Hi, all. Last Sunday I had my wonderful cat of 14 years put to sleep. I live by myself, so naturally it’s tough to have an empty house. That said, today I went to the SPCA to adopt two kittens. I found two 6-week-olds that I loved, and put in the paperwork. However, before leaving, one more cat, Zen, caught my eye. He shoved his paws through the grill of the cage trying to touch me, and when I asked to see him, he immediately jumped on my lap and started purring up a storm. It was love at first sight. The problem is, Zen is already a year old. This brings me to my question.
What are the difficulties found with introducing a 1-year-old cat and 6-week-old kitten to a new house and to each other? I called the SPCA and they told me that I will need to keep them separated until I take them to the vet and have them certified, and that can be easily done. But will they like each other? Will they be okay getting to know a strange new place without even knowing each other? Please help.
People more knowledgeable than me will be along shortly, but we’ve had different generations of cats living in the household. My past experience has been that the sex of the cats really matters. We had two female cats that would not get along, not ever. We have also had an older male cat and a female kitten get along well (both were appropriately spayed/neutered).
Well, not to be contrary or anything, but I’ve never found that gender mattered as much as personality-two forceful, territorial cats don’t mix so well.
But as far as kittens and adults I’ve never had much of a problem with that. The older ones give the young ‘uns more leeway than they would another mature cat. Although one year old isn’t totally mature yet, in my experience.
Keeping them separate at first is a really good idea so they can all get used to the new environment first. They will be aware of the others’ presence even though they don’t see them. I usually give the new arrivals a couple of weeks to get used to the house and me before introducing them formally to the rest of the pack.
Congratulations on the new additions. Three kitties definitely keep the house from being too empty. Or quiet.
Usually, an adult cat will accept a kitten. But you want to supervise all early meetings. If you have a way to block off half of the house, do so. Put one cat on each side for at least a couple of days if possible. Be sure to socialize with the older cat in a very positive way in the presence or the smell-presence (I think I just made that up) of the kitten. When introducing, ignore the kitten and concentrate on the adult. That will help the adult learn the kitten isn’t a threat. This is the same technique you should use whenever you bring a new cat into an established cat household, too.
Unneutered toms can be aggressive with kittens, but even that seems to be fairly rare in an indoor setting. Please spay and neuter in any case!
First of all, my deepest sympathies for your loss. Also, congratulations on making a great choice to get kitties from the pound, and for chosing an adult to adopt along with your kittens.
I currently have five cats whom I’ve added incrementally over time at various ages. All the cats who were introduced to the adults as kittens have been universally liked and get along with the older cats quite well. I have never had serious problems socializing kittens with older cats. My advice is. after a reasonable adjustment period, to give them treats together, play with them all at the same time (the Cat Dancer is a great unifier, in my experience), and let them work out their differences as much as possible (trim claws first, of course). I’m betting all will be well in short order.
I can’t live without a cat, and as I am at work all day and live in an apartment, I thought it would be cruel to have only one. My two (male, neutered) cats are exactly the same age, but one came to stay 24 hours before the other. The first arrival is the boss, even though the other one is bigger, and regularly beats the shit out of him. First arrival must be fed first (a matter of seconds, but apparently this is important to him). Apart from this, they are devoted to each other. I’d imagine that despite the difference in age, the fact that your cats will be introduced to the household at the same time will mean that they will work it out between them.
I’d like to add my voice to those sympathizing with your loss, and to congratulate you on your choice of rescue cats.
Are the two 6-week olds littermates? If not, they may not get along. And I would agree about introducing them to the house in stages - a week or a month apart.
I don’t have any better advice about your problem than has already been given, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry for your loss. I know that’s a hard decision to make, and I’m glad you’re giving a loving home to some kitties that need you.
Thank you all for your sympathy and help. I just wanted to clarify that while my application is to rescue the two 6-week-old kittens, I would be giving up one of them to give get the 1-year-old cat. I don’t think my apartment is large enough nor do I have the resources to handle three cats.
