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Cats and kittens [now with kitten photo on pg2]
Rainbulimic
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, the possibility has arisen that we could get a kitten. However, we already have a cat, who we've had for just over a year since she was a kitten.
what're the odds of my cat trying to kill and eat this possible intruder?
Also any advice that might minimise possible wars?
what're the odds of my cat trying to kill and eat this possible intruder?
Also any advice that might minimise possible wars?
Rainbulimic on
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If not then once they get used to each other they will have hours of hi-jinks and be best budz.
two schools of thought and i have done both with fosters we brought in
1. Just let em go. make sure you have a squirt bottle or blankets to be able to seperate anything that might be bad. more than likely the older one might have issues since presumably the other one is young and was still wth littermates or in a shelter with other cats (yes?)
hissing is notbad and most sane cats will just keep away from each other and eventually learn to tolerate each other and eventually be friends
2. slow introductions. keep the new one in a carrier and let the old one see and smell it. if no hissing/anger issue go to step one. if all hell breaks loose keep the new one in a closed off room and slowly build up together time for them and eventually they will accept each other. make sure to give equal attention.
the fact that your older one is still relatively young will make it easier to introduce, but keep in mind all cats are different.
This... sort of. It's not unheard of for adult cats to fatally injure kittens from territorial aggression, but aggression and predation are two different things. They very rarely will see them as prey, only a potential rival and invader.
Though some cats, that's enough. Like the above poster said, have a plan B ready. Most of the shelters in my area have a trial period ranging from 1 to 4 weeks, you can exchange or get the adoption fee returned if the pet doesn't work out for some reason. I tried when my cat Loki was younger, but he just wouldn't have it - even though the other cat was a month older and twice as big as him, he drew blood several times bullying it. Loki was abused and abandoned before I rescued him from a garbage can, though, the only contact he probably ever had with cats was being attacked by other strays.
lots of factors at play. sex, age etc.
Or who knows, she might take to the kitten right away. I kept some abandoned (in a restroom of all places!) kittens for a couple days before finding a rescue that would take them and my big, buff male cats spent two days in mortal terror of these tiny bundles o' energy, then changed their minds and decided, "Kittens! FUCK YES!" and were constantly trying to play with them and groom them.
50/50 for the kill
0 chance of actual consumption.
Every inter-cat relationship is different.
My parent's first cat (Abby) was a complete and utter bitch to a stray they took in (Duchess(aka Dutch, Doofus)), who we figure was almost a year old when she arrived. Abby had no problems when my sister brought her 3 month old kitten home from university. Doofus gets along with everybody.
To start, my older cat absolutely hated the new kitten, and me for bringing it home, for several months. We got a new cat to keep him company as our new jobs kept us out of the house a lot more, and cats often get along better if they have something to do. Kitten came home very, very young (5 weeks or so). I was worried, doubly so because the older cat was a semi-aggressive Maine Coon and could probably eat the kitten.
For the first week, we kept the kitten in a large dog carrier (as he was the size of a fist, it was like living in a gymnasium for him). We kept it mostly covered at night, and during the day we left it positioned in such a way that he could see outside but the odler cat couldn't get in with his paws. For a few hours each day we let them interact, and for the most part the older cat would just stare, whine, and hiss occasionally when he got too close. During this time, we made sure to treat the older cat fairly consistently (lots of walks outside, catnip, new toys, attention) to ensure he didn't feel neglected.
At week two, the older cat wanted to see him more and more. Occasionally he would try and wrestle with him, which we had to separate immediately given the size difference.
At week four, the kitten was getting big enough to wander about on his own, so he graduated to our spare bedroom. We would come home most afternoons to the two playing swat beneath the door.
Granted, the older cat didn't immediately take to him, and some days were pretty bad with hissing and chasing and intimidating, but as a whole it went fairly well. By three months they had figured each other out and were set in a snuggle and sleep, wrestle, clean each other, and repeat pattern they continue to this day. While not all cats I've had take well to others, most cats are actually very social with their own kind and should get along with well with a kitten after time. It's harder with two adult cats, but you should be fine so long as you keep a close eye on them and introduce them gradually.
The big things to remember:
-Dont let the older cat beat up the smaller cat, but don't not let them wrestle. Cats fight a lot, but there is a difference between play fights and violence. At first enforce them not fighting heavily until they are about the same size, then let them wrestle when they want to. Unless one is shrieking, it's healthy.
-When you first bring them home, ensure they have separate boxes. Eventually, once they warm up to each other, you can have them share one, but to start, the big cat will get really ticked off by a new cat using his territory. This is known to cause older cats, even neutered ones, to start spraying.
