Are my two cats making good progress?

[DreamiesProvider]

Apologies for the long post in advance.
2 Weeks ago we have rescued (unexpectedly) a 7/8 month old kitten Stitch.

We already have a 12 year old black panther Toby, he is an extremely calm and apathetic cat who rarely enjoys playing and is generally extremely laid back ever since he was a baby (no health problems found at vet, just his personality). We are very fortunate for his health as his condition and personality hasn’t changed with age.

We have used Jackson Galaxy’s guide on introducing cats and taking tips from cats protection etc, we followed every step possible and Toby has been very calm about the situation. Stitch absolutely loves Toby as well so we are happy with their progress so far in that area, they can eat right next to each-other and Toby never ever hisses unless Stitch is trying to touch Toby. Toby even doesn’t mind when Stitch runs up to his bowl and tries to take his food (despite having a meal a second ago he has a lot of food insecurity we are working on), Toby will just walk away calmly and we redirect the kitten to another room to allow Toby to eat in peace. We began giving them food separately to combat this as we don’t want the little one overeating and we want poor Toby to eat in peace and harmony.

The only “issue” or maybe not an issue we are having is the little cat often follows Toby, there is definitely no aggression intended. He LOVES Toby, he wants to snuggle, he wants to play, he wants Toby He will stand and stare at Toby in the litter box. Toby will hiss and the little one will go away but come back soon, since we read Toby is establishing boundaries we do nothing about the hissing.

Toby seems very accepting, little Stitch took one hundreds of Tobys beds (despite having a pretty brand new one just for him) and Toby didn’t react at all. Toby is calm to the point that he watched Stitch poop next to his bowl and done.. nothing, just walked away (this was discussed at the vet and Stitch simply isn’t used to a litter box yet), luckily this behaviour is stopping now. Toby has plenty of hiding places to get away where Stitch cannot go, he often chooses to sit in high up areas and just stare at the kitten from afar (not sure if this means anything).

What we are wondering is if Stitch will calm down and stop following Toby? There is no option of getting another cat for Stitch as we definitely cannot afford it and feel it would be wrong to get a cat we cannot afford. 2 is the most we can comfortably do. We have been playing with Stitch a lot but the boy has endless energy!

Overall what we are wondering is if this is good progress for two weeks? We have never had two cats before and I felt it would be valuable to gain insight from other cat owners as we want to do everything we can. While it looks like it’s going well I felt it doesn’t hurt to make sure and ask other cat owners, after all there may be something I haven’t noticed. We are on making sure to give Toby the same amount of love + maybe a bit more to show him that everything is okay. Toby is also having a health check soon where we will definitely discuss the new kitten and if Toby is adjusting well.

Pictures of both the boys!
Toby:


Stitch:

 

[hospicenursewithcats]

What beautiful kitties!!!!
It sounds to me that things are going really well. Stitch is just full of kitten. He just has to learn his boundaries and Toby will let him know when enough is enough if he gets in Toby’s face one too many times. I have a 7 year old that was not too impressed with the 2 kittens I brought home this summer, but after a while they did figure it out. The older one will kinda try to play hide and seek with them, but they take it to the extreme. That’s when Fancy growls at them. They back off after a while. No fights at least so I consider it a plus. I think Stitch will learn how far to take it.
good luck.

 

[Alldara]

That is AMAZING progress for two weeks.

It's really normal for them to follow another cat around for comfort and to also learn more about the new home.

Keep playing with him. Sometime between 1 and 2 years his energy level will lower..he will still need regular play though.

As you play and as he gets used to the home he will become more comfortable and less clingy. Every cat has a base level clingyness so we can't say for sure if he will stop following your other cat around completely.

 

[DreamiesProvider]

Hi!
Thank you so much for your replies, this makes me feel much better knowing the introductions are going well. We are definitely making sure he has all the toys in the world but he is a bit picky, plays with his new toy and gets bored so we need a big cycle of toys
We will keep going with how things are then, we are being extra careful until the neutering appointment as we know hormones might be making him go a bit funny - we don't want him to take Toby as competition for a fictional female cat

 

[ArtNJ]

Yes, thats terrific. Totally fine except when actively being bothered sometimes takes months to get too, and often there is a lot of stress before that point. Really, this is just an old man waving his cane about, trying to gently smack the youngster yelling "GET OFF MY LAWN BRAT!" Thats all it is. Given that you got to this point so quickly and (relatively) easily, there is actually hope that you might, just might, have a shot at getting to something like friendship eventually. Thats quite rare with a senior cat and a youngster.

