Seeking help with new kitten introduction

[antisockcat]

Hello all! This is my first time posting on this site, so please point me in the right direction if this question is in the wrong location.

I have had my 8yo cat, Winston, for over 7.5 years. He was my neighbor's outdoor cat but migrated over to our place and has been indoor/outdoor all his life. He has befriended rabbits with no issues and tolerates our friend's 13yo toy poodle who occasionally spends the weekend with us, but hasn't lived with any cats since his littermate sadly passed away when they were about a year old.

Recently my sister found a kitten in a parking lot and we have taken her in. Mimzy is about 7 weeks and has been given the okay by our vet.

We are taking things slow. They have taken turns occupying the same space and do not react to each other's scent anymore (Winston is currently snoozing in the exact same spot on the couch as Mimzy was an hour ago).

Winston is very afraid of being confined so I have been putting Mimzy in an old rabbit cage on the floor and giving them both treats. Mimzy has very little reaction besides wanting to come out of the cage once she's done eating. Winston will eat cautiously and then immediately head outside for a sulk.

He will abandon the food if it is too close to the cage, he has to walk too close to the cage to get to it, or the kitten meows too much. Once he feels far enough away he'll ask for the food again. He doesn't show any interest toward Mimzy, just a desire to eat and leave as quickly as possible.

I don't know how to move forward. Mimzy is so tiny that we don't expect to let them interact unsupervised anytime soon, but if they don't interact through the cage, should we eventually just let them meet each other while loose? The obvious solution would be to put Winston in the cage and let Mimzy come up to him, but the small space would scare him so much that it couldn't possibly go well.

Where should we go from here? Any and all advice is very appreciated, and thank you in advance!

 

[antisockcat]

Two things I forgot to mention:
Winston is neutered and we will definitely get Mimzy spayed when she's old enough.
We also plan to keep Mimzy as an indoor-only cat.

 

[sivyaleah]

Hi, and welcome!

It sounds like the introduction is going pretty well from my perspective.  The first weeks can be hit or miss, but considering there's no growling or hissing going on I think they will eventually learn to be around each other.  It's also a good sign that the older one is relaxing in areas where the kitten has been - it shows he isn't threatened by her.

Personally, I wouldn't put Winston in the cage. Mimzy is still quite young and may not even walk near it, and Winston could wind up feeling like he's being punished due to being cooped up. 

Keeping Mimzy safe is a priority - 7 weeks old is still quite young and an older cat could rough her up by accident during play (once they get to that point of course).  I'd let her out of the cage to let her get used to your home, but keep a close eye on both of them of course (it would be a good idea to kitten proof the house also).  You can keep her in the cage at night, to protect her; perhaps in an area where Winston can't get to her.

I think once she's closer to the 3 month mark things will be much different between them.  Winston may not even recognize her as another cat right now but with time, he will.  Make sure you're paying lots of special attention to Winston during this time period to reassure him he's still number 1.  I'm sure you already know that, but it's worth repeating.

Do you have pix of them? Would love to see them!

 

[antisockcat]

Thanks for your reply!

Mimzy stays in a bathroom overnight and when no one can supervise her. The rabbit cage is fairly small and only used when we want her and Winston to see each other.

I have been thinking that maybe we could try a gate between doors next time. Then Winston could be contained long enough to consider looking at Mimzy but not in such a small area as to scare him. I will have to figure out what to use as a gate, though.

I didn't realize you could use pictures on this site!

20151230_104826-1.jpg

• antisockcat
• Jul 3, 2016

I bet you can guess who is who.

(Yes, we are VERY careful and aware of the cats around the rocking chair)

 

[sivyaleah]

Oh my! She's absolutely precious! 

And your boy is looking quite relaxed 

I foresee a friendship for sure lol. How could he resist her? 

 

[bonepicker]

Beautiful![emoji]128062[/emoji][emoji]10084[/emoji]️[emoji]128062[/emoji]

 

[Columbine]

sivyaleah has given you some great pointers already. I'll just add these articles on introductions [article="32680"][/article][article="29726"][/article] and a couple of other useful topics[article="22410"][/article][article="22401"][/article][article="32804"][/article]

Mimzy is just GORGEOUS - such a little cutie oh::heart3::heart2::heart3:

 

[antisockcat]

Update: today we put up a temporary gate between two doorways. Mimzy was happily playing with her ball on one side and we brought Winston into the other room.

