New Kitten with older Cat

[Shaneybakes]

Hi everyone....
We have just got a new kitten (12 weeks old) and we have introduced her to our cat we allready have (male 18 months) 2-3 days in now and its our male cat who is chilled and wants to play and the kitten who is hissing and growling and seems confrontational....
Is this normal?

Thanks in advance

[Lilith]

Hi and welcome

Yes, it's normal. Hisses and growls are cat conversation, not necessarily signs of aggression, but kitten sounds to be rather in overload - a new home, a new companion and humans, new smells, a lot to be coping with. Kitten might need a space to be alone and feel safe and come out in its own good time; I wouldn't leave them alone together without supervision just yet although it's good that senior cat wants to be friends.

It's a good idea to give a new cat a separate room at first, and let it hide if it wants - it will soon want to explore. I remember bringing home a little girl and having her to sleep with me - she decided to come and sleep on my shoulder but if I moved at all she'd hiss, because it was Strange, and she Didn't Know Me Yet ... she grew into a very laid-back cat.

Good luck with the pair of them - they'll settle down

[Shaneybakes]

Thankyou for your advice!
She is in our living room/dining room with the door shut at night and has it to herself with litter tray, food n water and our older cat can still come and go as he pleases with his litter tray, food n water in its normal spot, plus still has access to upstairs as normal and yes at the moment supervised interaction, tonight as it got later they both chilled out and was sleeping in the same room so we are making progress.... i think he is gets a bit over excited with the new kitty in the house and shes still very wary and clingy.

[Lilith]

Sounds good, you're doing all the right things and they're settling

Please let us know how you go on, and fusses to the pair of them x