Re: Adopting a New Cat

The new kitten should adapt beautifully. It will be curious and playful and want to get to know the other cats. I would keep the kitten confined for a couple of days, in a bedroon, or separate room of the house with a door. For the first few days, do not allow the other cats to enter the kittens space. They will "sniff" each other through the door and get familiar with the fact that there is another animal in the house. Then, gradually open the door, a little at a time and make sure you are there when they meet. If all goes well, they can spend time together, supervised. Keep the kitten separate from the cats when you have to go out, at least until you're sure they are comforable with each other. Hope you have a wonderful adoption experience!

Re: Adopting a New Cat

Peta, just like humans, all have different personalities. And some personalities get along better with others. It just depends. You know your kitties best. When choosing a new furry friend, just keep Abby and Tio in mind. Also, you may wish to consider a slightly older kitten or young adult cat (perhaps even a mature kitty) as they can be more calm. If there is an opportunity for the new kitty to meet and socialize with Abby and Tio on neutral ground before the adoption, please do so. But be careful that the new kitty is completely healthy and up-to-date on all vaccinations and has tested negative for FeLV! If you can see all three interact together before making a commitment, Abby and Tio will help make your decision much easier. Thank you for considering adoption! Good Luck! :)

Re: Adopting a New Cat

A separate room for a newcomer is always a good idea. It gives the newcomer a chance to settle into a brand new place without having to deal with huge spaces of a whole house or apartment. (Think about how big just one room looks to a little kitty!)

After a day or two, switch the kitties. Put the resident cats in the newcomer's room and put the new kitty in the resident cats' area. That way they can get used to the scents without having to confront each other.

During introductions, lavish attention on the resident kitties and ignore the newcomer. That will let your resident kitties know that you still love them and that they're not being replaced. It will also force the newcomer to look to the resident kitties for attention, hopefully starting to bond.

I've not introduced kittens into my household. All rescues have been adults. I've noticed that kitties that have come from a foster situation where there were lots of cats don't seem to mind resident cats at all. They're already used to having lots of buddies around.

I've not seen a difference between males and females. Of course they're all fixed before any type of introduction is made and newly fixed kitties (especially males) are given time in their own room to let the hormones go away before any type of introduction is made.

If you have the room, introductions seem to go pretty easy when it's done in a completely neutral area where the resident kitties haven't already established themselves.

Almost any introduction can be made with enough patience. It may take some time, but it'll be worth it.

Re: Adopting a New Cat

I agree that you should adopt a male. My cats are all female. The 4th one I brought home has not been welcomed at all. I am seriously searching for a new home for her. :( She needs a loving home to herself. I may have one but don;t know for sure yet. So good luck!

Re: Adopting a New Cat

I, too, agree that you should adopt a male. I have three cats, one female and two males. Lil E is such a princess and lets us all know that she is to be treated as such. Junebug and Eenie are the best of friends. All three will play together and even sleep together, but Lil E will definitely separate herself from them. With Abby also being older, that can make it harder for her to tolerate having a kitten around and some shelters may not even let you adopt a kitten when you have an older cat. Definitely make sure you have a room where you can put the kitten for a few days on his own to get used to you and then slowly let them get used to each other. Good luck!

Re: Adopting a New Cat

When I adopted my second cat, it took 3 day of hissing on the part of my first cat, but then on the third day, it was like my older cat had adopted the kitten. However, when my daughter brought in a male kitten years later, my "middle cat" never adjusted to him. He was much wilder than my girls and always pounced on them. Since my girls are older, I always worry about their health and their hearts when he is attacking them. One of my girls has always had delicate health and I really worry about her. I still have to keep them separate years later! This is difficult for all. When the male is out, I have to keep her locked up and when she is out, I have to keep him locked up. It's not just a matter of letting them adjust. Whenever, she hisses at him, she goes into an asthma attack, so I cannot have them together. She is my pride and joy and if anything ever happened to her, I couldn't handle it. P.S. I disagree about adopting a male. They are more agressive than females.

Re: Adopting a New Cat

I have 7 cats, 4 male and 3 female. The all get along ok, but I wouldn't say they all enjoy each others company. The two who have the most problem with each other are sisters who have been together since birth. So I would agree that females are much more difficult to integrate, and even once they have been integrated into the family, problems are more likely to occur with females than males.

Re: Adopting a New Cat

I have had my female cat since 1998. In 2003 someone dropped off a stray male cat. I took care of him & he lived outside for 3 months. My female beat on him everyday. Then the 4th month he moved into the house. She still puts him into his place. They will eat side by side, but other then that he knows to stay on the other side of the room. The past two summers we have had a few stray cats dropped off here. Both my cats will gang up & beat then up. I end up taming them down & finding homes for them. There is no way my female would ever let me bring another cat into the house. She is one sassy cat.