Adopted new kitten

[CJ1980]

Hi all! I have a 3 yr old male tuxedo and recently adopted a 3 month old black female kitten. The introductions went well I believe. My male doesn’t seem to be bothered, but he’s very curious. He’ll just lay next to her or watch her from afar. They’ll chase after each other, but I see no signs of aggression.
I have a studio apartment, so not alot of space, but I try to keep their food and litter boxes separate. The problem is neither have pooped in over a day and the kitten isn’t eating so much. She’s very tiny and I was told she needs to eat 3 times a day. All she wants to do is run around and play. What can I do to help both of these issues?

 

[Meowmee]

Hi all! I have a 3 yr old male tuxedo and recently adopted a 3 month old black female kitten. The introductions went well I believe. My male doesn’t seem to be bothered, but he’s very curious. He’ll just lay next to her or watch her from afar. They’ll chase after each other, but I see no signs of aggression.
I have a studio apartment, so not alot of space, but I try to keep their food and litter boxes separate. The problem is neither have pooped in over a day and the kitten isn’t eating so much. She’s very tiny and I was told she needs to eat 3 times a day. All she wants to do is run around and play. What can I do to help both of these issues?

That is great they are getting along well. Please post pics.

I think if she seems healthy it’s probably OK. I would keep an eye on the pooping for both of them, though some cats depending on what they eat don’t poop every day…sometimes one of mine poops every two days or so but two of them usually poop every day.

For a young kitten keep an eye on the food. I would try offering her several tasty wet food meals and some licky treats and things like that. Kittens usually eat quite a lot because they’re growing. So if she seems like she’s sick at all or continues not to eat as much and grow etc., call Dvm and ask them what to do.

Has your tuxedo cat been eating the same amount? Otherwise, if he’s pooping every day usually maybe he’s constipated and you could try adding some pumpkin to his food.

I assume the kitten has been tested for worms and all of that stuff? I would not change anything about the litter box situation, etc. if it’s working

 

[CJ1980]

Thank you! My tuxedo is eating a little less just because I think it’s still new for him. He gets very nervous over anything new in the house. Boxes, toys, if you move something to a different place. It takes him a while to warm up to something then he’s fine. By the way as soon as I posted this, he pooped in the litterbox. It’s like he knew I was worried.

I would just like the kitten to eat more. I added water to her wet food for dinner and that seemed to help a bit so we’ll see how it goes. She has been tested for worms and I’m taking her to the vet in a couple weeks for her rabies and distemper booster. I was told that she weighed too little to get her rabies just yet.

Here is both of them playing in the cat tree. He’s a big boy at 10 lbs. i believe she’s barely 4 lbs right now.

 

[Meowmee]

Thank you! My tuxedo is eating a little less just because I think it’s still new for him. He gets very nervous over anything new in the house. Boxes, toys, if you move something to a different place. It takes him a while to warm up to something then he’s fine. By the way as soon as I posted this, he pooped in the litterbox. It’s like he knew I was worried.

I would just like the kitten to eat more. I added water to her wet food for dinner and that seemed to help a bit so we’ll see how it goes. She has been tested for worms and I’m taking her to the vet in a couple weeks for her rabies and distemper booster. I was told that she weighed too little to get her rabies just yet.

Here is both of them playing in the cat tree. He’s a big boy at 10 lbs. i believe she’s barely 4 lbs right now.

Such beauties that’s great he pooped! That always seems to happen when you’re worried about something.

If the wet food with the water helped I would do that and add in some more treats - most cats love the licky treats, and you can interact with them when you give it to them.

It seems like they’re gonna become BFF if they aren’t ready, which is great

 

[CJ1980]

This will be the first night with both cats out and able to roam. I’m a little nervous, but hopefully they won’t get into any trouble! My bed is too high for the kitten to jump on, so I put a bench next to it for her to use. I don’t know if she’ll want to sleep with me, but the tuxedo does. I’m just worried about her falling off the bed.