That said, pretty much everyone agrees that it’s safe to introduce these two guys together. I believe that I will be calling the SPCA and asking to change one of the kittens to Zen. I’ll let you all know how it goes. Thanks again.
Adam
P.S. - To answer qts’ question, no, the two kittens aren’t littermates.
I have to cats, a male and female. The male is about a year older than the female and the female was introduced after we had the male for almost a year.
They seem to get along, but it is clear the male is the boss. She clearly like him, but it seems to me that he doesn’t like her. He is always jumping on her an biting her. They do chase each other around though.
They also use the same litterboxes and eat from the same food bowls.
So basically I have nothing new to add. Kitties rule!
First, I want to join the others in giving you my sympathy for your loss. I’ve been through this process twice, and since my experience is different from the others that have been given, I’ll share it.
About a year before my husband and I got married, he got our oldest cat, Poopy (don’t ask, I didn’t name him). Poopy was a few months old when we got him, and was wild from the start. So wild, in fact, that right before we got married, we decided to get him a kitten, hoping that this would help to settle him down. So of course I picked out the wildest kitten I could possibly find (stupid me!). However, it worked. Pants (goes with Poopy, you see) and Poopy got along smashingly. Which brings me to my first tip. Everyone else says to keep them separated. This wasn’t a choice for us, since my husband was living in a tiny house at the time. We rubbed a towel on Poopy, and then on Pants. This supposedly encourages the older cat to accept the kitten. At first, Poopy was scared of Pants, so we put them together overnight, and by morning they were the best of friends. Then there’s our “oops,” Buggy (I did name this one - he was cute as a bug’s ear), who came along three years later (a year ago in September). Buggy came to live with us by accident when we met him at a friend’s party. We just couldn’t leave him there. We again tried the towel technique, and it worked well between Pants and Buggy. Poopy still doesn’t like the little monster very well, but I think that once Buggy grows out of what I call his “teenage years,” they’ll be fine. Since Zen is only a year old, in what I consider the teenage years, I think he should still enjoy the company of a kitten.
Well, I’ve already gone on enough. I think it’s wonderful that you’re choosing Zen. Older cats have a much harder time trying to find homes. Good luck!
Zen sounds like a pretty affectionate, friendly cat. I think that bodes well. And it’s been my experience that kittens will generally get used to almost any cat.
My husband and I have 7. Oh yeah, you heard right. 7. 5 girls, 2 boys. Living smack dab in the middle of a huge feral colony will do that do ya. I think we were practicing TNR, before we knew TNR was a real practice.
Anyway, just go for it. Is probably best to start out with supervised mingling, such as “let’s all hang out in the living room together” or “lets play together with this cool toy. And if we are being good kitties together, there may be treats!”
Cats are a lot like children, which I’m sure you know. They will always have their differences. “I don’t like it when you touch me like that.” or “I don’t like your playing with my toy.” or “That’s my spot!”
But then one day, you’ll come around a corner and there will be a pile of them snoozing together in a sunny spot or licking each other’s hard to reach places.
Aww… aren’t they so cute?!
Best of luck, and as always, a good vet will have great suggestions.
This isn’t a direct example but I introduced a younger cat in a house that already had a cat. The fir flew for a month and they have gotten along great since. Multiple cats keep themselves occupied and out from under foot (literally). I was always stepping on the first cat in the dark (still do sometimes)
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My sympathies for the loss of your cat. Having been through it several times, I know how hard it is.
Bravo for taking in rescue kitties! You won’t regret it, especially Zen. He sounds like he’ll be a real love, and I have no doubt he and the kitten will become great friends. I should know – I do (ahem) have some experience with multiple cats.
I’ve got a friend with, um… is it 11 or 12 indoor cats, and several ferals being fed outside. Of course, that’s from her and her boyfriend’s combined collections when they moved in together, so I don’t know if that counts.
