New kitten and 3-year-old resident cat

[nwengel]

Phoebe and I have been living happily together for three years, thanks to some great advice from this community. She was a feral kitten and has never quite become a cuddler, is easily startled, and not terribly affectionate with me. But she tolerates me and we have a good life.

Whenever I’d take Phoebe to my parent’s house she wanted to be with their cat, so I thought she might enjoy a kitten.

Enter Carl, three months old and neutered, very adjusted to people and other cats. I got him Sunday.

Well, it’s not going exactly as I hoped. One weird thing…when Carl uses the litter box, he does not cover his urine. Phoebe goes in after and very deliberately covers it up. Is this a bad sign? Like she can’t stand him? She was being aggressive towards him yesterday, but that has eased up considerably today. I did not introduce them gradually as Carl had an accident in the carrier on the way home and I got him out of it as soon as I could.

I think they might get along eventually…Carl is so friendly and Phoebe has gotten much nicer today. But has anyone ever heard of the litter thing before?

 

[Kris107]

Some cats are covered and others aren't. I've had obsessive coverers and some who hop out like they can't be seen in there. So I wouldn't take it as a bad sign if they're otherwise getting along okay.

 

[rubysmama]

Some cats don't cover their litter box deposits. That part isn't unusual. And, actually, neither is the part with Phoebe covering up after Carl, as I've read of other cats that have done that.

How many litter boxes do you have, btw. With 2 cats, the recommended number is 3, one per cat, plus one. But that isn't always necessary. Here's a TCS article on the topic, if you're interested.
How Many Litterboxes Should You Have? | TheCatSite

Other than the litter box thing, which isn't a problem, how are they getting along?

 

[nwengel]

I currently have two litter boxes.

Phoebe’s attitude has changed a lot just in the past couple days. Where she was aggressive, it now seems more playful. There have been a couple “unhappy” noises from her today, but she isn’t being awful.

Carl is fearless, but doesn’t seem terribly interested in her as his first advances were rebuffed.

Just the change in the past two days has given me a lot more confidence that they will get along, and I don’t think Phoebe is covering up his litter anymore.

 

[rubysmama]

Sounds like things are going well.

 

[Alldara]

It takes at least a few weeks to a few months for cats to be I troduced to one another so sounds normal.

Some cats don't burry but if phoebe was a feral she's more likely to burry. Outside cats hide their potty from predators. So she's burying his to keep you all safe.

Lily used to think Nobel didn't do a good enough job. She'd dig his up and then reburry it.

Magnus digs in the litter for fun but none of them really burry anything here.