2 new kittens, male aggression, 3 senior cats

[JulesPoet]

So, let me preface by saying - I know we did things wrong. Now, we need to find a way to make things better.

We have 2 new kittens that get along until they don’t. The girl is 2 months old and just got adopted by us yesterday and was spayed 2 days ago. The boy is 3 months old and was neutered 9 days ago.

2 of the senior cats are in the bedroom separated by a gate.
1 of the senior cats moves from room to room without any of the other cats causing much of an issue with him or vice versa.

The 3 month old boy is hyperactive and it was clear that no matter how much we play with him (poles, jingle ball toys, rattle mice, ball track, etc) he wanted a playmate. We brought home the 2 month old girl hoping they would get along.
Again, I know we did this wrong.

How do we fix things?

Do we put one of them in the bathroom with a gate and try to introduce them all over again using Jackson Galaxy’s introduction techniques?

My main worry is that the boy is too aggressive and wants to wrestle the girl and kick box her. She is still healing from the spay surgery and we don’t want her to get hurt.

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx.

 

[Meowmee]

So, let me preface by saying - I know we did things wrong. Now, we need to find a way to make things better.

We have 2 new kittens that get along until they don’t. The girl is 2 months old and just got adopted by us yesterday and was spayed 2 days ago. The boy is 3 months old and was neutered 9 days ago.

2 of the senior cats are in the bedroom separated by a gate.
1 of the senior cats moves from room to room without any of the other cats causing much of an issue with him or vice versa.

The 3 month old boy is hyperactive and it was clear that no matter how much we play with him (poles, jingle ball toys, rattle mice, ball track, etc) he wanted a playmate. We brought home the 2 month old girl hoping they would get along.
Again, I know we did this wrong.

How do we fix things?

Do we put one of them in the bathroom with a gate and try to introduce them all over again using Jackson Galaxy’s introduction techniques?

My main worry is that the boy is too aggressive and wants to wrestle the girl and kick box her. She is still healing from the spay surgery and we don’t want her to get hurt.

Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Thx.

Usually you put the new cats in their own room for at least two weeks until they all start to smell each other etc. what I would probably do since you’re worried about the girl kitten is to put her in the bathroom by herself for a few days until she recovers and if the boy kitten is getting along OK with the other cat just let him stay where he is.

I don’t think the behavior sounds all that unusual to me because that’s what kittens do. Although he may be a little larger and more aggressive than she is. If you post a video, maybe someone else can give their input. Maybe he hasn’t learned his manners yet, especially if he was taken away too young from his original family. I am assuming they are not actually injuring each other, but there may be some hissing etc.? Also, he is very recently neutered so he may calm down a bit over time.

How are the two senior cats who are in their own room doing? Do they feel OK with all of this? This is a lot of cats to introduce to each other all at once so it’s a little bit more of a complex situation. I’m a little confused here. Are there three senior cats or two.. - never mind- I see the title says three senior cats so two of them are isolated and one is OK with the situation.

In general, time is your friend and in time most cats will learn to either get along well with each other and be friends, or they will tolerate each other at the least.

You can try to do scent, swapping with everybody too if you haven’t done that where you rub towels on everyone and rub them on each other etc.

 

[JulesPoet]

The two senior cats are fine with everything. They mostly stayed in the bedroom before we brought home the male kitten. They seem relaxed and content.

The boy kitten was taken away from a cat colony along with 9 other kittens all around 6 weeks old. Someone fostered all 10 of them for 2 weeks. We first fostered the boy, Lupin, when he was around 10 weeks old. He is now about 13 weeks old approximately. It is entirely possible that the whole situation was difficult for him.

The girl kitten, Zendaya, and her 3 siblings were brought to the shelter after someone’s pet cat had kittens they couldn’t take care of.

The other senior cat is happy in either room. The three senior cats are a mom & her 2 sons.