-Give both of them as much attention as you can for the first few months. Drop your games, books, tv and any other time and make playing with the two together your main pursuit for a while. The boosted amount of attention for the older cat will make him happy and make the new cat associated with something cool. The younger cat will take to you faster and associate you with parent, and not just the older cat. Ignoring either for too long at this stage is really really bad, as the younger may not grow as attached to you if he has lots of cat socialization (and thus be really really aloof), and the older cat may get really depressed if he things he is being ignored or replaced.
Good luck!
When I was growing up we rescued a little kitten from an abandoned house. He was so young he had to drink formula for a while. We were feeding him in the same room as the older cat at first, until my father caught the older cat nudging the kitten aside and drinking his formula. So yeah, even if the older cat is nice to the kitten, he could still be stealing his food.
You're right, I'm a terrible person
I currently have no photos of the possible kitten, but I hear she's the spitting image of Penny.
So here's Penny being a total poser;
Also, as I said, she's a hunter:
In other news, thanks for the advice guys. I'm not 100% on what the plan is if we're going to keep the kitten, but we're going to gauge Penny's initial reaction. The plan B if Penny turns out to be a loner is to give the kitten to someone who got one of the littermates, so hopefully she won't be alone.
The kitten is about ten weeks old, FYI.
We had to keep her separate from our adult huntress cat, because she kept trying to kill her. They get along decently enough now, well, aside from hissing at one another constantly in passing. But we definitely had to separate them.
Eventually the older cat just started ignoring the kitten. Tom (yes her name is tom, the person I adopted her from thought she was a boy.) gets along fine with other cats to her credit though.
This is her with her brothers:
You can't always count on them to get along fine with the cat they meet up with, but honestly, as long as they aren't having rolling claw battles up and down the hall all night, they don't need to get along perfectly.
In fact, I've found the mildly antagonistic relationship Tom shares with her current house mate drives them both to really kiss up to us and compete for affection. With cuteness.
Here she is a bit more grown up with my friend frank:
You can't see her paws, but she is making some srs bizzcuits.
All is forgiven.
We kept the kitten in a separate room for a while, then let him out to explore and meet the cat under supervision.
It really depends on your cats' personality, if your old cat is being very aggressive to the new cat, keep them completely separate for a few days at least. If he's chill or is only hissing or avoiding the kitten, keep them under observation while you are home, and keep the new cat in his own area while you are gone.
Ours are now starting to get along, but I have had to separate them a few times when the older cat was feeling a little harassed.
Make sure you give them both lots of attention
At first, Chewie would hiss every time he walked by. After maybe two days, the hissing pretty much died down to mild grumbling. So we brought Han in, and the two had a stare down. Some mild swatting here and there but they pretty much only did that for the afternoon.
Now, a week later, Chewie is licking Han to help groom him. Though I do catch Chewie biting Han on the neck in a suprisingly aggressive manner occasionally. But I just have clap to snap him out of it.
We have the kitten now and the little thing will not stop running around. She's mental.
We left her I'm the carrier whilst penny came in, they made eye contact, penny fluffed up...and then bolted from the room, and now seems less than pleased to come into the house.
I'm trying to get a photo of the kitten but literally she will not keep still. Don't kittens sleep!?
Penny will most likely warm up to the kitten. I went through the same thing about a year ago, introducing a 4-month-old stray to my 5-year-old Maine Coon. He'd been raised as an indoor-only, solo-cat since he was a kitten, and he would puff up and freak out anytime a stray came up to our french doors. He was super skittish and curious about the new kitten, but they eventually settled into each other. A year later now, and they play with each other constantly, and will even groom each other.
And yes, kittens sleep, but they literally have to exhaust every ounce of energy they have first. Enjoy it. They're nothing quite as cute as a kitten struggling to stay awake.
Shut Penny out of a room/the house while the kitten has free run of it, then confine the kitten somewhere while Penny can explore the places it's been laying it's scent down.
Give all those techniques a few days or a week to function and let them start meeting through some sort of barrier. Screen door is perfect. Glass door will do. A slightly cracked normal door is better than nothing.
When they meet unfettered, have a squirt bottle on hand, but also have a blanket ready in case you need to physically seperate them.
If the cats tolerate but generally ignore each others presence, consider it a win. If you're lucky, they will eventually warm up. Most cats will at least sort it out amongst themselves eventually to the point where they won't actually try to kill each other.
I have to advise you get the stray tested for diseases as soon as possible. Cats can get some nasty, nasty things that can be spread far more easily than humans have.
I mean, you're probably fine, but it'd be a pretty good idea.
Is it possible to have a heart attack from witnessing something that's just too adorable?
I think that's happening to me now.
PSN: ShinyRedKnight Xbox Live: ShinyRedKnight
Anyway, I'm only really posting so I can do this!
We decided to call her "Persephone" (Percy for short!).
So now we have Penelope and Persephone