, so they are probably both curious, and possibly even a tiny bit territorial. However, more than likely just confused and curious.

Kittens usually accept other kittens easily, so once you get the new kitten vet checked and are certain she has no illnesses she could pass onto your other kittens, you can start the introductions.

Here's a couple TCS articles with more info. Again, it should be easy introducing a new kitten to older kittens.

Good luck. Keep us posted. And post pics of all of them if/when you can.

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide | TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You hit the problem when you said "yesterday." Cats are just slower to adjust to other cats than dogs adjust to other dogs. There are no "cat play dates," they just aren't that way. HOWEVER...these are all kittens, and will adjust faster than adult cats. Be patient, get the vet check, read those articles, and relax. This will happen. It might take a bit of time, but it will!

 

[MaceYoda]

Thank you very much to you both. Here are pictures of my 3 kittens The feral rescue is the small tuxedo one. She has her own play pen in my room for now. My two resident kittens, as you can see, are spoiled rotten.

 

[rubysmama]

Awww.... all 3 are paws-itively precious.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

OH MY! Color me kittensmitten!