Introducting kittens if different ages

[Alfiethehooligan]

Hi all, 3 weeks ago I got a 7 weeks old kitten called Alfie and as I work all day I decided he could do with a friend so on Fri I got an 8 week old kitten indie so there is 2/3 weeks between them. I bought a 2xl dog crate and I hav that set up in the sitting room for her with bed, litter trays and toys etc. Reason been Alfie is extremely rough playing with indie, she becomes his total 100% focus when she is out of the crate, I have tried distracting him with toys, clapping my hands, nothing works, he is just on her 100% and she has been getting frightened by him, she runs to where ever she can find to hid so I separate them and put her back into the crate, I do give her crate breaks and swap them into my bedroom to leave her out safely. And I spent time alone with each of them. She seems to enjoy playing with him from inside the crate because he can't get on her full but outside the crate he's just bouncing on her and biting and kicking and then he gets to a point where he just gets ramped up. I don't know what to do, I know that in about 2 or 3 weeks she wil be big enough to handle him but for the moment I don't know if I should just let them at it or intervene like I have been, they are only getting about a minute together outside of the crate because she will hav disappeared under the chair or shelf unit to try get away from him.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on the new kittens. They sound adorable. And I'm sure will be best friends soon. But for now, probably keep doing what you're doing, until Indie is a bit bigger and less scared around Alfie.

They're both very young to have been adopted out, as the "rule" these days is to keep kittens with their mom and siblings until they are around 12 weeks, so that they have time for mom to teach them cat etiquette. One thing they learn is how to "play nice". That could explain why Alfie is a bit rough with Indie. But once she's a bit bigger and starts to play fight instead of run away, Alfie will learn when he's being too rough.

If you find Alfie gets too rough when playing with you, or other humans, here's an article from the Humane Society that might be helpful.

Teach your kitten how to play nice

 

[Hellenww]

The more they are together during the day the faster they will bond, wear each other out, and sleep together. Get a few cardboard boxes and cut holes too small for Alfie to fit through so she can hide when he plays too rough.

rubysmama is right about their age. Hopefully they will teach each other proper play etiquette.

 

[susanm9006]

These guys are babies and since they aren’t with their moms, they need the comfort of one another. leave Them together, let them figure out how to play and let them sleep and snuggle together. Even if one is rougher than the other, it is extraordinarily unlikely that one will hurt or traumatize the other.

 

[ArtNJ]

Thats honestly nothing in the scheme of age and size differences. People come here worried about larger gaps and massize size differences. Nothing wrong with being a worried cat parent though. So much better than the opposite - you care, which is huge!

Anyway, you don't need to do anything in terms of supervising or training them how to play. Friendship is guarrantied. Let them be, they will work it out.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

She goes running off to hide under the couch or shelf unit to get away from him. Had a little bit if success this afternoon and this evening, I sat out in garden and Alfie was exploring and indie was on my lap and he came up onto my lap a few times and after a few times where he bit her he eventually settled down and they both snoozed together and again tonight and they nuzzled into each other and then when he woke he groomed her head (without biting her) he licked her this afternoon and then bit into her hard but tonight he didn't. I just sat there for half an hour while they snoozed

 

[rubysmama]

Awww.... precious.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Had little breakthrough last night, both kitten were asleep on my lap and when they woke Alfie somehow ended up slightly upside down between and the couch and the 2 of them started playing and because he was on his back mostly indie was on top and she gave it to him good, I was like a proud mamma watching her go , he didn't get overly excited and the was no sqeauking from either of them just a relatively gently play at one stage he got up and she caught him and body slammed him back down, it was lovely to see her enjoying playing without getting hurt , after about 3 mins he got up and got hyped up and overpowered her again and stopped the play when he got 2 much but it was good to see her like that coz she always tries to run away from him otherwise coz he gets 2 rough, just a glimmer of hope
That she will be able kick his ass in the next week or so

 

[rubysmama]

Sounds like everything is going purr-fectly.

Any pics of these cuties you want to share?
How To Add A Picture To Your Forum Post | TheCatSite

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Alfie the black kitten, pic taken about 2 weeks ago and indie my grey kitten

 

[susanm9006]

They will learn appropriate play from one another. That is what that squealing, screaming and running away is about. Play too rough and you lose your playmate. He will catch on soon and they will both be better cat and human companions for it.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

They will learn appropriate play from one another. That is what that squealing, screaming and running away is about. Play too rough and you lose your playmate. He will catch on soon and they will both be better cat and human companions for it.

They had their first on the ground play session tonight, went on for about 10 mins, and indie loved it, was chasing him etc until he started to get too hyped up for her but was great to see, she is starting to get strong

 

[ArtNJ]

Awe they are so cute! Remember, unequal play is ok. I have an 8 pound girl cat and an 11.5 pound athletic male cat, ages 2 and 6. They really like each other and play every day, but she ends every single play session eventually, sometimes by squealing and running off. But she enjoys playing, will sometimes initiate, and never ever acts scared of him except when he is getting too rough. Even then, she just runs off for a little bit.

So the point I'm trying to make is that you don't need to worry about teaching them how to play nice, or breaking up their play. They will work out a stable relationship. It won't necessarily be an equal/symmertrical one with respect to play, but thats ok as long as the relationship is otherwise good.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Awe they are so cute! Remember, unequal play is ok. I have an 8 pound girl cat and an 11.5 pound athletic male cat, ages 2 and 6. They really like each other and play every day, but she ends every single play session eventually, sometimes by squealing and running off. But she enjoys playing, will sometimes initiate, and never ever acts scared of him except when he is getting too rough. Even then, she just runs off for a little bit.

So the point I'm trying to make is that you don't need to worry about teaching them how to play nice, or breaking up their play. They will work out a stable relationship. It won't necessarily be an equal/symmertrical one with respect to play, but thats ok as long as the relationship is otherwise good.

Thank you, it's been years since I had a cat and I never had 2 cats so it's a learning curve for me, after having a dog for the last 10 years it's been a crazy transition

 

[rubysmama]

Alfie and Indie are totally adorable. Enjoy their kitten antics. And take lots of pics, as they'll grow up quickly.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Alfie and Indie are totally adorable. Enjoy their kitten antics. And take lots of pics, as they'll grow up quickly.

Alfie has already gone from the kitten look and now just looks like a mini cat, indie is just the cutest thing

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Delighted now as since yesterday there has been a lot of progress, they have been out together most of the except (except when I hav to leave the house for about 2 hours-i put her into her crate) and they have mostly been ok, only once or twice hav had to separate them when Alfie would get too boisterous but apart from that they have been playing most of the day. I'm still crating her when I'm not at home and at night for the next few days just to be careful till I'm sure she can deal with him when he gets hyper but overall it's been huge progress..I'm so happy.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

First time Alfie has gone to indie to snooze longside her

 

[rubysmama]

Awww... besties.

 

[Alfiethehooligan]

Well I think these 2 are definitely going to be besties, 5he difference the weekend has made, I'm still gonna keep them separated while I am at work coz he still gets a bit hyped up but by the end of next weekend I can nearly get rid of the crate, came down from my shower just now to find this ..my heart just melted a little