What do I do?! New kitten!

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Krienze

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Charlie looks like he's growing well. Shouldn't be too long before he can have some face time with Jasper. How old are they?

If you can supervise their meeting in its entirety, you might try a short visit (a couple minutes). Be prepared for a hiss or growl. It sounds bad, but it's normal for a first meeting. Play it by ear, but don't let it go on long and without constant supervision at this early a stage.

You also could try a first meeting through a baby grate or a small opening through a door opened only a couple inches--enough for them to see each other, but not have any physical contact.
Charlie is about 6 weeks now.
Jasper and Mia are a year and a half.
Milo is maybe 10 months?
Sammy is 7, going on 8.

They've already met face to face, but always when I've been holding Charlie. There were hisses the first few days through the pen mesh, but the hisses have mostly stopped. Now when I hold them to each other, they just sniff. Jasper and Sammy seem the most patient with him while Mia and Milo tend to back off a bit, though they still show interest.
 

Mamanyt1953

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OK...as for the food...I'm not a vet, but everything I've been told by vets whom I trust, and read on sites that specialize in nutrition say the same thing...wet food is FAR better for all cats, and especially male cats, than dry food. They need that moisture. Additionally, it is almost impossible to over-feed a 6-week-old kitten. He should be eating four or five meals a day, at his age. He's using tons of calories just growing, and he's playing like a mad thing. The diarrhea is probably caused by a rapid change in diets. That happens in almost all cats whose diet is changed quickly. The proper way to switch over is, 1 part new to 3 parts old for 3-4 days, then repeat with half-half, the repeat again with 3 parts new to 1 part old, and finally all new.
 

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They're all so young, except for Sammy. I'd expect them to bond easily and even Sammy seems like he's accepting Charlie pretty easily. I think you're going to have a relatively easy time acclimating them to Charlie. Might try feeding them at the same time near the gate. That will help them associate Charlie with something good, cats being generally food-motivated.
 
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Krienze

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They're all so young, except for Sammy. I'd expect them to bond easily and even Sammy seems like he's accepting Charlie pretty easily. I think you're going to have a relatively easy time acclimating them to Charlie. Might try feeding them at the same time near the gate. That will help them associate Charlie with something good, cats being generally food-motivated.
Yeah, so far the four of them all seem to be chill with him being here now. Milo still shies away from him like the kitten scares him, but I also know Milo is a bit of a nervous cat (was like that when we adopted him!) but he warmed up to the others pretty fast so I'm confident things will be okay.

This morning I noticed Charlie had vomited a bit and was trembling when I held him. He was still bitey, ate some formula, seemed alert, so I'm not sure if he's sick or just was a lil excited or cold, etc. I'm going to keep an eye on him today though to see if a vet visit is needed.
 
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Small Update:

He was eating FF Kitten - which the vet told us to stop feeding him because apparently it has milk in it. We switched him to Merricks Kitten and he's doing a lot better on it. No straining and I'm pretty sure no more loose poops.

Our biggest problem right now is how bitey and scratchy he is. I try to re-direct him to toys but he's got NO interest and just wants to bite me. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong! I don't encourage hand play at ALL.
 

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Hiss at him when he does this. That’s how mom cats teach manners.
 

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Huh. Maybe you need a more emphatic HISS! It's rare for a cat not to react to it. Try "ow, Ow OW!"
 

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Yes, yell loudly, NO, or OW! As a last resort, you can hold him to the floor by the skin on the back of his neck and tell him NO. It is what mama cats do when one gets too rambunctious, or when one cat is trying to show dominance. This has to be done EVERY time, to be effective, He may get mad and come back at you immediately after, so do it again. Kittens instinctively quiet when touched this way, so hold him down for a few seconds until he quiets, then let him loose. Never pick him up this way, you can hurt a larger kitten by doing this. He won't like it, but if you play with him and talk nice to him afterwards he'll forgive you. I've had a lot of success with this method, and it was the ONLY way I had to give a cat medication a few years back. Three grown men at the vet's office were bloody trying to medicate him. when I did this at home with him sitting, and pulling back on the skin on the back of his neck, he instantly quieted and I could give him his meds.
 
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Krienze

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Yes, yell loudly, NO, or OW! As a last resort, you can hold him to the floor by the skin on the back of his neck and tell him NO. It is what mama cats do when one gets too rambunctious, or when one cat is trying to show dominance. This has to be done EVERY time, to be effective, He may get mad and come back at you immediately after, so do it again. Kittens instinctively quiet when touched this way, so hold him down for a few seconds until he quiets, then let him loose. Never pick him up this way, you can hurt a larger kitten by doing this. He won't like it, but if you play with him and talk nice to him afterwards he'll forgive you. I've had a lot of success with this method, and it was the ONLY way I had to give a cat medication a few years back. Three grown men at the vet's office were bloody trying to medicate him. when I did this at home with him sitting, and pulling back on the skin on the back of his neck, he instantly quieted and I could give him his meds.
He hardly responds to yelling. I tried the holding him down but he wiggles so much that I'm afraid I'll hurt him. I did try a few times and all it seemed to do was rile him up more though.
 
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He does heavy focus on stuff - but usually my hands end up distracting him away from his toys.
Ignore the music, sorry. I just always put music so no one hears my allergy breathing lol
 
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Krienze

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Small Update:

Should I be concerned? I went to put him back in his pen since it's getting close to dinner time and he jumped a bit/hissed. I don't know if something spooked him, but he calmed down when i placed my hand on his back then put him in the cage again. He went in purring so I'm not really sure what happened. He's now playing with his tail and kicker toy o_o
 
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Krienze

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Hey all! Wanted to give you an update!

Charlie's aggression issues have gotten a LOT better. We bought him a huge pen to sleep in at night and he's out during the day now and that seems to have solved the issues.

He's playing and getting along with all of the cats, except Mia. But Mia's always been VERY slow to warm up to other cats. She will, in her own time, but for now she just hisses at him whenever he comes near.

Here are some photos!! and a video of his first time playing with Jasper!

 

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Tik cat's mum

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Awwww he's growing so fast, I can't believe how big he's getting. I'd forgotten how fast they grow. I love seeing these pics and videos. It's fantastic the other cat's have warmed up to him, Jasper is so gentle with him. Thank you for my kitten fix today. Charlie is such a cutie.
 
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Krienze

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Awwww he's growing so fast, I can't believe how big he's getting. I'd forgotten how fast they grow. I love seeing these pics and videos. It's fantastic the other cat's have warmed up to him, Jasper is so gentle with him. Thank you for my kitten fix today. Charlie is such a cutie.
It's beyond adorable! I was worried they would be to rough with him but Jasper tempers himself down to gentle levels to play with him. He even follows Charlie around to 'babysit' him!

Here they are taking a rest after a long day of playing! Jasper always has to watch him!! Don't mind my dirty window please haha

1637784514964.png
 

Tik cat's mum

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It's beyond adorable! I was worried they would be to rough with him but Jasper tempers himself down to gentle levels to play with him. He even follows Charlie around to 'babysit' him!

Here they are taking a rest after a long day of playing! Jasper always has to watch him!! Don't mind my dirty window please haha

View attachment 402402
Looks like he's settled in nicely, how sweet is it that Jasper is so good with him. They look completely comfortable with each other on that picture, and I think Charlie knows that Jasper has his back. Adorable.
 
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