 

[Meowmee]

This will be the first night with both cats out and able to roam. I’m a little nervous, but hopefully they won’t get into any trouble! My bed is too high for the kitten to jump on, so I put a bench next to it for her to use. I don’t know if she’ll want to sleep with me, but the tuxedo does. I’m just worried about her falling off the bed.

I hope it goes well…I think she’ll be OK I think even if she falls off the bed, she’s not a tiny young kitten. Quinn used to jump up to sleep with me on the bed when he was little and he didn’t have any problems. Mine is a little bit lower to the ground. The bench is a good idea.

 

[CJ1980]

They were pretty ok, but woke up really early and are chasing each other around making so much noise. I bet my downstairs neighbor loves that. Hopefully it will get a little better, but I’m probably going to get a noise complaint from my building manager. We have carpeting, but the soundproofing is very poor.

All in all it went well for the first night!

 

[Alldara]

They were pretty ok, but woke up really early and are chasing each other around making so much noise. I bet my downstairs neighbor loves that. Hopefully it will get a little better, but I’m probably going to get a noise complaint from my building manager. We have carpeting, but the soundproofing is very poor.

All in all it went well for the first night!

You should find she eats a bit more in stages. Like as she gets a growth spurt. Since there's a lot of new things in her new home with you and her new cat sibling, she may juat be distracted.

 

[Meowmee]

They were pretty ok, but woke up really early and are chasing each other around making so much noise. I bet my downstairs neighbor loves that. Hopefully it will get a little better, but I’m probably going to get a noise complaint from my building manager. We have carpeting, but the soundproofing is very poor.

All in all it went well for the first night!

Maybe you can have some sound proof panels put in if you are allowed to. Maybe the noise isn’t as bad as you think it is. That’s great that it went well between them. I think that’s the main thing to focus on that you have two cats who are already getting along so well.

 

[CJ1980]

Well, I’m back. It was going great for about a week. The kitten was running around, playing with resident kitty. All seemed fine until yesterday. My resident cat is all of the sudden chasing her down every time he sees her, eats her food even though it’s far away from his, and is overall “bullying” her I’d say. She likes to lay at the very top of the cat tree which he has never gone in since he was very young. Now he’ll climb to the top and pretty much force her out. She was so affectionate and playful. Now she’s been under the bed for an hour.

My opinion is this is a territorial thing but I’m no expert. It was going fine for a week though. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

 

[Alldara]

First step is to not let him eat her food. This might mean staying in between them as they eat. This is a big equalizer.

I'd also day don't let him push her out of beds and things. Just stop him by stopping him going forward when you catch it happening.

For example when Magnus is on his bed, and Cal goes forward with that look I just put a hand on his chest to stop him moving towards Magnus. He leaves or lays down.

 

[rubysmama]

Just seeing your thread now, and was happy with all I was reading, till your latest post. Strange that all was well, until it wasn't. But introductions can have setbacks. TCS even has this article on the topic: How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction | TheCatSite

Watch her behaviour around him. If she seems scared of him, and hiding under the bed for an hour could indicate that she is, you may have to separate them and do a mini reintroduction. You don't want either of them becoming stressed, as that can cause other issues.

 

[CJ1980]

Thanks everyone. She stayed under the bed for a while, but it back out playing. I’m just keeping an eye on them. When my tuxedo saw her running, he jumped out of top of the cat tree, over a table and almost landed on her. But now he’s just licking her all over. I think I’m going to have to separate them again for a little while.

 

[ArtNJ]

I think he was probably a little uncertain for a bit, and is now fully accepted that there is a new toy and licki mat in the house. That is ok, things will calm down. He wouldn't be engaging in the lick-fest if he didn't like the kitten.

 

[CJ1980]

Thank you. That’s reassuring.

 

[CJ1980]

I’m getting kind of nervous because it’s like he thinks the kitten is a small wild animal. He runs after her, chases her down, snd I see his mouth around her back and she yelps. He’ll chase her out of the cat tree so she can’t sit there.

But she keeps going back to sit on the tree and do the things he’s getting upset about, so I’m not sure if this is just play and I should butt out. It makes me so nervous because she’s still so tiny and he’s like a mini horse.

