cat/kitten introductions - what next? how are we doing so far????

[jobnockey]

11 week old Kitten came home with us on Tuesday, and has settled right in. He's such a cutie, so friendly and confident . 'Base camp' is DS's room which kitten now rules and is working out all of the ways he can climb each and every thing possible! We've been swapping blankets, cushions and toys with big cat, and kitten has had some time in the living room and hallway on his own to explore.

Big cat has been getting lots of treats whenever he can smell kitten to try to create positive associations. He seems very chilled actually - i thought he'd be more upset about having an intruder in the house but he's just behaving normally (for him!).

They've been allowed to sniff each other through a crack in the door and it was actually the kitten who was hissing and growling. Big cat just had a sniff and lost interest fairly quickly. Is that a good sign?

So what next? Just keep doing what we're doing? I'm not in a huge rush to introduce them but DS is more impatient (mainly because he doesn't want the kittens litter tray in hs bedroom anymore!!!) so I'm having to rein him in, especially as kitten was a bit aggro towards big cat. The size difference is immense. Big cat is enormous compared to kitten.

The problem is that now kitten knows there's other places to explore he's no longer happy to stay in DSs room and is crying and scratching at the door all the time (someone is in there with him almost all of the time - he's only really left alone whilst we're eating) and desperate to get out and start exploring again.

As a side note I've tried to do the 'feeding on either side of the door' thing a la Jackson Galaxy, but big cat looked at me like I was an idiot for putting his food down in the hallway and refused to eat until I'd moved it back to its usual place in the kitchen...

One more question - big cat has his favourite blanket which I haven't used for scent swapping as thought i should keep some stuff 'just for him' but what do you think, should I use this too? It will be drenched in his scent as he sleeps on it every night, kneads it, dribbles on it etc!.

Any tips on what to do next would be great, I'm a bit nervous of how it's going to go... Thanks!

Whoops I forgot the law! Pic now attached. I have yet to take a good photo of him so this will have to do for now!!!

Personally I think it's probably been long enough for kitten to settle and you should be fine to properly introduce them to each other in the next few days. Just separate them when you're not around to supervise, such as at night, for a little while longer.

That's one adorable kitten, BTW.

I think you’re doing all the right things! I would probably give it a go and see how they get on.

Make sure big cat has an easy escape if he gets too pissed off. I’d bring them both in the sitting room, with the door open and big cat nearest the door.

In my experience cats will generally tell a kitten off and then ignore, or they may have a bit of a hiss and a growl at each other, but be fine after a couple of days.

Beautiful kitten!

Sounds like you will be fine. Open the door and let them get on with it. Just be there to keep an eye on things in the unlikely event you need to intervene.

You know you f**d, admit it.

Although you've done everything by the book and am sure big Beast and little Beast will get along.....It's not fair!!!
[throw HUGE tantrum on floor - full on snotty mess - gently gathers self up.]

I think we all agree that obviously, "Little Beast" would be happier with me. Oi you you in the back, what do mean I'm trying to steal "Little Beast"!!

I was gently stuffing down my bra to keep warm; despite his protestations.

Thanks everyone. So the door has been opened and they have met. Surprsingly big cat seems quite chilled and more curious than anything. His body language is not anxious or aggressive although he is a bit 'stare-y'. I am surprised at how toleran he has been so far though. Kitten however, is hissing and growling a lot. they were both in sitting room last night just hanging out quite nicely for quite a while, mainy ignoring each other. we took eyes off for a while and there was a little bit of a 'yowl' incident with kitten retreating to a hidey hole. Not sure exactly what happened to precede this unfortunately.

This morning, all was fine till kitten got into big cats bed which he didn't like. I'm moving them to separate rooms when they get a bit aggro, is that the right thing to do?

i think its going okay... they can kind of tolerate one another a little bit, which as its such early days i'm taking as an encouraging sign. Kitten is probably quite scared of big cat i suppose so i don't blame them for the hissing etc but just hoping she stops doing it soon!

They will stop hissing - it’s them just learning manners and their place in the pecking order.
Before you know it you will find them curling up together.

@Bargebill19 I can't get my head around first pic - WTF???

Anyways, still think OP should admit defeat and hand over little Beast to me, for safe keeping.

Little kitten in her vet vest - just been spayed curled up on the edge of a basket in which my old lady is fast asleep. The next day the kitten escaped her vet vest ....!

We have three and just let them sort out any fights themselves, to be honest. I've never really intervened except maybe with an "oi, be nice!" - not that it makes a difference, because, well, they're cats 🤣

Hi all,

Just revisiting this thread as could do with some encouragement/advice.

