Proper use of screen door for kitten intro

[JavierG]

So I have been working for over a month now to get my resistant resident cat, Lola, to accept our new kitten(Taffy). After a rushed start that didn’t go well, I have restarted and have been giving Lola visual of the kitten at 5-10 minutes at a time while I hold the kitten. I feel it’s progressed well, and thought it might be good now to let them have visual access to each other but with some safety measures. I have read a screen door or baby gates work for this. My question is, is this done with supervision only? Or is it we can leave that up all the time and the cats can look at each other whenever they want?
whats the right approach?

 

[Alldara]

I usually only do this when I am present.

However, many others have full screen doors and leave that visual access up all the time.

So I'd say it depends on your barriers AND your cats. If you not being present causes distress then you'll need to adjust.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I'd start with supervised visual access and see how it goes. Ideally over time you should be able to let them have access without you needing to watch over them. The biggest thing to remember is that you can only go through the introduction steps as fast as the slowest adapting cat.

Here are some TCS articles that might give you some tips. The second article not only applies to 'older' cats but also to younger cats who might be the type that require additional time/assistance with getting used to the presence of another cat/kitten.
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide - TheCatSite
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat [A Guide] - TheCatSite

 

[JavierG]

I usually only do this when I am present.

However, many others have full screen doors and leave that visual access up all the time.

So I'd say it depends on your barriers AND your cats. If you not being present causes distress then you'll need to adjust.

Thank you, seems reasonable. Basically see how it plays out and adjust. I have one of those temporary mesh screen doors. Which I still have to setup. But assuming it’s secure enough will likely start with a short time at first while I’m there and progress as I see the response. Thanks

 

[ArtNJ]

Let me ask you to imagine your five and scared out of your mind by your neighbors dog that bit you savagely last year. The neighbors built a fence after the incident, but your still terrified. I mean, your five, and you still have scars, of course the fence wont solve it in your mind. Which will take longer to help you get over it:

A. The dog is out for exactly five minutes a day, and you mom holds your hand and forces you to walk the property while the dog growls and barks on the other side of the fence. This is the worst five minutes of your day, you usually pee yourself and sometimes vomit. As that time of the day rolls around, the terror builds inside and you start bawling.

B. The dog is out all day. You walk by several times a day because you have to get to your friends house and to school, and you can see the fence and the dog from your yard, where you dad plays with you when you get home. That stuff isn't optional or you love it, you understand that. You walk as far from the fence as you can. Your absolutely terrified at first, but nothing bad happens.

Which scenario is going to take longer to get over it? The problem I have with scenario A is not just that its less time, like 5 minutes a day vs 30 minutes, so one might think ok, it will take 6 times as long. Rather my thought is that the five minutes is so short, that the only thing going on is terror. The next day, the boy doesn't remember that nothing bad happened, they remember the terror. They remember wetting their pants. It just doesn't help. No matter how many days, no matter how many five minute slices of time, it will never be enough. You need enough time for there to be more than just terror, so they can see nothing bad happens from it and remember that.

So to me, you leave the barrier up all day unless there is a reason you can't, like the cat will jump or climb over it. Or, once in a while, the mere sight of the other cat is too much and produces a very extreme stress reaction. And sometimes, if you have a big house, there are issues with just avoiding the area (and my scenario B is therefore not on the table.)

Am I sure it works like this, even sometimes? No, not really. It just seems like that when people try to micromanage introductions in little slices of carefully curated time, things dont progress much. Whereas if you set it up so that the cats can do work on their own, progress is faster. And of course I'm not saying you need to abandon your efforts to help, you can do both -- you leave the barrier up and let the cat naturally get some exposure over the course of the day, and when you have time, you can try playing/giving treats by the barrier. And I've definitely seen that efforts to manage the time sometimes dont work or even seem counter productive, because the cats are too stressed to play, take the treat or whatnot.

