Tips/Recommendations? Getting new kitten

[angelnimya]

Hi everyone,

As the title says I’m getting a new kitten in the summer time. Specially I’m a getting a female Ragdoll from www.pleasantdolls.com breeder Sarah.

My questions are: I have a current female cat named Oreo who is around 7yrs old. She lived with another female cat I had before who unfortunately passed away a couple years ago. I’m wondering how I should go about introducing the new kitten to Oreo. I have read about the room and separation but I do not really have the right space to do that.
So how should I go about this?

Any other tips on getting a Ragdoll kitten/bringing a new kitten home are welcome!
Thanks!

 

[sivyaleah]

Hi, welcome!

What is your home setup? Can you keep the kitten in the bathroom for a week or so with everything necessary? (make sure to baby proof!).

Do you have a bedroom in the home? You could keep the kitten in an enclosed pen in the room when you're not in the room to monitor. As long as you spend quality time with it, playing, socializing a kitten should be fine in a pen if it's large enough to contain a litter box (don't put the box and food near each other!), a little hidey hut kind of thing, some kitten appropriate toys and water/food as needed (water, all the time).

We used this one. Plenty of room for kittens. Our Maine Coon used this and we even kept her in it overnight for the first month or so before we fully trusted our older girl around her.

ELITEFIELD 2-Door Soft-Sided Dog & Cat Playpen, Navy Blue & Beige, 36 x 36 x 24-in - Chewy.com

You really do need to keep the two away from each other at least for the first week. Sometimes one or the other cat may be harboring an illness. Most take about a week to show up and you don't want to risk infecting the other cat.

While they are apart you can begin introductions through a closed door, scent swapping, etc. So important to go slow. You can set things back if you allow them access to each other too soon. Remember, your resident cat will be protecting her territory and feeling confused. The kitten, it's all brand new and the stress of moving alone can bring out kitten colds and such. Most of the time it takes a few months for them to be ok completely with each other but certainly by a month it's possible that they will start becoming friends. Kittens are pretty easy about meeting other cats especially if socialized well by a breeder. It's the adult cat that may need more time usually.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I presume you have a door to your bedroom? If so, the kitten can be placed in that room as their introductory room. If your 7yo is used to sleeping with you at night, then you could possibly consider using your bathroom for the kitten instead. A lot of what you will need to do depends on how your older cat reacts to having a new cat(kitten) in your home.

Take a look at these articles to see if they might help you devise a plan.
How To Introduce A Kitten To An Older Cat – TheCatSite Articles
How To Successfully Introduce Cats: The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles

 

[BNE]

Hi! As I have recently also adopted a female Ragdoll (and I know a few others that have) I can give you a bit of info about the settling in process.

The settling in usually takes about a week I find. The 1st and possibly 2nd day, they're quite scared and might cry at night but by the 3rd and 4th days they're beginning to explore more (so I recommend confining them to a laundry or bathroom for the first 2 days and then letting them explore a bit more until a week keeping her seperate from your other cat, and after that use the following week or fortnight to socialise with your other cat.

Any other questions I am happy to answer!

Enjoy!