Kitten acclimating

[Georgesmom]

I have two new kittens . We’ve had them about 2 months actually. They were 10 weeks and about 20 weeks now . Sibling brothers both neutered . One is more brave and ver loving and outgoing . The other is more shy and slow to warm up but very sweet once he does .
My older cat hissed at first but seems fine with them now . He’s seen them through the gate to the room .when they go to bed in the bathroom for the night he would come in the room where they stay during the day and smell their scent . We began gradually letting them out of the room recently for short periods .
The more friendly named Arlo goes right up to our older cat George and is not at all afraid but also very friendly . It seems George and Arlo have decided they are friends and they run around playing . George the 10 yo chunky male will lay on his back playing with Arlo the 5 month old and they seem really to like each other .
Finn on the other hand , the more shy kitten , seems to have developed more anxiety and is just really anxious over everything now

when I go in their room he hides under the bed . When I let them out he will cry for his brother and keep dashing back to the bedroom to hide . He does venture out slowly . But if anyone even looks at him he’s back in hiding and I can hardly touch him . Before I could pet him and force some snuggles . Which he would relent and then calm down once he realized I meant no harm . But now he’s freaking out and running to hide anytime I touch him . Nothing has happened to him . Only change has been letting them come out of their room , to acclimate to the house .
I’m worried about him not adjusting well . I do have a noisy toddler . Toddler never picks them up or hurts them just is noisy . But he’s been around the toddler since day one so that’s not “new “ : the only new thing is being allowed to come out of their room and acclimate to the rest of the house . They need to come out , this has become apparent as they are getting bored in the room even with toys and getting into trouble . But going slowly has helped my older cat who is generally a big softy and had a bad experience with a kitten in the past who would only attack him . So I’m happy to see him bonding with the more friendly kitten . I’m just worried about our shy anxious little one and wonder if it’s all to much for him or how ti help him . Maybe just time . Maybe he isn’t a good fit ? I’m not sure .

 

[ArtNJ]

Time. Your doing short intervals. Acclimation will progress much faster if you let him out 24/7. With the older cat actually befriending the first kitten (I can't stress how wonderful this is, older cats do NOT have good odds of ever befriending a kitten) the odds that he will also accept a shy kitten that isn't bugging him are very high, and the odds of fighting almost zero. So you should be able to go to 24/7, which is the best way for the kitten to get over this.

The odds of a 10 year old cat being able to befriend a kitten, well I can't say for sure, but I'd estimate its less than 10%. A real blessing. Generally, if you get to toleration, your doing wonderful. By comparison, the fact that one kitten is timid is a very minor issue that will improve with time.

Be extremely patient with the timid kitten. Don't force affection when he is stressed, that may set YOU back with him. Let him get used to the older cat first. I know it sucks to lose the affection, but its just for a bit.

 

[Georgesmom]

Thank you . Today I’ve let them out and going to leave them out unless we go away or at night . I don’t trust them not to get on the stove or knock down the house plants as of yet but I think during the day would be much more helpful . If they prove ok I’ll just leave them out all the time .

yes the last time we had a kitten he was a single kitten and I am sure he had single kitten syndrome as he was happy to play with George and George was ok with him until the kitten wouldn’t stop bothering him . And George is a big baby pushover and won’t tell other cats what for . He just ran and hid and was becoming reclusive and anxious over grooming . We found that kitten a home (2 years ago ) . I vowed to never get a single kitten again , only a pair . This pair seems to be doing so well as a pair . They groom and play and love each other so I feel that George will do ok , because when he doesn’t want to play at least the two littles have each other. He really seems enamored by the little guy though and not at all defensive . I have a formerly street cat in my garage who comes in to eat and drink and goes back out but doesn’t want to stay . George likes her too but she smacks him when she feels he’s in her space and he just doesn’t understand about defending himself . He seems to be lacking in the self defense preservation department. He acts more like an old lazy dog , even letting my toddler cuddle and squeeze which I make her stop , but my point is that he just doesn’t know how to tell other animals to stop . But he seems to brighten up and get frisky with the kittens . So hopefully it will continue to go smoothly .
Thank you for the advise

 

[Danneq]

You could also try letting them into just a few rooms at a time, if the home allows it. Expand from just the bathroom, but not the whole home yet. New spaces can be overwhelming, especially for a cat who's already a little nervous, so going a little at a time can help them adjust. But not all setups lend themselves to that kind of plan. Either way, time is indeed the answer. It might take him a little while, but Finn will adjust to the new space and the other cat.

 

[Alldara]

Since you have a noisy toddler the one thing I would think is that with the door open the noises are louder and feel more abrupt.

Can you okay some background music for them? Even children's music should be okay or the radio.