Hello, I'm currently introducing my one year old cat to a kitten and I have quite a few questions so I thought I would group them up together and if anyone has any advice, please share!
So I'm taking the introduction VERY slow because my older cat is very fearful and shy and I'm very nervous for him (also I'm very anxious person, haha). The new kitten is very active and constantly biting and not afraid of anything and well..a kitten.
So when I brought him home about two weeks ago, I put him in a safe room and the older cat was very interested in him. He looked through door glass, under the door and meowed during to the door multiple times during a day (and night). The new kitten puts his paws under the door when he wants attention and the older cat mostly just stares and lets out weird noises. I also fed them on different sides of the door and recently I started to open the door a crack so they could see/touch each other. I also put the kitten in the carrier and let the older cat into the room (he was mostly interested and just observed the kitten/the room but didn't try to engage him while the kitten swatted and tried to play/get out from both the door crack and the carrier). But overall the cat wasn't acting scared so I finally braved to let them briefly meet each other face to face.
A lot of places online recommended to do that during feeding time so that's what I did too. The kitten gorges his food down in SECONDS and the resident cat eats very slowly so I let the older cat start eating first and when he ate about a third of his portion, I let the kitten our to eat too. (I put their bowls in the different ends of a corridor). The older cat was IMMEDIATELY interested in the kitten and approached and tried to get into his bowl (the kitten couldn't care less, he just kept eating). Then I moved older cat's food to him and then the kitten got into his food and the cat just moved away and didn't try to swat/hiss or anything. Eventually I managed to get them both to eat their own food but obviously kitten finished first and only cared about getting into older cat's food. So I finally gave up and took it away (fed him what was left later) and let them to engage for a bit. What happened was the kitten chasing the older cat over the entire apartment while the resident cat meowed pitifully but, from I could see, barely tried to swat or fight or play or do anything except run. I distracted the kitten with toys which was easy to do and the older cat just observed - didn't tried to engage but also didn't go into his usual hiding places. When I put the kitten into his room again, the resident cat meowed/howled very loudly (not near the door, in the living room) for a while but then played more actively than he had in weeks? I had a hard time getting him to play recently, whether because of stress or the heatwave or what, but he was suddenly very active and playful and running around. Also at least so far not at all interested in the kitten's room.
So my question is - is this going badly? They don't seem to be fighting but older cat just runs? I know it was just the first time but I have no idea how cat introductions usually go. Also, should I continue to do this during meal times or should I pick a different time because it was difficult to keep them at their own food and they eat at a very different pace? If I do it during different time, should I just let them do their thing? Play with the kitten and let the older cat observe/join? How long should I keep these interactions? I only let them be together for a few minutes today.
Thank you so much for any advice!
So I'm taking the introduction VERY slow because my older cat is very fearful and shy and I'm very nervous for him (also I'm very anxious person, haha). The new kitten is very active and constantly biting and not afraid of anything and well..a kitten.
So when I brought him home about two weeks ago, I put him in a safe room and the older cat was very interested in him. He looked through door glass, under the door and meowed during to the door multiple times during a day (and night). The new kitten puts his paws under the door when he wants attention and the older cat mostly just stares and lets out weird noises. I also fed them on different sides of the door and recently I started to open the door a crack so they could see/touch each other. I also put the kitten in the carrier and let the older cat into the room (he was mostly interested and just observed the kitten/the room but didn't try to engage him while the kitten swatted and tried to play/get out from both the door crack and the carrier). But overall the cat wasn't acting scared so I finally braved to let them briefly meet each other face to face.
A lot of places online recommended to do that during feeding time so that's what I did too. The kitten gorges his food down in SECONDS and the resident cat eats very slowly so I let the older cat start eating first and when he ate about a third of his portion, I let the kitten our to eat too. (I put their bowls in the different ends of a corridor). The older cat was IMMEDIATELY interested in the kitten and approached and tried to get into his bowl (the kitten couldn't care less, he just kept eating). Then I moved older cat's food to him and then the kitten got into his food and the cat just moved away and didn't try to swat/hiss or anything. Eventually I managed to get them both to eat their own food but obviously kitten finished first and only cared about getting into older cat's food. So I finally gave up and took it away (fed him what was left later) and let them to engage for a bit. What happened was the kitten chasing the older cat over the entire apartment while the resident cat meowed pitifully but, from I could see, barely tried to swat or fight or play or do anything except run. I distracted the kitten with toys which was easy to do and the older cat just observed - didn't tried to engage but also didn't go into his usual hiding places. When I put the kitten into his room again, the resident cat meowed/howled very loudly (not near the door, in the living room) for a while but then played more actively than he had in weeks? I had a hard time getting him to play recently, whether because of stress or the heatwave or what, but he was suddenly very active and playful and running around. Also at least so far not at all interested in the kitten's room.
So my question is - is this going badly? They don't seem to be fighting but older cat just runs? I know it was just the first time but I have no idea how cat introductions usually go. Also, should I continue to do this during meal times or should I pick a different time because it was difficult to keep them at their own food and they eat at a very different pace? If I do it during different time, should I just let them do their thing? Play with the kitten and let the older cat observe/join? How long should I keep these interactions? I only let them be together for a few minutes today.
Thank you so much for any advice!
