Introducing a new kitten to an adult cat?

I moved about three months back with my older cat. She's about four
and a half, and had always lived in a house with multiple cats. The
first few days she meowed constantly when I left the apartment, but
seemed to settle down. When I got home she would meow constantly, so I
thought that getting another cat to keep her company would be the
right thing to do.

I went to the no kill shelter yesterday and picked out a kitten about
six months old, a neutered male. I'd read that an older cat would be
more comfortable with a cat of the opposite sex who was younger. The
kitten right now is very clingy on me, probably a consequence of
spending his first time alone without brothers and sisters or mom. I
have him set up in the apartment's only bathroom with some toys and a
radio on low, since I can't spend all my time with him. When he hears
me outside he starts to cry to be let out, and I think his crying for
attention is freaking out my adult cat.

She's spent the entire day hiding behind the TV, not even coming out
to eat or go potty. Her bowls and litterbox are nowhere near the
bathroom, but it's a small apartment and there's nowhere she can go
where she can't hear the kitten. I moved her dishes near the TV, but
she hasn't touched them. When the pet sitter came over before I went
on vacation at the end of August she hid behind the desk, but was out
in five minutes following us around. I never thought she would turn
into a timid wallflower with another cat, especially since she had
another cat (an adult male) join her at the old place without any
drama, and she used to try and jump on the unfriendly cat in the
house.

All the guides I've seen have advised to go slow with introductions,
but my adult cat is behaving exactly like she does when she goes to
the vet. How long until I should start being concerned, and should I
speed up the introduction process so he doesn't cry so much?

Someone recommended getting some Feliway to calm the older cat, but
when I went to the pet store today they were out. I'll check the other
store in my area tomorrow.

"Arklier" wrote in message
...
I moved about three months back with my older cat. She's about four
and a half, and had always lived in a house with multiple cats. The
first few days she meowed constantly when I left the apartment, but
seemed to settle down. When I got home she would meow constantly, so I
thought that getting another cat to keep her company would be the
right thing to do.

I went to the no kill shelter yesterday and picked out a kitten about
six months old, a neutered male. I'd read that an older cat would be
more comfortable with a cat of the opposite sex who was younger. The
kitten right now is very clingy on me, probably a consequence of
spending his first time alone without brothers and sisters or mom. I
have him set up in the apartment's only bathroom with some toys and a
radio on low, since I can't spend all my time with him. When he hears
me outside he starts to cry to be let out, and I think his crying for
attention is freaking out my adult cat.

She's spent the entire day hiding behind the TV, not even coming out
to eat or go potty. Her bowls and litterbox are nowhere near the
bathroom, but it's a small apartment and there's nowhere she can go
where she can't hear the kitten. I moved her dishes near the TV, but
she hasn't touched them. When the pet sitter came over before I went
on vacation at the end of August she hid behind the desk, but was out
in five minutes following us around. I never thought she would turn
into a timid wallflower with another cat, especially since she had
another cat (an adult male) join her at the old place without any
drama, and she used to try and jump on the unfriendly cat in the
house.

All the guides I've seen have advised to go slow with introductions,
but my adult cat is behaving exactly like she does when she goes to
the vet. How long until I should start being concerned, and should I
speed up the introduction process so he doesn't cry so much?

Someone recommended getting some Feliway to calm the older cat, but
when I went to the pet store today they were out. I'll check the other
store in my area tomorrow.

I remember introducing an adult male cat to another male kitten was
an ordeal and very worrying because of the growling and hissing, but
when the face to face (or nose to nose) finally came it went well. We
waited 'til the kitten was nearly a year old before the face-to-face
introduction though.

On Oct 12, 9:32*pm, "Stampir" wrote:

I remember introducing an adult male cat to another male kitten was
an ordeal and very worrying because of the growling and hissing, but
when the face to face (or nose to nose) finally came it went well. We
waited 'til the kitten was nearly a year old before the face-to-face
introduction though.

I'm hoping that we get to that point soon. My adult cat finally did
come out and eat and relieve herself, and she even sat and stared at
the door from about 10 feet away for awhile, so I'm sure she will
eventually get over it. Tonight was almost normal for my older cat,
and she's no longer slinking around all crouched over. But she still
hides behind the TV when the kitten hears me and starts bawling.

But in the meantime, how do I go about teaching the kitten some
manners? Whenever I go into the bathroom the kitten just wants to be
held and petted and play 'climb mount person' whenever I sit down,
rather than showing any interest in toys, even if I'm moving them. I
wouldn't mind him sitting on my lap, but not while I'm on the commode,
and whenever he gets up he usually tries to climb up onto my shoulder.
He also doesn't have any hesitation about climbing up on counters and
using me as a springboard to get to other high spots. While I've had
kittens before, this is the first time I've run into one that's so
needy and demanding. My mom's preferred method of training cats not to
jump up was a smack across the room. Not a training technique I'm
looking to emulate.

