Adjustment With A 2nd Cat, And The Concerned Resident.

[earthwormgym]

Well folks, we took the leap and adopted a 8-week old male kitten. He's very cute and has lots of energy.

Prior to this, we had a single cat in the apartment, aged about 11 months. He's been very set in his ways, being able to free-feed, go wherever he wants, sleeps wherever he wants...

...You can probably guess where the problems started...

We brought the new kitten (Graham) home on Saturday afternoon and set him up in our bedroom. Closing the door between bedroom and living room immediately was a cause for concern for our resident cat (Arlo) and was sniffing things out like crazy! Since then he's just not been himself. He knows there's an intruder in the house! He's now always on high-alert at the slightest noises, he's become very skittish and worst of all...he won't eat his food. Lots of personality changes to make use owners sad.

Now the last note may tie in with the fact that I am now trying to enforce a scheduled feed, since I read that having them both eat on opposite sides of the door is a plus! Yet while Graham is chomping away, Arlo seems concerned that his food is in the wrong place and is not available when he wants it.

So now you're up to speed, here are some follow-up questions I have.

1) For now, should we revert Arlo back to free-feed, just so he eats when he feels comfortable. My only concern is losing the bonding aspect/intro phase with Graham.

2) Since it's only day 2, I'm assuming it's still too early for an actual meeting? (Note: They have swatted at each other under the door, without any hissing or growling from either side!)

3) We site switch every few hours, so they both get a change of scene. Should we also alternate who gets access to the bedroom each night, or should it just be Arlo for now?

Thanks for all your help in advance!

 

[catmomma627]

I have 3 cats, and I got each cat one at a time. Zoey- then 3 months later, Luna and then 3.5 years later, Penny.

Each time I have added a new cat, I have never locked my resident cat(s) out of my bedroom at night. I felt that it wasn't fair.

As for the food thing, I don't free feed because one of my cats is a gobbler, but I never did the food by the door thing and did just fine.

I started letting Penny near Zoey and Luna, supervised on day 3. Zoey was happy with her, Luna took a few weeks to get used to her.

I didn't let Penny out unsupervised (When I was at work or asleep) for more than a month. I would keep her in my guest bedroom

 

[earthwormgym]

Ah great! Thanks for you response. Biggest concern is trying to create positive reinforcements for their scent-sharing. The only moment we've had is some swatting under the door with no hissing/growling! Getting them to eat at the same time is a real challenge!! Any other ideas (apart from the sock trick!) that I could try?

 

[ArtNJ]

You know, you may be making too big a deal out of the introduction. Usually kitten and older kitten is totally fine. Older cats are biologically wired to not regard little kittens as enemies, so usually the problems start when the resident cat is older and inactive, and doesn't like getting jumped on by the kitten. This can get quite bad, but it is a different problem than what happens when two older cats are introduced, which is where introductions are crucial. It is quite possible, likely I believe, that your problems will go away once the resident has time to interact with the kitten, since he is young enough and likely active enough to not be intimidated by the kitten's play. Ironically, doing the full introduction may actually be making things harder than they need to be here. Analysis not guarantied, your mileage may vary

 

[earthwormgym]

Interesting! I think you’re one of the first to suggest this, but I totally agree with your points. When do you think we should start a visual introduction? Perhaps day 3?

 

[catmomma627]

I totally agree on the kitten/ older cat thing. It was a lot harder to introduce my two cats who are close in age than it was when I got my kitten.

Also, here is my thing. I would try it. You haven't had hissing so far. And if it goes badly. You can wait and try after a longer period of time. And hissing doesn't mean you've screwed up. Expect your resident to hiss or growl. It is going to be a shock at first, but as long as he is not trying to hurt the kitten, it will be okay.

 

[ArtNJ]

I'd probably just try it too. Worse case, you can always reset the process, but kittens and cats under 2 years usually get along. Pretty soon, the kitten will likely be the one protesting, when their attempted pouncing doesn't go as planned. Don't be offput by the kitten getting pinned and squealing a bit, if the kitten keeps coming back for more (and it will) they aren't being hurt.

