Introduce Kittens

[samyoz]

Hi
I already have a kitten male 12 weeks, I have had him for a month now.
Now I got a female kitten which they told me she is 8 weeks but she looks younger tbh.

Now should I introduce them gradually or that isn't important because they're kittens?
If I should then how should I do that and for how long?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Some young kittens do very well together from day one, others do not. You may certainly attempt an "instant friendship" but be sure to do so when you are going to be able to monitor them closely for several hours, and be ready to step in at a moment's notice, just in case. If it does not go well, here are a couple of articles that will give you the lowdown on introducing cats to one another:

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide
Introducing Cats To Cats
And I really doubt you will need this at all, given the age of the kittens, but just in case:
How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight

Let me know how it goes!

 

[susanm9006]

It is always good to keep cats and kittens apart from resident cats for at least a few days not only to make introductions but to give you time to get the newcomer to the vet for an initial checkup and to deal with the health issues such as fleas, ear mites, upper respiratory infections and worms that often accompany a newcomer and can be passed to your resident kitten. If the kitten came from the shelter I would give it longer, like two weeks because upper respiratory infections are common and can take two weeks to show up.

 

[samyoz]

The first meeting was reassuring,
a lot of hissing and growling, the young female screaming and scared all the time,
my resident kitten tried to attack her but I stopped him,
What should I do from here?

 

[duncanmac]

Go look at the thread "Playing or Fighting" that's at the top of the forum right now - just to get a baseline of what cat play looks like. Cats play much rougher than expected sometimes.

Read the cat introduction article linked above too, but with kittens, the integration could be much quicker - maybe a week or so. After a few days, when you have a day to spend at home supervising them, let them together and see if they fight or play fight. Break them up if the tussling or chasing goes too long and distract them with treats and toys.

Although they might tolerate each other quickly because they are so young, it might take months before they are best buddies.