I gave him a treat and started leading him across the room with a trail of treats. He followed it, very cautiously and low to the ground, until about 6ft/2m away, then he stopped. Mimzy was at the gate looking at him. Winston hissed and she moved out of sight. He hissed again and then walked quickly away (but didn't run, which I think is good) and I let him go back outside.

They both seemed back to normal within a few minutes. I wish I'd asked someone to stay on Mimzy's side as I couldn't tell if she was very scared. Is this a good development or should we go back to not letting them see each other for a while?

IMG_20160703_121055035.jpg

• antisockcat
• Jul 4, 2016

 

[lyrajean]

The gate arrangement and tempting Winston with treats sounds like a good step. Keep at this stage until Winston stops hissing at her.

 

[Columbine]

I think keep going with the gate, but structure it a little better, with one person for each cat and yummy food for both. Winston may be less worried about Mimzy if she's concentrating on eating instead of looking at him. Don't force the issue. If, after a few meetings like this, there is definitely no sign of hostility, you could consider just having the screens there the whole time instead of the closed solid door. That way Mimzy will feel a little more a part of things and Winston will be able to get used to her presence in his own time. Just make certain that neither cat will be able to get through/under/over the screens

 

[antisockcat]

Update: we have been continuing with the fence introduction strategy, and while Winston still hisses at least once each attempt, it seems mostly for show as he is now more sure that she will not approach him. When Winston is in the house (he loves the heat so he doesn't spend much time indoors during summer), he will nap happily even if he can hear Mimzy meowing in another room. Mimzy is 9 weeks now, twice the size she was when we found her, and eats like a champ- she's already learned her name and "up" to stand on her hind legs for a treat.

Today I tried letting them eat near each other with me in the middle instead of the fence. I opened the door as I was opening the treat bag. Mimzy sprinted across her room and crashed into my legs. Winston hissed but came closer for the treats anyway, and they both chowed down within two feet of each other!

I gave Mimzy her entire portion at once, so she wouldn't come closer for more. Winston got one or two pieces at a time, so he had to repeatedly make the decision to stay near her. I think this was very successful- he stopped hissing and actually got a good look at Mimzy (she utterly ignored him, as food is her top priority).

Winston left the room as soon as it was clear that there were no more treats to be had, but he didn't immediately ask to go outside and, after a few minutes, came back towards Mimzy to ask for more food!

I think this is excellent progress; all I am hoping for is Winston to tolerate Mimzy's presence and it actually seems doable now.

We are very tentatively considering another kitten. Friends of ours have a semi-feral cat with 5 kittens (about 1 month old) in their backyard and are planning to find the little ones homes and get mama spayed. Would the benefit of a playmate for Mimzy be worth the hassle of introducing Winston to another cat?

Many thanks to everyone who's already taken the time to give me advice. I'm very thankful for this site!

 

[Columbine]

A second kitten could be a VERY good idea, as they'll be able to entertain each other a bit - meaning that Winston won't be constantly bugged by an over-excited Mimzy :lol3: Having said that, you need to know a LOT more about these feral kittens before deciding....the most crucial thing being socialisation. Are they being handled and got used to human contact now, or is mamma-cat not allowing this? I'd just be a little wary of bringing a feral kitten that hadn't been well handled into this particular situation. Socialising feral cats for domestication is an art in itself, and is not something to be taken lightly. If you want to take one of them on, start spending time with them now so that they can start to bond with you as well as your friend. This will make for a much easier transition in a few weeks time
[article="29655"][/article]

 

[antisockcat]

Bad weather update: as we are in an area affected by tropical storm Hermine, I decided to push the introduction a little faster than I otherwise would. Winston has been staying out to avoid Mimzy, but I want him to stay inside tonight.

So far, it hasn't been as bad as I feared, but not ideal. Winston has been growling like a lawnmower as Mimzy creeps closer and closer. She really wants to meet him; he corners himself and gets upset about her being too close.

He hasn't tried any swiping at her, and she's been curious but utterly submissive. At one point, he got up and actually walked- not ran- across the house to look out the window, and ignored Mimzy following right on his heels. He leaned up with his paws on the low windowsill, and when Mimzy got too close with her sniffing, he finally remembered to turn around and be grumpy at her! It was too funny.

We had them in separate rooms for the past hour after about 20 minutes out together. I just opened the doors again, and Winston is sitting while Mimzy admires him.

IMG_20160902_170957358.jpg

• antisockcat
• Sep 2, 2016

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tonight won't completely destroy all their progress. We will keep them separated once we go to bed.