Introducing a new kitten....

[Blossom4538]

Hi all,
We currently have a 4 year old female cat, very friendly, playful etc.

Soon we will have a new female kitten join our household! Just looking for tips please to help them feel comfortable and bond...oh and remind me what I need to buy/organise when getting a kitten pls!! My brain is like jelly at the moment!

That kitty is cute Hopefully, your older cat will take to the kitten straightaway. Some senior cats just know how to handle a kitten, but some need a bit of time to adjust to a newcomer, especially a very lively kitten. Introduce them slowly. Put the kitten in a separate room and let your cat get used to the idea of a the kitten being in the house. After a few days, let the cats see each other via the door being ajar. Give them both the scent from the other one by rubbing a cloth on them and letting them smell it. Give them separate litter trays and feeding zones. Your cat has had a long time as the only one, and may take a while to adjust to this little invader. I'm not that familiar with kittens, as most of mine have been older rehomes. I'm sure other kitten slaves will be along to advise you.

Good luck!

Adorable 😍

Follow Jackson galaxys advice on YouTube for the introduction guidance, he's amazing.

Shopping list:
Pop up enclosed play pen (amazon/eBay)
Litter tray
Non clumping litter
Food bowl
Kitten food
Scratch post (I imagine you have this already)
Enclosed igloo bed (makes them feel safe)
Toys 😁

It's really important to not let them see each other at first so keep that in mind, scent swapping only for the first week or so.

We have three cats, none related, and ever never bothered with any scent swapping or keeping them separate for days/weeks on end.

We've never had a single fight between any of them - all neutered, two males and a female, currently aged 6, 5 and 1.

The worse was a bit of hissing from the oldest but he's a grumpy bugger at the best of times. They all sleep together, share food, water and litter trays with no issues whatsoever.

I know it's controversial on here but I personally think the slow introductions are unnecessary and can potentially do more harm than good in some cases.

sunflowersandbuttercups I think the way you've done it can work as well. I've always been prepared to do the slow introduction, but in the end have never had to with all of my grown up moggies

Our dcat was pining terribly for his dbro.. Got a dkitten, bed and bowls /tray each. Put it in the room where dcat 'lived'.. Hissed a few times... Slept in a dd bed each. Slept together within 2 weeks!!

@Want2beme

sunflowersandbuttercups I think the way you've done it can work as well. I've always been prepared to do the slow introduction, but in the end have never had to with all of my grown up moggies

I think it must depend on the individual cats as much as anything.

Of course if it was going wrong I'd have removed the newcomer and done things differently but it's just never been an issue. We've had 24-48h of hissing/wariness then no problems at all.

Here are two of mine on the fridge this morning - the big one is 6 next week and the other is our kitten 😍

Start the kitten off in a designated room and keep your older cat out of that room. Make sure everyone has loads of food, their own litter tray and plenty of toys (so older cat doesn't get anxious about not having enough resources). Be prepared for a certain amount of hissing and fluffing when older cat first sees kitten. My experience is that everyone settles down within a couple of weeks. Also, your kitten looks adorable! Good luck

sunflowersandbuttercups Gosh, they are impressive! Thick as thieves

I think my brain would have turned to jelly if such a beautiful kitten was about to enter my house.

Good luck OP, apologies for having no words of wisdom to impart.

@Want2beme

sunflowersandbuttercups Gosh, they are impressive! Thick as thieves

Thank you!

However, I did come downstairs this morning to find the 6yo wrapped in a garland of fake flowers - he didn't look so impressive then!