New Kitten Introductions

[Jadewilkes]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum, I signed up because I am anxious about a recent decision. I have a 11 month old female cat who I absolutely adore. I spend so much time with her whenever I'm home but I work during the day monday-friday. She spends ages after I leave the house in a morning staring out of the window so I felt sorry for her and did some research about getting her another cat to play with her.

I didn't take the decision lightly, I did lots of reading beforehand and I know some people say cats are better alone but many also said it's good for cats to have a playmate.

2 days ago I brought home a 12 week old boy, he's a gorgeous little thing. I am doing the proper introduction technique of isolating the kitten in his own room and letting them get used to the new scents. I didnt expect it to be smooth by any means but my older cat is absolutely terrified, she is constantly staying on a different floor to the kitten and keeps hiding under the bed. I've been trying to feed her near the door to where the kitten is but she won't go anywhere near the door, especially if she hears him meowing. She doesn't want to cuddle me anymore and isn't taking much interest in playing either (normally she's v v playful all the time).

I know it's really early days but I wondered if anyone has any experience where getting a kitten has gone ok over time? I feel like I've made a mistake! I don't want my older girl to be unhappy now so if I need to re-home the new boy after I've given it enough time then I will.

Any tips greatly appreciated. Feeling really anxious. Thanks! Jade.

 

[ArtNJ]

Usually an eleventh month old is totally fine with a kitten, and there is a good chance yours will be too, eventually. Long term problems just seem very very rare when the resident cat is this young...problems seem to get more common if the resident is over 2. Of course, cats are individuals, and anything is possible, but still, I wouldn't worry, this is likely going to be fine!

We have had this happen a couple of times, where people do full formal introductions and the older cat reacts badly, and I always wonder if the older cat actually knows its just a tiny kitten that it is smelling. In other words, I always wonder if doing the full, slow introduction is actually making things worse. I don't have any evidence to share, but I suspect that you might be better off letting the kitten out. It can't get much worse -- older cats don't hurt kittens so fighting isn't a risk. It might take a little time, but the older cat should get used to the kitten and they may still end up buddies despite the rocky start.

 

[Jadewilkes]

Hi ArtNJ,

Thanks so much for your reply. To be honest I thought at first that the slow introduction wasnt needed. Because they were both in rooms opposite each other meowing and seemed confident. So I let them see each other. This is when my girl acted terrified and has reverted to staying upstairs. She doesn't want to be anywhere near him.

She has a bit of a background, she was the runt of the litter and was a bit bullied by siblings for food etc because she was so tiny, she couldn't really play with either due to her size, speed and stregsth. She came to me very timid but now she is confident and is very sociable with all people including new ones and also takes interest in (sniffs and approaches without an aggressive posture) the neighbors cat and dog. So despite her history I thought that the timid nature wouldn't be as much of an issue but maybe it brings back her early experiences.

I'll keep persevering. Just want them both to feel happy. I hope it doesn't change her too much as she's a perfect little girl.

 

[ArtNJ]

Hang in there, nothing so unusual and should still be fine in time. May as well finish the introduction at this point and given how its going. That said, if kitten wants to immediately jump and play, and most of them do, its likely going to get bad again once you let them freely interact. There isn't much you can do except let them work it out. Feliway Spray or other calming products might help a bit. Trying to be nice to them together might help a bit. But mostly just time.

I'm very optimistic for you, should work out. I might hesitate to add a third cat a few years down the road though. Being scared of a kitten before it even tries to jump is not that rare...but, at the same time, I doubt its a good sign for ability to integrate in more difficult situations. (Again, kitten plus 11 month old is normally pretty easy).

 

[duncanmac]

Its only been two days - your girl is freaked out by this new thing that just showed up in her house. When I did introductions, my resident cat just wouldn't eat by the door to the bathroom with the new cat in it. So I didn't force that issue.

My resident cat was very interested in the new cat and is generally outgoing - so when it came time to open the door, we cracked it open, let them see each other (my wife was holding the resident cat) and basically set up 2 baby gates in the door for them to look at each other.