It's been almost 4 weeks and it's still pretty hectic here... I'm worried that I rushed introductins but it's quite hard to go back now as neither cat likes being shut away.

They do sometimes sit peacefully in the same room together and have even had a nap on the same bed so I remain hopeful, but a lot of the time when they're both awake they're just stalking each other. There's lots of chasing up and down the hall and although he doesn't catch her often , he has pinned her a couple of times which is a bit scary... I think the kitten is playing as she always goes back for more... but I'm not sure the big cat is!

Kitten always wants to be in the same room as him, and will often find somewhere to sit out of reach and swat at him from a height. It's quite funny to watch but I do worry that he may become stressed out or the kitten may get hurt by him.

Currently they have to be supervised pretty much all the time, I can de-escalate if I'm in the same room by sitting between them and distracting but it's quite exhausting to have to do all of the time! .

A lot of the time its just batting and swatting which I know is normal but i've seen him pounce on her too and it's become a scuffle rather than just warning each other.

Please reassure me that it will get better! Does this sound 'normal' for 4 weeks in? Will I ever get to relax again? Should we try to separate them for a few days to calm it down? (however difficult that may prove!).

Any advice from anyone who's gone through this before would be great!

actually it's only been 3 weeks... feels like much longer!!!

It all sounds pretty normal. Our little tortie used to launch herself bodily at our tabby boy when they were 14 weeks and 9 mths respectively & she was barely a quarter of his size. He in return would wrestle her to the ground and pin her down. It's normal play. I would only be concerned if your kitten is squealing out as if in pain or shows signs of distress. Sleeping on the same bed suggests it's all fine though.

As for will it get less hectic, yes it will. Kittens are always hectic anyway and winter makes it worse as the older cat is out less but come next spring your kitten will be older and both will be out and about so it should settle down a lot.

Christmas, though, might be a bit lively.... :)

My cat has known his best mate for 2 years and still pushes him out the window, whacks him over the head and chases after him
His mate tried to jump in the window, my cat punched him in the face

Thanks for the reassurance. yes Christmas is going to be lively that's for sure and its for the best we won't be going anywhere this year - not sure how we would have managed that!

A couple of the pounces have not looked like play - shes not been hurt but that's my worry and there has been 'yowling' which sounds like fighting to me. not a lot, but a couple of times. its this that concerns me.

I will continue to supervise and hope that big cat gets used to his annoying little sister before too long and stops trying to stalk/kill her all the time

@Prestel

Personally I think it's probably been long enough for kitten to settle and you should be fine to properly introduce them to each other in the next few days. Just separate them when you're not around to supervise, such as at night, for a little while longer.

That's one adorable kitten, BTW.

I agree with this

Oops - should have read the full thread.

They do sometimes sit peacefully in the same room together and have even had a nap on the same bed so I remain hopeful, but a lot of the time when they're both awake they're just stalking each other. There's lots of chasing up and down the hall and although he doesn't catch her often , he has pinned her a couple of times which is a bit scary... I think the kitten is playing as she always goes back for more... but I'm not sure the big cat is!

Sounds totally normal to me! Our three love playing chase - normally at 3am when I'm trying to sleep, but that's another matter Our big boy is 5 and is very tolerant of our 6 month old kitten. They do play but when he's had enough he does make it quite clear - not in an aggressive way but in the sense "right, that's ENOUGH" and the kitten does listen and back away.

Ours often have "scuffles" but honestly unless there's aggressive behaviour (hissing, growling, spitting, biting) I just ignore it. Cats can play pretty "aggressively" without it meaning anything, honestly. Try not to worry!

there has been 'yowling' which sounds like fighting to me.

The yowling is letting the other cat know it's crossed the line so what happens next is important. Does the fighting break up at this point? If yes, they're just getting to know each other and where the limits are.

If either cat was stressed or unhappy there would probably be signs such as hiding or becoming withdrawn, avoiding human contact, weeing outside the litter tray, splashing their water around or pretty much any change from their usual behaviour. If, however, they're acting like happy normal cats generally it's unlikely the fighting is anything other than exuberant playing and the yowling should lessen as they learn to respect each other's boundaries.

Our two play quite roughly together, they sort of bat at each other and then wrestle .

You know it's gone too far when they start making noises - if one squeaks or yowls it breaks up immediately. The younger is v good and just lays down submissively

Ours was going so well last night. This morning the kitten irritated the big cat and he shat and pissed on the bed. Not content with doing this, he had some dangle berries stuck on his arse fur, ran around the flat like a mad thing sprinkling them throughout the hall and dining room.

Oo taking notes!! Getting a dkitten on Saturday.. Am in no way mentally prepared!!