Great, he seems very curious and already happy with us humans. He was first with a friend of mine (we toook him in) so he already knew me.
How many days should I keep this up before attempting the next stage? And any other tips for us to help this become successful?
Sorry for the essay!!!!
Different people suggest different things, so you might get a variation of answers really.
For me, I have never had to go more than two days before introducing cats, but for others, they have gone through a week,
or even two or three weeks of careful meticulous scent spreading and integration routines, which have sometimes been VERY necessary.
It all depends on the specific cats, their body language, their ages, sexual status, their willingness to adapt to change.. quite a few things.
In my experience, kittens do not generally need as much 'separation time' as adult cats.
Your resident cat
should not really see the kitten as a threat to her status, especially if he is smaller, but obviously he
is still on 'her turf',
and it will take time, no matter when you decide they are ready to be introduced.
You haven't said whether he is neutered or not?
This can sometimes have an effect on their temperaments too.
You could take a moment to see if they are ready now, without causing any problems to them.
The thing is, you simply won't know unless you try it out, every cat meeting is different, just as every human meeting is different!
When you are ready to let them 'meet' but not be officially 'introduced', you can put the kitten in a crate or cat carrier in a mutual room,
and let her come in to investigate him.
IF it goes wrong, he will be very safe, and you can always remove her and keep them apart as normal, trying again in two days or so, with constant scent spreading, and room switching.
IF you are not ready to do this, which is perfectly fine, you could spread it out over a few days, popping the kitten into a different room for a few hours a day (or night) and if the room the boy stays in is comfortable, feed/play/sleep with your resident cat IN his room while he's away.
So the smells of him are associated with AMAZING things she likes to do!
After the crate Intro, when you DO decide to introduce them:
Remember some hissing, tail puffing and swiping are all perfectly natural first responses.
She needs to tell him who's boss! That's just how it is.
Always watch your kitties body language, check for signs of actual aggression and fear.
Have a towel ready JUST in case it turns into a fight, but don't
expect there to be one, just r.e.l.a.x!
Remember that while you do these things with your cats, you must remain in a nice calm state. Your attitude is what the cats will
look to for confirmation while they assess each other. You must reassure the new kitty that he is somewhere safe and loved, and reassure your resident kitty that she is still 'top dog'.
To make this go as smoothly as possible, try to give the most care to your resident cat, she is the one who needs to accept this new kitten,
feed her, pet her and play with her, give her priority to show that things will not change between you and her.
Both cats should fall in to place once more, once resident cat is happy!
Praise her when she presents herself positively to him, and to you.
But do not scold her if she becomes to stressed or aggressive, simply remove her to a different room and let her out after 20 minutes or so, when she's calmer.
Patience, calm state and vigilance are all key.
It should pay off in the end.
