Another cat intro thread!

[Sonatine]

Yep, it's that time again. Time to introduce my somewhat unexpected kitten to his big sisters.

And by it's time, I mean that I sort of caved and opened the bathroom door last night. That bathroom is so small and it gets hot in there. It needed to be aired out anyway. At that point, one of my cats (Mischief) had stopped growling/hissing at the door and had played footsies underneath it with him. The other (Amelia/Millie) still growled and hissed at the door, but could easily be distracted away from it.

Actually, I think things are going pretty well, considering the kitten (Gizmo/Mo) has only been here since Saturday? Mischief hissed and swatted at him at first when he got in her space, but within an hour or so they were chasing and playing. This is no surprise; she lived at a cat cafe with lots of cats and kittens for a very long time before she came to live with me. When I brought her home last summer she was very good at making friends with resident cat Millie. She appears to be happy to have a little brother who can't whoop her a$$ at wrestling like Millie can.

Millie is less thrilled. She's been a grumpy little raincloud, hissing and growling whenever he gets close. But she hasn't actually done anything to him beyond a few swats when he gets in her face, so I'm not afraid she'll hurt him. She's also pretty easily distracted from him. She'll accept treats and pets and will play with me even if he's around, as long as he isn't too close. This is loads better than when I brought Missy (an adult cat) home; that time there was dramatic wailing and gnashing of teeth until she figured out around 3-4 days in that having a sister wasn't so bad. But she's also been grumpy with Missy, which makes me sad. Poor Missy is approaching her and clearly trying to play and Millie keeps turning her down.

I'm less sure that Mo and Millie will become friends. But there's a little hope. While she growls when he gets close, she'll also try to sniff his butt when he walks past (he's pretty good about not pushing her when she hisses). Last night I brought out the Cat Dancer (a favorite toy) and the kitten was having so much fun Millie couldn't help but come over and try to pounce on the toy too. If nothing else, at least she's behaving mostly normally when kitten isn't too close.

I try to do lots of positive associations: when kitten is out, treats and catnip rain from the sky, and there are toys and games and petting. I also try to make sure to play with and pet Millie when he's closed in the bathroom. I've sprayed some feliway at the doors too and that seems to have lessened the hissing.

So I guess the point of that huge text wall (sorry!) is just to check: does this seem pretty normal so far? Are things going well?

 

[Sonatine]

Update: actually Mischief and Millie just played a little, if only briefly. So I'm less worried about ruining their friendship than I was a few minutes ago.

 

[ArtNJ]

That sounds great! You never know, as a cat gets older, if it will be able to react as well to a new cat. It seems to often get harder for them, if they aren't meeting additional new cats over the years, even if they did great in the past. But once they start playing, everything is usually fine. Enjoy!

 

[Lari]

Sounds like it's going well to me!

 

[Sonatine]

Not much change. Missy and kitten still play with occasional hissing/swatting. Millie is still a grumpy little raincloud who growls and hisses at the kitten and sometimes lashes out at Missy if she's close to him. But as long as she has her space she acts normally. And she watches the kitten as if she is curious about him. She doesn't go out of her way to bother him either, so that's something. I wish she'd climb out of his reach instead of sulking on the ground where he's gonna approach her. Hopefully she calms down and becomes less hostile with time. I keep him in the bathroom at night so she can get some kitten free time too.

 

[Sonatine]

Still more of the same. Millie is being a grumpy little stormcloud raining on everybody else's parade. Poor Mischief doesn't understand why her sister won't play with her. Mischief isn't very bright, so she just figures that if she tackles Millie, Millie will want to play again. Then poor dumb Mischief gets smacked. Like, I can hear the impact. Ouch. Still, their spats are short and nobody is hurt (I checked), and at least they'll still walk/eat/sit next to each other afterwards.

Millie still growls at the little kitten, but when I play with him using a teaser toy, she gets quite curious. She'll run along the back of the couch when he dashes around, and sometimes even pounces next to him playfully. Then she remembers that she's supposed to hate the kitten and storms off. She's still eating and cuddling with me, too (she's willing to get near the kitten without growling, if it means she might have a chance to steal his food). So other than being a jerk to the other cats, I think she's doing okay.