Help! Trouble introducing an 8 week old kitten to a 12 week old kitten.

[emmmy_lou]

The only other thing you can do to help them get used to each other is swap their scents. Put a blanket/ fleece down where they sleep, and after a day or so, swap the bedding around from one cat to another.

Kittens do play rough A LOT though. It is their way of seeing who is in charge, as well as practicing for when they are older if they come under attack.

You are doing the sensible thing keeping them separated while you are out. Good luck!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Please do not punish because this normal behavior for young kitten.

Cant add anything to what Sheila has said

[sheilarose]

  to Purrs and congratulations on your two wonderful new additions 

Take some advice from the American behavioural specialist, Jackson Galaxy. If you have one cat who is determined to expend all her energy beating up her young playmate, you need to help expend that energy in a less destructive way. All kittens enjoy robust play but it'll be a while until young Blue us big enough to counter her boisterousness, so you need to step in as temporary playmate.

The one thing you need to remember is that hands are not toys! No way, never. Hands need to be associated with love and food, not for biting, scratching, grabbing, swiping or mauling. You may use wand toys, like the ones available on our Purrs Shop (see the link at the top of this page) laser toys, ping pong balls, wind up catnip hedgehogs, teddy sprayed with Pet Remedy, anything she can chase, kill, maul and "let the air out of her balloon". Once she's good and tired she will have less inclination to beat up her little sister, and they should be happy to curl up and sleep together more readily.

Some robust play is desirable, they will teach one another the meaning of pain, limits of how hard you can sink your teeth in to something before it really hurts, how to punch without claws, etc, all the things single kittens taken away from their Mums too early don't ever quite master 

Have a search through You Tube for Jackson Galaxy stuff. Look on the Purrs shop for some toys she can grab and bunny kick as she's showing signs that is how she likes to roll. And spend time with them both with your camera at the ready to capture these precious early learning moments, then post them on here   

I highly recommend the prawn. It's about the same size as a 8 week old kitten but doesn't mind being kicked and chewed. 

[JamesTheTat]

Hi there guys,
 
First, thank you in advance for any advice you can give us.

So 2 weeks ago we got Coco, a (now) 12 week old British Shorthair / Coated Sphynx cross - and she's lovely.  Alone, she's very affectionate and playful.
 
Then, a few days ago we got a little friend for her to play with, another little girl, Blue, an 8 week old Russian Blue / Domestic Shorthair cross.  Again, she's lovely, and spends all of her time sleeping and playing.
 
The trouble arises when we try to put the two kittens together.  On the first day, they'd hiss and swipe at eachother, always resulted in them both being locked together in a fluffy ball of anger.  We did some research online, and decided it was definitely best to separate them while we're not around, and at night, so we set Blue up in the kitchen with her bed, her own litter tray, and her own set of toys.  Every few hours or so we thought we'd put them together for 10 minutes, while distracting them with plenty of toys and treats, so that they could get used to eachothers smell.
 
No dice.  The minute Coco realises the game we're trying to pull, she'll stalk Blue and pounce on her, straddling her while biting her neck and sometimes kicking.  I've also read online that the little squeels Blue makes while she's trying to escape are normal, and as there are no scratches or other signs of injury, there's nothing to worry about.  That said, it's very difficult to stand by while they're doing this for very long at all, because it looks really rough and we're worried one of them will get hurt (scratched in the eye or something).
 
This morning we went out and bought a pheremone diffuser, and it's been on all day.  We just got them together again and, while distracting them with toys and treats works for a little bit, Coco ultimately ends up playing her "let's pounce on the little one and bite her" game.  Blue tries hissing at first and then runs away and hides whenever Coco does this, and we end up having to remove Coco because she's backed blue into a corner, or somewhere she can't run away from to escape.  It sounds silly but it's really horrible to watch.
 
Now, it's only been 3 days or so, and we know it could take time... but what should our next steps be?  We've tried correcting the behaviour in Coco (because it's relentless, and really only at times when she backs Blue into a hidey-hole and tries to go in to get her anyway) by removing her from the room for 5 minutes, tapping her on the nose, and spraying a little water.  Nothing seems to work, and I don't want to risk damaging Coco's relationship with us by punishing her for something that's completely normal, so I thought I'd ask for some help on here.
 
Any help would be appreciated, and I do apologise if this post is a bit rambly!
 
Thank you
 
James