 

[ArtNJ]

It sounds like play. Sometimes they calm down a bit by 3 and its not like this, but this sounds absolutely typical of say how a one year old play-crazy adult cat acts with a new kitten. So your 3 year old is still a bit stupid young & play crazy at heart.

Its ok that he is play biting the kitten. That is a normal part of play, and especially noticeable if the kitten thinks its too small to effectively fight back. Equal playmates do play bite each other, but they rarely sit still for it so its less noticeable. The kitten making some protest noises doesn't mean much beyond "stop it, your annoying". If the kitten was stressed or worried about the older cat, you'd know -- it would be obvious at all times, not just when rough play was happening. And the kitten wouldn't keep coming back for more.

 

[CJ1980]

It sounds like play. Sometimes they calm down a bit by 3 and its not like this, but this sounds absolutely typical of say how a one year old play-crazy adult cat acts with a new kitten. So your 3 year old is still a bit stupid young & play crazy at heart.

Its ok that he is play biting the kitten. That is a normal part of play, and especially noticeable if the kitten thinks its too small to effectively fight back. Equal playmates do play bite each other, but they rarely sit still for it so its less noticeable. The kitten making some protest noises doesn't mean much beyond "stop it, your annoying". If the kitten was stressed or worried about the older cat, you'd know -- it would be obvious at all times, not just when rough play was happening. And the kitten wouldn't keep coming back for more.

Thank you. I’ve never had 2 before, so I’m unsure what would be normal play. I just hate seeing that look in his eyes when I know he’s about to run and pounce. But you’re right. If she was stressed or didn’t like it, we’d know.

 

[Meowmee]

I tend to agree he is asserting himself as the top cat and dominating her now etc. he’s still pretty young too.

As long as he is not injuring her it is prolly ok. If it gets worse, you could go back to a re-intro. Otherwise, I would probably just observe it and see what happens. The fact that she’s not listening to him shows that she’s not really that afraid of him.

I would do the thing suggested to verbally and physically stop him from eating her food, and pull him off of her if he gets to aggressive. I’ve had this situation with my cats where it wasn’t really normal and we had to keep them separated at the end of Sybil’s life because of her health conditions... with two younger healthy cats it’s not a big deal. It sounds normal to me.

As far as food goes, I had that situation with Merlin and Zena were Merlin would not let Zena eat his food. I tried a few things, but nothing really worked. I tried feeding Xena on the countertop, but he didn’t want to eat up there. I don’t remember how it all worked out but in the end, Merlin calmed down a little bit about it and my cats also like to eat out of the same dish… for instance cinnamon does not really want his own dish, he prefers to share with another cat or two.

Quinn will also go and eat the other cat’s food because he gobbles his up first or he just leaves his plate on the table and goes and eats theirs, none of them are too thin is so I guess it all works out in the end it’s happening again now because I started making their home-cooked food again and he absolutely loves it. And he seems to need to eat more of it. So he eats his quickly and then goes and eats theirs and pushes Zena away from his.

Zena only eats a little bit of his wet food and then he complains to me that he prefers dry food. At one point he was only on the home-cooked and that had cured his soft stool, so I’m hoping to get him back on only that eventually.

Xena is the least aggressive about food for some reason. He is so funny- early this morning he came to the couch by me and put his paw towards me. I said, do you want to shake my paw, what he wanted was to jump up on the bed and he was a little worried about it unfortunately I did not get a video of that!

You could try making a video of your cats for us to evaluate.

 

[ArtNJ]

Thank you. I’ve never had 2 before, so I’m unsure what would be normal play. I just hate seeing that look in his eyes when I know he’s about to run and pounce. But you’re right. If she was stressed or didn’t like it, we’d know.

Well, I think the kitten probably doesn't like it in the moment when the protest noises are happening. Just saying its not anything serious enough to leave an impression. The exact same thing happens with human kids. Big brother gives little brother a head noogie, little brother does not like it in the moment, and cries for mom. But 5 minutes later, little brother is right back to bugging big brother to play. He gets a net benefit from having a big brother, even if he also gets a head noogie now and then. Pretty much the same, except as a parent its even harder to get a training message through with cats.