Will a new kitten be alright with an older cat?

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Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 10:16 pm

So you've decided to go for 2 new kitties! That's great. At least if they are litter mates then they will be bonded and whether or not your older feline takes to them they will at least have someone to snuggle up with. As they will only be 8 weeks old when you get them you'll obviously need to give them kitten milk for a while (widely available in most grocery stores - comes in 3 packs and looks like juice boxes) - give some to your older kitty too - they love it! I still give my 15 year old Siamese kitten milk every once in a while as a treat. It really helps with their coats. An egg beaten with a little milk will work too.
With two new fuzz balls rocketing around the house I would absolutely keep them separated for a day or two and do the scent transfer thing. The little munchkins will be whizzing around full of vim and vigour and probably take a poke at the resident feline which will not go down well. Your 14 month old cat is still a kitten so hopefully the introduction will go well and he/she will enjoy their new playmates!
Lots of luck and like Bob Barker always says "spay and neuter"!!! I wish I could get another couple of fuzz balls but I'm still in mourning having lost 2 kitties in 4 months. They were old and just went off into the woods out back of the house and never came back...RIP Noelle and Tigger. Sasha the Siamese is still beating the poop out of the dog!

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Update, it's earlier than planned, but the 2 kittens are now here in their new home, damn, they are so cute, 6 weeks and 4 days old Very Happy

Didn't really have a chance to keep them seperated, so we introduced them to our cat straight away, kept the kittens in the cat carrier, they were eyeing him, and he was eyeing them, eventually, let the kittens out in the living room, and they were playing happily enough, ate their dinner, drank their kitten milk and used their litter tray, the main cat (Shadow), is really not impressd with the kittens Sad

He is watching them like a hawk, plenty of loud growling, and if one goes in his direction, he hisses at them, one of the kittens arched it's back and did that sideways walk thing, started making it's way over to Shadow, they hissed at each other, and the other kitten went to back his brother or sister up (no idea of their sexes yet), loads more hissing, growling and posturing ensued, but no paws on fighting as yet.

Later in the evening, one of the kittens marched over to Shadow, got about 10 inches from him, and Shadow did a runner, didn't hiss or growl that time, then, I took the kittens to the bedroom, put them on the bed, and one went on the spot where Shadow always sleeps, Shadow enters the bedroom, sees the kittens on bed, starts to go apeshit, very loud growling, circles the bed, I pick him up, he sees one of the kittens on his favourite spot, and he lets out an ear piercing meow/growl spitting Shocked

, had to get him out of the room so I could get the kittens before he did, all in all, not a brilliant first day, but tomorrow is another day.

The kittens have decided the space behind the sofa is the ideal sleeping place, both are cuddled up there together, so even if Shadow never really takes to them, at least they have each other, I'm sure that in time he will learn to tolerate them.

Got to get some worming tablets tomorrow, noticed 2 bits of tape worm on the rear of one of the kittens, so need to get that sorted as soon as possible, they are very cute, one of them is very friendly, straight up on your lap, will sit there for ages being stroked and having his tummy rubbed, purring away Very Happy

, the other one has a completely different character, he doesn't appear to be a lap cat, and despite his small size, is more than happy to approach Shadow with his back up and give him some grief, brave cat, because Shadow can be a bit of a psycho, he has had blood pouring from my hands and arms many a time, not scratches, severe deep cuts he gives when he gives it some.

I'll post some video or photos of the kittens tomorrow.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 12:27 am

They will soon sort out whose boss among the 3 of them (not necessarily Shadow!) and establish their territories, etc.

Where did you get the kittens from SP? If you haven't already done so it might be an idea to have them checked over by a vet especially if they already have worms. Have they had the necessary shots? At least you will find out which sex they are and of course have them neutered/spayed [wags finger]

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 1:58 am

I have two roof rabbits, and I separated them before introducing them. I also have their litter boxes far apart! They do NOT like going in each other's boxes - if so - I find that one will pee on EVERYTHING. So don't do like me and have the litterboxes near each other!

