Advice needed regarding new kitten and resident cat

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Rm14389
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Advice needed regarding new kitten and resident cat

Post by Rm14389 »

I rescued my resident cat 2 years. He is now 2 and a half years old. He is an indoor cat, is well behaved and quite social-able with humans. When we first adopted him he lived with my brother in law for a year who had another cat who was an older female. This experience was not great as they were not introduced properly and therefore never got on well.

We decided to adopt a 15 week year old male around 3 weeks ago. We kept him in our office for around 2 weeks where my partner worked from home. We would feed him and our resident cat at the door so they could smell each other. We would crack the door so they could see each other, feed treats and play with them. There was no hissing or growling. A couple of bats but nothing more. We then swapped toys and blankets which was fine. Eventually we let our kitten roam around then house as he would cry at the door. We would site swap as well and let our resident cat into the office for a few hours. There seemed to be no issues so we then let them meet face to face in the living room with lots of treats, food and toys. They had their own scratching posts, litter, bowls etc. We did this for a few hours each night and things were ok. They were a bit apprehensive however started to play with each other. It was quite rough playing and we were concerned as we have never owned two cats. We tried to do research but felt overwhelmed.

Now our resident cat has been showing some aggression towards the kitten. He seems to be a bit distant. For instance he has hissed at the kittens litter a few times. If the kitten is purring and rubbing up against him he usually bats him and tries to bite. Today I was petting both of them on my lap and everything seemed to be going well then my resident cat turned around and hissed a couple of times then ran to his scratching post.

We feel like we have messed up this process and maybe rushed things. We understand it can take months for cats to settle with each other. Looking for some advice.
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Mollycat
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Re: Advice needed regarding new kitten and resident cat

Post by Mollycat »

You have done really well, any time it looks to be going a bit wrong simply go back a step or two, or give your resident cat some time without the kitten. Don't take the kitten away while the fisticuffs or hissing is going on though, you still want the whole experience to be positive - just have some time every day when they get a break from each other and gradually reduce the time as they get closer.

There's nothing wrong with taking kitten back to the office for a few hours each day to give your older boy a break. Also distraction with toys - and catnip, if they both respond to it. Playing together and getting high together can be really good, though just watch with catnip as some cats gets overexcited and bitey (I know my girl does, I don't touch her at all while she's high or if she gets close and chews on my finger I am lucky I can just say Gently poppet and she eases off a little.

Another thing - it's less common with cats but can still happen, a little jealousy, or if two cats are either side of you getting fuss, that can be too close to each other to be comfortable. It might not be the kitten that irritates your older cat in that situation, but the fact you are sharing your attention with another cat that close to him. Reassuring words from you and strokes for relaxation, ie not a neck rub but a long slow light stroke from head to rump, soft calming tone of voice, and most of all positive encouraging attitude - any tension in the way you watch for trouble is likely to be picked up on and create a hissy situation. Relaxation and trust, that's what you need to communicate to them both.
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