Do you have any advice on introducing kittens to a resident housecat? We lost one of our cats about a year ago and wanted to get company for our current lady but we want to make sure we do it properly! Thank you!
Well congratulations on your new family member! We’re about to do this as well (foster fails, oops). The good news is that kittens are pretty pliable and work themselves well into an existing cat social structure, unless there are underlying behavioral issues. Once I get more caught up on some questions I’ll visit this again in more detail.
First thing’s first. Make sure the kitten has their own room. I always recommend bedrooms, because that also gives you a chance to bond with the kitten personally (and I mean come on. Have you seen how cute kittens are?). Give them a few days to get accustomed to it, and let the resident cat get accustomed to not having that room available. Of course, make sure all of the kitten’s needs can be met inside of that room, and the resident cat’s needs can be met outside of the room. Keep an eye out for signs of stress from both of them. If you haven’t already, try adding a Feliway pheromone diffuser to try and ease the transition.
First, start with petting the kitten with a clean cloth (I use a clean sock. It fits easily over the hand). Try to focus on petting in front of the ears and the cheeks where their whiskers are. This will pick up the kitten’s pheromones (and should just feel great). Now take the kitten-stinky sock to the resident cat, and let them smell. This might be your starting point for a few days. That’s fine. Just let the cat smell it. They might hiss, but that’s okay. Keep letting them smell it a few times per day (after freshly re-pheromoning the sock). Once you get little to no response, move on.
It’s important to note that at any point, if either cat shows signs of stress, or are upset, or anything, take a step back. Think of this like climbing a ladder. Maybe you climbed up one rung too high before you got your balance. Just go back down to the last rung until you feel solid.
Next, try rubbing the kitty-pheromone sock on the resident cat in the same fashion. Ears and cheeks. Then give it to the kitten. You’re probably going to have a better response here. Do this a few times per day for a few days before moving on.
If the kitten has a blanket or a towel they just LOVE (you don’t have to give them a new one. Just a clean towel they can borrow for a little bit). Let them snuggle that blanket for a couple days (while still doing the sock-smelling). Then, take that blanket/towel and put it somewhere the resident cat just LOVES. Near a windowsill, on a specific couch, wherever they like lounging and spending time. If you can get a towel/blanket that smells like the resident cat, take that and give it to the kitten too. Switch every few days.
Take the kitten out of their room into a different safe room (it only has to be a bathroom for the time required). Let the resident cat into the kitten’s room and let them just sniff to their heart’s content. Feel free to play with them a little with some of the kitten’s toys. Observe the response and let the cat leave when they want to. Don’t close the door on the cat or else they may become stressed, and you don’t want them more stressed than they may be with introducing a new cat! Return the kitten to the room once the cat is done. Let the kitten explore the room and smell. After a break, put the resident cat in the same safe room the kitten was in earlier (or a different once if you have room options). Now, let the kitten out of the room. This is more exploratory for the kitten, but they’ll also be able to smell the resident cat where they spend the most time and explore their new home! Just be sure the cats don’t see each other during this stage.
Schedule feeding time on opposite sides of the door. Try for the same time if you can. You may need to transition the cat to timed feedings if you’re feeding ad libitum (I usually say pick up the food bowl about 2-3 hours prior, and tempt them with their FAVORITE food). Just give feedings on the other side of the CLOSED door. When this occurs with no problems, Try cracking the door open just the tiniest bit. Preferably while both cats are still eating. If they see each other and hiss, you can close the door and let them keep eating. Try this a few times before moving on.
Now at this point, it depends ENTIRELY on the cat. If you have a super social cat, you may already be fine to just open the door for introductions. If you’re having a hard time moving forward, try introducing them through a baby gate while they’re feeding (if that’s not entirely in the budget, just anything that will block them from getting at each other, but will still allow them to see each other). Just pay attention to how they’re each responding. Hissing is honestly normal for fresh introductions, but let it be a meter for how “used to” the new kitten the resident cat is.
This can take anywhere from two weeks to two months, depending entirely on the individual cats. Two-three weeks is usually a more accurate timeline, but be ready to spend longer on it if things aren’t going so smoothly. Like I said, just take a step back and let the cats set the pace.
At this point, be ready for supervised introductions! Be sure to watch both cats. And I mean watch them. Stay off your phone for this, because while you shouldn’t expect trouble if you’ve done the previous steps, you should always be prepared for it. Allow sniffing around. Try to distract them with two different toys. I go with the wand-toy in each hand. You don’t want the cats to be competing for the toy, but giving them both the option to play with something while they’re near each other is always good. This doesn’t have to last long at first. A few minutes of sniffing, and then they’re on with their days. Let these monitored periods be extended slowly. If you notice a snag or a bit of a fight, take a step back to between-the-door introductions.
Once this is fine, I like to do a 9-5 business hours sort of situation if I’m home. Still separate them if you’re sleeping or out, or no one is available to supervise, but it’s a “rather safe than sorry” situation.
If things are going well, full integration is totally fine by now. I made this super detailed just to err on the side of caution. But I’ve had resident cats eagerly sit outside the door to meet new cats and kittens. So this is a good groundwork to base introductions on, but as always, listen to your cat!
