New kitten introductions

[Tabbyboys]

Hello,
For the past few days there was a stray kitten outside of our house. I thought if I left him alone he would wonder back home. Well long story made short he didn’t and now he is inside. We took him to the vet yesterday. He is 12 weeks and healthy. We have two other cats both were stray/feral. Stewart is 8 and Rocco is 7. It has taken awhile for those two to become friends as Rocco was 5 when we found him and brought him in. Both cats are neutered. My question is when I have them meet the new kitten should I do it one cat at a time or all together? Thanks for any help.
Barbara

 

[BeijaFlorCA]

Looking forward to this answer, as I'm in a similar situation: About to bring a kitten home, with two grown cats at home (both 3 yrs old, but one (M) more aggressive to strange cats (outdoors, anyway) than the other (F)). And also, Barbara: Good for you for adopting ferals! My "baby boy" who I had for 17 yrs started his life as a feral kitten.
- Grace

 

[Tabbyboys]

Well,I let the little guy out (Stringer) to meet the others. It went really well. He was out for a half an hour. Rocco,the one I was worried about as sometimes he is a little rough around the edges. He sniffed his nose and watched. Steward,he was a feral,he followed him around and would sniff him when he wasn’t looking. There was a few hisses only because the kitten was a little scared. I’m hoping they all will get along.
Barbara

 

[fionasmom]

How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

It is a good sign that the cats all seemed to get along. I would continue to monitor time together and let the little boy have a safe place in the house where he can be separated.

 

[Tabbyboys]

He has a little room he stays in most of the time. He seems happy in there. He isn’t interested in going back outside so I’m happy about that.

 

[BeijaFlorCA]

That's awesome, Barbara!

 

[BeijaFlorCA]

On my end, amazingly, the cat I was more worried about (the boy) was totally chill about it, and they've even played a few times throughout the house while the girl cat was outside. The girl is still VERY wary, and seems to be more territorial, although she seems calmer than she was yesterday. Now the question becomes: Do I let the kitten out into the rest of house while the girl cat is still uneasy around him, since the boy cat wants to play and so does the kitten? She's napping in a hammock up high, boy cat is napping in a cat bed on the floor, and maybe seeing him at this stage would be good, as long as he still has his little room to retreat to ... What do you all think?

 

[BeijaFlorCA]

Quick update: I let the kitten out and about in the house (except overnight, since the girl cat was still a little growly) -- but her seeing him play with the boy cat seems to have helped her settle. Usually, the boy cat is super territorial when in the yard if they see other cats (rooftop or neighbor's backyard), so her seeing him accepting the kitten may have helped cement the "not a threat" vibe. Though she's still not 100% on board, that may be because she doesn't want to be played with (thanks to boy cat always playing too rough).

 

[fionasmom]

I think that you are doing fine and the cats seem to be much more inclined to accept each other than some are. I would continue to separate them as you see necessary, especially the kitten. When I have been in this kind of situation I have always separated cats at night if necessary, and any time I left the house until I was sure that everyone was fine with each other.