 

[catmomma627]

Also can I say...I love the names Arlo and Graham!

 

[earthwormgym]

Thank you all for your input! I think we're gunna go ahead and try an introduction in one room tomorrow and see how it goes! Finger's crossed it doesn't end badly. Does the blanket trick work if they get into it?

Also, thanks for name compliment. They are actually linked somehow. Bonus points for anyone who can figure it out! (Clue: think TV hosts)

 

[ArtNJ]

Leave wet blankets to vets dealing with a serious problem cat. There is almost no situation they won't make worse at home, by increasing the stress of the cat involved.

I've never heard of an adult cat actually doing damage to a tiny kitten. Your worry is more that the resident cat will be highly stressed, not violence. Kittens are just too resilient to be the one that gets stressed. When the kitten gets bigger you might have different problems, but not now.

 

[catmomma627]

In experience, when the older cats would hiss or growl at Penny she would just look at them like they were crazy. If you think something will happen, just scoop the kitten up and remove him, but like the above poster said your older cat will probably just be freaked out.

 

[earthwormgym]

Leave wet blankets to vets dealing with a serious problem cat. There is almost no situation they won't make worse at home, by increasing the stress of the cat involved.

I've never heard of an adult cat actually doing damage to a tiny kitten. Your worry is more that the resident cat will be highly stressed, not violence. Kittens are just too resilient to be the one that gets stressed. When the kitten gets bigger you might have different problems, but not now.

I agree, our main concern lies with the resident cat, Arlo. As my starter post said, we don't want to further stress him with this introduction, but make him feel comfortable. Are we still in agreement tomorrow is a good time to try it?

Extra note: Arlo and Graham played "tug of war" with a string between the gap in the door. Again, no hissing or growling. Mild chirping from Arlo, but they both seemed engaged!

 

[catmomma627]

That's really promising. My residents always hissed under the door, so if Arlo isn't hissing that is a great sign! You could even briefly try some glimpses tonight if you want!

 

[ArtNJ]

Yes, go for it.

I think you already understand the main issue -- most kittens are little jerks and don't care if an older cat wants to play or not. For example, I adopted a 10 week old from a home with a 3 legged cat. I was only in the home for 30 minutes, but witnesses the kitten flying at the 3 legged cat at least 3 times. That can obviously cause some problems, but a normal eleventh month old should be fine. You never know for sure, but good chance the intro will go well and they will be buddies before you know it.

 

[earthwormgym]

Well, we tried their first introduction!

We ran it in living room. From both Arlo and Graham at the start, it was slow, hesitant steps towards each other. Then they chased each other, which made us both nervous. But honestly, not a lot of rough-housing, or play-fighting. I think they were trying to figure each other out. After about 15 minutes, Arlo let out a mild hiss and we immediately scooped up Graham and put him back in the separate room. But from our perspective, things seemed to go well.

I'm wondering how we progress? Perhaps later today, so for a longer session and see how it fares? Thoughts?

 

[catmomma627]

Yeah keep doing it! And don’t let hissing make you stop. Hissing is normal. He will get through it!

 

[earthwormgym]

Unfortunate update: Arlo, resident cat, just vomited. He hasn’t thrown up since he got vaccinated when he was super young.

I’m wondering if all this is related? Anxiety/stress the probably cause? Or perhaps the new kitten has a virus that he’s passed on. Either way, a little worried.

The vomit was runny, almost mucus-like!

 

[catmomma627]

I would guess stress related. But, if you haven't gotten the kitten checked out yet it could be a virus. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. My cats occasionally throw up mucus too.

 

[ArtNJ]

Has Arlo licked the kitten yet? Any hair in vomit?

I dunno stress is usually pretty obvious. Go to another room when kitten comes in, growl, hiss, swat, bathroom accidents. All that stuff is more common than vommitting from stress. Doesn't really sound like you have the usual symptoms so I'm unclear

 

[earthwormgym]

Interesting. Well we’re hesitant to do another intro to further stress out Arlo. Kinda puts a dampener on our progress! Thoughts?