Daily Kitten Chat Forum » Cats & Kittens

1. 

   On Wednesday, I brought home my first Kitten. She is an eight week old Persian/Ragdoll mix. Very sweet, and as all kittens, rambunctious.

   About two years ago, a female short haired Tabby something or other stray adopted us. We live in a rural area of Key Peninsula, in Washington, so she was much appreciated as sort of a Barn Cat. She is also super sweet, to humans. She loves the people of the house, as well as our Japanese Spitz. She hates our Doxie, though.
   She is a killer. She brings us dead rats everyday[Or at least she did until we brought Lucy home], most of them bigger than Lucy. She is our hunter. I'm afraid she may hurt the kitten.

   These two felines have met only twice. The first time, I was holding Lucy the kitten, and Schrodinger the Cat had wandered over to see what was going on. So I lowered Lucy to her level so she could see her. They sniffed each others faces, and everything seemed fine until Schrodinger let out a wicked hiss, prompting Lucy to hiss back, and Schrodinger ran off.
   The second time was today, when Lucy was exploring, and Schrodinger was asleep in the driveway. Lucy came within three feet of the relaxed cat and Schrodinger freaked out, hissed and run off again.

   Schrodinger is generally an outside cat. But winter is coming, and I want her to be able to sleep inside with me when it gets cold. This can't happen if she and Lucy don't start getting along.
   I live in a one room space, separate from the main house[my stepmother is allergic to cats], so I don't have the option to simply keep them separated.

   Any advice on what I should do?

   Posted 1 year ago by LuLuShaBoom #

2. 

   Hi, Lulu, welcome to TDK. I am not very good at this subject (my two gang up on outsiders) but many TDKers have had eventual success introducing new cats and kittens (after a short while when they despaired of ever getting them to like each other). CLick on the pink tag 'introducing new kitten' to see some previous threads on the subject, with lots of good advice, and keep checking back for more suggestions -- it's a little slow here on weekends.

   Also, many TDKers recommend Feliway diffusers -- it's a synthetic hormone which helps calm cats down -- and Rescue Remedy for animals (not the human kind, that has alcohol in it) -- a few drops in their water.

   But as I say, keep checking back. It can be done, with patience and time!

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

3. 

   And two websites that might help: http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/a/introducecats.htm

   http://www.best-cat-art.com/introducing-a-new-kitten.html

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

4. 

   Thank you very much! Those sites are very helpful.

   Posted 1 year ago by LuLuShaBoom #

5. 

   You're very welcome. I am sure more TDKers will be along after the weekend to reassure you it can be done! Is that Lucy in your avatar? She is adorable!

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

6. 

   Yep, that's my Lucy! She's been sick since we brought her home, but she's been to the vet, been given meds for her diarrhea and antibiotics for a very early upper respiratory infection, and she's just full of energy now!
   I'm really glad she's getting better.

   Posted 1 year ago by LuLuShaBoom #

7. 

   Awww, keep on getting better, little Lucy, you have a whole lot of fun to look forward to! Please give her some head scritches and smooches from me :-)

   Posted 1 year ago by jcat #

8. 

   It usually helps make introductions easier if the cats get use to each others smell. Take a piece of clothing you've worn and not washed and use it to rub down one kit then the other. (A shirt you aren't too attached to works well.) Go back and forth a couple of times so the shirt is totally scented with your scent, Schrodinger's scent and Lucy's scent. Since Schrodinger is the one who seems less accepting, put the shirt where she sleeps. Use the same shirt to rub both of them with the next day, then let the kitten sleep with it. After a few days of this, they will recognize each other's scent (and you will probably want to toss out the shirt). The only problem I ever had with this method was when one cat peed on the shirt.

   Since you don't have two areas to keep the cats separate, you can subsititute a cat carrier. Put Lucy in the carrier and set it the corner where she can see out. Then bring Schrodinger in and play with her in the same room. There will be some hissing, but they won't be able to reach each other. Again, you may have to do this several days in a row.

   Eventually you should be able to let them be together in the same room while you are there. Make sure they don't have to fight for food; give them food in separate bowls far enough away so that they can eat while keeping an eye on each other.

   Also, if Schrodinger is going to be an indoor kitty during winter, make sure you have two litter boxes. They can be right next to each other, but it's best to have at least one box per cat.

   Posted 1 year ago by CheetahBoysmommy #

9. 

   Can you put the kitten in a bathroom? It's best to keep them separate for a couple of days.

   Also, make sure you give your existing cat tons of love and attention so that he doesnt feel replaced.

   Posted 1 year ago by ladysky61 #

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