New Kitten And Resident Cat

[Sieferjr]

Hello!
New to the forum but I read these threads often and they really help!

I have a 5year old male orange tabby named Sheldon. Shel is very much my cat, loves and cuddles and has always been my #1. Sheldon is never aggressive and is a very mellow, dog-like cat. My fiancé and I have been looking for over a year for a good fit for Sheldon so he can have a little brother. We adopted a 4month old orange male tabby named Bernie. (Both of our boys are neutered)

Because Sheldon is so laid back I opted to let the boys meet and roam the house together as opposed to a slow closed door introduction. Sheldon hid under the bed and they wrestled a bit but nothing that really worried me.

During this intro Sheldon got really sick because he got into the kitten food (we suspect). After vomiting 30 times in one day we had a everal trips to the ER, X-rays, ultrasounds, blood panels, etc. and everything was fine. We changed his food and he is no longer sick.

Now Sheldon seems a little off. He sleeps in the basement - he loves the basement but never slept down there often prior to Bernie. Sheldon seems a bit more stoic, reserved and a little off put by the kitten. Bernie loves Sheldon and cuddles with him when Sheldon sleeps (Sheldon seems to like that) and they play together. Sheldon chases Bernie and Bernie chases him. I’m trying to give Sheldon extra love but he seems a little distracted he used to always sleep with me and he still sleeps in the basement! He just seems bummed about Bernie and it’s making me sad.

Do I need to separate them and do a slow introduction? Or do I just wait and hope for the best and give Sheldon extra love?

I cuddled with shel and got him purring today and Bernie came to cuddle with us and Sheldon’s purring stopped.

I know this isn’t extreme, but I want Sheldon to be happy! He’s my boy!

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm sorry to tell, but modest personality changes are pretty normal with the addition or subtraction of a second cat. It actually sounds like you've gotten rather lucky, in that Sheldon is willing to play with the kitten sometimes despite being so mellow, and even if it starts to bug him after a while (kittens are a handful!) he doesn't lash out, hiss or growl. Lots of times things go worse. Hopefully, Sheldon's discomfort will improve with time, that is quite possible, perhaps likely given a pretty good start, but, just being honest, there is no guaranty that they won't get worse as the kitten gets closer in size to Sheldon. That would be normal too.

What can you do? Respect Sheldon's desire for some alone time, and help him out with it if you can. Also, play with the kitten as much as possible, buying the usual toys, to tire him out so he doesn't jump on Sheldon quite as much. Beyond that, you have to wait and see.

I don't think a re-introduction is necessary or relevant at this point. Sheldon seems to have reacted pretty well on balance, and its likely the fact that the kitten has too much energy that is bugging him a bit, which isn't something that can be cured by a re-introduction.

Kittens are just flipping annoying to older less active cats. We adopted a kitten from a household with an older 3 legged cat. When we got there to see the kitten, he interacted with us a bit then went flying off to do a leap onto the three legged cat, who shrugged him off and hopped away. Just so typical -- kittens don't respect boundaries, and whether an older cat wants to play isn't relevant to them. Even experienced cat people struggle with this. I adopted that annoying kitten figuring that my older cat was still youngish and still liked to play (with us), and while things have gotten a lot better with a few years time, the older cat will never like the younger, and there are still problems when the younger doesn't get to go outside and burn off his energy because of the weather. Your already off to a better start, and there is hope for a better long term outcome. Good luck!

 

[susanm9006]

I think Sheldon is doing wonderfully with the new kitten. I definitely think there is no need to reintroduce. He may be a bit more reserved because of the kitten but it could also be the stress of the vet that has changed his behavior. I would just be sure to give him lots of one to one attention and cuddles and he should bounce back.