Introducing the new kitten to the old cat.

[kaitykaity]

My Mom brought her new kitten with her for the Christmas
weekend, and my old thing -- Mina, 12 -- did nothing but
growl and hiss and yowl at the little thing for the whole
three days. Mina stayed in her cubby hole in one of my
cabinets in my office while the little cat -- Sassy -- did
everything short of handstands to try to make friends.

Has anybody ever had an old thing who eventually warmed up
to the new critter, or did it just evolve into an uneasy
detente where the old cat barely 'tolerates' the feisty
youngster?

I'm counting my blessings -- they used a communal litter box
and thus far I have not found any protest "presents" in my
shower from Mean-Kitty.

:shrug:

[sleepyhead]

1. Three days is a short time.

Very often it can take several weeks for both cats to establish their niche. Luckily, they will rarely actually take it to the point of hurting each other. As long as they each have their own personal space, they usually settle into a routine after a couple of weeks. Just because they are not demonstrative of affection doesn't mean that they won't get along. Especially with 2 females - for some reason, male-male and male-female duos seem to hit it off quicker than female-female pairs. Often they will end up sharing the couch, one at each end, seemingly ignoring each other, but being fully aware of what the other one is doing. They can be very inscrutable.

[Lorien]

2. It took two weeks for Oberon and Puck

I followed this advice from the Humane Society, and now they're best buddies:
Introducing a new pet to your existing pets

Always have the new pet checked by your veterinarian to ensure she has a clean bill of health and that it is safe to introduce her to your pets.

Cats are territorial animals and need to be introduced to other animals very slowly. Any fearful or aggressive behavior from either the new or existing pet or pets should be interrupted (don’t attempt to pick up a frightened or aggressive cat, use a squirt of water or throw a pillow to break up a cat fight). Introductions should proceed more slowly to avoid any interactions that result in fear or aggression.

Confine your new cat to a medium sized room with her litter box, food, water and bed. Using food rewards, treat your existing pets by the closed door so they can associate good things happening (food) with the smell of the new cat. If everyone is calm, try propping the door open with two doorstops so there is a small gap through which they can see each other and repeat the treat process. Letting them eat on either side of a glass or screen door can also help (as long as they are all inside).

Swap scents by either switching sleeping blankets or taking a towel on one animal and placing it under the food dish of the other. Switching living areas and letting the pets investigate is another method that helps the new pet check out the house without the resident pets being present.

[mockmonkey]

3. We just introduced a kitten to our 3 adult cats

They each behaved differently. All the cats are female. The oldest cat Cinnamin, still growls and hisses, and stayed in a separate room at the beginning but is now getting more social. It's been 5 days.

The second oldest cat, Patches has always been the Head-Master of the house. She tolerates the kitten and nothing more. She is always watching to make sure the the others cats are not going outside the bounderies Patches has set...whatever they may be.

The youngest, Cream Puff has adopted the new kitten as her own and cries when ever the kitten is not around her.

The kitten who we have named "Kerry" is a little Devil and not really afraid of anything. She has this odd habit of laying down in the litter box...ugh!

We have 3 litter boxes and 3 dishes of food and water at different areas of the apartment. Cinn likes to eat alone. Patches eats everyones food and Cream Puff hardly eats anything.

We weren't expecting to have a fourth cat but someone abandoned this kitty when they were evicted and our landlord asked if we would take it in. Add this kitten with the other 3 cats, the two turtles, two rats, two fish, two parakeets and two Hermit crabs and we have ourselves quite a little zoo.

I was really nervous about this addition to our family but it has gone very smoothly.

[Eurobabe]

4. this worked every time for us....

keep the newcomer behind a bathroom door for about 3 days. Allow the other cats to sniff under the door, and when the newcomer is in another room behind closed doors, let the new cats go in the bathroom to smell the newcomer's scent.

After about 3 days, you can let the new cat or kitten out into the house. There will probably be some moments of piss and vinegar, but they will adapt. Slow and easy is the key....

Good luck!

[elehhhhna]

5. puff hated joe for 2 weeks.

then became his mommy. would wrestle him down every morning and clean him, ending with major ear-slurps. give them time.