I realize that most of this is typical kitten behavior, but I'm hoping
to nip it in the bud so I need to set some boundaries. It might just
be temporary, and I'm hoping it will get better once my adult cat gets
used to him and they can be fully introduced, but I don't want to be
rewarding him for things that will become problems later. While it's
cute to have a 4 pound kitten insisting on sitting on your shoulder,
not so cute to have a 14 pound cat doing the same later. The meowing
for attention is the other main thing. What can I do to keep him
engaged while keeping the two of them separated?

Unfortunately, the limit for pets in my apartment is two, so adopting
another kitten to keep him busy is out of the question.

Take the intros slowly. I think the best advice I ever got was from Phil
and that was to introduce them one sense at a time. First smell. Keep the
cats separated for the time being. Try rubbing the new cat with a towel and
then rubbing your older cat with that same towel. It will help them get use
to each other's smells. Then sight. You could try using a baby gate across
the doorway or use a hook and eye chain on the door so that it only opens a
crack. Last step is actual physical interaction. Monitor each step and see
how they adjust. Make sure that their interactions are positive. Feed them
together. Give them treats when they are together. This introduction could
take days, weeks, etc. My guess is that it shouldn't take too long given
the fact that your older cat has lived with other cats before. Good luck!

S.
--
**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ **
---

"Arklier" wrote in message
...
I moved about three months back with my older cat. She's about four
and a half, and had always lived in a house with multiple cats. The
first few days she meowed constantly when I left the apartment, but
seemed to settle down. When I got home she would meow constantly, so I
thought that getting another cat to keep her company would be the
right thing to do.

I went to the no kill shelter yesterday and picked out a kitten about
six months old, a neutered male. I'd read that an older cat would be
more comfortable with a cat of the opposite sex who was younger. The
kitten right now is very clingy on me, probably a consequence of
spending his first time alone without brothers and sisters or mom. I
have him set up in the apartment's only bathroom with some toys and a
radio on low, since I can't spend all my time with him. When he hears
me outside he starts to cry to be let out, and I think his crying for
attention is freaking out my adult cat.

She's spent the entire day hiding behind the TV, not even coming out
to eat or go potty. Her bowls and litterbox are nowhere near the
bathroom, but it's a small apartment and there's nowhere she can go
where she can't hear the kitten. I moved her dishes near the TV, but
she hasn't touched them. When the pet sitter came over before I went
on vacation at the end of August she hid behind the desk, but was out
in five minutes following us around. I never thought she would turn
into a timid wallflower with another cat, especially since she had
another cat (an adult male) join her at the old place without any
drama, and she used to try and jump on the unfriendly cat in the
house.

All the guides I've seen have advised to go slow with introductions,
but my adult cat is behaving exactly like she does when she goes to
the vet. How long until I should start being concerned, and should I
speed up the introduction process so he doesn't cry so much?

Someone recommended getting some Feliway to calm the older cat, but
when I went to the pet store today they were out. I'll check the other
store in my area tomorrow.

I echo everyone else's answers in saying to introduce slowly. I am
currently introducing a kitten to our (neutered) adult boys. One is
adjusting well; the other not so much. The key is go slowly and don't
force anything. Praise your resident cat when she doesn't growl or
ignores the new cat. Give her treats when he is near her. Step by
step.

As for helping your newcomer, is it possible to put him in a different
room, possibly with a window to entertain him a bit? Also, play some
talk radio softly when you are away. He's had to adjust to a lot in a
short amount of time, so his neediness (if that's a word?) will wane
in time.

On Oct 13, 1:55*pm, "Rene S." wrote:
I echo everyone else's answers in saying to introduce slowly. I am
currently introducing a kitten to our (neutered) adult boys. One is
adjusting well; the other not so much. The key is go slowly and don't
force anything. Praise your resident cat when she doesn't growl or
ignores the new cat. Give her treats when he is near her. Step by
step.

As for helping your newcomer, is it possible to put him in a different
room, possibly with a window to entertain him a bit? Also, play some
talk radio softly when you are away. He's had to adjust to a lot in a
short amount of time, so his neediness (if that's a word?) will wane
in time.

Thanks, I'll continue to take it slowly. I just feel bad that the
kitten has to spend so much time by himself. I can let him out into
the adjacent bedroom during the day and lock him in the bathroom at
night. I don't let my cats sleep with me because I'm a light sleeper
when it comes to being stepped on. Luckily for me, I also own some
very effective earplugs!

I picked a younger cat because I was worried about getting a cat that
couldn't accept my cat. While he's super friendly and I love him to
death, if I could do it over again, I would probably have selected a
young adult cat that was past the teenager stage. He does appear to be
getting more comfortable and isn't so clingy today. I live alone, but
luckily I live close enough to work that I can come home during lunch
and spend time with them.

Oh well. This too shall pass. I think he's starting to get the idea
that I won't pay attention to him if he tries to jump on me or climb
my legs, at least.