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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

What did you do when you bought a new kitten into house with your older cat?

12 replies

Skullyton · 09/10/2015 22:22

Just that really.

We have an 18mo girl and will be adding a kitten to the house in the next couple of weeks.

How did you integrate them when you did it?

OP posts:

MedusaIsHavingaBadHairday · 10/10/2015 00:12

We had Portia and Morph and when Morph died of cancer (He was the love of my life) we decided to get two new MC kittens.

Initially we kept the babies in one bedroom for a few days..with a stairgate. Portia could smell them and see them but not get near them. She hissed a bit but coped. Then after a week Obie kitten managed to climb the gate and was free in the house.

Portia promptly decamped to the sprouts patch in the garden and refused to come in the house. AT ALL. I was very upset and worried. She sulked outside for a whole month! I had to feed her outside and thought she would never come in!

Gradually she started dashing in for food... slapping the kittens in passing! It stayed that way til the day I let them in our enclosed garden.. about 15 weeks as they were neutered at 14 weeks... and she was delighted.. came in, stayed in because she realised she COULD still rule the house. About a week later she was ok with eating next to them.

She still doesn't LIKE them... she hated Morph so no change there! But they co exist peacefully most of the time..odd slap and hiss now and then and has been known to share a bed. Obie is now a 20 pound lump of a MC boy...Portia is 6 pounds max...but he waits if she comes in for food.. and lies down when she passes.. she is the boss! It took nearly a year for them to establish their pecking order but now all 3 live in reasonable harmony!

Original poster

Skullyton · 10/10/2015 15:19

thanks Medusa!

Anyone else?

OP posts:

ApplySomePressure · 10/10/2015 20:48

Kept the kitten in the spare room for around 6 days, older ragdoll was a bit stressed and hissing etc. Husband and I took it in turns to keep the kitten company/sleep with the kitten in the spare room. Every now and again we would bring the kitten out for a few minutes. After 6 days we just let them get on with it...there was hissing but that stopped after a day. They really love each other now, I guess we were lucky that it only took a week.

Original poster

Skullyton · 10/10/2015 20:51

i read that with Skullycat being under 2yrs of age, that now is the best time to do it if we're going to, as she's only 18mo, she's still young enough to be more accepting of another cat in the house.

OP posts:

WonderOnTheUp · 10/10/2015 21:26

I have done this a few times, very slow introductions and one cat moved out for 3 weeks and I had to feed her outside. He came around slowly and after a couple of months they were in the house together with no problems. They even curl up together for a nap now. Each time I've introduced a new cat it has always taken some time for the to settle, with the exception of when we took in a rescue cat who had very recently had kittens and a week later we also took in a kitten from my friends cats litter - she thought it was her kitten and completely mothered and protected him from day one, it was lovely to watch.

DramaAlpaca · 10/10/2015 22:35

We got a new kitten when our cat was 9. We kept them apart for the first week, keeping the kitten in one room to allow him to settle in and his scent to permeate the house gradually. The older cat didn't even see the kitten for that time.

Then we started bringing the kitten into the same room as the older cat for brief periods. I used to stroke one and then the other to sort of mix their scents so they got used to each other. There was a bit of hissing at first from the older cat, but it didn't last long.

It only took a couple of weeks for them to get used to each other and they've been fine together ever since.

iloveeverykindofcat · 11/10/2015 08:48

I didn't do what I should have. I was young(er) and (more) ignorant and just opened the carrier and let them at it. However, my older cat (darling Sammy, died at 4 after an accident and I'll never get over it) literally did not have an aggressive bone in his body. He was a pure peace lover. I would stake everything I owned that he'd show zero aggression to a kitten (the young Zara), and I was right. It took Z a few days to warm up to him, then they were firm friends.
When I brought Bibi home (after Sammy died) she was older. The shelter said 1 year but realistically I think she was 7-9 months and had not long had kittens herself. I let them integrate immediately and it was fine except for Bibi being over enthusiastic and Zara being 'really mum. Really'.

RubbishMantra · 12/10/2015 02:08

I threw mine in together. The house is quite open plan and small, so it wasn't possible to keep them apart. A couple of months of MCat hissing, and generally sulking. It didn't take long for them (couple of months?) to make friends. Little Monsieur does have a particularly sunny disposition though.

Now they pal about together attending to cat business and Little Monsieur approaches MCat to ask for a thorough wash.

hiddenhome2 · 12/10/2015 23:38

I put the kitten into a bedroom with food and litter tray. I then allowed the adult cats to see the kitten from time to time and then gradually introduce them to each other.

Original poster

Skullyton · 13/10/2015 22:43

Thats just it Rubbish, my house isn't big enough to separate them. So i can only try and wing in and maybe put kitten in the bathroom (its downstairs) overnight and for the odd period during the day to give skullycat some peace without him around as we dont allow the animals in the bedroom at night time.

OP posts:

isseywithcats · 15/10/2015 17:34

i not only have my own cats but i foster for yorkshire cat rescue. and when i foster just kittens i just open the carrier and let them get on with it,

its good for the kittens to find out who is the boss in the house (jojo my girl cat) and my lot just look at me as if to say how long this lot staying,

when i have a mom and kittens its slightly different i keep the kittens in the spare bedroom till the kittens are six weeks old and let mom have a wander round while my cats are out that way mom doesnt freak and hide the kits, but generally if one of mine comes in mom meets them and deals with it

ferally kittens are usually in a cage in the front room till they tame up and then let loose the same as the others

Original poster

Skullyton · 15/10/2015 17:53

it seems to be working itself out. Skullycat is a bit of a grumpy soul tbh, but the new kitten is pretty Bomb Proof, he's climbing everything and so playful and full of purrs!

we had a lot of hissing on day 1

day 2 i bought some Feliway and sprayed it about and we just had a bit of hissing in the morning, then some attempts to swat him in the afternoon. I kept them apart a fair bit, and i've been giving him regular breaks in the bathroom where i have all his stuff.

today is day 3 and she's ok with him as long as he's not near anything of hers!

OP posts:

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