Introducing older cat to 2 resident kittens

[Knicks2021]

Hi all — we have 2 amazing Maine Coon kittens, about 4 months old at this point. Usually in these scenarios it seems to be the other way around (resident older cat, with new kitten coming in). But we have a unique situation where a good friend of ours is having to move out of the country and can’t bring her beloved 10 year-old cat with her. Her cat’s always lived alone with no other cats, so not a great sense of how he’d be with other cats. We’d much rather adopt him than see him go to shelter, but we were worried about how the kittens would fare with him (could they get hurt given the size difference?), and also whether the older cat would be miserable after all these years of being alone.

Would the intro protocols be the same in terms of giving the new older cat a safe zone, doing the gradual feedings thru the door, then visual contact, and then eventually play together? Any success stories about bringing a new older cat into a home with resident kittens? Happy for any input or thoughts anyone might have.

Thanks!

ps: the 2 kittens are ours (Simba and Nala), while the black Persian mix is Sammy who we are thinking of adopting.

 

[lizzybeth]

I would definitely do it gradually and the way you described (giving new cat a safe space etc).
It might be tricky given the older cat has never lived with other cats, but give it a go. Give him lots of space and time as regardless of the kittens this is going to be such a big upheaval for him, poor thing.
I would plug a Feliway in a few days before he moves in.
Older cats (10+) don't always like kittens as they are so boisterous, but thankfully you have two so they should hopefully keep each other entertained so that they don't end up jumping all over new kitty.
Good luck!!

 

[ArtNJ]

Its not much different as to which cats are the residents. Since kittens are very adaptible and 10 year olds are much less so, its better when the 10 year old is the resident, but thats kind of the least of it, since 10 year olds don't do great with new cats in general. Agree with everything L lizzybeth said above (although I'll note that there is no hard evidence that Feliway actually does anything at all.) The 10 year old might be miserable for a while, and stressed potentially for months, but things almost always get better over time. I wouldn't worry about your kittens, its almost always the senior cat that has the trouble. And he won't hurt the kittens, he'll just be stressed. But its doable with patience, and if there is no "only cat" home for the 10 year old, then its certainly worth doing. If there is an only cat home for the 10 year old that would likely save him quit a bit of stress.

 

[Knicks2021]

Thanks so much for the replies and the help. We are continuing to look for single cat-only homes for him but are trying to keep options open as we think going to a shelter would be more traumatic for him. If things move forward more I’ll post and update with more questions I might have, thank you!