Kitten and older cat success stories?

[writingislove]

Hi all. My kitty Winston passed unexpectedly in December. Our other cat, Orville, is 10 and he always loved being around Winston. He is very playful and still quite energetic despite his age (we’ve always called him our “perma-kitten”).

I’ve always had two cats and my heart is feeling ready for another, but my husband insists he wants to bring home a kitten rather than another adult. The local shelter I reached out to doesn’t want to adopt out a kitten to a home with an older cat because they think it’s a bad match.

Does anyone have a success story of bringing home a kitten to a home with an older cat?

 

[maggie101]

Josie,my avatar, was 13 when I rescued peaches,5 weeks old. Peaches was extremely energetic. First couple days Josie would hiss. Didn't bother peaches! Soon after Josie would spend a long time cleaning Peaches. I never separated them after Peaches got tested. Bes

t buds. I thoroughly checked peaches for fleas and watched her use the litter box. Seemed healthy so I watched to make sure they didn't drink the same water and scooped litter twice a day til she got tested

 

[Tik cat's mum]

My cat Patches was 3 when I got Bandit. Patches was from a bonded pair of kitten's we lost his brother when he was 2. We kept the kitten separate for a couple of weeks then let them together, Patches hissed and sulked upstairs for a few day's just coming downstairs to eat and go to the litter. He wasn't hiding just spent his time away from the kitten. Then he just started playing with the kitten and letting him sleep with him. The kitten did get a few head bonks when he got too rough but they are best buds now. And my daughter brought a 8 month old into a house with 2 older boy's one was 6 the other 4 the older cat loves the new cat. The 4 year old tolerates him. But they live together without fighting. Her introductions took a while because of the 4 year old. He was the cat she thought would love a pal.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well...the fact that the cat is very playful for 10 likely helps, but just in general, a 10 y.o. doesn't have great odds with a kitten. If you get lucky with a chill kitten, that makes a huge difference. I once had a senior cat that got along great with a chill kitten -- and quite poorly with the chill kitten's brother, who was more normal (which the senior regarded as a problem). The difficulty is that its really impossible to tell if a kitten that *seems* chill when you visit or that the foster says is chill will actually be chill in your house. Kittens just change too fast, and their behavior can be a little off if they are still gettting used to a foster or whatnot. So you can't just pick a chill kitten . . . and most are not. There *ARE* success stories posted on here about senior cats befriending, even mothering, kittens. It does happen. Its unfortunately just not common.

So...the shelter is right, unfortunately. Its doable. But the likely result is stress in your house for weeks to months, slowly moving towards toleration, but not friendship.

 

[sivyaleah]

Our older one was 10ish when we brought home our kitten. She was NOT happy. We are experienced in introductions and did everything right but it still took many weeks before she'd stop hissing and growling. The younger one wasn't even that much of a pest to her; she was very well socialized and polite to the older to no avail.

The younger will be 3 in May and the older is now 13. They are not friends. They co-exist quite nicely but really don't do much with each other. They will lay near each other, sometimes give a quick chase around the house which barely lasts long because the old lady doesn't have the energy for it. They don't groom each other either. Peaceful but would loved to have had them become friends. Alas.

 

[cat nap]

Hi all. My kitty Winston passed unexpectedly in December. Our other cat, Orville, is 10 and he always loved being around Winston. He is very playful and still quite energetic despite his age (we’ve always called him our “perma-kitten”).

I’ve always had two cats and my heart is feeling ready for another, but my husband insists he wants to bring home a kitten rather than another adult. The local shelter I reached out to doesn’t want to adopt out a kitten to a home with an older cat because they think it’s a bad match.

Does anyone have a success story of bringing home a kitten to a home with an older cat?

I am sorry for the loss of your Winston, writingislove .
Losing them is never easy, no matter what age they are.

Since you mentioned that Orville is still very playful and energetic...then I would think it's entirely possible to bring home a kitten,.. do some 'cat to kitten introductions'...and have them both bond over Time.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles
A Kitten Or An Older Cat – Which Should You Adopt? – TheCatSite Articles

There are stories where the 'cat to kitten' introductions went well, but sometimes they are lengthy in Time.
Some are also very fast, in terms of weeks and months.
(But some older cat-to-cat introductions can also be quite lengthy, too.)
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

I think it all depends upon the personalities of the two cats involved.
(and like ArtNJ mentioned, it is somewhat impossible to predict how the kitten will act once s/he grows up...unless you've been observing them from say the age of four weeks, and actually saw how they interacted with their siblings, too. Even that may not guarantee a great fit, but nothing in life is really guaranteed anyways. We just learn to adapt to the situations we're given, or chosen.)

(In my case my previous rainbow cat Spotty, at age 12, gladly accepted a kitten who wandered into our yard in mid november. It took me longer to catch and convince the kitten to come inside, then it did for Spotty to get over his initial hiss, and curiosity. The kitten also did a lot of posturing, hissing and arching his back, but came to love the older cat. Sparky became a very chill kitten, and did not pester or overly chase my older cat, but enjoyed just laying with him, and running and playing on occasion. He basically mimicked what the older cat was doing.)

(When Spotty was age 14, some kittens were found underneath a neighbour's shed, and so we again did 'slower', cat-to-kittens, and kittens-to-dog,...introductions...but it took me a bit longer, since with Sparky's case, I had no idea of proper 'cat introductions', and basically just let them both meet in the basement,...but with the new kittens, I introduced them using baby gates, and more in an organized step-by-step way. Previous to this, I had no idea that there was a 'formal cat-to-cat introduction method'.
It was not until I joined the Cat Site, that I learned of one.

"I’ve always had two cats and my heart is feeling ready for another, but my husband insists he wants to bring home a kitten rather than another adult."
I'm glad your heart is ready.

Since your husband wants a kitten,...as long as HE has enough energy, and Patience, and will share both the fun and work...of doing any 'kitten to cat' intros...then why not get a kitten.
It would surely make your husband happy...and maybe your husband will then do more of the usual duties of cleaning the litter boxes, feeding, and playing, too.

I would suggest,...if you can...to Foster some kittens, first,...if that is something that is available for you to do.
(I actually have not fostered, but other members have mentioned this,...and usually ended up with 'foster fails'...meaning they kept the kitten/cat)

Also, if you do have enough space and funds, then perhaps...'adopting a bonded pair of kittens' would also work out...since they may just bother each other, with their overly energetic play sessions,...instead of overly bothering Orville.
It really depends on space, time, and finances to a large degree...since it would involve more food, scooping more litterboxes, and vet costs, too.

Nothing wrong with getting a kitten for Orville, and for your husband, too.
No one can predict the future, so you just never know.
I wish you Good Luck.