Bringing home second cat...

[nicoles]

My sally has been an only cat for 2 years. I toyed with getting another cat, and decided to now because sometimes I think she would really benefit- sometimes she just sits around and stares and wants to play but I am working and can’t.

It aligned that a rescue my friend works at took in some kittens that were left in the trash on the road, and one was left they needed a home for. I brought her home today & she’s around 6 weeks old.

I really tried to prepare for this- I have feliway in two rooms, I have a two bedroom apartment & I have the new baby (daphne) in one of the bathrooms. She’s way too little to set loose now anyway!

Sally saw me set up and kinda saw her briefly but the rest of the time I’ve had the door shut, so she can sniff through the door when she’s ready. Tonight I was getting the kitten situated for bed and Sally came by the door and when I shut it she was hissing at me like crazy. She rubbed against my feet (her fave thing is to have me rub her back with my foot), and then when I went to pet her she backed up and hissed heavily. Got her to come out with me to get treats, she hissed heavily at me again when we got out but then keeps coming up to rub on me.

This is all new to me and I love my sally & am super stressed about her adjustment here. (Also she’s never hissed at me in her life so her being mad at me lol threw me off, I expected hissing at the baby but not me) How can I help make this easy on her, and still keep my sanity lol- I am an over worrier about her hahaha.

Any advice is sure appreciated! I do work from home full time permanently so I am always here 95% of the time during this adjustment.

 

[susanm9006]

You smell like the Baby and the unknown scent is stressing her. But likely she will get over this pretty quickly. Just ignore the behavior but offer her pets and treats if she seems to want them, I would also give her some catnip to help settle her down.

Your new baby is very very young so you have plenty of time to take the introductions slowly. The challenge is that little ones need lots of snuggles and attention.

 

[rubysmama]

As susanm9006 posted, Sally knows there's an intruder in the home, and the intruder's scent is on you. so she's confused and a bit stressed, and taking it out on you. It's just the first day, though. So hopefully things will improve quickly.

Meanwhile, congrats on the new kitten!

Has she been to the vet yet? If not, you'll want to do that, to ensure she's well, and doesn't have fleas, worms, etc. Then you can slowly start the introduction between her and Sally.

Despite the hissing, kitten and cat introductions usually go the smoothest and quickest, as adult cats normally will not harm a small kitten. There will likely be times that you see Sally "disciplining" the kitten, but that's normal, and as the kitten was separated from her mom and siblings so early, Sally now has the mama role, and will need to teach the kitten cat manners. As long as the kitten doesn't seem really scared of Sally, things will likely be fine. Of course, until the kitten is big enough to fend for herself, I would keep them separated when no humans are around to supervise. But that's in the future.

Right now, concentrate on letting Sally know you still love her, and that she's not being replaced. And spend time with the kitten, helping her adjust to her new home and humans.

As for the actual introductions, here's a TCS article with some info that should be helpful:
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat | TheCatSite

Good luck. Keep us posted. Oh, and post pics of the kitten, if/when you can.

 

[nicoles]

Thank you, this is all super helpful! She’s been hissing some today but also rubbing against me still and played some with me, and ate as normal- so I suppose she’s doing okay!