Adding a kitten to a home with mature cats - advice gratefully received!

[The2Omicronnies]

We have 2 cats (female aged 10 and male aged 9) who are well settled and well loved; we absolutely adore them. Whilst they aren’t exactly close to one another, they are happy enough and will occasionally sit together / lick one another…occasionally the female will hiss at the male if he gets in her space too much (understandable / relatable 😂).

We would like to get a kitten, but are worried about the inevitable impact on our other two. Does anyone have any advice / experience (willing to hear the bad as much as the good)? Do male or female kittens settle in better generally?

Any help gratefully received!

I'm in the process of doing this now.

It's hard work.

It's takes a long time.

Slowly is the best approach. Make sure established cats have safe spaces and planets of attention and treats.

Give established cats time with you alone for a few hours if they have a set time they come to you then put kitten elsewhere.

I can't stress enough it take a along time.

Thank you for your message and advice; it’s so important to hear the reality of it all as the prospect is just a consideration for us at present.

I’m glad to hear you’re getting there (albeit slowly).

I've always added two kittens at a time. This means that the kittens are more likely to play with each other and give the incumbents a bit of peace.
Otherwise just do the slow introductions as outlined above.

My poor tow older cats have had a move then a puppy and then the new cat to contend with over 3 years.

However kitty has made friends with dog as he is young and accepting so that's helped.

But two kittens def easier than one.

agree with previous posters that it takes a long time. We introduced a new kitten to a 1 year old who had lost his littermate due to a RTA and it took about 4 weeks before they were comfortable with each other. I’d imagine older cats would be even less tolerant.
The good news is that it can work. Just follow the guidelines online about giving the new arrival a room of his/her own, swapping bedding, opening door a crack after a week or so and generally being very, very patient. I also used Feliway Friends. No idea whether it helped or not, but wanted to try anything that helped!