Introducing a new kitten to my cat

[Roscoe32]

Hello all. I haven't posted here in a while but thought I'd get some advice and share some thoughts. We have a male maine coon aged approx 15 months called Jeff. We also had until recently an 18 month old male cat. They both got on really well, shared food areas, slept on the bed together sometimes, played every day and just had a very relaxed relationship. Sadly our older cat died suddenly and recently we've been thinking we'd like to get a new friend four our remaining cat Jeff. So yesterday we got a 9 week kitten from a friend of a friend whose cat had had an unplanned pregnancy. We settled the kitten into our bedroom and that's his place for now. Our cat was quite curious to begin with so after some settling in we let Jeff come into the bedroom whilst the kitten was in his box. Jeff is very placid by nature and not territorial. Their first meeting went ok but Jeff looked quite perplexed more than anything. He's never seen a kitten before so I'm not sure what he makes of it all. He's mostly staring at the kitten. Then he tries to sniff him then backs off quickly and either continues staring or walks away. The kitten is very bold but has on a few occasions done a slight hiss at Jeff but nothing more. This has happened rarely. It's very early days and it feels that so far their meetings are going ok I just wanted to ensure at these early stages that this sounds normal? I've read various methods of introducing new cats to each other and we have followed that rule except we felt that they could meet each other properly a bit earlier. I guess our concerns are a few things. Their size difference is vast. Jeff is a big cat and his idea of playing is going to be more powerful than the kittens. Also he actually doesn't seem to want to play much. He's mostly walking off. So we are worries that Jeff is feeling redundant in the situation. We want to give each cat our attention but also don't want them to feel left out as well. We "think" Jeff might want to play but the kitten isn't quite there with it yet. It's going to be a slow gradual introduction I realise and when we are not in the house we will be leaving them apart so the kitten is kept safe. Jeff has been making few unusla meows., he's not a vocal cat generally so that's concerned us a little. I thought I'd post just to get some thought and experiences from anyone else who has gone through a similar situation. Thanks for your time.

[lilynmitz]

Hi, and congratulations on your new family member! To be honest, it sounds like it's all going pretty well to me, so I'd keep going as you are. Not much hissing, a bit of benign curiosity on both parts, just let them take it slowly, but the signs are good at the moment. Don't worry about the size difference with playing, as the kitten will more than make up for it with energy. Cats aren't quite as boistrous as dogs, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Make sure your little one is fully innoculated and neutered before he goes out, otherwise it'll be another unplanned pregnancy and more kittens filling up the rescue centres.

[Fran_ki]

Roscoe all sounds good in them hood here.
I think so far the way things have gone I'd be chuffed to bits. I actually just posted my own problem with my kitten just now. One wants to fight with the other placid quiet one.
Your situation sounds like it's going nice and steady the way it should, I'd be happy so far x

[Roscoe32]

Thanks for the reply and the reassurance. We will get him neutered as we have with our previous males. They do seem to be doing ok generally. Jeff got on so well with our previous cat I think our expectations were quite high but so far so good.

[Roscoe32]

Roscoe all sounds good in them hood here.
I think so far the way things have gone I'd be chuffed to bits. I actually just posted my own problem with my kitten just now. One wants to fight with the other placid quiet one.
Your situation sounds like it's going nice and steady the way it should, I'd be happy so far x

Thanks. I'll check out your posting. I hope things work themselves out.

[greenkitty]

I think that sounds pretty promising, the fact Jeff doesn't seem bothered is a good sign. Make sure when you're together with the pair of them that Jeff gets all the attention so he knows he hasn't been replaced, you can give the kitten attention when Jeff isn't around.

I have a soft spot for MC's would love to see a picture

[sarie]

Hey Roscoe - I just recently got a 9 week old kitten and introduced him to my two aged 5 and 7. My initial results were very similar to yours and I used similar methods.
I started the kitten off in his own room and then let the adult cats in to sniff around his room and smell his things while I kept him out of reach - I did that routinely for a few days and then started letting the boys in while the kitten was in his crate so they could see each other. Initial responses were very good, the big cats seemed a bit perplexed but weren't at all aggressive, if anything they were a little fearful.
I spread some of the kitten's belongings around the house and swapped litter from the trays and within 3 days I started letting the cats in one at a time to meet the kitten in his room while supervised. The kitten spiked up a little and hissed occasionally but for the most part he was very bold and neither adult cat responded negatively. There was the odd fearful hiss from both sides but nothing aggressive.
Within a week I started letting the kitten loose on an evening to mingle with the boys in the house and made a point of fussing the adults before the kitten when they were all around. Once loose together that's when the kitten and the adults really started to bond and within a few days I caught the kitten sleeping with my older cats.
A few days later, once I was certain there was no risk of aggression from the adult cats, I started leaving everyone loose together all the time and by the end of week two the cats and the kitten were fully bonded and the big cats now groom the kitten and seek him out to play.
There was a huge size difference in the early days as both of my adults are over 6kg but they seem to know not to be too rough with the kitten, despite him being a pest. He gives as good as he gets anyway