One of the sons, Osiris, is happy in either room. He is happy to just lounge around in the bedroom. And, he is fine watching the two kittens. He is very patient with them. He hisses or meows at Lupin when Lupin tries to get him to play. The two of them seem fine with each other. Osiris and Zendaya are fine too.

I think your idea of separating Zendaya until she is fully healed will work.

I think for the most part that Lupin just wants a high energy playmate. He does hiss, growl, and grumble a lot. He will be playing with a pole toy and making grumbling noises. He’s playful, but making sure Zendaya knows this is his playtime.

We have been doing scent swapping. I think it has helped to allow the seniors and kittens to coexist. There is no hissing or growling through the gate.

 

[Meowmee]

The two senior cats are fine with everything. They mostly stayed in the bedroom before we brought home the male kitten. They seem relaxed and content.

The boy kitten was taken away from a cat colony along with 9 other kittens all around 6 weeks old. Someone fostered all 10 of them for 2 weeks. We first fostered the boy, Lupin, when he was around 10 weeks old. He is now about 13 weeks old approximately. It is entirely possible that the whole situation was difficult for him.

The girl kitten, Zendaya, and her 3 siblings were brought to the shelter after someone’s pet cat had kittens they couldn’t take care of.

The other senior cat is happy in either room. The three senior cats are a mom & her 2 sons.

One of the sons, Osiris, is happy in either room. He is happy to just lounge around in the bedroom. And, he is fine watching the two kittens. He is very patient with them. He hisses or meows at Lupin when Lupin tries to get him to play. The two of them seem fine with each other. Osiris and Zendaya are fine too.

I think your idea of separating Zendaya until she is fully healed will work.

I think for the most part that Lupin just wants a high energy playmate. He does hiss, growl, and grumble a lot. He will be playing with a pole toy and making grumbling noises. He’s playful, but making sure Zendaya knows this is his playtime.

We have been doing scent swapping. I think it has helped to allow the seniors and kittens to coexist. There is no hissing or growling through the gate.

It sounds like Osiris will be the go between kitty who will help everyone to blend together eventually. That’s good. Poor Lupin has been through a lot, and he was very young so you can help let him know some limits maybe with Zendaya when they mesh back together, and give him lots of love. Usually with young kittens, they all get along pretty rapidly so it probably won’t be a long-term problem.

I would think more of a problem would be that you’ve introduced two kittens who are eventually going to be adults and they’re going to have to mesh with everybody else as their personalities develop, so you need lots of litter boxes, and respect of everyone’s spaces. That’s good that the two seniors enjoy the bedroom and are OK with it, and the new kittens.

I’m sure there are lots of other things you can do to help everybody get introduced well, and be happy which you may be doing some of already. Like playing together, having treats and having good shared experiences, etc. I would also give extra attention to the seniors so they don’t feel like the kittens are getting all of the attention, etc..

 

[Alldara]

He's hyper because of his age and because testosterone is still kicking around his system!

Definitely get him some kicker toys like the Flopping fish and keep him deparate from the female until she is healed.

To confirm, all 3 senior cats can be around one another?

Begin brushing them all with the same brush and take a dry cloth daily, pet each with it and then rub it around the baseboards of your home.

 

[JulesPoet]

He's hyper because of his age and because testosterone is still kicking around his system!

Definitely get him some kicker toys like the Flopping fish and keep him deparate from the female until she is healed.

To confirm, all 3 senior cats can be around one another?

Begin brushing them all with the same brush and take a dry cloth daily, pet each with it and then rub it around the baseboards of your home.

Great advice! Thank you!

And, yes, all 3 seniors can be around each other. It’s a mom (13 y/o) and her 2 sons (12 y/o). We found her as a stray and she was already pregnant.

All 5 are fixed.

 

[Alldara]

Great advice! Thank you!

And, yes, all 3 seniors can be around each other. It’s a mom (13 y/o) and her 2 sons (12 y/o). We found her as a stray and she was already pregnant.

All 5 are fixed.

Keep us posted about what you try ans what works and doesnt work. We will keep brainstorming with you!