Introducing new kitten?

MrsKorb

I have a ten year old male and an aprroximately 4 month old kitten showed up at my house on Sunday. I took her to the vet and she got a clean bill of heatlth and her first series of shots. She is very sweet and using the litter box we have set up for her in our bedroom. She has been kept in our bedroom since Sunday. Do you think we can let her out yet?

LuckyAngel07

I'm pretty sure the FAQs in the green header bar for the board have tips on introducing new cats. You want to do it gradually (so keeping her locked away for a few days and then giving her free roam of the house is too fast).

You can feed your cat and the kitten on opposite sides of the door for a few days; it lets them smell each other nearby, but keeps them separate and associates a good thing (food) with the other cat.

You can also rub towels all over each cat, then swap the towels and let the cats smell each other; it gets them used to another cat's scent without having to face each other.

When you let the kitten out for the first time, put away your male cat in a closed room so the kitten can explore the house; it's an all new environment for her and she'll need to get used to it. After a couple of hours or so you can put her back in your bedroom and let your male cat back out into the house.

First intros should be fully supervised; a good idea is to take an evening to introduce them, let them see each other from across the room, but don't force them to be near each other. Even after gradual intros, there's likely to be grumbling and hissing from your male (not sure how the kitten will react; it's possible she's used to being around other cats).

When we brought our second kitty home, we kept her in our bedroom for 2 weeks. I started leaving the door open when I was in there supervising, and our resident kitty would always hiss when she saw the kitten (without even coming into the room). It took 2 weeks for her to stop pitching a fit; one day she just walked up and licked the kitten's head. The kitten has grown up to be the alpha, interestingly enough. But they have learned to coexist peacefully (for the most part) and even occassionally curl up together.

ndolehan

LuckyAngel has covered it all! (She's on a roll recently!)

My parents recently (ok, almost a year!) introduced a kitten to my childhood cat who is about 12 or so. It took him quite awhile to adjust, but did so after do the things LuckyAngel posted above. 

Thank you forgiving a safe home to the new kitty! Hope everything works out! And as I mention to another poster yesterday (who just adopted 2 kittens) beware the stinky kitten poops/farts! Whew! They're common in kittens and will clear the room! 

MrsKorb

Thanks ladies! NowI will fill you in on the rest of the story. Our beloved, 8 year old Golden Retriever, Bella, dropped dead while playing with our girls outside the previous sunday. This Sunday when I went outside there is this kitten, completely tan/orange like the same color as my Bella. When I took Sugar, the kitten, to the vet yesterday the nurse started crying because she couldn't believe that this kitten was the same color as Bella. I know it sounds corny but I feel it was Bella saving us from our grief.

LuckyAngel07

MrsKorb:

Thanks ladies! NowI will fill you in on the rest of the story. Our beloved, 8 year old Golden Retriever, Bella, dropped dead while playing with our girls outside the previous sunday. This Sunday when I went outside there is this kitten, completely tan/orange like the same color as my Bella. When I took Sugar, the kitten, to the vet yesterday the nurse started crying because she couldn't believe that this kitten was the same color as Bella. I know it sounds corny but I feel it was Bella saving us from our grief.

That is a beautiful sentiment!! ::sniffle:: How touching for this little orange girl to come along at just the time you lost your own. Perhaps she really was sending you a little something to love to help heal your hearts

ndolehan

Wow. I think this little kitty new YOU needed a little TLC.