New kitten and resident cat--when can they be alone together?

[pinkrobot]

I adopted a 5-month old kitten over the weekend. I’ve had another cat (1.5 years) for a little over a year. The shelter I adopted from gave me some information on introducing a kitten to a resident cat, and I’ve been following all of the advice—I’ve rubbed a towel on the kitten and placed it under the resident cat’s food dish, I’ve kept the kitten (Orville) in a room with separate litter and food and let him out a few times a day to mingle with the resident cat (Winston), and I’ve put one of them on each side of a door so they could bat paws underneath it.

 

When they interact with one another, Winston follows Orville around—somewhat defensively and somewhat playfully. They have slept within a couple feet of one another on a few occasions. But for the most part, Winston is still a little territorial and often runs up to Orville and takes a swing at him and then sits back and waits for Orville to swing back. It looks like they’re playing, but with Winston’s personality I’m guessing he is trying to dominate the kitten. Orville isn’t really afraid of Winston and tries really hard to play with him.

 

So, we’ve been keeping Orville in our bedroom for three days now, letting him out for an hour or two at a time. At night, we have kept him in the room with us and left Winston in the main part of the house. How do I know when it’s safe to let them both roam free while we’re sleeping or at work? The pamphlet the shelter gave me says to keep them separated for a few days to a week, but how can I be sure they can be alone together without beating the fur out of one another? Any advice would be helpful!

[Ariel85]

Cats won't fight to the death, so you need not worry about that. The older cat is trying to let the kitten know the peck order. Eventually they will work this out on their own. Cats are extremely territorial, and despite what people think, they don't like to live with other cats (unlike dogs).

 

Next time you're home, give them both free access to the house. This really is something that they will resolve between themselves, as a human can't change the dynamic.

[OptomisticGirl]

Each cat is different. When I bought my cat into the house with my ex - and we already had a cat - it took the older cat about 2 months to adjust to the new cat. All you can do is continue to do what you are doing. We started not worrying about leaving them both out at night when they were sleeping together and playing together.

[Seraphim]

I adopted a cat just over a year ago and 3 months ago we got another cat. They are both adult males( fixed). They had their squabbles for a few days. I let them free roaming together and they had a few "swatting" sessions and then they settled down. As Ariel said, the pecking order has to be determined. My resident cat was a tiny little male. The incoming cat was a 32 pound whopper who was much older. Once in a while my little one will give the bigger one an ear boxing but it is usually over treats and sleeping space. Overall though they sleep on my bed together and basically ignore each other.

[Seraphim]

Each cat is different. When I bought my cat into the house with my ex - and we already had a cat - it took the older cat about 2 months to adjust to the new cat. All you can do is continue to do what you are doing. We started not worrying about leaving them both out at night when they were sleeping together and playing together.

 

Yeah, cats are different and the breeds are different. My Siamese HATED every single living thing but me. When we got a new cat, a female, he sat on the hot water heater for 3 months and SCREAMED and hissed and if you tried to bring him down he would take your arm off. However once he did get used to her he was her shadow for 12 years.

[flaminghair81]

I had adopted a female, had her for 1.5 years, then adopted a 20 week old kitten. I did not keep them separate at all because the kitten was the one that had the problem. She hissed and growled at the older cat, three days later was perfectly fine.

 

If they don't want to be around the other, they will find their own space. I think you are fine letting them be together all the time. The one thing you don't want to do it create resentment with your older cat towards you because the kitten is in your room all the time. I made sure that I showed my older cat the same amount of affection if not more during the time I got the kitten where she did not get jealous and resent me.

[Brownstone322]

It's been a while since I've introduced a "stranger" cat into an inhabited household, but it's always worked out after some scuffling (which, you gotta admit, can be pretty funny/entertaining). Unless Winston has a huge size/strength advantage on Orville, I really don't think Big Cat is gonna harm Small Cat. (They may trash the house, though, because they can get into some pretty aggressive chase sequences.)

 

My guess is that this will work out with time. They may or may not become best buddies (mine did, actully, both females), but they'll almost certainly come to tolerate one another.

[Unknown1607307972]

I had adopted a female, had her for 1.5 years, then adopted a 20 week old kitten. I did not keep them separate at all because the kitten was the one that had the problem. She hissed and growled at the older cat, three days later was perfectly fine.

 

If they don't want to be around the other, they will find their own space. I think you are fine letting them be together all the time. The one thing you don't want to do it create resentment with your older cat towards you because the kitten is in your room all the time. I made sure that I showed my older cat the same amount of affection if not more during the time I got the kitten where she did not get jealous and resent me.

 

It was like that with my current two cats. My older cat was an eight year old male and my younger cat was a tiny six-eight week old female kitten, and guess who was the one getting all hissy and aggressive? She arched her back, hairs standing on end, and hissed viciously at him while he just looked confused and meowed. Once she decided he wasn't going to eat her, she decided he was going to be her playmate and that he *must* play fighting with her 24/7 which irritated him a lot and made him hate her.

 

They still are not exactly friends three years later but they co-exist without any more trouble than the occasional mild fight or chasing. They just have their own spaces and avoid each other. I've never heard of two cats in the same house fighting to the death, they most likely will have the odd scuffle but mostly avoid eachother if they don't bond.