Introducing new kitten to my cat

[dashy1]

Hi I think I've made a complete mess of trying to introduce a 10 week old kitten to my 3 year old cat. I rescued the kitten 4 weeks ago she was abandoned by mum along with her brother & my friend is fostering him at the moment.

My cat, (Olly), has been my only pet since he was 6 weeks old & he is also an indoor only cat, neutered. I have a 2 bed apartment and I've had no option but to keep the kitten (Mia) in my bedroom as Olly tried to attack her the moment I brought her in! I can't leave Mia in the 2nd bedroom as I use it as my office and there's important stuff in there that can get damaged by the kitten so that's out of bounds even for Olly.

Normally Olly has the run of the place & he likes to come in to my bedroom halfway through the night & nap at the end of my bed, however he can't do that now because I have to keep the door closed at all times due to Mia living there. So his whole world has turned upside down.

So I've been plugging in Feliway diffuser, doesn't seem to be making much of a difference to Olly's temperament & I did try initially to introduce them by smell then bringing the kitten into the apartment for a few moments at a time, mixing up the cat toys so they can both get used to the smell and I have separate food dishes and litter boxes. Olly is not happy, I'll bring he kitten into the living room in the cat carrier & Olly goes for her.

Is there anyway I can correct this? Start afresh? I don't want to have to have her adopted but can't see this working out very well so far.

 

[ArtNJ]

Can you describe "trying to attack him" a bit more? What is happening?

In the meantime, deap breaths. I can guaranty this isn't as bad as you're thinking. We'll help, and this will, at the very least, improve a lot.

 

[dashy1]

Hi thanks for replying to me. Sorry I wrote 3 years old but Olly is nearly 5!

When I first brought Mia into the apartment, Olly started hissing then growling at her. I had just put down some food for the kitten and Olly was sat on a ledge of his cat tree & jumped right off that with his claws ready & tried to go for her. I managed to pick her up quickly and move away before he had chance to do anything to her.

I hope they can learn to live with each other, she's a very confident little girl, doesn't seem at all phased by his hissing & I honestly think Olly would be happier once he gets used to having a little friend around x

 

[dashy1]

So this morning we had another hissing session....Olly outside the bedroom door when Mia is and just hissing (no growling today) so maybe that's a small positive step?

 

[dashy1]

Sorry to keep posting but I'm quite desperate to find help with this and there are many of you who seem to be experienced cat parents. Or even if someone can point me to a good website for in depth advice for introducing kitties?

The kitten is kept in a room on her own a lot of the time & I feel so bad.

 

[ArtNJ]

Sorry for the delay, I missed the notifications of your reply somehow.

Anyway, the conventional and likely correct advice would be to back up and do a more full introduction process per our guide:

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide

That said, I highly doubt Olly actually wants to hurt the kitten. He is stressed by the little kitten, which is weird, but happens all the time. The older cats get stressed, and hiss, even swat, but don't actually hurt the kittens. He is trying to back the kitten off. Were you to skip a full intro, he would likely gradually get over it. However, sometimes these issues can linger a bit, and you want to know you did what you could, so it is best to back it up and do a proper slow process. Now if 2-3 weeks pass and you try again and Olly is still hissing, thats ok, you've done what you could and they will either work it out, or at least gradually improve towards toleration. Five is kind of an in between age -- you still have a good chance that they will get to friendship, but it certainly isn't guarantied and some lingering stress with only gradual improvement to toleration is also possible (and everything in between).

Good luck, feel free to check back!

 

[dashy1]

Thank you I really appreciate that. I am also quite nervous every time they are in the same room together and that's probably affecting Olly too. I need to calm down a bit! Thank you again

 

[Sarabismom]

Hey! I went thru a pretty similar situation when introducing a kitten to my 5 year old resident cat.
You can follow my thread here! I hope this helps a little bit.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Here's one more read although it's mentioned in S Sarabismom 's thread ;
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

 

[dashy1]

Hi! Here's one more read although it's mentioned in S Sarabismom 's thread ;
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat

Thank you only just seen your reply!

 

[dashy1]

Hey! I went thru a pretty similar situation when introducing a kitten to my 5 year old resident cat.
You can follow my thread here! I hope this helps a little bit.

Thanks Sarabismom Great that your kitties are getting on with each other. My situation isn't getting any better

 

[dashy1]

Just to mention bringing the kitten home wasn't planned. I rescued her & brought her home. So the whole thing was completely unplanned. It's not going too well though, but I'm persevering at least for now.

 

[Furballsmom]

What sort of things are happening now?

 

[dashy1]

Sorry for the late reply! We are still at the 'Scent Desensitization' stage. Olly still hisses/swipes/growls under the door where Mia is 'living'. However yesterday when I took Mia out of her room to clean up (in her carrier and placed her in another room) Olly went into her room and had a good sniff around and I left him to it until he left the room on his own. At least he entered the room which he has avoided so far. He still hissed at her under the door a few hours later but small paw steps I guess

 

[Furballsmom]

small paw steps I guess

Yes, exactly, things are improving a bit - hang in there! Everything will happen on "cat time" which is often slower than ours

 

[dashy1]

Hi everyone just an update on my 2 kitties. We're on the 'seeing each other' stage now, I also started letting Mia into the living area when Olly is out on the balcony and vice versa - glass door very slightly ajar, no paw room Olly still hisses, growls, tries to smash the glass door & Mia initially used to cower, but now she has a go at attacking him - tail doubles in size & ears back! So Olly gets even more irate. It's been 2 months now & things seem to be getting worse. Mia is having bouts of diarrhea and I'm worried this might be stress related - vet says it could well be but we'll keep an eye on her....she's taking tablets and probiotic paste at the moment. I can't see them ever getting along or even accepting each other

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Did you ever have a chance to try any calming products or cat music? There's spotify, Youtube, Alexa cat music, RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats.

Only Natural Pet has a calming product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil).

There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;
www.bachflower.com


Also, there is ThunderWunders calming chews, Richard's Organic Pet Calm drops, Naturevet Hemp, HomeoPet Anxiety Relief, Head to Tail Calming, Relaxivet Quiet Moments Cat treats, GNC Calming formula, and there is Calm-o-mile, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy - UK (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-eze, Pet Organics No Stress, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has other calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe, and there are others.

Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also a product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking.
foodpuzzlesforcats.com


This post talks about some other products;
Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat
I'm at a loss with my pickiest cat on what calming treats to give him. He rejects both that I've tried. NaturVet Quiet Moments was a straight no. Composure by VetriScience gave me hope at first, he ate one treat, but the next day turned up his nose, and hasn't gone near them since. He sees me...

 

[dashy1]

Thank you. I've taken Mia to the vet again today as her diarrhea is pretty bad. I've started a post in Cat health.

 

[ArtNJ]

I can't see them ever getting along or even accepting each other

Sometimes progress is about inching closer to toleration, with friendship being mostly too much to hope for. Its sad when you conclude that this is where the path forward is leading, but I think its much too soon to say for sure that is the only path forward. At the very least, I would bet that the inching towards toleration path is available, so there is no need to fear they will never coexist.

Give the "seeing each other" phase at least a week and reavaluate where things are at. If things calm down, perhaps you'll be able to advance. If not, there is no great rush -- the kitten is young enough that another few weeks won't make the older one see him as an adult.

 

[Lontara]

youre not alone, our 8 year old Sookie is doing the same with our maine coon Chester who is 4 months old. She sees him and growls hisses ane swats but it isnt a full on attack, more of a this is my house and youre a guest! Small wins are key just keep at it like we are and have faith! I know it can be stressful seeing it we have the same feelings too