Our new furbaby!!!!

[silva_unt]

So I've brought home "Ethan" who we will be calling Petey as his permanent name

Here's a couple of his adoption photos which easily lured me and my bf in

Photos by C. Jacobson (fostermom)

So here's what we got so far. Petey's currently in the bedroom, door closed, with litter, food/water, bed and toys. This is where he'll stay during most of the day. For overnight, I've set up a large soft-sided Dog crate that is big enough for his litter box, food/water, bed and toys. This crate is set up in the sunroom so he can associate this area with litterbox location. I plan to cover it with a thin throw so the kittys don't see each other yet.

Upon arrival, Neko didn't even notice that I had a kitty in the crate i was carrying. So I took the crate to the bedrm, she followed, I put the crate on the bed and then Neko followed me to the kitchen... clueless

I fed Neko in the kitchen and went back to the bedrm to let Petey out of the crate and let him wonder the rm.

I went back out and Neko was quite curious to what i had in the bedrm! She could hear him in the rm and i guess smell him too. Her tail and back fluffed up but no growling or hissing. She inspected the crate and then followed me to the living rm.

In my opinion she seems more scared of the new arrival. She wants to smell my hands, she's curious, but so far not aggressive about the situation. I'm worried though that when i put Petey in his sleeping crate, which is in the sunrm, that she will be too scared to go in the sunrm to use her litter box!? Which is why I'm going to cover the crate with a blanket....

Any opinions or suggestions?
Thanks for reading! We're super excited and want to do things right!!

 

[rad65]

Is there any way you can put the crate in literally any other place in your house? I would not want to potentially mess with the litter habits of my cat, because those can be hard to fix. Even if Neko continues to use the box, she may wait longer than she normally would because of the proximity to the kitten and his smell. That could cause health problems, to add to possible behavioral litter problems.

 

[silva_unt]

Thanks for responding! You make a very good point! Yes I can move the crate to the dining area or the corner of the living rm. My apt. is only 750sqft and she'll have to cross it where ever i put it but not as close if i move it the the diningrm. Thanks again

 

[stephanietx]

Can you put him in the bathroom with the door closed so she doesn't have to go near him to get to the box?

 

[silva_unt]

The bathrm is very close to the bedrm and Neko loves to sleep with her mama. I've moved the crate to the far corner of the diningrm- behind the dining table and under the bar. I think this spot will work well. We'll see how tonight goes

 

[stephanietx]

As long as the crate is semi covered and they can't get to each other, I think you should be okay. Of course, you might consider putting a box in the bathroom or in the hallway if you have one. I used to live in a 660 sq ft apt and had to put the litter box in the little hallway that connected the bathroom, laundry room and bedroom.

 

[silva_unt]

Thats a good idea. Thats exactly our layout - hallway that leads to bathrm, laundry(not walk in), and bedrm. I can always bring her box closer to the bedrm, in the hallway. The crate is mostly covered with only two windows of mesh material, this one: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001
The right window is against the wall. I'll cover with blanket too. An hour before we go to bed, I'll put him in the crate (covered), and see how Neko reacts to her surroundings. If she shuns herself back to the bedrm side, i'll bring her box closer.
Thanks Stephanie

 

[catbehaviors]

Petey sure is a cutey!

I hope that he and Neko get along, and Neko won't be too scared to go into the sunroom!

 

[-_aj_-]

He is gorgeous good luck with the intro's

 

[ruthyb]

Awww, he is so gorgeous, good luck with everything.xx

 

[darlili]

Oh, he is very cute! Good luck with the intro's. I know this may sound silly, but keep telling Neko the new kitty is for her, but that she's #1...and always feed, greet, and play with her first, before the adorable baby.

 

[my4llma]

Your kitten is cute

is there anyway you can put the new kitten in a different room in your house? If the other cat is afraid of this new kitten, then the other cat won't be able to use their box.

 

[stephanietx]

How did it go last night?

