Advice on integrating new kitten with existing cat

[Janeyk]

Glad to hear that things are settling down 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Love that picture and so pleased its working out 

[Bazsmum]

Glad the worry is over and they are now getting on just fine! 

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

Really pleased to hear they are getting along

[Liz]

After isolation we open the door and let the kittens get on with it - our older cats put them in their place and the kittens play havoc with the older ones sleeping time - its chaos at teh Clan but with 46 currently it is fun if not a bit chaotic at times

We had more issues introducing 2 puppies in 2 years and now Sky and Sunny's best friends are feral cats!

[Millys Mum]

Glad they are getting along better 

[Baby British]

Just a quick update on how my furbabies are getting on for those following the thread who may be in a similar situation. Things have settled down loads and now I only ever put Layla in the kitchen overnight or if I'm going out. They still come to blows on at times but for the majority are happy just to follow one another around the house jointly conspiring in mischief!

I was a little dubious in the beginning having never introduced a kitten to another cat before. It didn't help my fears with Marley being an indoor cat for almost 2 years resultiing in him not seeing another cat since he was 12 weeks old! All of this aside though I couldn't have hoped for a better outcome so have heart if your furbabies don't take to one another straight away. Layla and Marley are proof that relative harmony can be acheived!

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

That is brilliant - love the pic
Think you have cracked it tbh....and all cats have their spats 

[Baby British]

As promised here is the photographic evidence of the temporary truce that occurred last night. Maybe they do like each other really it's just that neither is ready to admit it yet ....

[Baby British]

I have always gone for the other approach -


cat box door open....kitten out...let them get on with it (obv not allowing anything nasty to happen)

and 16 cats later it has always worked 

Thank you for the advice. I have been letting them be together when ever I am on hand to supervise them. Tonight they curled up on the kitchen chairs together and had a quick snooze (I took a picture which I will post later) Don't get me wrong they still have regular spats but this mini cease fire has given me renewed hope for the future lol

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

I have always gone for the other approach -


cat box door open....kitten out...let them get on with it (obv not allowing anything nasty to happen)

and 16 cats later it has always worked 

[Baby British]

We got her exactly a week before xmas so still very early days.

If worse comes to the worse i'll designate half the house to each cat so they don't have to meet but I think I'd only consider this several months down the line should things not improve at all. Fingers crossed that they learn to abide each other even if they aren't destined to become bestest buds

[Millys Mum]

How long have you had her? Sounds like early days so time will tell 

[Yvonne]

I don't remember there being any problems.  You seem to be doing everything right, just take it slowly.

Good luck.

Beautiful cats

[Baby British]

Thanks for the reply. Constantly watching them together and stepping in when things get rough is what I'm doing now so it's reasurring to know that I'm on the right track. At times Marley will have a proper go and I know he's hurting Layla because she meows her head off! That said though Layla is no shrinking violet - infact she's a little minx! Far from hiding away as soon as Marley isn't watching she'lll chase after him though this is only kitten play.

I know it's very early days and that a long road lies ahead but it's just nice to hear that I'm approaching things properly so    x

[Bazsmum]

Well Ive been where you are with ref to the age diff! I think you have to know/learn what is play and what is nastiness. The older cat will obviously want status, young one is probably a little scared right now.....Rough and tumble are a normal part of play, its up to you though to distinguish if the young one is actually being hurt..... Loads of supervised time together would be a good thing, obviously not leaving them alone together! I would not go for the cage idea (my own personal feelings) .... As yet though its very early days, hope they sort it out! 

[Baby British]

Hi peeps. I thought that it might be worth me popping a post in this section asking for some advice on acheiving relative harmony between Marley (age almost 2) with Layla (14 weeks).

I kept Layla in the kitchen for 2 days after bringing her home. Marley camped outside the kitchen door but didn't seem particularly freaked. I swapped the blankets around in there beds and fussed them both individually and then swapped over thus exchanged the scent. Although obviously interested in Layla's scent Marley again didn't seem to react adversely to it. On the third day I popped Layla in her cat box and then left the kitchen door open so Marley could wander in and 'discover' her. This he did and had a good old sniff but again didn't seem to act aggressively. Since then we have let the two mingle freely for a couple of hours each day but spats keep breaking out. Although Marley doesn't freak upon catching a glimpse of Layla he does tend to follow her around and watches her like a hawk. On a couple of occassions he has got his hackles up and done the 'big tail thing' Sometimes he'll pounce on Layla and bite her making her meow and at which point we separate them again. I have read a couple of stickies on the forum about integrating a new kitten and I'm wondering if it might be easier to get a wire cage to pop Layla in when they are together so Marley can adjust to her prescence whilst there is a physical barrier between them. I read that the next stage is to try feeding them in the same room. Unfortunately this will prove tricky with my 2 as Marley is on a prescription diet with medication so they have to be fed completely separately to stop them munching on each others grub!

Thanks in advance x