Introducing new kitten to older cat

[Ynwa8923]

Hi everyone. Hope someone can give me a little advice!

Yesterday evening, my partner and I adopted an 8 week old female kitten from a large litter. We already have a 3 year old female cat, so took the advice offered by countless websites, and kept the two separate to help them to get used to the situation.

The kitten settled in very well. She used her litter tray perfectly for both poos and wees, and ate and drank. She was affectionate and adventurous, rather than shy or afraid. As much as I wanted her to sleep by me (I’m a bit of a soft touch) I didn’t want to run the risk of causing any friction with our older cat, so I kept the kitten in her bedroom with everything she needs (a little bed house, open bed, food, water, scratching post, litter tray etc). I checked on her frequently through the night but she seemed absolutely fine, and wasn’t crying or seeming in any way distressed.

Today, however, she’s been a little different. I’ve booked time off work to help ease her into her new life, and as such have been in and out of her bedroom all day to keep an eye on her and give her some love and care. Her confidence has massively grown, and it’s gotten to the point where I can’t enter or exit the room without her darting out of the door to sniff around and explore the house. This confidence would of course be great, were it not for our other fur baby!

The two did meet, though I tried to prevent it, and the older cat hissed. I managed to get the kitten straight upstairs and attempted to comfort them both. Even now, though, hours later, the older cat still seems to be on guard and will not allow me to stroke her. In addition to this, the kitten is crying loudly and repeatedly in her bedroom and I do not know what on earth to do!

Our older cat has lived with dogs and other cats in previous households, and even gave birth to a litter herself. She goes outside regularly and interacts with other cats, therefore I have every confidence that she will get used to the kitten with time and patience.

I guess my question is... what do I do until then?! I can’t stand to hear the kitten crying, but our older cat normally sleeps by me too - so I’m totally at a loss. Any help or advice at all will be hugely appreciated!

[HirplesWithHaggis]

I introduced two eight-week kittens to my much older (12yo) tom cat last summer. There was a bit of hissing and spitting for a couple of days, nothing physical, and then they just all settled in. The old boy grooms the kittens, they often all sleep together, it's lovely to see.

So, let the two meet, make sure your older cat can leave the room, and let them get on with it. Good luck. :)

[Ynwa8923]

Thank you so much for getting back to me!

It’s so nice to hear they settled well and are all getting on. I can’t wait until we get to that stage, all this crying is driving me insane!

I will definitely let them see each other again and see how things go.

Thank you again

[HirplesWithHaggis]

You've posted in the general pet forum, you could try posting again in the Litter Tray - www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray

[Dodie66]

I would let them meet and keep an eye on them and see how they get on. You might be surprised and your older cat will get used to it quickly. Good luck. I’m sure they will be fine together

[Grumpyoldpersonwithcats]

We introduced two kittens to our household four weeks ago. One of our incumbent cats was fine with them within a week, the other has still got a massive cob on and hisses/growls whenever she sees the kittens. Same pattern when we did this previously (7 years ago), one of the old cats was fine - the other took three months. Just give your old cat plenty of fuss (and Dreamies).

[Ynwa8923]

Huge thanks to everyone! It’s great to hear all your stories, and has made me feel a lot better about the situation. I will post in the Litter Tray too