I'm thinking of getting a third cat, myself. I just need to make it over to the UK - and get a map to Shiver's house first. Rosie will be MINE one day Laughing

I've been searching shelters for a kitty that looks like her - but can't find one anywhere!

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:13 am

Aw....they sound so cute, SP Very Happy

Do give Shadow loads of love and stroking, as I'm sure he's not feeling too good right now Sad

I look forward to the pics.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ Gnasher, they were advertised on a card in a shop window, as far as I know they have not had any shots yet, Shadow has never had any shots either, not neutered, but I think that might have to happen now as the hormones will be flying and that shouldcalm him and them down when they are old enough to have it done.

@ Eliza, the kittens litter tray is in a different room for now, they should be used to sharing a tray being from the same litter.

@ Lotta, Shadow is spoilt rotten anyway, but he still gets extra fussing and treats, a little while ago he came in to the living room, and was looking behind the sofa, he made what we call his, "talking noise", to the kittens, he makes this certain noise when he greets us or when he jumps on the sofa, a sort of long brrrrrrr noise, so maybe he was trying to be friendly to them by doing that Confused

, he just went to have another look at them, they both hissed and growled at him Sad

, although I think he wokethem up and startled them with his sniffing Very Happy

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:33 am

Sounds good so far. This is a fairly good result for the adult. Having the kitten aggressively advance must have freaked it out.

I would suggest deworming all three cats now. Make sure you get the dosing levels calculated by the weight of the animal.

On sexing kittens. Males have a . under their tail. Females have a ! upside down.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 3:38 am

Having Shadow neutered will certainly calm him down and it's an easier proceedure than spaying a female. It will also mean if you have 1-2 female kittens you won't end up with about a dozen more in a few months time!!!

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:58 am

Yeah, take all three to the vet to be neutered, wormed, and given cat flu shots.

Also you can get them microchipped so if they get lost anyone who finds them can take them to a vet and get them identified - well you can here in NZ, the vets all have a vetnet with the id infomation of all chipped dogs and cats on it.

have fun

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:53 am

Connie L. Gus wrote:

(..) Females have a ! upside down.

Hmmm, I never would have thought female kittens knew Spanish.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

Ok, the kittens had just eaten their dinner and sat in front of the webcam cleaning, one came and sat on the laptop mouse for a closer look Very Happy

, video could be lighter, will try another today or tomorrow when they are playing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9IMryleZeQ

Also, on closer inspection, after what Connie said, both kittens appear to be female, definitily need Shadow neutered at some point before the house is taken over by cats Very Happy

No growling from Shadow today, they hissed at him when he woke them up again, but they are all a lot better and more relaxed than yesterday Very Happy

[edit]

When viewing the YouTube video on my laptop, although you can see them clearly, it is not overly bright, but I just viewed it on this computer and can't see a damn thing, dark as hell.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 2:38 pm

Aww, they're sweet SP ya big softie Laughing

Don's gonna loose his 'sweetest' tag.

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:51 pm

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:49 pm

If I win the lottery I am going to buy up every kitten in the UK that's looking for a home! Though I suspect my 2 ginger familiars will not be happy about that!

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:55 pm

Shadow will come around, SP, it just takes a bit of time.

Couldn't see your kittens very well either on the video. Are you gonna post some piccies soon?

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 8:30 pm

Okay I can tell you this we broughtin 2 kittens into a hosuehold.

one cat is 13, one is 6, one is 3 and one came in at 6 weeks and another about 3 weeks after that.

the 3 year old takes care of the kittens even though itis not a mother of them - the 6 is well afraid of every shadow that moves except humans that live in the house.

13 year old just stick with us humans, and eats with the other cats but none fight - except the two smaller kittens to just play....

