New Kitten!

Hello! I have just adopted a sweet, lovely nine week old kitten who I have named Juniper! She has been in my apartment for two days now and she was spayed three days ago. She's incredibly loving and brave, she settled in very quickly. Her home base is currently the bedroom. I also have my beautiful resident cat, Florine! She is three years old and spayed, I would classify her as a princess who loves attention but on her terms only. Me and my girlfriend adopted this kitten in part to be company for Flo, and maybe help her become more playful.

Florine's home base at the moment is the rest of the apartment, and her and Juniper have swapped sites a couple times and they have done eating on opposite sides of the door, eating when they can see each other, and we have just reached the point of supervised play dates. These playdates have gotten better and better, but I'm a little worried because while they have been generally good and the cats have mostly ignored each other (even on occasion, they sleep in beds that are right next to each other), Juniper will growl at Florine, put her ears back, and hunch down to the ground. That has been improving, Juniper used to do that upon seeing Flo and now only does it after charging up to her. Silly kitten!

Here's my question.... After Juniper charged up to Flo, Flo moved towards Juniper (maybe swatted her?), Juniper growled and swatted and Flo, and Florine ran up onto the bed. Is this normal boundary setting? I don't know if Flo was being aggressive or trying to play, but I think Juniper was afraid. Juniper initiated it and Flo ended it by running off, but I am afraid of my princess Florine feeling bullied!

Also, Juniper is tiny and 9 weeks and 2 pounds. At what size/age should I allow Flo and Juniper to play together? I don't want Flo to hurt Juniper!

Here's a picture of the two of them! Flo was in her bed first, and Juniper slowly walked into her bed, growling all the while lol. But she settled in and Flo didn't react and they slept for half an hour!

It is pretty normal. Adult cats are usually very tolerant of kitten antics but if Juniper pushes her to far Florine will give her a hiss or a slap. As the kitten gets older there may be harder slaps, growling and hissing as they establish boundaries. As long as Florine isn’t seemingly over stressed or hiding all the time things are moving along well.

The big cat just isn't wild about the kitten wanting to get close/play which is normal. The common expectation that they will be friends doesn't always happen. Sometimes yes, somtimes no. Hopefully, they will get there, but if nothing else things should improve. The kitten will get comfortable first and fairly quickly. At worst, the big cat should improve some over weeks/months. They will not hurt each other regardless -- not on purpose anyway.

As susanm9006 says, once the kitten gets older, things can change again, but in the short term, things are going fine and you can give them a bit more rope to work things out on their own.

Nine weeks is really young, so if the switch flips to friendship quickly and they start playing roughly, watch that the big cat isn't too rough. Not really something to worry about especially if it take them a few weeks to there.

Thanks so much for the replies!! That puts me at ease. I'll give them a little more space to work things out without hovering like an overprotective mother lol. I'm excited to see their relationship develop, and even if they don't become friends, I'm just hoping for tolerance and the ability to be left alone together!

Okay, I'm back looking for some more thoughts! The kitten is doing exceptionally well, she is no longer afraid of Florine and is loving having time outside of the bedroom, exploring the rest of the house. We are allowing Juniper and Florine to be in the same rooms together whenever me and my girlfriend are home, and for the most part they are doing their own separate things.

Two or three times now, though, Juniper has gone up to Florine and Florine has bit her. (Sometimes Florine licks her instead, I'm not sure what triggers the biting). Juniper presses close to the ground and Florine walks away. Is that normal? It's the kitten walking into Florine's space, but it seems wrong for me that Florine would bite such a small kitten! I'm not sure if I should separate them, or if this is normal.... Any advice would be appreciated.

Although I don't have any advice on cat introductions, since I've never had more than one at a time, I just wanted to commend you on the choice of an excellent cat name. I have a Juniper, too! Your Juniper is adorable, and I hope she works things out with her big sister.

Could be a leave me alone bite, could be a playful bite. Lick, lick bite is a very common cat thing. Anyway, it is nothing to worry about. Cats, including kittens, are excellent at telling you if they are being hurt by or are afraid of another cat. The kitten is telling you the opposite -- that it now isn't afraid. Let them be -- good chance their relationship will continue to improve.

Many times a big cat will actually pin an annoying kitten and even make it squeal a little bit. This is teaching the kitten limits/boundaries. And again, the kitten shows its not a serious thing by coming right back to the big cat when let up.

If there is a problem, you'll know. Kitten will avoid the big cat generally and act scared, even when they haven't interacted in a while. Big cats dont normally hurt kittens -- biological hard wiring -- but sometimes its hard for first timers to tell that a kitten isn't actually being hurt. So let the kitten's behavior be your guide.

A ArtNJ
Hello, and thank you so much for the detailed response!! I will continue to let them figure out boundaries, I feel much better now that I know Juniper isn't being hurt because she is not afraid of Florine at all lol!