You might need to do that and get your girl down there playing near the door. Curiosity should take over (and treats don't hurt either)

 

[Jadewilkes]

Thank you ArtNJ and duncanmac for your advice. It's really appreciated. I managed to get my girl downstairs yesterday. And she was playing with me upstairs too which is an improvement on yesterday as the previous day's she didn't want to play at all. She has seen the boy through a glass door, she was growling at him from a distance, she doesn't seem very curious about him but I'll keep going. I think I'll try the baby gate option and see if I can get her playing while she can see him which I suspect will take quite a while. Yesterday she was just fixated on watching him and growling so she wasn't interested in play. He just doesn't really seem to notice she's there, he's so interested in playing with his toys, so it's not as though he's being threatening, he does meow an awful lot while playing though and very loudly. I think she is just a timid lady due to being the runt, except for when she's around new people when she's pretty content. Fingers crossed! My feliway friends should arrive today and I have lots of Rosie's favourite treats.

 

[Frankophile Feline Fan]

I was going to suggest feliway. When my roommate was bringing home a new dog, I got a PetArmor pheromone collar for Colette. I thought the collar would be ideal and she could have the pheromones close to her in whatever room she happened to be in. It's good for 30 days and the level of efficacy would be most potent when the dog came and decrease as she gets used to him.

When I put the collar on her OH MY GOD - the change in her was immediate and she became more affectionate. The lavender-chamomile scent is pleasant and I'm positive Colette thinks so, too.

I researched the pheromone collar brands available by reviews on Amazon, Chewy, and Walmart. There are a lot of reported skin reactions to the Pet Sentry brand that I didn't see in the PetArmor collar from Walmart, and the PetArmor one is significantly cheaper. Colette is doing fine with it.

Please upload pictures of your kittens & keep us posted

 

[Jadewilkes]

Thanks for the tips Frankofile, that's good to know. I have put on a spot on solution for calming her because she's never taken to wearing a collar. She's mainly an indoor cat anyway (with access to our secure garden) so it's not been a problem. Rosie did seem better after the spot on treatment but I don't know if that's because she's had some time or its due to the product. Hoping the feliway will be effective too! I can maybe consider a collar for the new boy if things continue.

 

[Jadewilkes]

Pictures as requested Frankophile fingers crossed the next one's will be of them together!

My girl

My boy

 

[Jadewilkes]

Update - Rosie has met my boy, she has started to get braver and more curious. She met him twice yesterday and once this morning. She actually came into his room this morning. She was hissing and growling all the time when he got closer but at one point they were about a ruler apart. He is very calm bless him. I tried engaging them in play but I think it's too soon as she wasn't bothered. But after the session iigave them both treats and a play, she was playing with me when I closed his door, she was almost as enthusiastic as normal too. I'm hoping this is progress?

 

[meowingmatilda]

Oh my gosh your cats are absolutely beautiful

I don't know much about introductions, I'm planning on getting another kitten soon myself, my kitten now is only 9 weeks old so I'm hoping it won't be too much of a problem from the research I have done it sounds like good progress. As long as you are giving Rosie lots of praise and attention for being curious! Fingers crossed it continues to go well for you, can't wait to see pictures of them together

 

[Jadewilkes]

Good luck with your kitten and new friend meowingmatilda! Yes, giving Rosie lots of praise and treats! :-)

I wondered anyone, is my boy classed as red tabby or cream tabby? He has pink pads. Not bothered either way, just wondered...

 

[Jadewilkes]

So Rosie is now less scared of her brother and will be in the lounge at the same time as him. I am only letting them meet in short sittings because I am unsure of their behaviour. Rosie isn't instered in playing with toys when he's around, she stares at him constantly, hisses a few times and growls. Then she stops, but as he plays with his toys (fishing rod toy), she will run up behind him when he has his back turned and sniff his bum. Then try to nibble on his tail. He at this point will turn around and stop her my grunting and getting away. She will also try to squat him, her claws are retracted and its not a hard squat. Then she tries to stalk him, she'll run after him while he plays and make a noise like she does when she's stalking her toys. He usually continues playing with his toys but also hides under a unit but he will keep coming out to play so I'm guessing he's not too terrified. Is this behaviour terrible? To allow aggression from her and for him to potentially get scared? Or is it to be expected and something that they need to work out to establish hierarchy? I am reading mixed things! Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!