 

[Alldara]

Thank you, seems reasonable. Basically see how it plays out and adjust. I have one of those temporary mesh screen doors. Which I still have to setup. But assuming it’s secure enough will likely start with a short time at first while I’m there and progress as I see the response. Thanks

Basically yes.

For me, with gated intros I do the following:

- set aside about 30 minutes beforehand to play with the cats

- put on some cat calming music

- Grab some cat treats, a toy, maybe a brush and a pillow and book for myself.

- settle in on the floor by the gate so that I am between the gate and the cat. Leave a small gap under the gate big enough for a paw. I usually find my cats like to play feet-ys once slightly comfortable.

- if the cats are both near the gate I use toys, treats and attention to give praise and distraction

- if one wanders off, I might read my book and just pet the cat who is nearby. I usually do this for about 2 hours.

- I really like to have them watch each other play so they learn one another's play signals.

When I was introducing cats, my life basically revolved around fitting in time for that. I got up early to fit a 40 min session in. I did 30 minutes at lunch (WFH), 30 minutes before human dinner and basically until I had to get ready for bed after dinner. With Magnus and Nobel we were on quarentine, but with Calcifer and Ghost we were working so that was stressful.


However Calcifer and Ghost both went smoother. So perhaps some long breaks throughout the day are best. It's hard to say as there are other influential factors.

 

[JavierG]

Well been doing the screen door thing now for a week. At first let them see each other only with supervision and giving lots of treats to both. But past few days have left The screen door open all day and seems Lola the onset cat pays visits but isn’t obsessed about seeing kitten. I do hear some hissing occasionally but not excessive. I have also been taking kitten out while held and giving Lola treats etc. Lola the resident cat seems to be a little less sensitive . Though she does follow us around and watches the kitten but has even curled up on the sofa while we sit in a chair. So she seems more relaxed if not entirely at ease. Is it time to let kitten run loose in the floor with Lola ( while supervised)? Or do I allow this to progress further until I sense Lola is fully at ease?

 

[FeebysOwner]

You might let the kitten explore some of the house with Lola being confined in a room, especially if this hasn't been done as it lets the kitten spread her scent to areas that Lola frequents. It also allows the kitten time to snoop around before she is directly exposed to Lola on the floor with her. It will also tell you if Lola is bothered - or just curious - by being able to smell the kitten all over 'her space'.

 

[JavierG]

You might let the kitten explore some of the house with Lola being confined in a room, especially if this hasn't been done as it lets the kitten spread her scent to areas that Lola frequents. It also allows the kitten time to snoop around before she is directly exposed to Lola on the floor with her. It will also tell you if Lola is bothered - or just curious - by being able to smell the kitten all over 'her space'.

Yes This has been happening for about a month now. The kitten usually spends about 2-3 hours each day roaming around the house while Lola is confined to the basement.
The kitten is fairly adapted to us and the house the issue is with Lola. I had started to fast I think several weeks ago. Which resulted in Lola chasing and being aggressive. So had to reset, so have started over. Went back to isolating and exposure only when tightly controlled. Now am trying tomo figure out the next step and when to take it.

 

[FeebysOwner]

If you have already done site swapping, which it sounds like you have, I guess the next step is to put them in the same area, have toys and distractions available, and know how to break up a fight if one should occur, even a one-sided fight. I am not saying it will based on all you have described, but better to be prepared ahead of time. This is somewhat dependent on the age of the kitten as to how long you let Lola 'pursue' her, and what kind of pursuance it looks to be, before intervening.
How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight: Effective Techniques - TheCatSite
Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing? [Answered] - TheCatSite

 

[Alldara]

Well been doing the screen door thing now for a week. At first let them see each other only with supervision and giving lots of treats to both. But past few days have left The screen door open all day and seems Lola the onset cat pays visits but isn’t obsessed about seeing kitten. I do hear some hissing occasionally but not excessive. I have also been taking kitten out while held and giving Lola treats etc. Lola the resident cat seems to be a little less sensitive . Though she does follow us around and watches the kitten but has even curled up on the sofa while we sit in a chair. So she seems more relaxed if not entirely at ease. Is it time to let kitten run loose in the floor with Lola ( while supervised)? Or do I allow this to progress further until I sense Lola is fully at ease?