It's 6 weeks on now and mine are all very happy and completely integrated so it sounds like you're on track for a very happy companionship - if there are no signs of aggression even from the start then you should be on for a fairly easy introduction
My kitten is now going through the hyper playful stage so he's starting to irritate my older cats a little as he's very boisterous but they're handling it in their own way and they tend to swat him and then pin him down and wash him aggressively to put him in his place

[Roscoe32]

I think that sounds pretty promising, the fact Jeff doesn't seem bothered is a good sign. Make sure when you're together with the pair of them that Jeff gets all the attention so he knows he hasn't been replaced, you can give the kitten attention when Jeff isn't around.

I have a soft spot for MC's would love to see a picture

Jeff is a big fella and he likes to sleep in the bedroom with us so we haven't been locking him out. The kitten sleeps on the bed between us and then Jeff is on the armchair in the corner of the room. Every morning we ensure we have lots of fishy time with Jeff on the bed with the kitten there as well, but we ensure Jeff gets the fishy attention, we also give him a couple of treats. I thin it will settle within a week or two. Jeff is a very sweet cat and I think he's a bit perplexed more than anything else.

Attached is a pic of him on xmas day.

[Roscoe32]

Hey Roscoe - I just recently got a 9 week old kitten and introduced him to my two aged 5 and 7. My initial results were very similar to yours and I used similar methods.
I started the kitten off in his own room and then let the adult cats in to sniff around his room and smell his things while I kept him out of reach - I did that routinely for a few days and then started letting the boys in while the kitten was in his crate so they could see each other. Initial responses were very good, the big cats seemed a bit perplexed but weren't at all aggressive, if anything they were a little fearful.
I spread some of the kitten's belongings around the house and swapped litter from the trays and within 3 days I started letting the cats in one at a time to meet the kitten in his room while supervised. The kitten spiked up a little and hissed occasionally but for the most part he was very bold and neither adult cat responded negatively. There was the odd fearful hiss from both sides but nothing aggressive.
Within a week I started letting the kitten loose on an evening to mingle with the boys in the house and made a point of fussing the adults before the kitten when they were all around. Once loose together that's when the kitten and the adults really started to bond and within a few days I caught the kitten sleeping with my older cats.
A few days later, once I was certain there was no risk of aggression from the adult cats, I started leaving everyone loose together all the time and by the end of week two the cats and the kitten were fully bonded and the big cats now groom the kitten and seek him out to play.
There was a huge size difference in the early days as both of my adults are over 6kg but they seem to know not to be too rough with the kitten, despite him being a pest. He gives as good as he gets anyway

It's 6 weeks on now and mine are all very happy and completely integrated so it sounds like you're on track for a very happy companionship - if there are no signs of aggression even from the start then you should be on for a fairly easy introduction
My kitten is now going through the hyper playful stage so he's starting to irritate my older cats a little as he's very boisterous but they're handling it in their own way and they tend to swat him and then pin him down and wash him aggressively to put him in his place

Hi Sarie

thanks for the reassurance. This is what we did when we first got Jeff and we already had Roscoe (who is now sadly gone) and it worked a treat, although Roscoe was pretty hardcore playful with Jeff and used to jump on him a lot! Within a few weeks they were thick as thieves and hung out together all the time. We are trying to fuss Jeff as much as possible. I think he is very intrigued and also a little fearful like you say. He has tried to instigate some vey gentle play with the kitten and the kitten has responded a little but I think give it a week or so and the kitten starts entering a more playful phase things should start settling. We are leaving them separated when alone on the house so all good there, plus Jeff gets the run of the place still so he's not feeling ousted. I will give a progress report once things evolve. Cheers.

[greenkitty]

Oh my look at him, what a handsome lad

[bobbys girl]

Sooo sweet! I love the photos.

[Lyn from Australia]

Well done. Jeff is gorgeous. Would love to see a pic of the two together when they are both 100% ok with each other.

[Roscoe32]

thanks, yes Jeff is a fine fellow I must say, although I am a little biased! ha

I will be sure to give a progress update once they start getting on together.

[Crewella]

He's a lovely boy, with a very sweet expression! I'm sure all will calm down soon!

[sarie]

Ahhh Jeff is gorgeous! What a handsome boy I love Maine Coons, they're such personalities

[Roscoe32]

hello all, three weeks later and Jeff and Herbie (the kitten) are best buddies, thought you might want a pictorial update.

[Lilith]

Awwwwwwww!!!!!!

Jeff's legs lol! Bet he sits there twitching his tail for Herbie to play with!