Kitten and Cat, natural enemies?

[CorriniP]

Hello all,

Driving to work one morning with the BF, I see a tiny kitten (~8 weeks) sitting on top of an 8 foot tall barbed wire fence waiting patiently for rescue. How he could have gotten up there I can only speculate. Naturally I obliged. I picked him up and after 20 minutes of wandering around with him in my arms wondering what to do now and seeing no obvious solutions, I decided to take him home.

The saga of Tiny kitten, the abridged version: He got a clean bill of health from the vet and spent the next few weeks in the bathroom and bedroom getting adjusted while I worked on winning over Bean Cat (8yo spayed female and boss) to the idea of a roommate.

After careful internet based study including the very helpful thread of Hoofmaiden's introduction of Jonah. I decided to take things slowly. There was no visual contact for a few weeks, then room swapping for a few more and now (6 weeks later) we have interactions through a gate. Tiny Kitten (real name now Spoon) has been wonderful. He obviously wants to play with Bean Cat, but is respectful of her hissing. I've had Bean for 6 years after adopting her from a shelter and she's never been keen on other cats.

Last night we had the first (intentional) free interaction time. It did not go as well as one might have hoped. Lots of hissing and growling from Bean. We stopped it before it could become a fight, but now I'm so depressed. I guess it will take more time. I've used feliway, treats at the gate, praise and playtime and anything I can think of.

Maybe I just need some encouragement and other success stories. I throw myself on the mercy of the forum! Is there hope, or should I start looking for a new home for Tiny kitten? It would break my heart to give him away, but it isn't fair that he is getting constantly hissed at. *sigh*

[CorriniP]

Picture of Spoon the kitten

[CorriniP]

I was a bit upset, but feeling more optimistic now. We are maintaining the normal schedule with regular viewings at the gate when I am home to supervise. They are also getting more used to being rubbed with a cloth to swap scents. Just one more weird human thing they put up with.

Bean cat seems to really enjoy watching kitten play. He can run right towards her and she won't make any bad sounds as long as he is chasing a toy! He has also gotten very good at respecting her personal space and not being too spazzy at her. It could be much worse, I'm sure.

I'm still not sure how to actually instigate free interaction time. Should I just open the gate and stand back to let them go where they wish? Should I wait for one or the other to jump over the gate (either of them can with a little preliminary looking and planning)? I probably shouldn't take kitten to the living room (Bean cat's daytime territory), right?

They may never be best friends, but I hope they will both feel happy and safe.

[Arianwen]

As well as rubbing with a cloth, let each of them sleep on a cloth for a few nights then swap them over. Worth a try!

[CorriniP]

Thank you for the suggestion. I will try swapping bedding. Bean cat likes to sleep on top of the DVD player (warm up there) so I will try putting a cloth there and see if she goes for it. Honestly, I don't know where Tiny kitten likes to sleep. As soon as I open the door, he is right there waiting to play! Maybe on top of the cat tree? Most likely place.

Tiny kitten (for real this time, I hope)


Bean cat too

[Arianwen]

Lovely pictures.

[sueasinsue]

I have a 2 year old calico that is as mean as the day is long, I introduced two kittens to her that were 8 weeks when i got them. I kept the kittens in their own room for 3 weeks before even letting them out to explore, I also bought a book on cat behavior by Pam-Bennett and did everything she said to do.

Now it is 5 months and resident cat actually plays and sleeps with the kittens, sure they still have their moments and hissy fights but they get along. Just take your time, there were moments when I thought Oh my GOD this will never work! Or that my resident cat would end up killing the kittens! But it worked out, it just takes time

[CorriniP]

Thank you Sue, I'm glad things worked out for everyone. I just have to patient. I know. I will have to do some traveling in a few months for work, but if they are not getting along to the point of always being together by there then, I will put kitten with a boarder while I'm away. It's not fair to ask my volunteer cat sitter to deal with two camps, and maybe it would be a good socialization opportunity for kitten.

I'm pretty sure the library must think I am now a crazy cat lady with all the cat books I check out..

[Jetlaya67]

Give them time. Even if they don't become the best of friends, they will learn to coexist. Nyska is not a fan of Winston. Winston would love to play with Nyska all the time and she does not want to do anything with that kind of childish behavior and she lets him know. Overall they do their own thing.

[Venusworld21]

Time is your friend. I foster a lot so I constantly have new cats coming through without the luxury of weeks and weeks to make everyone fit together well. My fosters stay in my laundry room (which has a glass door). Everyone can see and sniff, but no contact. Generally this works well. I had one Queen though...I had to put a blanket across the glass door because she went absolutely nuts with rage at the sight of my cats. Even she was able to tolerate them after about 6 weeks though.

The next step for me is a baby gate. My kitchen and living room make good base camps. Kittens get to come out into the kitchen with a baby gate separating it from the living room (where my cats are). Generally, the kittens try to climb the gate. Once they make it over (it can take a few days before the kitchen gets boring), my cats generally make a fuss. There will be some hissing. Kittens generally runs back over the gate and into the kitchen. After a few days of this (my guys are pretty mellow with fosters--it could take longer than a few days for you), the gate comes down and kittens can explore the house under supervision. I keep a squirt bottle handy. Whoever growls (almost always the adult cats) gets squirted. My cats make pouty faces for a few days, but figure out pretty quick that I won't tolerate them picking on the kittens and give it up.

Also, I find my guys are far more forgiving/lenient with kittens than with other adult cats. Of my 72 fosters, only a handful have never been able to live inside with my guys in harmony, and every single one of them was an adult cat. My guys put up with a lot more from kittens than from adult cats. Hopefully the same is true for you! Good luck!