The only intervention I'd recommend is giving Toby a break for an hour or so now and then, for some closed door petting sessions and the like.

 

[di and bob]

Everything sounds great! Slapping, growling, hissing are all completely normal. The kitten WILL eventually calm down but not for a long while, after all, he is a kitten. It sounds like you are doing everything alright, the kitten just desperately wants to play and the older cat doesn't. Get two kickeroos on Amazon, a long catnip filled toy, and keep one at all times in a bag with catnip to keep them fresh. Swap them out at times. This toy is invaluable for distracting a kitten when they are becoming a pest, (throw it towards them) and it gets rid of a LOT of kitten energy with all the bunny kicks. They will become pals in time, just take one day at a time.

 

[iPappy]

Apologies for the long post in advance.
2 Weeks ago we have rescued (unexpectedly) a 7/8 month old kitten Stitch.

We already have a 12 year old black panther Toby, he is an extremely calm and apathetic cat who rarely enjoys playing and is generally extremely laid back ever since he was a baby (no health problems found at vet, just his personality). We are very fortunate for his health as his condition and personality hasn’t changed with age.

We have used Jackson Galaxy’s guide on introducing cats and taking tips from cats protection etc, we followed every step possible and Toby has been very calm about the situation. Stitch absolutely loves Toby as well so we are happy with their progress so far in that area, they can eat right next to each-other and Toby never ever hisses unless Stitch is trying to touch Toby. Toby even doesn’t mind when Stitch runs up to his bowl and tries to take his food (despite having a meal a second ago he has a lot of food insecurity we are working on), Toby will just walk away calmly and we redirect the kitten to another room to allow Toby to eat in peace. We began giving them food separately to combat this as we don’t want the little one overeating and we want poor Toby to eat in peace and harmony.

The only “issue” or maybe not an issue we are having is the little cat often follows Toby, there is definitely no aggression intended. He LOVES Toby, he wants to snuggle, he wants to play, he wants Toby He will stand and stare at Toby in the litter box. Toby will hiss and the little one will go away but come back soon, since we read Toby is establishing boundaries we do nothing about the hissing.

Toby seems very accepting, little Stitch took one hundreds of Tobys beds (despite having a pretty brand new one just for him) and Toby didn’t react at all. Toby is calm to the point that he watched Stitch poop next to his bowl and done.. nothing, just walked away (this was discussed at the vet and Stitch simply isn’t used to a litter box yet), luckily this behaviour is stopping now. Toby has plenty of hiding places to get away where Stitch cannot go, he often chooses to sit in high up areas and just stare at the kitten from afar (not sure if this means anything).

What we are wondering is if Stitch will calm down and stop following Toby? There is no option of getting another cat for Stitch as we definitely cannot afford it and feel it would be wrong to get a cat we cannot afford. 2 is the most we can comfortably do. We have been playing with Stitch a lot but the boy has endless energy!

Overall what we are wondering is if this is good progress for two weeks? We have never had two cats before and I felt it would be valuable to gain insight from other cat owners as we want to do everything we can. While it looks like it’s going well I felt it doesn’t hurt to make sure and ask other cat owners, after all there may be something I haven’t noticed. We are on making sure to give Toby the same amount of love + maybe a bit more to show him that everything is okay. Toby is also having a health check soon where we will definitely discuss the new kitten and if Toby is adjusting well.

Pictures of both the boys!
Toby:

View attachment 436184
Stitch:
View attachment 436185

This is exactly what happened when I brought Lila home. My male, Goofy, is very laid back. She followed him around and pestered him and he took it in stride and either engaged her or ignored her. When she got older, a few times he'd smack her around a little to tell her how rude she was being, and she learned her lesson so don't be surprised if you see a little bit of that at some point. I don't consider it a problem (unless there's actual aggression), it's just communication in cat-speak. Goofy is now 14+ and Lila is 8 and they live in perfect harmony. They have never had a fight. Goofy actually looks a bit like Toby!

 

[DreamiesProvider]

Just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone who replied and gave the wonderful advice! <3