So you should be okay....
just dont let one get jelious -

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:49 pm

Sounds like you've got a fairly good start on the 3 kitty household!
I am a bit shocked that you haven't had the older kitty de-nutted (phrase comes from my youngest daughter when I had one of my males neutered and she saw the stitches!!! Laughing

). Aside from the benefit of not having litters of kitties all over the place (somehow just don't picture you as the infamous local cat hoarder!) the real benefit is that it does cut down on the risk of cancer in both males and females.
It's an old wive's tale that once you have a male fixed that they won't spray - oh yes they will! And they'll do it just out of spite some times...Females can spray too.
Shadow will come around to the new arrivals in time - but things may get a bit rough as he is still in possession of the family jewels and it's a natural behaviour for males to take out threats to "his" territory. I would suggest getting Shadow fixed first as the kitties are way too young for surgery right now. Ask your vet's advice about when the newcomers can tolerate being spayed. It will certainly make for a much happier household. Damn - wish I had done that with my ex and current husband! Instead I'm the one that got fixed!!!

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:03 pm

^^^^ Agree. And you'd be shocked/surprised how soon female cats become fertile so I'd get Shadow fixed NOW.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Feb 2005 Posts: 2301

A few years ago, went to the Humane Society to adopt a 2nd cat. We found this really cool cat, about 2 years old. We were asking one of the workers about our current cat's personality disorder (she's very anti-social). I was explaining how our cat gets crazy and attacks people when they come in. Right after I got done, my son says, "It's because my dad beat the hell out of here when she was a kitten." (which I didn't) I merely spanked her butt once, when she jumped up on the top of the cabinets and broke an antique glass bottle I had (valued at over TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!!!)

Anyway, the helper suggested we NOT get the new cat. I'm sure our cat would have killed the new one.

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:08 am

My fiance has an anti social cat(it was at her parents house), and we also have a 9 year old lazy sociable fat cat. The anti social cat likes to run up and bite your leg and scratch you for no reason. This should be an interesting few weeks. I've been trying to read as much as possible as to how to introduce 2 new cats to each other! I think there will be many fur balls flying at my house!

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 5:28 am

awwwwwww are their names Nigeria and Ghana?

Or Abuja and Accra?

Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:14 am

Cats, like dogs, like to dominate given half a chance and use agressive behaviour (biting, hissing etc) to assert themselves. So, like dogs, their owners must let them know who's Boss asap. We had a cat who was a total bitch (!) until we used a water spray on her every time she stepped out of line. It too a while but in the end We Won.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

One of the kittens is a little git, continually posturing at Shadow, hissing and spitting loudly when it goes near him, he nearly gave it a whack last night for doing that.

This morning, the same kitting was hissing at the other kitten and bullying it, Shadow didn't like seeing that, so slapped her with his paw, it did the same thing a little while later and Shadow again got up and slapped her.

Shadow has been nose to nose with the quiet kitten who was being bullied, no growling or hissing between them and he lets it get close up, he seems to like her, but he doesn't like the other bully kitten as much, due to it being aggressive towards him, but I'm sure she will mellow with a few more slaps from him Very Happy

As for names, they were going to be called Raven and Nevar (pronounced nay-var), but as they are probably both girls, they might have to get different names, although I don't see why they can't still have those names.

If you want to know who Raven and Nevar are, see here, my kids favourite TV programme Very Happy

:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5404231

Quote:

This final contest decides which two warriors progress to the final through the portal at the end of a battlefield. Warriors must collect pieces of a key which can be used to open the portal while avoiding the firebolts of Nevar, the enemy of Raven.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

This looks like Shadow was growling at Raven, but he was actually only yawning, it came out funny when I merged the 2 photos:

These are the 2 individual images from that ^^^ image.

Shadow and Raven touched noses, all sitting nicely together:

Closer shot of kittens on back of sofa:

[edit]

These images are a lot darker on this old desktop compared to the new laptop.

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 11:43 am

Looks like its all going well - I suspect Shadow's latent parenting skills are now making themselves known!! Smile

I think those names are totally cool, and you're right - they'll do boys or girls!

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