Would an 18yr old cat cope with a new kitten?

[GrizzlyBisquits]

A friend's cat has just had kittens. My DD has been through a rough time lately (bereavement and MH issues). She is cat mad and adores our 18yr old cat. I briefly thought about a new kitten to give her something exciting and happy to focus on, but I'm not sure how our elderly cat would take to a new addition.

What do you think?

i think if you dont let the kitten myther the older cat should be ok and if you go for one of the quieter kittens out of the litter he/she wont bother the older cat too much and would cheer your daughter up im sure,

Thanks issey6cats - that's reassuring.

We introduced a kitten to our 15 year old cat, and whilst she didn't give the kitten the welcome I wanted (we found the distressed kitten on the motorway verge, soaking wet, freezing cold and terrified and I thought big old cat might have mothered him straight away) she tolerated him and put him in his place with a few well aimed slaps.

Five months later we have seen them cuddling up together and seen old cat cleaning kittens face.

They have not had a full on yowling screamimg cat fight.

Old cat has arthritis in her legs/spine and the only thing she does not like/cant tolerate is when kitten taking a running jump at her and lands on her back expecting to roll around play fighting.

Old cat will play fight quite happily if she is already laid down.

We also do not let kitten go jumping all over her if she is asleep.

So really its just a case of them slowly getting acquainted and making sure kitten is not too boisterous with the old cat.

I don't think it would have worked with my 'old' cat as he was quite territorial and would have just been stressed in his last years. But it would have made his passing a lot easier for the kids. We got a kitten a few months after which has healed all our hearts a bit.

We introduced a 1-year-old female cat to a 14-year-old "alpha male" cat. Initially they hissed and yowled at each other/ he would always run away from her feigning "fearfulness", but after around 2-3 months they became great companions and she has given him a new lease on life. They now sleep together on the same bed. You will always get "fireworks" initially but it appears that generally they at least learn to tolerate each other, if not more.

It does help to pick a cat that gets along with cats, or is gentle. The 1-year-old I chose got along well with the other cats in her enclosure and was very loving towards me immediately when I picked her up, purring and headbutting, not wanting to get down, etc. She is still that way. :)

Thank you :)

As much as we'd love another cat we've decided not to go down that route at the moment. I feel our old cat is just too old, and I have a horrible feeling she wont be with us for much longer. But thank you for your help.