Introducing two new kittens to resident cat

[Grinchy]

Hi everyone. I’ve been lurking for ages on this forum, but I’ve decided to bite the bullet and register and ask for some advice and find out about your experiences with cat introductions.

I have three female cats: an adult cat, Buffy (5 yrs) and two kittens, Ferius and Kellen (10 weeks old). The kittens have their own lovely room. Three litter trays, toys, cat fountains, cat cube, cat trees, extensive catification of the wall space etc. I’ve really tried to make their base camp comfortable, fun and cosy. They’ve settled in well and enjoy their space.

As for the cat introductions, I’ve followed the Jackson Galaxy approach (from his book Cat Mojo and advice from his website and videos). The kittens were born to my brother’s cat, so I was able to visit them and rub their scents onto socks and bring them back to my cat.

The kittens have been here for two weeks now and this is what I have achieved so far:
- Feeding other side of the door a couple of feet apart
- Site swapping
- Scent swapping
- Feeding either side of baby gate one foot apart each side but covered by blanket
- Feeding either side of baby gate one foot apart each side with blanket lifted up a little every feeding
- Feeding either side of baby gate one foot apart each side but no blanket covering and in full view of each other

I’ve had mixed results with the last step because sometimes Kellen becomes curious about Buffy’s food and runs to the gate. Buffy responds by hissing and going back to her eating. I started giving Kellen wet food today, and this has stopped her going up to the gate.

I’ve also tried moving to the next stage which is playing in the same room, but at opposite ends, but this has not worked yet. Buffy becomes aware of the kittens and refuses to play or she runs towards them, so we have reverted back to focus on the feeding ritual.

When I started this process, I was very positive and pleased with the progress of all cats. But today, I was in tears at my failure to get ‘play time’ to work in a meaningful way. I just feel that there’s no progress beyond the feeding either side of the baby gate in full view stage.

I’d be grateful for any advice you can give me that could help make the introductions successful. Also, I’m curious to know how long it took your resident cat to stop hissing at a new cat(s). How long were your new additions isolated from your resident cat before they could mingle safely with the resident cat?

Thank you.

[Ruth B]

Posted a reply on the General chat thread, just mentioning it in case you only this one.

[Grinchy]

Thank you. I saw it.