Advice For Next Step In Cat Intro

[tassie]

Hi everyone

Long story short, found a very young kitten, fostered it, now would quite like to keep him (cat magnet yes I know)

I have been taking the intro super slow, all the proper way, scents first, visual with a pen etc (I have done this before). My grandma cat is ok with him so they have some time together by themselves, limited so not to annoy her. Of course he actually wants to sit on her which she doesn't want but all in all, happy with how they are going.

The issue is my young cat and I was totally not expecting it. Her nature is kitten like, playful, super placid but incredibly timid (she will only go to my husband or I, no one else). She loves to play with our middle cat, chase and games and even goes up to complete strange cats expecting a play

She is not settling well with the kitten. At the moment they meet twice a day, with him in a pen and she is now eating super close to him without being distracted. After she finishes eating she growls - this has got much better to be fair. We had an accident when he escaped the pen and she clawed him quite badly which was a shock with her placid nature. She isn't really scared because she will clean and sleep in the same room when he is in the pen. Have tried feliway, don't think it makes a difference

So...any advice for next steps? I can't let him out the pen with her, he will just run up to her and she is not ready for that but he is also now not tolerating the pen and tries to get out which the other cats find alarming.

Thanks all!

 

[calicosrspecial]

Thank you so much for adopting him!!

I would continue taking it slow and associating him with your young cat with positive things. So keep feeding close. If he starts to focus on her distract in whatever way possible. To let her know that he is not a threat. If your young cat finishes and growls just tell her in a soft, calm and confident voice that it is "ok" or something to let her know things are fine.

If there is any staring between them try to distract them so they do not focus on each other.

The more they are together without incident the more trust they will build between them.

If he gets rambunctious in the pen are you able to have him in your arms (safely without being at risk of being hurt) or have him separated by a fence and distracted? Again, having them together focused on other things or being associated with positive things like food is very helpful. Every time they are together without a negative incident it is a positive step towards what we want.

Can you get her to play near the kitten without the kitten getting too excited? Or can you take the kitten in another room while playing with her in the room where the kitten is (his scent will be in there so play will build a positive association with his scent). After play always feed treats.

Have you done any scent and site swapping yet?

I like to build the confidence of every cat going into and during cat intros. I build confidence through 4 things. Play, Food, Height and Love. So I step up play with the cats. I will have the other cats scent (on an old shirt) near the play area and eventually as time passes have the other cat near the play. I play with them in all areas of the house. After play I feed either treats or a meal. I also use food to build trust feeding near the scents of the other can't and also with the other cat eventually (as you are doing). I give the cats plenty of places to go high in cat trees, on dressers, window perches, etc. Height builds confidence as it gives a cat a place to feel safe above and to surveil the situation. I also give the cats plenty of cat scratching posts so they can get their scent on things and "own" more territory. Love, give them a lot of warm and comfy places to hangout and sleep. Be calm and confident around them as cats take on our emotions. Let them know they are loved. If you can safely (without being injured in any way) get them to purr that is also helpful.

The more confident a cat is the more likely the cat will accept another confident cat.

If he is not accepting the pen now then we'll have to figure out a way to have him "around" but distracted. Playing with him is a good way of distracting and tiring him out. But we have to make sure that interaction all the cats have is as positive as possible.

Please feel free to ask anything as I am not sure I totally answered your question so I can try to clarify.

I will be with you every step of the way. We'll get them to get along. We just have to take it slow and make every interaction between them to be as positive as possible so they build the trust between them.

 

[tassie]

Thanks so much for your detailed response. I took that advice and things are progressing for sure. Still further to go but I am encouraged that they will all live together

Buddy, the kitten is out of the pen and freckles, the young cat remains indoors and not panicked. He doesn't run to her that much. She seems to have told him who is boss and is now stealing his food! She has a high place too.

This has pushed buddy to try and be play friends with our grandma cat. She tells him to go away but he keeps going back to her again and again. It doesn't help that she has an involuntary tail movement and he constantly looks at it and goes to chase it. I am telling him no every single time, and she is too but he hasn't figured it out yet. I distract him with toys etc but he then takes the toy to her!!

So at the moment they have about 4 sessions a day all together, about 30 minutes a time until just before I sense the others have had enough. I think I need to get him exhausted so he actually has a snooze around them and they realise he isn't always running about

 

[calicosrspecial]

You are welcome. I am so glad to hear this.

GREAT they are working it out, figuring out the proper etiquette. GREAT.

Buddy is social and playful. That is great. It sounds like Buddy is just being a kitten. It is really sweet that he takes the toy to her. Wow. Wonderful.

That sounds great. 4 sessions.

It sounds like you are doing a great job, thank you for the wonderful update.

Please feel free to ask anything anytime. Just keep the positive association, building confidence, and making their encounters as positive as possible. There are always ups and downs but you are doing a great job. Keep it up. Always here for you if needed.

Great work!!