Hello, hello!
So you might have noticed in my introduction post, that I have 2 furbabies!
One is an established resident cat who has been the sole cat in my home for almost 2yrs, (Merlin), and the other who arrived yesterday afternoon (Corey).
So, we've kept Corey (new kitten) away from Merlin for the whole day yesterday, and again today. He has the standard "safe room" set up for when bringing home any kitten. He is settling really well in our bedroom and seems pretty happy to explore and adventure.
Earlier today though, Merlin snook into the bedroom while my children were in there fetching something. Corey was out and about.
Merlin gave a bit of a surprised "hiss" and stood still watching Corey. I slipped in between them at this point, casually, and said Merlins name to bring his attention to me. Corey at this point seemed a little caught off guard by the hiss and puffed up his little tail! But it all seemed to resolve quite easily once they both took each other in.
At this point I ushered Merlin out of the room, not in a rough way, just gently.
They weren't supposed to bump into each other this early. I was pretty narked at the kids, as I do realise it could have gone much much worse!
However, I was encouraged by how they responded and calmed quickly and seemed more curious rather than intimidated.
Later however, Merlin wouldn't come away from my bedroom door, he kept pacing outside. Again not in an aggressive way, just sniffing and pawing at the door gap.
So I put Merlin into his travel crate (as this has long been established as Merlins "safe quiet space". And I carried him into the room where Corey was free roaming.
Again, at first Merlin hissed, only once. And then did nothing. He sat in his crate and simply watched Corey who went about the expected kitten business, pouncing at his own shadow!
I gave Merlin treats through his crate gate for quiet behavior, as I have read it is always good to reward non aggressive behavior in these situations.
I then swapped who was free roaming and who was crated. Corey went into a crate of his own, and Merlin was allowed to free roam in the bedroom. He approached the crate without making any noise and was again rewarded; petted and generally given a lot of fuss.
Corey in his crate didn't make a peep. Merlin scouted out Corey's litter tray, showed no signs of wanting to territory mark etc, and was happy to wander the room and leave when he found there was nothing to eat!
It may be worth mentioning Merlin is neutered, and in time Corey will be neutered.
So, realistically I suppose my questions are the usuals!
Does it sound like they may be willing to get along?
Is their introduction going so well because Corey is only 9wks old and isn't yet sexually mature?
Can I expect problems to arise as Corey hits sexual maturity before he is neutered?
What should my next steps be for introduction? Would you take the chance of a FULLY supervised non-crated meeting? I stress fully supervised because there would be 2 adults to 2 cats and at the first sign of aggression they would be separated.
It will not be possible to feed Merlin and Corey at the same time in the same room as Merlin is a gobbler. He scoffs his own food down so fast I'm not even sure he tastes it anymore!! and I have no doubt whatsoever that Merlin would wolf his then steal Corey's.
Any help or advice is much appreciated as I have had pretty mixed "ideas" of how to introduce them. Some "well meaning relatives" have suggested just drop them together and let them figure it out!!
Others have suggested Merlin will see Corey as no threat and will just take him under his wing! - nonsense as far as I'm concerned!
And obviously, the method and idea I'm following is that slowly, slowly is the best policy, but how slow is too slow?
Sorry for the long post, and all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right and not going to make my boys hate each other for the rest of their days!
So you might have noticed in my introduction post, that I have 2 furbabies!
One is an established resident cat who has been the sole cat in my home for almost 2yrs, (Merlin), and the other who arrived yesterday afternoon (Corey).
So, we've kept Corey (new kitten) away from Merlin for the whole day yesterday, and again today. He has the standard "safe room" set up for when bringing home any kitten. He is settling really well in our bedroom and seems pretty happy to explore and adventure.
Earlier today though, Merlin snook into the bedroom while my children were in there fetching something. Corey was out and about.
Merlin gave a bit of a surprised "hiss" and stood still watching Corey. I slipped in between them at this point, casually, and said Merlins name to bring his attention to me. Corey at this point seemed a little caught off guard by the hiss and puffed up his little tail! But it all seemed to resolve quite easily once they both took each other in.
At this point I ushered Merlin out of the room, not in a rough way, just gently.
They weren't supposed to bump into each other this early. I was pretty narked at the kids, as I do realise it could have gone much much worse!
However, I was encouraged by how they responded and calmed quickly and seemed more curious rather than intimidated.
Later however, Merlin wouldn't come away from my bedroom door, he kept pacing outside. Again not in an aggressive way, just sniffing and pawing at the door gap.
So I put Merlin into his travel crate (as this has long been established as Merlins "safe quiet space". And I carried him into the room where Corey was free roaming.
Again, at first Merlin hissed, only once. And then did nothing. He sat in his crate and simply watched Corey who went about the expected kitten business, pouncing at his own shadow!
I gave Merlin treats through his crate gate for quiet behavior, as I have read it is always good to reward non aggressive behavior in these situations.
I then swapped who was free roaming and who was crated. Corey went into a crate of his own, and Merlin was allowed to free roam in the bedroom. He approached the crate without making any noise and was again rewarded; petted and generally given a lot of fuss.
Corey in his crate didn't make a peep. Merlin scouted out Corey's litter tray, showed no signs of wanting to territory mark etc, and was happy to wander the room and leave when he found there was nothing to eat!
It may be worth mentioning Merlin is neutered, and in time Corey will be neutered.
So, realistically I suppose my questions are the usuals!
Does it sound like they may be willing to get along?
Is their introduction going so well because Corey is only 9wks old and isn't yet sexually mature?
Can I expect problems to arise as Corey hits sexual maturity before he is neutered?
What should my next steps be for introduction? Would you take the chance of a FULLY supervised non-crated meeting? I stress fully supervised because there would be 2 adults to 2 cats and at the first sign of aggression they would be separated.
It will not be possible to feed Merlin and Corey at the same time in the same room as Merlin is a gobbler. He scoffs his own food down so fast I'm not even sure he tastes it anymore!! and I have no doubt whatsoever that Merlin would wolf his then steal Corey's.
Any help or advice is much appreciated as I have had pretty mixed "ideas" of how to introduce them. Some "well meaning relatives" have suggested just drop them together and let them figure it out!!
Others have suggested Merlin will see Corey as no threat and will just take him under his wing! - nonsense as far as I'm concerned!
And obviously, the method and idea I'm following is that slowly, slowly is the best policy, but how slow is too slow?
Sorry for the long post, and all the questions, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right and not going to make my boys hate each other for the rest of their days!
Wonderful story. 
And paws-itively precious picture. 