If you're doing something to occupy the kitten this would be okay. But to just let the kitten be loose without any distraction I would take a bit more time. Let Lola see her down and busy first.

Keep some treats on hand and if kitten scampers over you can give them to Lola. These are photos of some of the first "free" interactions we let Nobel and Magnus have together. Keeping that chair rim as a slight barrier helped Nobel to lay down. He's not fully relaxed there. You can see he's kind of loafed as far from Magnus as he can get.

 

[Alldara]

Then in a few weeks with treats we progressed to Nobel allowing him quite close.

The rest of the photos are the two of them later on.

 

[JavierG]

So been using the screen door for a little over a week now. While I try come up and give treats and such to reward Lola I just work too long so would be pretty limited amount of time together. So after s few days I decided to leave the door open with the screen on. I put a camera to see what happens . Sometimes Lola just sits there , other times it’s like this video. Is this aggressive? I think the Kitten is playing, but not certain of Lola.

Dinining_Living_room_2023-10-11T20_20_57-0400.mp4

 

[FeebysOwner]

I think they are both in the "I am still trying to figure you out' mode. I had to chuckle at the end, as it seemed like Lola said "Ok, I've had enough", and the kitten was like "What!?! That was it????".

 

[Alldara]

So been using the screen door for a little over a week now. While I try come up and give treats and such to reward Lola I just work too long so would be pretty limited amount of time together. So after s few days I decided to leave the door open with the screen on. I put a camera to see what happens . Sometimes Lola just sits there , other times it’s like this video. Is this aggressive? I think the Kitten is playing, but not certain of Lola.

Dinining_Living_room_2023-10-11T20_20_57-0400.mp4

Lola seems nervous like, "Woah! Too fast!"

But the screen is going well if that's the interaction. when Lola got too overwhelmed, she walked away and then kitten lay down. Good communication from them!

 

[JavierG]

Lola seems nervous like, "Woah! Too fast!"

But the screen is going well if that's the interaction. when Lola got too overwhelmed, she walked away and then kitten lay down. Good communication from them!

The Kitten used the screen door as a trampoline haha Whenever anyone stands in front she bounces off of it. So I think Lola doesn’t know what to do with that.
But question, should I give more time before in person, no barrier introduction?

 

[Alldara]

The Kitten used the screen door as a trampoline haha Whenever anyone stands in front she bounces off of it. So I think Lola doesn’t know what to do with that.
But question, should I give more time before in person, no barrier introduction?

Yes I think so. Let Lola's body language relax a bit more.

Then you'll wear kitten down a bit, and keep kitten occupied during the first non-screen intro. Try to keep it positive, even if that means only 15 minutes or so.

 

[JavierG]

Yes I think so. Let Lola's body language relax a bit more.

Then you'll wear kitten down a bit, and keep kitten occupied during the first non-screen intro. Try to keep it positive, even if that means only 15 minutes or so.

Thank You for the advise

 

[JavierG]

I think I have finally seen some sign of a breakthrough. Normally every time I have seen or videos the cats interacting was much of the previous swiping or hissing maybe a little less intense( swipes minor hissing) less aggressive than earlier but still not something showing acceptance. But this week I had noticed Lola doesn’t go up as much to check out kitten. And when she does she goes up but sits at a distance, which I took as possibly she no longer sees the kitten as an “invader” or a threat that needs to be monitored.
This morning however I was simply watching as I was in another room and saw Lola walk up to the screen, and the kitten walked up and they sniffed each others noses and even LICKED each others noses. No hissing or swatting. Or at least not immediately. A minute later the kitten leaped at Lola and Lola swiped at her. But now I think it’s that Lola simply doesn’t like the playing. But it’s no longer about the kitten itself. Which to me means it’s time to go to the next step direct no screen interaction ( with supervision).