Introducing new kittens to the house
Discussion
We have an 8 year old male black cat who we adopted about 4 or 5 years ago. Long story but he's now officially "ours" (to the extent that any cat can ever really be owned!). He's a lovely boy around people - friendly, good natured and relaxed.
Around other cats, though, he's a complete nightmare - he can't see another cat without shooting off and chasing after it. He always seems to be fighting and/or getting into a hissing contest with some other cat. Basically he's a bit of a bully, despite being physically quite small.
My wife has now agreed to take 2 kittens from a friend of hers whose cat has recently had a litter. They're both boys and we're getting them next weekend, when they'll be 10 weeks old. We're quite concerned that the current cat will not take kindly to these new faces (we don't have any other pets at the moment) and that he's likely to terrorise the poor buggers!
Any tips on the best way to introduce the kittens to the house to minimise the carnage would be very much appreciated!
Edited to add gratuitous cute kitten pics:
Around other cats, though, he's a complete nightmare - he can't see another cat without shooting off and chasing after it. He always seems to be fighting and/or getting into a hissing contest with some other cat. Basically he's a bit of a bully, despite being physically quite small.
My wife has now agreed to take 2 kittens from a friend of hers whose cat has recently had a litter. They're both boys and we're getting them next weekend, when they'll be 10 weeks old. We're quite concerned that the current cat will not take kindly to these new faces (we don't have any other pets at the moment) and that he's likely to terrorise the poor buggers!
Any tips on the best way to introduce the kittens to the house to minimise the carnage would be very much appreciated!
Edited to add gratuitous cute kitten pics:
Edited by TheGreatSoprendo on Tuesday 26th August 20:19
We have an 8 year old male black cat who we adopted about 4 or 5 years ago. Long story but he's now officially "ours" (to the extent that any cat can ever really be owned!). He's a lovely boy around people - friendly, good natured and relaxed.
Around other cats, though, he's a complete nightmare - he can't see another cat without shooting off and chasing after it. He always seems to be fighting and/or getting into a hissing contest with some other cat. Basically he's a bit of a bully, despite being physically quite small.
My wife has now agreed to take 2 kittens from a friend of hers whose cat has recently had a litter. They're both boys and we're getting them next weekend, when they'll be 10 weeks old. We're quite concerned that the current cat will not take kindly to these new faces (we don't have any other pets at the moment) and that he's likely to terrorise the poor buggers!
Any tips on the best way to introduce the kittens to the house to minimise the carnage would be very much appreciated!
Around other cats, though, he's a complete nightmare - he can't see another cat without shooting off and chasing after it. He always seems to be fighting and/or getting into a hissing contest with some other cat. Basically he's a bit of a bully, despite being physically quite small.
My wife has now agreed to take 2 kittens from a friend of hers whose cat has recently had a litter. They're both boys and we're getting them next weekend, when they'll be 10 weeks old. We're quite concerned that the current cat will not take kindly to these new faces (we don't have any other pets at the moment) and that he's likely to terrorise the poor buggers!
Any tips on the best way to introduce the kittens to the house to minimise the carnage would be very much appreciated!
Edited by TheGreatSoprendo on Tuesday 3rd February 11:22
You will run the risk of first cat buggering off as much as terrorising them, hard to say.
http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/how-guides/how...
Have at look at this site for excellent upto date advice by people who know. This page will be of specific interest to you.
Good luck hope it will go smoothly but be prepared that you may be opening a whole can of unwanted worms!
http://www.icatcare.org:8080/advice/how-guides/how...
Have at look at this site for excellent upto date advice by people who know. This page will be of specific interest to you.
Good luck hope it will go smoothly but be prepared that you may be opening a whole can of unwanted worms!
Good stuff on that page.
We introduced an adoptee, put the new cat in a room for a few days with door shut and swapped around some towels/catbeds so they all get familiar with the new smells. Then a few days with a baby gate in the door, sat next to it with door open and fed them all treats along with fussing them so they associate each other with nice things happening. Set the house up so they can sit at different levels, e.g. with cat trees, as that's one way cats form their social hierarchy which will ease stress. Best to put a stop to any chasing straight away otherwise one will get cornered and lash out then they become mortal enemies.
Took a bit of pain and we almost gave the new one away but eventually made it work and now they get on fine other than the odd hiss. Having a cold winter helps a lot as they'll all want to sit near the fire.
We introduced an adoptee, put the new cat in a room for a few days with door shut and swapped around some towels/catbeds so they all get familiar with the new smells. Then a few days with a baby gate in the door, sat next to it with door open and fed them all treats along with fussing them so they associate each other with nice things happening. Set the house up so they can sit at different levels, e.g. with cat trees, as that's one way cats form their social hierarchy which will ease stress. Best to put a stop to any chasing straight away otherwise one will get cornered and lash out then they become mortal enemies.
Took a bit of pain and we almost gave the new one away but eventually made it work and now they get on fine other than the odd hiss. Having a cold winter helps a lot as they'll all want to sit near the fire.
Edited by wombleh on Tuesday 26th August 20:45
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