Cats don't like new kitten

[outnumbered4]

Hi, we got a new kitten on Saturday (unplanned, took him before he went to a rescue) and my 2 older cats haven't taken to him at all.

I've kept kitten in the front room, the first 4 days in a playpen and only got him out when the other cats were in the garden. Just let them look and sniff him through the playpen if they wanted to.

The other cats still have the run of the rest of the house and garden. They are still sleeping on our beds as they always did and relaxing in their favourite places which the kitten can't access.

They've come into the front room and sniffed around a few times a day and have encountered him a few times.
He's been pretty good and just laid down for them to sniff him. However over the last day or so they've appeared quite scared and there's been a bit of hissing and one of my girls has given him a swat on the head. They also reverse away from him sometimes making a low growling noise if he surprises them.

Is this normal?

What can I do now to help them all settle together?

Just for a bit more info the older cats are only 2 and 3 and are both female and very good friends. Also both spayed. New kitten is a boy and not old enough to be neutered yet.

This is totally normal. It's only been a few days! It can take weeks or months for harmony to be restored when a newcomer arrives, but it will almost certainly be fine in the end.

Just carry on doing what you're doing. The kitten seems to be tolerating it well and he has his own space.

On top of what you are doing getting either a pet remedy plugin or a feliway friend's plug in may help.

Thank you that's reassuring. The older cats have been pottering through the living room today without any sign of attack so fingers crossed they're coming round to the idea.

I forgot to mention I have a feliway plug-in in the room, wonder if it's worth getting another one for upstairs, although they don't appear stressed anywhere other than in the room with him.

Definitely normal! I've introduced lots of kittens to our resident cat/cats over the years and there is always a bit of hissing, spitting and the odd swipe in the beginning.

I brought home a tiny tortie girl once who was living in a horrible home. She was infested with fleas and had been given nothing but pieces of ham to eat. I had two neutered boys at the time so was a little worried about how they would react to this tiny little girl but there was no way I was leaving her in that house. One of my boys just walked away and wasn't in the slightest bit interested in her whilst the other sniffed her and immediately started to lick her. She snuggled straight into him as though he was her mother. They became inseparable.

It will be fine Op 😀

It seems to me that you are rushing things.

I’ve always kept the new cat in a separate room, making sure I spend enough time with her to make her feel settled and secure. Then I take a sock or similar and stroke the new cat with it and give the sock to the old cat to smell. The other was round with the scent of the old cat. Both cats will know the other is there even if they don’t meet, keeping them appart gives them time to get used to each other without confrontation.

After a couple of weeks I open the door so the cats can see each other but at the same time i feed both of them (ideally you need two people for this bit). The food ensures they have positive associations of one another. Another week of that and you’ll see the body language of the cats relax, then it’s time to let them have supervised contact.