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Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

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• Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

• Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

  Cinnie > 08-20-2021, 05:13 AM

  Hey all! I got my new kitten about 3 weeks ago now. I also have a 12 year old cat and live in a small apartment. I kept them separate for about 2 weeks and slowly let them have more and more time together. As I have seen good progress in them getting along, I am getting anxious about having a harmonious "family" in the future. When I got a 1.5 year old cat this same cat (about 8 at the time) IMMEDIATELY wanted to be friends. The two never had to be separated at all. They instantly wanted to be together. That cat died about 3 months ago (at the age of 5 to a heart condition) which is why I got this new kitten.
  
  I now keep the entire apartment open to both cats almost 24/7. The only time I really separate them is if I see my older cat getting frustrated. He tries to be dominant but tbh he's too nice lol. He get pretty hissy with the kitten almost every time she approaches him and will vocalize when he's really frustrated.
  
  Am I expecting too much too fast? Should I separate them longer? I don't exactly expect them to be best friends for at least a year but seeing how stressed out the older cat is getting makes me sad. Any suggestions or words of encouragement?

• RE: Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

  MUM_of_FLUFFY > 08-20-2021, 06:08 AM

  I only have one cat so I haven't been through this - but I know others here have more experience in this area...

• RE: Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

  JanH > 08-20-2021, 01:23 PM

  You are taking the right approach. Let them set the pace, but do not intervene with a short timeout unless you feel they might do something to really slow their relationship. It would not be unique if a teen did not fully appreciate kitten activity levels - and show that with some hissing. Usually you can scope the real risk by watching the kitten. If the youngster is not concerned, you probably do not need to be either. Sometimes the best fix for incompatible activity levels is another kitten. They play together to burn off energy and then can chill with the older resident.

• RE: Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

  Cinnie > 08-20-2021, 04:07 PM

  Yeah this is my first time getting a kitten and I now see why it's suggested to get 2 but I don't have the space for another. The unique thing in this situation is I am not at all concerned for the kitten's safety. My older cat, Lore, is too nice and rarely gets physical with her. When he does it's a quick tap from him paw. What concerns me is that when he hisses, meows, bats at her, communicating he doesn't like what she's doing, she will keep coming at him. I'm concerned that if I let that continue too much it could damage their relationship long term. Idk if I should be overly concerned about that or not. I just don't want a pattern of always reacting to her in a negative way and her not respecting that to soil his ability to eventually bond with her.

• RE: Introducing a kitten to a senior cat

  JanH > 08-20-2021, 07:39 PM

  Sounds normal and I would be surprised if the kitten is wrong about the risk, even if she pushes it to getting a stronger bop. Cats may become scared of each other, but they do not hold grudges. Intervening means they do not sort things out themselves. I would give them a bit more time to do that than you have described before intervening. Even a mellow older cat rarely does not feel the dominant one and able to "enforce" that status.
  
  I think you are doing fine. Just relax and enjoy the process of their building relationship. You do not want them to key into your stress.
  
  (By the way, space is really not much of a limiting factor for the number of cats. A bigger factor is having the reserves to pay medical costs in case of a medical issue. Those can be very pricey, particularly if surgery is needed.)
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