 

[silva_unt]

Thanks everyone for the compliments, luck and vibes

Last night:
My bf got home from wk around 11:30 and so he was introduced to Petey in the bedrm and he

the little guy. He's anxious to allow him out and about but I told him how important it would be to be patient. We put Neko in the bathrm while we put Petey in the crate (in the dining area behind the table) and covered it with a blanket. After we let Neko out she went straight under the dining table and hissed and growled at the crate. She stayed there for a long time. She stopped hissing after a few min but stayed there under the table to keep watch for a long time.

My bf said she finally came to sit on the floor between his feet while he watched tv. She usually follows me to the bedrm but i guess she wanted to keep watch for daddy

When he came to bed she came too and layed at my feet.

Petey started crying at around 4am and Neko got up with me for her early serving of breakfast. She didn't mind the sound of him and ate normaly. I put the stereo on talk radio at a low volume and he finally settled down after 15-20min and fell back asleep.

In the morning I put Neko in the bathrm and put Petey and his things into the bedrm. I let Neko out and she happily ate her second serving of breakfast. I went to wk soon after and my bf text to tell me that she was scratching on the bedrm door where Petey was, growling a little. She wouldn't even get close to the door yesterday so... no sure what that means.

Other than that, Neko is treating me and my bf normally, eating normally, and using her litter box normally. Petey is doing good too. He loves wet food which is a plus and used the sweat scoop without a problem. He used crystals or clay at his fostermoms so i was worried he wouldn't like the wheat. I plan to get chicken feed soon as litter.

 

[cheylink]

You are doing everything right! Petey is adorable! I think Neko is looking to both of you for guidance as to how to react to little Petey, and you are allowing her as well as him to feel safe, comfortable, and loved while introducing them......

 

[silva_unt]

Thank you!

As for last night....
My bf just wanted them to see eachother with Petey safely in his arms. Neko was sitting in the hallway right outside the door. We opened up and she just stared at him and looked fine. I told my bf not to let him go, that he was just at a safe distance that didn't bother Neko. I got Neko's favorite treats, Greenies and gave her one close to the open door way, she gladly accepted. Then i tried giving her another one closer to the door's treshold, she growled and hissed a little, but ate her treat anyway. That's when we put Petey in his crate and left the blanket off and the lights on. Neko got too aggressive, hissed and swatted at the crate 2x so i covered him up with the blanket and turned out the lights.
Early in the am I got up to feed Neko, she returned to her usual time and habit of biting my shoulder to feed her

so thats good. Of course, Petey started crying when he heard us wake up. I fed Neko first but she followed me to see me feed Petey too. No hissing or growling but she was watching from a far distance. Then around 8am Neko woke me up again for her 2nd feeding. Thats when I brought Petey out of the crate. I held Petey and lowered him to her level, about 3 ft from her, and she didn't do anything. I didn't want to temp her further so i stopped there and put him in the bedrm, door closed. She's been laying near the door more and looking under the door.

Petey's poo is a little runny. Fostermom said it was when she got him and they gave him somthing for it. He's on the same food - Science Diet Kitten

There's 2 diff and i didn't ask which... don't know if thats the cause or the wet i've been feeding him. She didn't mention whether he ate it before(wet) but he sure does love it

He's really settled in too! Today i've seen him at full hyperness

This kitten is crazy! Zooming left and right and trying to play with 3-4 toys in under a minute!!

Neko's getting my attention too. I took her to drink some water from the sink, her favorite thing and we also played a good round of daBird

Now she's laying down in her SportPet Cube and grooming herself.

 

[stephanietx]

Sounds like things are progressing well. Do you know if he's been dewormed? The runny poo could be from the change in food or even stress. It could also be from parasites or worms. Did the fostermom give you the meds he was on?

 

[silva_unt]

No meds were given to me. She said it was runny when she took him early November. He just received his FeLV Booster and FVRCP-CP Booster Dec 26th. Negative results for Ringworm on 11/15, dewormed-drontal on 11/26, and negative fecal flotation 12/04.

 

[stephanietx]

Keep an eye on the poop. I wouldn't want to integrate him fully until that's addressed just in case it's something that can be transmitted via the litter box.

 

[kailie]

Oh congrats sweetie!

He is absolutely adorable!